Published anonymously, Pause! was based on ideas Sax Rohmer was given by George Robey, a performer Rohmer has written songs for. It was Robey who introduced Rohmer to the Egyptian Book of the Dead. The "Bibliographica Rohmeriana" in The Rohmer Review No. 8 reports that W. O. G. Lofts examined the copy in the British Museum Library. "The book is bound in shiny paper covers, with the title in Red letters and a design consisting of a photo of the palm of a man's hand against a black background." (p. 26)
The contents are not just "essays" (though I probably said that at some point in the past)---there are a few plain essays, but other items are inspirational quasi-sermons, dramatic monologues ("Quetzalcoatl"), prose sketches, and fantasy/horror short stories ("Sebek-Ra" and "The Bronze Mirror"). Hitting all the bases, "Tumuli and Roses" even includes an untitled poem, supposedly a translation from the Italian but almost certainly Rohmer's own work. It is also worth noting that the Preface is dated "Herne Hill, February 13, 1910"---Herne Hill was where the Rohmers were living at the time, so this serves as built-in evidence of Rohmer's connection with the book. -- R. E. Briney (Email, March 12, 1998)
Title page and Contents
Little Tich (Harry Relph) was a very popular entertainer at the turn of the century. Sax Rohmer had written some material for him and when the publisher of Pause asked him to "edit" (actually ghostwrite) Relph's autobiography, he agreed.
Covers and other editions Serial publication titles and dates
The first book with Arthur Sarsfield Ward's pseudonym, "Sax Rohmer," and the first of many Fu Manchu novels. Over his lifetime, Rohmer gave various accounts of how a mysterious "Mr. King" inspired Dr. Fu-Manchu; they are available here.
A series of connected short stories first published in Cassell's Magazine June 1912 through January 1913, with an extra episode in August 1913. Rohmer is said to have characterized the series as "a story of a Jewish Robin Hood." Cay Van Ash (Master of Villainy 82)
A non-fiction work which treats occultism seriously and contains biographies of some of the more famous practioners from Nostrodamus to Madame Blavatsky. Harry Houdini wrote a letter to Rohmer complimenting him on the book and they later became close friends.
Featuring Fu Manchu’s prototype, "Mr. King," it was also released as a Stoll Production Company movie in 1921 – the first movie based on Rohmer’s work.
Covers and other editions. Serial publication titles and dates.
Written for magazine publication from the Fall of 1914 though 1915, Rohmer chose to leave the World War out of the stories lest their escapist value be diminished.
This title was first reported in "Bibliographica Rohmeriana" in the ninth issue of The Rohmer Review in 1972. Derek Adley and W.O. G. Lofts found the title listed in the publisher's advertisement in a companion volume. It has since been listed in various bibliographies and is included here. Upon its discovery in 1972, R. E. Briney noted that "This particular volume is missing from the British Museum's file of the Lloyd's Novels, so it has not been possible to examine an actual copy of the book."
To date, we remain unaware of anyone who has actually examined a copy. Other titles in the Lloyd's Home Novels series were, indeed, novels. Was this an expanded version of the short story, "The Ten-Thirty Folkstone Express," which appeared in Lippincott's Magazine in December, 1914? Or was it a collection of short stories which featured "The Ten-Thirty Folkstone Express"?
Any clarification or information would be much appreciated.
Covers and other editions.
Serial publication titles and dates.
H. P. Lovecraft thought rather highly of this book. In Supernatural Horror in Literature (New York: Abramson, 1945), Lovecraft noted: "Dracula evoked many similar novels of supernatural horror, among which the best are perhaps The Beetle, by Richard Marsh, Brood of the Witch-Queen, by "Sax Rohmer" (Arthur Sarsfield Ward), and The Door of the Unreal, by Gerald Bliss." In a letter Lovecraft also notes that he read Rohmer's Romance of Sorcery (Selected Letters, Vol. 5).
