Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, and dramatic productions since 1893. He was featured in various British publications from 1893 to 1978 in a variety of formats: single-issue adventures, short stories, serials, and comic strips. In total, Blake appeared in more than 4,000 stories by over 200 different authors. During its golden age (1920s–1940s), Blake's adventures were widely read and translated into at least twenty different languages, including Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, French, Arabic, Hindi, and Afrikaans.
Publication history The first Sexton Blake story was "The Missing Millionaire". Written by Harry Blyth (using the pseudonym Hal Meredeth), it was published in The Halfpenny Marvel number 6, on 20 December 1893, a story paper owned by the Amalgamated Press. Blyth wrote six more Sexton Blake tales, three for the Marvel and three for The Union Jack a story paper launched in April 1894.
The Amalgamated Press purchased the copyright to Blake along with the first story Blyth had submitted and from 1895 onwards several authors began to pen Blake tales. From August 1905 Blake became the resident character in The Union Jack, appearing in every issue until its transformation into the Detective Weekly in 1933.
Blake's popularity began to grow during the Edwardian era, and he appeared in a number of different story papers. These appearances included serials in the tabloid sized Boys' Friend, complete tales in the pocket-sized Penny Pictorial, and short stores in Answers, one of the Amalgamated Press' most popular papers. Longer tales of 60,000 words or so appeared in The Boys' Friend Library and the success of these led to the creation of The Sexton Blake Library in 1915. This digest-sized publication specialized in longer tales, and at the height of its popularity was published 5 times a month.It ran for just under 50 years.
In 1959 Fleetway Publications acquired the rights to Sexton Blake adventures and published The Sexton Blake Library until the title's demise. The final tale, The Last Tiger, was published in June 1963.
In 1965, Blake editor William Howard Baker licensed the rights of the Sexton Blake character. He published the fifth series of The Sexton Blake Library independently via Mayflower-Dell Books, which ran until 1968. He then issued a final series of four Sexton Blake novels, using his Howard Baker Books imprint, in 1969. From 1968 to 1971 Valiant published new comic strips in the style of the Knockout strips from decades earlier. Blake's last original appearance was in Sexton Blake and the Demon God "a period thriller with ancient curses and cliff-hanger endings" in 1978.
There were a few anthologies and reprints in the 80s and 90s. In 2009 Wordsworth Books published the casebook of Sexton Blake and Snowbooks published Sexton Blake Detective. 2018 saw an uptick in Sexton Blake reprints, with the first print novels published by Stillwoods Publishing, a Canadian publisher out of Nova Scotia. In 2020 ROH Press began publishing Sexton Blake tales with Sexton Blake The Early Years, a collection of Blake's first cases. British publishers Rebellion Publishing produced four anthologies in 2020–21, each introduced by Blakeologist Mark Hodder.
Compiling the Sexton Blake bibliography The bibliography originated in the pages of Story Paper Collectors' Digest where collectors began recording and compiling the list of Blake tales that appeared in The Union Jack and The Sexton Blake Library. A master corpus was assembled in the late 1950s by The Sexton Blake Circle to facilitate the research of the Blake story papers.Packman, J. Blakiana, Collectors Digest v12 #135, 1958, p. 87
Titles and authorship were verified from the archived records of the Amalgamated Press.Packman, Josie Sexton Blake Library Titles and Authors. Collectors' Digest #158, February 1960 pp. 44–45 Available at http://www.friardale.co.uk/Collectors%20Digest/1960-02-CollectorsDigest-v14-n158.pdf As many of authors published in The Union Jack before 1929 were uncredited, the Sexton Blake Circle adopted the practice of accrediting authorship to the person who received payment for the tale until proven otherwise.Webb, W. The Author Who Died Twice, Collectors' Digest Christmas Annual 21, 1967 p109 Led by Len and Josie Packman expansion and revision on the master corpus was ongoing throughout the early 1960s as research brought more titles to light.Turner, E.S. Old Boys' Papers, Weekend Telegraph #7, 6 November 1964
The Sexton Blake Catalogue was published in 1966. The announcement in Story Paper Collectors' Digest read:
In 1970 Josie Packman announced a reprint of the Sexton Blake Catalogue along with a "supplement of all the new information."Packman, J. Blakiana Collectors Digest, v24 #286, October 1970, p 10
In July 1971 its completion and availability was announced in the Collector's Digest with the following announcement:
Since publication the Catalogue and supplement have been considered an "invaluable" tool by researchers interested in the Blake canon.Hawkey, L. Do You Know, Collectors' Digest Vol 44, #525, 1990 p 22Bridgewater, J. The Disguised Detective, Collectors' Digest Vol 44, #522, 1990 p 9 As Blake research was ongoing as new information or titles were discovered in primary sources, the catalogue was updated.Hopkins, R. Sexton Blake Penny Pictorial Reprints in the 1927 Popular, Collectors' Digest Vol 45, #529, 1991 p7
The catalogue provided verification that Sexton Blake had appeared in roughly 4000 tales by around 200 authors. Based on this statistic, Otto Penzler and Chris Steinbrunner writing in the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, concluded that Sexton Blake was "the hero of more novels and stories than any other detective."Steinbrunner, Chris; Penzler, Otto. Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, McGraw-Hill 1976, p7
In 1993 the second edition of the "famous Sexton Blake Catalogue" was announced in honour of the detective's 100th birthday. The announcement read:
It was issued by The Sexton Blake Library of the London Old Boys' Book Club.Hawkey, L. Do You Know, Collectors' Digest Vol 47, #563, 1993, p 19
Additions to the catalogue since 1993 have been made from publisher and retailer websites. ISBN numbers, where applicable, have been added to assist verification.
