Cyril McNeile, MC (born Herman Cyril McNeile; 1888–1937) was a British soldier and author. During the First World War he wrote short stories based on his experiences in the trenches with the Royal Engineers. These were published in the Daily Mail under the pseudonym Sapper, the nickname of his regiment, and were later published as collections through Hodder & Stoughton. McNeile also wrote a series of articles titled The Making of an Officer, which appeared under the initials C. N., in five issues of The Times between 8 and 14 June 1916; these were also subsequently collected together and published. During the course of the war, McNeile wrote more than 80 collected and uncollected stories.

McNeile continued writing after he left the army in 1919, although he stopped writing war stories and began to publish thrillers. In 1920 he published Bulldog Drummond, whose eponymous hero became his best-known creation. The character was based on McNeile himself, his idea of an English gentleman and his friend Gerard Fairlie. McNeile wrote ten Bulldog Drummond novels, as well as three plays and a screenplay.

McNeile interspersed his Drummond work with other novels and story collections, including two characters who appeared as protagonists in their own works, Jim Maitland and Ronald Standish. McNeile was one of the most successful British popular authors of the inter-war period, before his death in 1937 from throat cancer, which has been attributed to being caught in a gas attack in the war.

Short story collections

+ The short story collections of H. C. McNeile Title Year of first publication First edition publisher Name or pseudonym used Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Sergeant Michael Cassidy, R.E. Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Men, Women, and Guns Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper No Man's Land Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Hodder & Stoughton (London) McNeile Hodder & Stoughton (London) McNeile Out of the Blue Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Jim Brent Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Word of Honour Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Shorty Bill Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper When Carruthers Laughed George H. Doran Company (New York) McNeile John Walters Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Sapper's War Stories Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Ronald Standish Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper 51 Stories Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Ask For Ronald Standish Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Littlehampton Book Services (Littlehampton) Sapper

Novels

+ The novels of H. C. McNeile Title Year of first publication First edition publisher Name or pseudonym used Mufti Hodder & Stoughton (London) McNeile Bull-Dog Drummond Hodder & Stoughton (London) McNeile Hodder & Stoughton (London) McNeile Jim Maitland Hodder & Stoughton (London) McNeile The Third Round Hodder & Stoughton (London) McNeile The Final Count Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper The Female of the Species Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Temple Tower Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Tiny Carteret Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper The Return of Bull-Dog Drummond Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Knock-Out (US title Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back) Hodder & Stoughton (London) SapperBull-Dog Drummond at Bay Hodder & Stoughton (London) SapperChallenge Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper Bulldog Drummond—His Four Rounds with Carl Peterson Hodder & Stoughton (London) Sapper

Others

+ Other works of H. C. McNeile Title Year of first publication First edition publisher Category Name or pseudonym used Notes Hodder & Stoughton (London) Newspaper articles C. N. Collection of articles first published in The Times Bulldog Drummond: A Play in Four Acts Samuel French Ltd (London) Play Sapper Co-published with Gerald du Maurier Bulldog Drummond Unpublished Screenplay Sapper Writing credit; based on the 1921 play of the same name Unpublished Play Sapper Staged in January 1930 Hodder & Stoughton (London) Short story collection McNeile, as editor Collection of stories by O. Henry Bulldog Jack Unpublished Screenplay McNeile With Gerard Fairlie, J.O.C. Orton and others; written for Gaumont British Bulldog Drummond Hits Out Unpublished Play McNeile Staged in 1937

Notes and references Notes

References

Bibliography Books

Journals

External links

Images of the original dust jackets on McNeile's books. Portraits of McNeile at the National Portrait Gallery, London.