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BOOKS
Peter Cheyney was selling – even during the WWII – up to two million books a year, and peaked post-war at almost five million. His fame cannot be underestimated, and is in stark contrast with knowledge of his work now. This extract from the jacket blurb of Dark Interlude gives an idea of the importance of his books:
- During the war years the Cheyney “Dark” novels were a thorn in the side of our Nazi enemies. Circulated through Sweden into Denmark and Norway, they carried a message to those who needed cheer and encouragement in their secret and dangerous tasks. It was a Swedish publisher who smuggled Dark Duet into Paris, passed it to M. Sven Neilson (who publishes the “Dark” books in France to-day) while the Germans still occupied the city. Dark Duet, set up by Resistance Units, was the first British novel to be openly on sale in Paris as the German troops moved out – and all this without a word between author and publisher: it was neither possible nor necessary. Cheyney’s agents – both women – were missing: one in a concentration camp, the other shot by the Gestapo.
This is not to make any claims for important literature, just its place in history. His style was incredibly popular, is still very readable and clearly struck a chord in war-torn Europe. At the time there was critisism of the violence (although it was nothing to compare with what the serviemen were seeing) – it must have beeen the ruthlessness that was shocking: that even a beautiful woman was not safe from a violent end.
You’ll find no actual sex in any of the books, but there are pages and pages of flirtation and seduction. The descriptions of the characters’ clothing and demeanours are often seductions in themselves, there is much mutual appreciation and then it’s on with the story. Cheyney’s mother was a corset-maker and they lived above the shop, so Peter had a complete understanding, and obvious enjoyment, of fabrics and clothes design, both in his writing and his own wardrobe.
Although not entirely enlightened in some areas, there is no shortage of strong women in Cheyney’s writing. The women are generally independent, intelligent, and often the main protagonists. Some of the stories of Julia Herron are even written in the first person. She is not a man in womens clothing, but has an entirely diferrent (and equally effective) set of thought patterns. Peter Cheyney’s life was full of strong women, not least his mother who helped support him even into his married life. His wives and other female friends were never shrinking violets.
His writing started early (see International Best-Selling Author), and his style is generally acknowledged to have matured late in his career with the later “Dark” books, featuring the characters of Quayle, Guelvada, Kane, Vallon and O’Mara. But his best-known creations are the American detective Lemmy Caution and the English Slim Callaghan, featuring in almost half his novels between them, and nearly all the film adaptations.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
FIRST WORLD WAR POETRY
Poems of Love and War (1916)
To Corona and Other Poems (1917)
MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS
Three Character Sketches (1927)
