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The Odyssey of Sexton Blake
Some facts and figures about the "greatest detective of them all," culled from many sources, by Michael Moorcock The following article appeared in ROGUE'S HARBOUR by Jack Trevor Story (June 1961 SBL4 #477) and is reproduced here with Mr Moorcock's kind permission. The illustrations did not appear in the original. 
"There was once a radio quiz in which a girl was asked to name a famous detective who lived in Baker Street. Her reply, 'Sexton Blake,' did not satisfy the B.B.C. quizmaster, though in thousands of homes it was doubtless accepted as the correct answer. Even when the quizmaster resorted to transparent prompting - 'No, I mean some detective or detectives who had homes in Baker Street,' the girl obstinately clung to her original reply."Mr. E. S. Turner, in his book BOYS WILL BE BOYS* described the above incident in a chapter called, naturally enough, The Odyssey of Sexton Blake. Referring to Miss Dorothy Sayers' reference to Blake as the nearest approach to a national folk-lore, Mr. Turner says: "If Sexton Blake is not a legendary hero of England ranking with King Arthur and Robin Hood, it is not the fault of his chroniclers, who at a modest estimate have turned out a total of 250,000,000 words about him; or of the film makers, whose efforts are not to be decried because they have rarely been seen in the West End of London. "To refer to Blake as a 'legendary hero of England' is, in any case, parochial; his exploits have appeared in Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Spanish and Afrikaans. In the unlikeliest corners of the globe tattered copies of Sexton Blake books are treasured. "Behind the Japanese lines in the Second World War, Lieutenant-Colonel F. Spencer Chapman alleviated his boredom with a chance-found copy of 'The Murdered Mahout' (see The Jungle is Neutral)." Discussing the early years of The Marvel - the first magazine to feature Blake - E. S. Turner defends allegations that Blake is the "poor man's Sherlock Holmes": "It is noteworthy that the Sexton Blake who appeared in the sixth number of Alfred Harmsworth's Marvel, published in 1893, in a story called 'The Missing Millionaire,' had almost none of the characteristics of Holmes. "The illustrations showed a well built, not particularly distinguished Victorian gentleman with a high crowned bowler, carrying a heavy walking-stick. Nor did he work in Baker Street but in New Inn Chambers."  * "BOYS WILL BE BOYS," by E. S. Turner. Published by Michael Joseph. 18/-. |