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Gerald Verner


(John Robert Stuart Pringle)
UK flag (1897 - 1980)

aka Thane Leslie, Derwent Steele, Donald Stuart, Nigel Vane

Gerald Verner (1897-1980) was a prolific writer of thrillers and wrote more than 120 novels translated into over 35 languages. Successful stage plays included adaptations of Peter Cheyneys The Urgent Hangman into Meet Mr.Callaghan (1952)  and the Agatha Christie thriller Towards Zero (1956).  Many of his books were adapted into radio serials, stage plays and films. In the 1930s he wrote for the magazines The Thriller and Detective Weekly.  With changed names of titles and the protagonists many of these stories were recycled as novels for the publisher Wright & Brown. His style was heavily influenced by that of Edgar Wallace.

He was born John Robert Stuart Pringle in Streatham, London on 31st January 1897 and died of natural causes at Broadstairs, Kent,  England on 16th September 1980. The Duke of Windsor was an avid fan of Verner's thrillers and was presented with a special edition of 15 of them bound in blue.

In his early days he used to write entirely under the name of Donald Stuart, including 44 stories for the Sexton Blake Library. He also wrote 6 stories for Union Jack and 3 for the The Thriller under this pseudonym as well as two stage plays and two films.  His other pseudonyms include Derwent Steele and Nigel Vane.
 

Genres: Mystery
 
Series
Trevor Lowe
   1. Phantom Hollow (1933)
   2. The Hangman (1934)
   3. The Lady of Doom (1934)
   4. The Next to Die (1934)
   5. Terror Tower (1935)
   6. The Watcher (1936)
   The Glass Arrow (1937)
   7. The Three Gnomes (1937)
   8. The Token (1937)
   9. The Clue of the Green Candle (1938)
   10. The River House Mystery (1938)
   Dene Of The Secret Service (1941)
   The Shadow Men (1961)
   11. Death Set in Diamonds (1965)
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Robert Budd
   Green Mask (1934)
   Sinister House (1934)
   The Cleverness of Mr. Budd (1935)
   The Crooked Circle (1935)
   Mr. Budd Investigates (1936)
   1. The Grim Joker (1936)
   2. The Jockey (1937)
   The Return of Mr. Budd (1938)
   3. The Silver Horseshoe (1938)
   4. The Witches' Moon (1938)
   Mr. Budd Again (1939)
   5. The Football Pool Murders (1939)
     aka The Coupon Crimes
   The House of the Goat (1940)
   6. The Huntsman (1940)
   7. The Twelve Apostles (1946)
   8. The Seven Lamps (1947)
   9. The Royal Flush Murders (1948)
   10. The Tipster (1949)
   11. The Whispering Woman (1949)
   12. Mr. Midnight (1953)
   13. The Nursery Rhyme Murders (1960)
   14. The Last Warning (1962)
   The Red Tape Murders (1962)
   15. Murder in Manuscript (1963)
   16. Six Men Died (1964)
   17. Mister Big (1966)
   The Seventh Virgin (2019) (with Chris Verner)
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Paul Rivington
   1. The Con Man (1934)
   2. White Wig (1935)
   3. The Frightened Man (1937)
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Peter Chard
   1. Thirsty Evil (1945)
   2. They Walk in Darkness (1947)
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Simon Gale
   1. Noose for a Lady (1952)
   2. Sorcerer's House (1956)
   3. The Snark was a Boojum (2017) (with Chris Verner)
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Novels
   Alias the Ghost (1933)
   The Black Hunchback (1933)
   Black Skull (1933)
   The Death Play (1933)
   The Embankment Murder (1933)
   The Black Gangster (1934) (as by Derwent Steele)
   The Menace Of Li-sin (1934) (as by Nigel Vane)
   The Squealer (1934)
   The White Friar (1934) (as by Donald Stuart)
   The Shadow (1934) (as by Donald Stuart)
   The Man Outside (1934) (as by Donald Stuart)
   The Avengers (1935) (as by Derwent Steele)
   The Devil's Dozen (1935) (as by Nigel Vane)
   The Phantom Slayer (1935) (as by Derwent Steele)
   The Purple Plague (1935) (as by Derwent Steele)
   The Q Squad (1935)
   Queer Face (1935)
   The Veils Of Death (1935) (as by Nigel Vane)
   The Vengeance Of Li-sin (1935) (as by Nigel Vane)
   Midnight Murder (1935) (as by Donald Stuart)
   The Man in the Dark (1935) (as by Donald Stuart)
   The Ghost Man (1936)
   The Hand of Fear (1936)
   The Midnight Men (1936) (as by Nigel Vane)
   The River Men (1936)
   The Poison Gang (1937) (as by Derwent Steele)
   The Vanishing Death (1937) (as by Nigel Vane)
   The Angel (1939)
   Mr. Whipple Explains (1940)
   The Nightmare Murders (1940)
   The Poisoner (1940)
   The Vampire Man (1941)
   The Show Must Go On (1950)
   The Crimson Ramblers (1960)
   Grim Death (1960)
   Ghost House (1961)
   The Third Key (1961)
   The Ghost Squad (1963)
   I Am Death (1963)
   The Faceless Ones (1964)
   The Moor House Murders (1964)
   Yu-Malu, The Dragon Princess (1967) (as by Thane Leslie)
   The Green Pen Mystery (2016) (as by Donald Stuart)
   The Hooded Terror (2016) (as by Donald Stuart)
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Anthologies containing stories by Gerald Verner
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Settling Scores (2020)
Sporting Mysteries
(British Library Crime Classics)
edited by
Martin Edwards
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The Long Arm of the Law (2017)
Classic Police Stories
(British Library Crime Classics)
edited by
Martin Edwards

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