Oddly enough, some portions of this book are actually autobiographical. The "Bats of Meydūm" section which describes a trip on donkeys to the Pyramid at Meydūm and a frightening descent to the "King's Chamber" is based largely on the Rohmers' experiences on a honeymoon trip to the Pyramid at Meydūm in 1913 that was financed by the success of The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu. Rex Engelbach, who later became curator of the Cairo Museum, personally escorted the Rohmers, on donkeyback, to the nearly inaccessible pyramid and down its interior shafts to the burial chamber. He later told them that Elizabeth was the first woman to have crawled through the rubble and up into the actual chamber. The episode is recorded in "The False Pyramid," Chapter 12 of Master of Villainy, Rohmer's biography: "It was like crawling down a drain. The foul-smelling passage was so low that it was not even possible to employ one's knees--one had to just wriggle along it, literally like a snake" (92).
The experience was used again in the second of the Tales of Abū Tabāh, "The Death-Ring of Sneferu," when Neville Kernaby makes the descent.
Covers and other editions Serial publication
The Methuen 2nd through 8th editions were 240 pages and omitted three stories: "Lure of Souls," "The Secret of Ismail" and "Harūn Pasha."
For fun, a rebound McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie version misspelled the author's name.
Contents:
Tales of Abu Tabah:
The Yashmak of Pearls
The Death-Ring of Sneferu
The Lady of the Lattice
Omar of Ispahan
Breath of Allah
The Whispering MummyOther Tales:
Lord of the Jackals
Lure of Souls
The Secret of Ismail
Harūn Pasha
In the Valley of the Sorceress
Pomegranate Flower
"A theosophical novel . . . expounding his ideas of a religion based on the esoteric truths concealed in the world's rival faiths." Cay Van Ash (Master of Villainy 110)
Covers and other editions.
Covers and other editions.
The full text (Scanned by Alan Johns).
This novel may have been prompted in part by the death of Billie Carleton, a London showgirl, who performed in the Armistice Victory Celebration at Albert Hall and died in her hotel room later that night of an overdose -- presumably opium obtained in Limehouse. The incident led to an official five year long investigation of Chinatown's drug traffic and a new novel from Sax Rohmer which the dustjacket proclaimed to be "based upon actual conditions as they existed in London." See INDIAN HEMP AND THE DOPE FIENDS OF OLD ENGLAND: A sociopolitical history of cannabis and the British Empire 1840-1928 for a full discussion.
"In a letter to the LONDON OPINION dated January 22, 1919 (and reproduced in THE ROHMER REVIEW #9, August 1972), Rohmer explicitly denies that DOPE was based on the Carleton case. He claims the story was 'on the stocks' before the case became public. He would have to be referring to the magazine publication, which began in the March 1919 issue of THE NEW MAGAZINE (which would have been on sale by mid-January). The Prefatory Note (dated June 1919) in the British book editions, also disclaims the connection with the Carleton case. Of course, it may well be that the author 'doth protest too much.'" (Robert E. Briney March 12, 1998)
Dope was also adapted and drawn as a comic by Trina Robbins.
The Golden Scorpion linked the story lines developed in The Yellow Claw with Dr. Fu Manchu who appears but is not named. "He wore a plain yellow robe and had a little black cap on his head. His face, his wonderful evil face I can never forget, and his eyes -- I fear you will think I exaggerate -- but his eyes were green as emeralds!"
Covers and other editions.
Covers, other editions and complete serial publication data.
The "Dream Detective" was Moris Klaw. "In the early years of this century, when he was active in London, Moris Klaw was regarded as something of a magician. Nowadays, we would call him an exponent of ESP. He believed the universe to be pervaded by a kind of force-field upon which human emotions, if sufficiently intense, might be recorded, as though upon magnetic tape, and retrieved by those who knew how. This, incidentally, was no figment of the author’s vivid imagination but the theory of Baron von Reichenbach, a sober 19th century scientist, who proposed the existence of such a force...." 100 Great Detectives. New York: Carroll & Graf, 1991, page 121.
The Tragedies in the Greek Room
The Potsherd of Anubis
The Crusader’s Ax
The Ivory Statue
The Blue Rajah
The Whispering Poplars
The Headless Mummies
The Haunting of Grange
The Veil of Isis
The Chord in G (missing in most British editions)
Cover and other edition.
