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The Women in His Life by Walter Webb This article first appeared in THE COLLECTORS' DIGEST ANNUAL 1957 In this recapitulation of the feminine characters who appeared with varying degrees of prominence in the Blake saga, the title may give a quite misleading impression of the kind of man Sexton Blake really was. Under a heading perhaps better fitted to describe the amorous enterprises of some Don Juan, whose conquests were featured weekly for the consumption of impressionable teenagers in the pages of papers like the MIRACLE or ORACLE libraries, it might be supposed that Blake was a similar type of heart-throb. Nothing could be further from the truth! Blake, easy and relaxed in the company of his fellow men, was rather less sure of himself when faced by a bevy of attractive women at some social gathering, and was generally moved to a mood of secret satisfaction when the opportunity presented itself to him to escape their admiring eyes and coy glances. Such flattery, whilst acting as food and drink to the insatiable conceit of the gods-gift-to-woman type of lounge-lizard, was a bane to Blake, and only inspired in him a feeling of acute discomfort and embarrassment. We are not, at the moment, referring to the modern, wise-cracking and much tougher Blake of the present day libraries, but the Blake as we knew him best — the ascetic, stern-visaged yet kindly man, remorseless, yet compassionate, hated and feared, but respected by friend and foe alike as a man who fought with his heart as well as his hands — who resorted to the use of a weapon only as a means of defence of himself or those dear to him; the character who, in his heyday, enjoyed a popularity quite unique in the history of boys' papers, and, for that matter, of weekly and monthly journals as a whole. The feminine characters introduced in the Blake papers from time to time have been many and varied; some well known and affectionately remembered, some not so well known; others, having only made rare appearances, have ben completely forgotten. Of these latter, only those who justify their resurrection by reason of some unusual and interesting trait in their character, or who appeared in a case or story of particular interest or excellence, will be introduced. It is always more satisfactory to start at the beginning of things and deal with events in their proper perspective; so back to the early days of the ½d UNION JACK, when, according to Mr John G. Rowe, PENNY POPULAR contributor at that period, Ernest Goddard occupied the editorial chair. These days can be touched upon very briefly because, fortunately, femininity was introduced into the stories hardly at all. I say "fortunately" because on inspecting the results of most of the labour put in by the various so-called artists whose atrocious handiwork adorned the pages of the U.J., it is extremely doubtful whether they would have been able to draw a woman with any pretensions to femininity at all!  As the years went by an all round improvement was manifest; production was improved; better artists and authors were introduced, though still the feminine element was practically non-existent.
Then, on 19 August 1905 came one of the best-loved characters of them all — Mrs Martha Bardell, much esteemed housekeeper to Sexton Blake, who brought to the sombre atmosphere of the Baker Street residence welcome light relief, which increased to something approaching hilarity when Gwyn Evans came along and elevated her from a mere supporting role to a star billing. The mercurial and quizzical Evans seemed very fond of Mrs B and certainly many of we old-timers have eschewed with keen enjoyment the fruits which have materialised from the seeds of that affection. Plump and garrulous, her use of the English language was both weird and wonderful. Fashions changed, but not Mrs B. As her master clung tenaciously to that familiar and disreputable old red dressing-gown, much bespattered and discoloured with innumerable chemical stains, cigar and cigarette ash and what not, so the old lady held on to her beloved bombazine dress and old-fashioned elastic-sided boots. Yet the heart that beat beneath the ample bosom of that dress was a tender one, as witness her devotion to the motherless Tinker and the conscientious pride in the performance of her duties to her famous master. It is interesting to recall how some of the principal authors of those halcyon days handled Mrs. B and the varying degrees of tolerance and courtesy they permitted Blake to reveal when the old soul was in one of her most exasperating moods. Invariably, Gwyn Evans and Robert Murray had Blake showing great patience and good humour in the face of Mrs Bardell's tirade; W Murray Graydon, whose writings gave rise to the belief that he was lacking entirely in that richest of all natural gifts — a sense of humour — often had Blake irascible, petulant, and completely lacking in courtesy towards her. H Gregory Hill and Lewis Jackson were similar to Evans and Murray in their treatment of the old dame, but Gilbert Chester tended to follow Graydon, and his oft repeated phrase "my good woman" struck a jarring note. A lack of interest was apparent in the work of G. H. Teed, Andrew Murray, Anthony Skene and E. S. Brooks, for they rarely gave her more than a few lines to speak. Yes; Mrs Bardell was a grand and lovable character, and gave to the modest little residence in Baker Street much of that atmosphere of