I Guarded Kings: The Memoirs of a Political Police Officer (ghost written for Harold Brust) (1935)
In Plain Clothes: Further Memoirs of a Political Police Officer (ghost written for Harold Brust) (1937)
Best Stories of the Underworld (editor) (1942)
NOVELS
* US re-titled editions
This Man Is Dangerous (1936; Lemmy Caution)
Dames Don't Care (1937; Lemmy Caution)
Poison Ivy (1937; Lemmy Caution)
Can Ladies Kill? (1938; Lemmy Caution)
The Urgent Hangman (1938; Slim Callaghan)
Dangerous Curves (1939; Slim Callaghan)
Don’t Get Me Wrong (1939; Lemmy Caution)
Another Little Drink (1940; Nick Bellamy))
You Can’t Keep the Change (1940; Slim Callaghan)
You’d Be Surprised (1940; Lemmy Caution)
It Couldn’t Matter Less (1941; Slim Callaghan)
A Trap for Bellamy (1941; Nick Bellamy)
Your Deal, My Lovely (1941; Lemmy Caution)
Dark Duet (1942; Kane, Guelvada, Quayle)
Never a Dull Moment (1942; Lemmy Caution; Slim Callaghan)
Sorry You’ve Been Troubled (1942; Slim Callaghan)
*Farewell to the Admiral (1943 )
*Premeditated Murder (1943)
The Stars Are Dark (1943; Fells, Quayle)
The Unscrupulous Mr. Callaghan (1943; Slim Callaghan)
You Can Always Duck (1943; Lemmy Caution)
*Account Rendered (1944)
*The Counterspy Murders (1944)
The Dark Street (1944; O’Mara, Quayle)
*The London Spy Murders (1944)
They Never Say When (1944; Slim Callaghan)
I’ll Say She Does! (1945 ; Lemmy Caution)
Sinister Errand (1945; Kells, Guelvada, Quayle)
Dark Hero (1946; Rene Berg)
*The Dark Street Murders (1946)
*Time for Caution (1946; Lemmy Caution)
Uneasy Terms (1946; Slim Callaghan)
*The Case of the Dark Hero (1947)
Dance Without Music (1947; Caryl O'Hara)
Dark Interlude (1947; O'Mara, Guelvada, Quayle)
Dark Wanton (1948; Frewin, Guelvada, Quayle)
Try Anything Twice (1948)
*The Man Nobody Saw (1949)
One of Those Things (1949; Terence O’Day)
You Can Call It a Day (1949; Johnny Vallon)
Dark Bahama (1950; Johnny Vallon)
*Lady Beware (1950 )
Lady, Behave! (1950; Johnny Vallon)
*Set-Up for Murder (1950)
Ladies Won’t Wait (1951; Michael Kells)
*Mistress Murder (1951)
*I’ll Bring Her Back (1952)
*Cocktails and the Killer (1957)
*Sinister Murders (1957)
*Case of the Dark Wanton (1958)
*The Terrible Night (1959)
*Undressed to Kill (1959)
*Callaghan (1973)
SHORT STORY BOOKS & COLLECTIONS
You Can’t Hit a Woman and Other Stories (1937)
Knave Takes Queen (1939; enlarged edition 1950)
Mr. Caution – Mr. Callaghan (1941; Slim Callaghan, Lemmy Caution)
Calling Mr. Callaghan (1943; Slim Callaghan)
The Adventures of Alonzo MacTavish (1943; Alonzo MacTavish)
Alonzo MacTavish Again (1943; Alonzo MacTavish)
The Murder of Alonzo (1943; Alonzo MacTavish)
Love with a Gun and Other Stories (1943)
Making Crime Pay (colleted stories, articles, radio plays) (1944)
Account Rendered (1944)
Making Crime Pay (1944)
Night Club (1945, Poynings)
The Adventures of Julia (1945)
Dance Without Music (1945)
A Tough Spot for Cupid and Other Stories (1945)
Escape from Sandra (1945; Quayle)
Night Club (1945; Rufus Grant) AKA Dressed to Kill (1952)
You Can’t Trust a Duchess and Other Stories (1945)
Vengeance with a Twist and Other Stories (1946; Slim Callaghan)
Date After Dark and Other Stories (1946; Slim Callaghan)
G Man at the Yard (1946; Lemmy Caution)
He Walked in Her Sleep and Other Stories (1946; Alonzo MacTavish)
