Sydney Horler (18 July 1888 – 27 October 1954) was a prolific British novelist specialising in thrillers. He was born in

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, ...

, Essex, and educated at Redcliffe School and

Colston School Collegiate School (formerly known as Colston's Collegiate School and Colston’s School) is an independent day school in Bristol, England, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is currently in a period of transiti ...

in Bristol. His first job was with ''Western Daily Press'' and Allied Newspapers in Bristol started in 1905. This lasted until 1911 when he left to become a special writer on the staff of Edward Hulton and Co. in Manchester. He moved to London to work on the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' and ''Daily Citizen'' in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was n ...

, although he also worked in the propaganda section of Air Intelligence towards the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. When it ended he joined the editorial staff of

George Newnes Ltd George Newnes Ltd is a British publisher. The company was founded in 1891 by George Newnes (1851–1910), considered a founding father of popular journalism. Newnes published such magazines and periodicals as '' Tit-Bits'', '' The Wide World Mag ...

as a sub editor of the ''

John O'London's Weekly ''John O'London's Weekly'' was a weekly literary magazine that was published by George Newnes Ltd of London between 1919 and 1954. In 1960 it was briefly brought back into circulation (writer Peter Green's biography lists him as having been fil ...

''. He didn't see eye to eye with the editor and after a big row in 1919 his employment was terminated. He decided to become a full-time writer. He became a popular author with the publication, in 1925, of his first

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

, ''

The Mystery of No.1 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'', and with novels such as ''

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

'' (1930). Horler's work was influenced by other popular thriller writers such as

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

and "Sapper". His main hero was "Tiger" Standish, a character similar to Sapper's

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...

Marvin Lachman Marvin may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography ;In the United States * Marvyn, Alabama, also spelled Marvin, an unincorporated community * Marvin, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Marvin, North Carolina, a village * Marvin, South Dakota, a town ...

, "Horler, Sydney" in ''Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers'', edited by

James Vinson James is a common English language surname and given name: * James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambigua ...

and D.L. Kirkpatrick. (p.474-77). Horler's work began to be commercially successful after being serialised in the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

''. By the 1930s, Horler's books had sold an estimated two million copies.Turnbull, Malcolm J. ''Victims or villains: Jewish images in classic English detective fiction''. Popular Press, 1998 (p. 62-4, 118–9)

Political views

Horler frequently used his work to put forward his opinions. He was a supporter of the

British Monarchy The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

and the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

(of which he was a member). Horler's works also incorporated his own prejudices. Watson notes both his fiction and non-fiction regularly express negative sentiments about non-English peoples. Horler's heroes, such as Tiger Standish, regularly use derogatory terms like "wogs" and "stinking Italianos", and Horler also expressed contempt for both the

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Amer ...

and the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

in his diaries. Writers such as

Bill Pronzini Bill Pronzini (born April 13, 1943) is an American writer of detective fiction. He is also an active anthologist, having compiled more than 100 collections, most of which focus on mystery, western, and science fiction short stories. Pronzini is k ...

and Malcolm Turnbull have noted that Horler's novels regularly featured negative depictions of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

as criminals and racketeers, and he made denigrating comments about the Jewish community in his memoirs, ''Excitement: An Impudent Autobiography''. Not even the rise of

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

made any change to Horler's

anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

; Turnbull points out Horler subscribes to "''wartime slanders of Jew-Nazi collaboration and Jewish wartime profiteering in his 1940s titles"''. Horler's book ''Nighthawk Mops Up'' (1944) features a Jewish villain, Wilfred Abrahams, who collaborates with the Nazis. A 2021 review by Anthony Daniels of Horler's 1944 book ''Virus X'', however, found the book "strongly anti-anti-Semitic," and stated that " ny times in the book the Nazis are denounced for their anti-Semitism."Dalrymple, Theodore, "Another Look at Sydney Horler," October 7, 2021.
/ref> Horler also expressed a disapproval of casual sex, especially homosexuality. Horler wrote to the British police demanding a crackdown on what he saw as "the alarming increase in sex perversion" in London, claiming the city's streets were full of male prostitutes. In his fiction, Horler spent a large amount of time emphasising how "virile" and "masculine" his heroes are. One of Horler's characters, the gentleman thief "Nighthawk", only steals jewels from women he sees as sexually immoral, pausing in his work to scrawl the word "Wanton" on their pillowcases.

Critical reception

Literary reviewers of the time, such Dorothy L. Sayers and

Compton Mackenzie Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish nationalist. He was one of th ...