The Sexton Blake bibliography parts 1 to 4 Due to the extreme length of the bibliography it has been divided into four eras:Nevins, J. The Encyclopaedia of Pulp Heroes, 2017
1893–1911: The Victorian/Edwardian Era Sexton Blake bibliography 1912–1945: The Master Criminals Era Sexton Blake bibliography part 2: 1912–1945 1946–1978: The Post War Era Sexton Blake bibliography part 3: 1946–1978 1979–present: Revivals and Republications: Sexton Blake bibliography part 4: 1979–present
Notes to the cases All authors have been listed and linked to their Wikipedia biographies where possible. Many of these authors are remembered nowadays for the adversaries they pitted against Blake or the femme fatales they introduced. Many of these popular characters and their appearances have been described and included as well as key incidents in the life of Sexton Blake.
1893 Amalgamated Press era begins
Sexton Blake's career began on 13 December 1893, the same month that Sherlock Holmes appeared in "The Final Problem". Blake was one of many detectives created in the 1890s to fill the void created by the tale Sir Arthur Conan Doyle intended to be the final Holmes story.
Publication Title Format Author Key Characters Notes Halfpenny Marvel 6 The Missing Millionaire Complete Story Hal Meredeth (Harry Blyth) Detective Jules Gervaise Sexton Blake's debut adventure. By the end of the tale he partners with French detective Jules Gervaise. Gervaise was a tribute to the popular French detectives created by writer Émile Gaboriau. During that era it was considered an honour for an up-and-coming detective to work with a French "mentor." Blake fights against The Red Lights of London and puts an end to the machinations of Madame Dulk. Halfpenny Marvel 7 A Christmas Crime Continuation of previous tale Hal Meredeth (Harry Blyth) Blake's second case and he is smitten with the heroine Lillie Ray – the first but not the last time he falls for a woman connected to a case.
1894 Publication Title Format Author Key Characters Notes Illustrated Chips 225–226 The Lamp of Death Serial. Part 1 & 2 Patrick Morris (W. De Montmorency) Muriel Lane The first Sexton Blake serial. Sexton Blake meets Muriel Lane a woman who would eventually become his wife. Halfpenny Marvel 11 A Golden Ghost; or, Tracked by a Phantom Complete tale Harry Blyth Blake is solo on this case. Halfpenny Marvel 33 Sexton Blake's Peril! Complete tale Hal Meredeth (Harry Blyth) Blake fights The Terrible Three. The Union Jack (1st Series) 2 Sexton Blake; Detective Complete tale Harry Blyth Sexton Blake debuts in the story paper that will make him famous. The editor markets Blake as a real person. There is no sign of Jules Gervaise. The Union Jack (1st Series) 15 Sexton Blake's Triumph! Complete tale Hal Meredith (Harry Blyth) Blake matches wits with a villain known as The Slaughterer.
1895 Publication Title Format Author Key Characters Notes Illustrated Chips 227–245 The Lamp of Death (Serial. Parts 3 to 21) Patrick Morris (W. De Montmorency) The completion of the first Sexton Blake serial. Pluck 56 Christmas Clues Anon (Harry Blyth & Maxwell Scott (John William Staniforth)) Detective Nelson Lee Detective Gideon Barr A team up of sorts. Sexton Blake spends Christmas (well Boxing Day actually) with two rival detectives: Nelson Lee (created by Maxwell Scott) and Gideon Barr (created by Harry Blyth). The three are great friends, the latter two detectives having made their debut in 1894. Gideon Barr faded into obscurity after five tales. Nelson Lee rivalled Blake in popularity and was perhaps even more popular than Blake during the Victorian era.Holland, S. Children's Books and Magazines, Story Papers Index The Union Jack (1st Series) 43 Tracked Around the World Sexton Blake (W. De Montmorency) Blake fights a spy named Nightsdale, who has stolen valuable government documents. His lodgings are in Shepherd's Bush. The Union Jack (1st Series) 58 The Marcel Mystery William Shaw Rae Blake deals with rival lovers. The Union Jack (1st Series) 62 A Clue from the Deep Sexton Blake (William Shaw Rae) A message in a bottle leads to many a chase. Sexton Blake lives in Norfolk Street, the Strand. The Union Jack (1st Series) 65 Sexton Blake's Stratagem William Shaw Rae Blake's valet is an ex-constable named Kennedy. The Union Jack (1st Series) 69 Nalda the Nihilist; or, Sexton Blake in Russia Anon. (W. J. Lomax) Sexton Blake has a maid named Sarah Ann. His chambers are on Norfolk Street, Strand. This is the first tale told in the first person where Sexton Blake is the narrator. The Union Jack (1st Series) 72 The Clue of the Dead Eyes Arnold Grahame The Union Jack (1st Series) 75 Tracked to the Death Valley Melton Whyte (G. Anderson) The Union Jack (1st Series) 82 Doctor Zebra's Doom Herbert Maxwell (W. J. Lomax) Blake matches wits with Doctor Zebra, an occultist, mesmerist and practitioner of the "Eastern Arts". The Union Jack (1st Series) 88 The Living Picture Anon. (William Shaw Rae)
1896 Publication Title Format Author Key Characters Notes The Union Jack (1st Series) 102–118 Shadowed and Haunted Serial. Parts 1–17 Anon. (Unknown) Sexton Blake investigates the murder of a forensic scientist. The Union Jack (1st Series) 125 How Sexton Blake Won His Spurs William Shaw Rae The tale relates how Sexton Blake solved his first case back in 1878. The Union Jack (1st Series) 138 Bravo, Blake! Bravo Blake was the nickname given to Blake while he studied at the Public School of Ashleigh.
1897