The Man with Two Wives and Other Stories (1946; Slim Callaghan)
A Spot of Murder and Other Stories (1946; Slim Callaghan)
Time for Caution (1946)
Lady in Green and Other Stories (1947; Alonzo MacTavish)
A Matter of Luck and Other Stories (1947; Alonzo MacTavish)
The Curiosity of Etienne MacGregor (1947; Etienne MacGregor) AKA The Sweetheart of the Razors
Cocktail for Cupid and Other Stories (1948)
Cocktail Party and Other Stories (1948)
Information Received and Other Stories (1948)
The Lady in Tears and Other Stories (1948)
No Ordinary Cheyney (1948)
The Unhappy Lady and Other Stories (1948; Alonzo MacTavish)
Lemmy Caution Omnibus (1952; This Man is Dangerous, Dames Don’t Care, I’ll Say She Does)
Velvet Johnnie and Other Stories (1952)
Meet Mr Callaghan (1953; collection of The Urgent Hangman, Dangerous Curves & Uneasy Terms)
G Man at the Yard (1953; Lemmy Caution, Slim Callaghan, Alonzo MacTavish)
The Adventures of Julia and Two Other Spy Stories (1954; Julia Herron) AKA Killing Game, You’d Be Surprised
The Best Stories of Peter Cheyney (1954)
He Walked in Her Sleep (1954; Alonzo MacTavish) AKA MacTavish
The Mystery Blues and Other Stories Peter Cheyney (1954) AKA Fast Work
OTHER SHORT STORIES (note: most of these stories were re-published in collections)
A Double Double-Cross (May 1924, Hutchinson’s Mystery Story Magazine)
Nice Work (October 5, 1936, London Evening Standard; Lemmy Caution)
The Man with the Red Beard (1943, Todd)
Abie Always Pays (Abie Hymie Finkelstein)
Abie and the Gangsters (Abie Hymie Finkelstein)
Abie in Hollywood (Abie Hymie Finkelstein)
Abie the Sleuth (Abie Hymie Finkelstein)
Account Overdue
The Affair of Mrs. Lotus Leaf (Etienne MacGregor)
After Fiesta
Ain’t Love a Scream (Lemmy Caution)
Alonzo-Sportsman! (Alonzo MacTavish)
Angel in the Sky
The Arrest (Alonzo MacTavish)
At the Grape-Vine (Slim Callaghan)
La Belle Dame Sans Souci
The Big Bluff (Slim Callaghan)
The Big Shot (Lemmy Caution)
Big-Time Stuff (Lemmy Caution)
Birthday for Callaghan (Slim Callaghan)
The Biter Bit (Alonzo MacTavish)
The Black Mantilla (Alonzo MacTavish)
Black-Out (Slim Callaghan)
The Bump-Off
Callaghan Plus Cupid (Slim Callaghan)
The Callaghan Touch (Slim Callaghan)
Cash, Please! (Etienne MacGregor)
Checkmate (Etienne MacGregor)
Chicago Pay-Off
China Tea (Etienne MacGregor)
Chinese Music (Alonzo MacTavish)
Christmas for Callagha (Slim Callaghan)
Clash with Doctor Klatt (Alonzo MacTavish)
Cocktail for Cupid
Cocktail Party
Dames Are So Dizzy (Lemmy Caution)
Dance Without Music (Caryl O'Hara)
The Date After Dark (Slim Callaghan)
The De Lanier Technique
Death in the Lift
The Death on Panhandle
Delayed Action (Terence O'Day)
The Demure Lady (Etienne MacGregor)
The Dencourt Stiletto (Slim Callaghan)
The Diamond Scarab (Alonzo MacTavish)
The Disappearing Diamonds (Slim Callaghan)
Documentary Evidence (Slim Callaghan)
Double Alibi (Slim Callaghan)
Duet for Mobsters (Lemmy Caution)
Enter Alonzo MacTavish (Alonzo MacTavish)
Escape for Sandra
Esteban
Exit Permit
Fast Work
Fifth Column (Slim Callaghan)
From the Neck Up! (Lemmy Caution)
“G” Man at the Yard
Gangster Stuff
Getlin’s Perfect Suicide
The Gigolo
Green in My Eye
Greensleeves (Etienne MacGregor)
The Guess Comes Off (Slim Callaghan)
Gun Moll Blues
