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Information About

Sax Rohmer




Born in Birmingham he had an entirely Working Class education and early career before beginning to write. His first published work was in 1903, the short story ''The Mysterious Mummy'' for Pearson's Weekly. He made his early living writing comedy sketches for performers and short stories and serials for magazines. In 1909 he married Rose Knox. He published his first novel in 1910, ''Pause!'' and the first Fu Manchu story, ''The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu'' was serialized over 1912-13. It was an immediate success with its pacy and racist story of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie facing the worldwide conspiracy of the 'Yellow Peril'. The Fu Manchu stories, together with those featuring Gaston Max or Morris Klaw, made Rohmer one of the most successful and well-paid writers in of the 1920s and 1930s. But Rohmer was very poor at handling his wealth. After World War II the Rohmers moved to New York.

A number of films were made featuring Dr. Fu Manchu. ''The Mask of Fu Manchu'' (1932), featuring Boris Karloff , was the best of those produced in the 1930s, mainly because of a wonderfully slinky and sadistic performance by Myrna Loy as Fa Lo See, Fu Manchu's evil daughter. The name was revived in a very variable series starring Christopher Lee in the 1960s with ''The Face of Fu Manchu'' (1965), ''The Brides of Fu Manchu'' (1966), ''The Vengeance of Fu Manchu'' (1967), ''The Blood of Fu Manchu'' (1968), and ''The Castle of Fu Manchu'' (1969). Pulp film legend Harry Alan Towers produced two films based on the ''Sumuru'' character in the 1960s, and an updated space fantasy version in 2002.


SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • ''Pause!'', 1910

  • ''The Sins of Severac Bablon'', 1912

  • ''The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu'', Title: The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu 1913

  • ''The Yellow Claw'', 1915

  • ''The Devil Doctor'', Title: The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu 1916

  • ''The Si-Fan Mysteries'', Title: The Hand of Fu Manchu 1917

  • ''Brood of the Witch Queen'', 1918

  • ''Tales of Secret Egypt'', 1918

  • ''Dope'', 1919

  • ''The Golden Scorpion'', 1919

  • ''Quest of the Sacred Slipper'', 1919

  • ''The Dream Detective'', 1920

  • ''The Green Eyes of Bast'', 1920

  • ''The Haunting of Low Fennel'', 1920

  • ''Bat Wing'', 1920

  • ''Tales of Chinatown'', 1922

  • ''Fire Tongue'', 1922

  • ''Grey Face'', 1924

  • ''Yellow Shadows'', 1925

  • ''Moon of Madness'', 1927

  • ''She Who Sleeps'', 1928

  • ''The Book of Fu Manchu'', of first 3 Books 1929

  • ''The Daughter of Fu Manchu'', 1931

  • ''Yu'an Hee See Laughs'', 1932

  • ''Fu Manchu's Bride'', 1933

  • ''The Bat Flies Low'', 1935

  • ''White Velvet'', 1936

  • ''The Drums of Fu Manchu'', 1939

  • ''The Island of Fu Manchu'', 1941

  • ''The Shadow of Fu Manchu'', 1948

  • ''The Sins of Sumuru'', Title: Nude in Mink 1950

  • ''The Slaves of Sumuru'', Title: Sumuru 1952

  • ''Virgin in Flames'', Title: Fire Goddess 1953

  • ''Sand and Satin'', Title: Return of Sumuru 1955

  • ''Sinister Madonna'', 1956

  • ''Re-enter Fu Manchu'', 1957



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