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Sexton Blake — Detective! Created at the tail end of the Victorian era, Sexton Blake rapidly became one of the most popular fictional characters of the 20th Century. He featured in thousands of adventure stories written by more than two hundred authors and published in countless papers, magazines and comics. He also appeared in stage plays, radio dramas, films and television serials. In the articles below, you'll discover what made him such a quintessential part of the English landscape for so long, how he changed with the times, his cultural significance, and why he faded from view in the mid-seventies. |
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One Hundred Years of Sexton Blake by Norman Wright from Antiquarian Book Monthly, November 1993 A wide-ranging overview of the Sexton Blake saga, chronicling its development, key periods and most important characters. Read >> |
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The Odyssey of Sexton Blake by Michael Moorcock from Sexton Blake Library, 4th series 477, 1961 The Sexton Blake story told by a man who was there: Michael Moorcock was assistant editor at the The Sexton Blake Library during the mid-1950s. Read >> |
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The Other Baker Street Detective by Derek Hinrich Blakiana 2005 An examination of the Sexton Blake phenomenon, with particular reference to Mr. Sherlock Holmes, also of Baker Street. Read >> |
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Sixty Years of Sexton Blake by Walter Webb The Collectors' Digest, Vol.7 no.83, November 1953 A study of Sexton Blake's most prosperous years in the context of his 1940s decline. Two years after this article was written, he experienced a dramatic revival. Read >> |
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Curtain Call for a Former Hero by Dan O'Neill from Saturday Night, December 1963 Relating the drama of Sexton Blake's rise in popularity, golden heyday, and very slow fall into virtual obscurity. Read >> |
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After the Lord Mayor's Show by H. W. Twyman from Syd Smyth's Golden Hours Magazine, Vol.1, No.1, 1960 The former editor of The Union Jack relates how that paper transformed into the Detective Weekly, thus beginning Sexton Blake's long decline. Read >> |
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The Dark Heart of the Golden Age by Mark Hodder Blakiana 2005 An analysis of the cultural conditions that produced a plethora of bizarre fictional villains and which made Sexton Blake's Golden Age possible. Read >> |
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The Warm Heart of the Lean Years by Mark Hodder Blakiana 2005 A look at the nuggets of gold concealed within the Sexton Blake stories from the least creative period of the saga. Read >> |
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My Sexton Blake Collection by Mark Hodder Blakiana 2005 A journey through my Sexton Blake story papers and magazines, describing the joys, challenges and expenses of collecting. Read >> |
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Tornado: Sexton Blake's Last Gasp by John Drummond Blakiana 2006 An issue by issue tour through the Tornado comic, where Sexton Blake appeared in the guise of Victor Drago. Read >> |
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Sexton Blake in the Penny Pictorial by Walter Webb The Collectors' Digest, Vol.23 Issue 272, 1969 The shortest Sexton Blake tales are also the rarest. Here Walter Webb takes a look at the sequence of stories that appeared in the Penny Pictorial magazine. Read >> |
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Blake and Empire: Mirroring the Zeitgeist by Mark Hodder Blakiana (2006) Sexton Blake was created at the height of the British Empire. This article follows the demise of the empire as reflected in the Blake stories. Read >> |