, generally gave negative opinions on Horler's fiction. Colin Watson, ''Snobbery With Violence: crime stories and their audience''. London : Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1971. (p.85-93) Horler's novels have not been popular since his death. Critics have taken issue with Horler's plots, described by William L. DeAndrea as ''"unbelievable"'' (Horler himself claimed to ''"give old man coincidence's arm a frightful twist"'') and characters seen as clichéd. David Stafford describes Horler as ''"among the worst"'' of British thriller writers.Stafford, David. ''The Silent Game: the real world of imaginary spies'' Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1988 (p.115).

Selected works

Horler wrote some 158 novels including: * ''Standish of the Rangeland'' (1916) * ''Goal! A Romance of the English Cup-Ties '' 1920 * ''The Breed of the Beverleys'' (1921) * ''A Legend of the League'' (1922) * ''Love, the Sportsman (vt: The Man with Two Faces) 1923 * ''McPhee, a Football Story'' (1923) * ''

The Ball of Fortune ''The Ball of Fortune'' is a 1926 British silent sports film directed by Hugh Croise and starring Billy Meredith, James Knight and Mabel Poulton. Based on the 1925 novel of the same title by Sydney Horler, the film is set against the backdrop ...

'' (1925) – adapted into a film ''

'' in 1926 * ''The Mystery of No. 1'' (1925) * ''School! School!'' (1925) * ''False-Face'' (1926) * '' The House of Secrets'' (1926) * ''The Man Who Saved the Club'' (1926) * ''On the Ball'' (1926) * ''The Black Heart'' (1927) * ''The Fellow Hagan!'' (1927) * ''In the Dark'' (1927) * ''Vivanti'' (1927) * ''Chipstead of the Lone Hand'' (1928) * ''

The Curse of Doone ''The Curse of Doone'' is a 1928 mystery thriller novel by the British writer Sydney Horler. It also has element of horror about it.Frost p.63 It was published in America in 1930 by The Mystery League. Synopsis Returning to London from a job in ...

'' (1928) * ''Miss Mystery'' (1928) * ''The Thirteenth Hour'' (1928)(novelization of 1927 film w/Lionel Barrymore) * ''Heart Cut Diamond'' (1929) * ''Lady of the Night'' (1929) * ''The Secret Service Man'' (1929) * ''The Worst Man in the World'' (1929) * ''

'' (1930) * ''Danger's Bright Eyes'' (1930) * ''The Evil Chateau'' (1930) * ''The Exploits of Peter'' (1930) * ''The Murder Mask'' (1930) * ''A Pro's Romance'' (1930) * ''The Screaming Skull'' (1930) * ''Tiger Standish'' (1932) * ''Beauty and the Policeman: A collection of stories'' (1933) * ''Tiger Standish Comes Back'' (1934) * ''The Secret Agent'' (1934) * ''The Vampire'' (1935) * ''They Called Him Nighthawk'' (1937) * ''Terror on Tip-Toe'' (1939) * ''Tiger Standish Takes the Field'' (1939) * ''The Return of Nighthawk'' (1940) * ''Tiger Standish Steps on It'' (1940) * ''Nighthawk Strikes to Kill'' (1941) * ''Tiger Standish Does His Stuff'' (1941) * ''Danger Preferred'' (1942) * ''Now Let Us Hate'' (1942) * ''Tiger Standish Has a Party'' (1943) *''Springtime Comes to William: A Comedy'' (1943) * ''The Lady with the Limp'' (1944) * ''The Man with Dry Hands'' (1944) * ''Nighthawk Mops Up'' (1944) * ''Sinister Street'' (1944) * ''A Bullet for the Countess'' (1945) * ''Marry the Girl'' (1945) * ''Murder for Sale'' (1945) * ''Virus X'' (1945) * ''Terror Comes to Twelvetrees'' (1945) * ''The Man Who Did Not Hang'' (1948) * ''Nap On Nighthawk'' (1950) * '' The Cage'' (1953)

Non-Fiction

* ''The Umpire Adventure Book'' (1922) * ''Black Souls: Narratives of crimes'' (1933) * ''Excitement: An Impudent Autobiography'' (1933) * ''Strictly Personal: An indiscreet diary'' (1934) * ''London's underworld : the record of a month's sojourn in the crime centres of the metropolis'' (1934) * ''More strictly personal (Six Months of My Life)'' (1935) * ''Malefactor's row : a book of crime studies'' (1940) * ''I Accuse the Doctors'' (1949) He researched ''London's underworld'' by spending a month in the most crime-ridden parts of London.

References

External links

*
A Sydney Horler tribute site

(157 books) {{DEFAULTSORT:Horler, Sydney 1888 births 1954 deaths 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English novelists British monarchists British thriller writers English Anglicans English male novelists English mystery writers People educated at Colston's School