The Haunting of Low Fennel
The Valley of the Just
The Blue Monkey
The Riddle of Ragstaff
The Master of Hollow Grange
The Curse of a Thousand Kisses
The Turquoise Necklace
Covers and other editions.
Dustjacket The full text
Rohmer decided to describe a seemingly impossible murder and then solve it as he continued to write. By the end of the third chapter, he realized he had left no room for a solution and gave up. Meanwhile his agent had sold the story to Collier's for serialization and the first chapter had already been printed. Sax travelled to New York and holed up in a hotel to try and find a solution. He kept writing but could think of no way out. Unbelievably, he was visited by Harry Houdini who had underlined one sentence and told Rohmer how to explain the murder. The all important sentence is in chapter 3.
The Daughter of Huang Chow
Kerry’s Kid
The Pigtail of Hi Wing Ho
The House of the Golden Joss
The Man with the Shaven Skull
The White Hat
Tcheriapin
The Dance of the Veils
The Hand of the Mandarin Quong
The Key of the Temple of Heaven
This story proved to be not only a commercial success but, from the literary point of view,quite outstanding. Readers in the mid-1920's liked plots that were complex, and that of Grey Face is so intricate that it requires the closest attention to follow it. As an example of fashions in popular literature during that period, I consider it one of the finest things written -- Cay Van Ash (Master of Villainy 154)
Dustjacket
Three novel British omnibus edition containing The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu, The Devil Doctor, and The Si-Fan Mysteries.
Four novel American omnibus edition containing The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu, The Return of Dr. Fu-Manchu, The Hand of Fu-Manchu, and The Golden Scorpion.
An assortment of covers and dust jackets
Covers and other editions.
Tales of the East:
The Black Mandarin
Father of Thieves
The Turkish Yataghan
Spirit of the Black Hawk
Fires of BaalTales of the West:
Mark of the Monkey
The Squirrel Man
The Cardinal’s Stair
Torture
The M’Villin
W. T. Benda's mask art for Collier's magazine and the many changes it underwent in later editions and the movie.
Covers and other editions.
Tales of the East:
The Black Mandarin
The Valley of the Just
The Turquise Necklace
The Curse of a Thousand Kisses
Spirit of the Black Hawk
The Turkish Yataghan
Light of AtlantisTales of the West:
The Haunting of Low Fennel
At the Palace da Nostra
The Master of Hollow Grange
The Cardinal’s Stair
The Riddle of Ragstaff
Torture
The final chapter, "A Lacquer Cabinet" is missing in the Pyramid paperback.
(Tim Lucas first called this to my attention.)"Note that this chapter is missing ONLY from the U.S. Pyramid paperback reprints; it is present in all other hardcover and paperback editions that I have seen, including the 1985 Zebra Books reprint." -- Robert E. Briney (March 16, 1998)
The dustjacket. The full text (Scanned by Alan Johns).
On the cover of Famous Fantastic Mysteries, October, 1952.
Book of the Week Club Philadelphia Record
Covers and other editions
"It was a three-cent Daniel Webster stamp, dated 1932, gummed upside down upon a piece of cardboard, then framed by the paper in which a pear-shaped opening had been cut. The effect, when the frame was dropped over the stamp, was singular to a degree.
It produced a hideous Chinese face!"
Originally intended as a screen play with Marlene Dietrich in mind, White Velvet was a successful and controversial novel. It was also a radio serial on the B.B.C.
Contains two novels: The Golden Scorpion and Dope. The dustjacket.
Dustjacket.
Contains two novels: The Yellow Claw and Tales of Secret Egypt.
"To My Friend Harry Houdini: Stone walls do not a prison make Nor iron bars a cage."
Contains the thirty chapter Salute to Bazarada as well as five additional stories, the first three of which are "Investigations of Paul Harley."
The Treasure Chest Murders
Death of Boris Korsakov
Skull Face
Sheba's Love Pearls
Limehouse Rhapsody
Dustjacket of the 1940 Sun Dial Press edition.