The Gypsy Warned Me
He Walked in Her Sleep (Alonzo MacTavish)
He Who Laughs Last (Alonzo MacTavish)
The Heat for Six (Lemmy Caution)
Hey...Duchess! (Lemmy Caution)
Hey...Sherlock (Lemmy Caution)
Honour Among Thieves
The House with the Glass Roof (Alonzo MacTavish)
The House with the Yellow Bricks (Alonzo MacTavish)
The Humour of Huang Chen
The Humour of Lo-Chung
I Should Know Better
In the Bag (Slim Callaghan)
In the Hall (Slim Callaghan)
Information Received
It Comes Off Sometimes (Slim Callaghan)
It Runs in the Family (Slim Callaghan)
Julia Rose Petal (Etienne MacGregor)
The Key
Lady in Green (Alonzo MacTavish)
Lady in Love (Slim Callaghan)
Lady in Luck (Julia Herron)
The Lady in Tears (Slim Callaghan)
A Lady of Quality
The Last Straw
A Life for a Lamp
Love and Larceny (Terence O'Day)
Love with a Gun
Luck...and a Lady (Alonzo MacTavish)
The Lucky Chance
The Man with the Eyeglass
The Man with the Red Beard
The Man with Two Wives (Slim Callaghan)
A Matter of Cooperation (Slim Callaghan)
A Matter of Habit
A Matter of Luck (Alonzo MacTavish)
The Mauser Pistol (Alonzo MacTavish)
Mayfair Melody
The Missing Bullet (Slim Callaghan)
The Missing Rembrandt (Alonzo MacTavish)
The Mouthpiece Talks (Lemmy Caution)
The Murder of Alonzo (Alonzo MacTavish)
Murder with a Twist (Slim Callaghan)
The Mystery Blues (Alonzo MacTavish)
The Net of Dr. Klatt
Night Club
Not So Dumb
Not-So-Secret Service! (Julia Herron)
Of a Delay in the Post
Of an Experience of Pierre Duchesne
Of Honoria Dove-Mellifleur
Of Pastoral Blackmail
Of Perfume and Sudden Death
Of the Demise of Mr. Evelyn Sout
Of the Dream of Erasmus Bellamy
Of the King of Tarragona
Of the Reclamation of Captain Kidd
Of the Vengeance of Hyacinth Jones
On the Cards (Slim Callaghan)
One Born Every Minute
One for the Dutchess
One for the Heiress (Lemmy Caution)
The Orange Kid
The Other Uncle (Etienne MacGregor)
The Pay-Off
The Peacock Fan (Alonzo MacTavish)
The Perfumed Ghost
The Pin
Poets Can’t Take It
Portrait of a “G” Man
The Return of Klatt (Alonzo MacTavish)
The River That Ran Sideways (Etienne MacGregor)
A Set-Up for Psychology
The Sleeping Car
The Sleeping Glass
The Sliding Scale (Etienne MacGregor)
The Smoking Lamp (Etienne MacGregor)
Sob-Stuff (Lemmy Caution)
Sold! (Alonzo MacTavish)
A Spot of Murder (Slim Callaghan)
A Square Deal
Sweet Murder at Figg’s End
The Sweetheart of the Razors (Etienne MacGregor)
The Telephone Talks (Slim Callaghan)
They Had an Alibi (Lemmy Caution)
They Had It Comin’ (Lemmy Caution)
They Kidnapped Cecelia (Slim Callaghan)
This “Other Woman” Stuff (Julia Herron)
This Intuition Business (Carew)
The Three Grey Men of Mote Hall (Alonzo MacTavish)
Three Men on Tampa
The Tiger at Twelve
To Him Who “Waits” (Alonzo MacTavish)
Too Many Cooks (Alonzo MacTavish)
A Tough Spot for Cupid (Carew)
Truth Is Never Acceptable
The Unhappy Lady (Alonzo MacTavish)
Velvet Johnnie
Vengeance with a Twist (Slim Callaghan)
We Girls Must Hang Together
The Weeping Lady
The Wine Glass (Lemmy Caution)
The Wo Hang Coffin (Alonzo MacTavish)
A Woman Scorned
The Yellow Kaffir (Etienne MacGregor)
You Can’t Hit a Woman
You Can’t Trust Duchesses (Slim Callaghan)
You Can’t Trust Husbands
You’d Be Surprised (Julia Herron)
Your Deal Madame
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