comfort and tranquillity that at all times infested it. A brief mention here of that tempestuous and shapely pillar of society, Lady Molly Maxwell, who aspired to become a lady detective with often disastrous results both to herself and to those who were unfortunate enough to solicit her aid. A product of the Edwardian era, she was given a write-up in C.D. No.113 (May 1956), so apart from reiterating the fact that she only appeared in the short stories in the PENNY PICTORIAL between the years 1908-9, we can pass on to another titled young aristocrat in the personality of Lady Marjorie Dorn. No doubt, Lady Dorn is completely unknown, but earns mention here by reason of the devastating effect she had on Blake's equanimity. She was beautiful, a born coquette, and the fortunate possessor of unlimited wealth. To endeavour to try and trace this character through issues of U.J., S.B.L., or D.W. would be useless, for she only appeared once, and that was in a very rare old issue of the BOYS' FRIEND 3d LIBRARY, entitled "The Mervyn Mystery" (No. 96), published in January 1910, The change in Blake in this story was something to marvel! Always a man of action, of course, he seemed imbued with an even greater zest for living; his air of reserve was completely dispelled as was the rather sombre atmosphere which always seemed to waft elusively about him. For Blake, believe it or not, fell in love with her ladyship! In those days it was an unheard of thing for Blake to be even attracted to one of the opposite sex, let alone flirt with one, but that is exactly what the rejuvenated Blake did with Lady Marjorie as the following extract from that story proves: She poised herself on the arm of Blake's chair, leaned a hand caressingly on his shoulder, and spread the letter beneath his eyes. Blake flashed her a tender glance, then gazed at the letter…And were Blake’s feelings for Lady Marjorie reciprocated? The following extract not only proves that they were, but gives an excellent idea of the high standard of writing the author — Michael Storm — gave to those early stories he wrote for the UNION JACK, besides providing an interesting pen-picture of Blake. The scene is Hyde Park and Blake and Lady Dorn, on horseback, are cantering down the Row: …she had pursued unruffled the serene tenor of her way, till fortune, capricious and wilful as herself had brought into her path the man now gazing into her face this bright June morning. She had been attracted by him at once. His perfect physique, so reposeful, yet so suggestive of force, the harmony and grace of his movements, the statuesque head of him, with its finely chiselled features instinct with strength, determination and restraint, and especially the deep, magnetic agate grey eyes, had all appealed to her, arresting her attention, exciting her curiosity and enthralling her imagination. She had glided insensibly into loving him without being aware of the fact, till now, as she gazed into his face, the sweet clamour of the bird songs, and the gracious joy of the day found a new echo in her heart, and she felt the warm blood dyeing her face, and her eyes fell suddenly away...Blake proposed, and would have been accepted but for the fact that he found it impossible to give up his profession. Said Blake: "I believe you chose wisely. I never had any right to ask you to tie your life to a life so strenuous and often dangerous as mine must be. But I can never regret it. It will be a very treasured memory."This far above the average Blake story featured George Marsden Plummer and Rupert Forbes, and is interesting for another reason. In the hundredth number of the C. D., in the article "The Mystery of Michael Storm", mention was made of a missing UNION JACK story which broke the sequence of events, linking "In Deadly Grip" (No. 302) and "The Swell Mobsman" (No. 315). The latter story began with Plummer just returning to consciousness following an attack upon him by Rupert Forbes after the pair had brought off a coup against the Bank of England and had kidnapped two beautiful society girls (of whom Lady Dorn was one) in the process. "The Mervyn Mystery" was the connecting link between those two stories; but why was it published as a double-length novel in the BOYS' FRIEND 3d LIBRARY? The only explanation which seems feasible is that it was originally two separate U.J. stories which, due to an oversight, were not published in rotation, and thus were joined together as one long, complete novel. In this story Rupert Forbes was savaged by three mastiffs, and died in Sexton Blake's arms. In his dealings with the rogue there was a strange reluctance on Blake's part to bring him to the justice he so well deserved. Tinker was puzzled, and as they sat in Hyde Park, following Lady Marjorie's rejection of Blake's proposal that sentimental streak, which only on very rare occasions the latter permitted himself to reveal, asserted itself briefly, as Tinker said: "There's a question I'd like to ask you, guv'nor."That was Sexton Blake 1910 vintage, palatable as the rare old wine matured from those sedate old days — a story long forgotten, but portraying Blake as he has never been portrayed before. A novel of the highest class; which only the hand of a master of his craft could have achieved. Off with the old love — on with the new! Not expressive of Blake's sentiments, perhaps, but that is what happened when Mademoiselle Yvonne Cartier made her bow between the pink covers of the UNION JACK. |