Dustjacket from The Crime Club edition
This novel originally ran as a serial in Liberty magazine from November 16, 1940 to February 1, 1941. The first installment had a beautiful portrait of Fu Manchu by Arnold Freberg on the cover.
The British and US hardcover texts seem to be almost the same, allowing for the expected differences in spelling and punctuation. The U.S. text (and the magazine serial) has references to "the Finnish campaign" and "the agony of Finland," while the British text substitutes "Greek campaign" and "the struggle in Greece." I wonder which was Rohmer's original choice . . . .
Egyptian Nights and Bim-Bashi Baruk of Egypt are the same material presented as a novel in Egyptian Nights and short stories in Bim-Bashi Baruk of Egypt.
Both of the Sax Rohmer entries in the Quintessential Quotations: Author Index are from Bim-Bashi and are listed under Misfortunes and Obstacles..
"Happy is he who leaves obstacles to the less fortunate." - Sax Rohmer, Bimbashi Baruk of Egypt, p. 50
"He who knows the camel knows the worst." - Sax Rohmer, Bimbashi Baruk of Egypt, p. 48
Mystery Strikes at Ragstaff Hill
The Bimbashi Meets Up with A 14
Murder Strikes at Lychgate
The Laughing Buddha Finds a Purchaser
Warning from Rose of the Desert
Lotus Yuan Lases Her Vanity Case
The Scarab of Lapis Lazuli
Vengeance at the Lily Pool
Adventure in the Libyan Desert
Pool-o’-the-Moon Sees Bimbashi Baruk
Covers and other editions.
Hangover House was based on a play, "The Body's Upstairs," written in collaboration with his wife. It was based, in part, on a New Years party hosted by the Rohmers.
Covers, serial publication and other editions.
Based on an eight episode B.B.C. radio serial, this is the first of the five Sumuru novels.
Covers, serial publication and other editions.
The dustjacket.
An occult novel based on a play Rohmer wrote in 1926 which was never published or produced.
"Furey" was his mother's maiden name. It is also possible that he chose "Michael" because of the character "Michael Furey" in James Joyce's story, "The Dead," published in Dubliners (1914).
The British and U. S. editions end differently. In the U. S. edition, the hero, Drake oscoe, succumbs and joins Sumuru; in the British edition he remains steadfast.
Covers, serial publication and other editions.
Covers, serial publication and other editions.
Covers, serial publication and other editions.
The Secret of Holm Peel
The Owl Hoots Twice
A House Possessed
The Eyes of Fu Manchu
The Mystery of the Marsh Hole
Bazarada
For Love of Mistress Mary
Brother Wing Commanders
Covers and art
The Wrath of Fu Manchu
The Eyes of Fu Manchu
The Word of Fu Manchu
The Mind of Fu Manchu
Nightmare House
The Leopard-Couch
The Mystery of the Fabulous Lamp
A Date at Shepheard’s
The Mark of Maat
The Treasure of Taia
Crime Takes a Cruise
A House Possessed
The dustjacket
A collection "celebrating the centennial of Sax Rohmer's birth." He was born February 15, 1883.
Details.
The dustjacket & details.
The dustjacket & details. This volume breaks the actual sequence of the novels by skipping the "Drums," "Island" and "Shadow" titles.
Details.
"The Mysterious Mummy," The Green Eyes of Bast, and Batwing. 482 pages, 6.0 x 9.0 in. (Trade Paperback)
This bibliography of first editions, by definition, does not include the many, many reprints. The most common reprints were those published by A. L. Burt (which generally were cheaper reproductions of the originals), the "Masterpieces of Oriental Mystery" editions published by McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie (blue hardcovers with Chinese characters imprinted on the front) and the Collier "Orient Editions" (black hardcovers with titles and spider illustrations on the spine in gold). The Bookfinger editions are reproductions of British titles and are American hardcover first editions (black with gold print, no dustjackets).
Copyright © 1997-2005 Lawrence Knapp. All rights reserved.