Percival Christopher Wren
Description
Born in South London, became a school teacher, and went to India in 1903 as a headmaster and volunteer rifleman, back to England for a literary and secretive life (more).
Books
The spur of pride
Tale of intrigue and adventure in which a disgraced English officer becomes a secret agent in the Indian Intelligence service.
Sinbad the soldier
Thrilling adventure novel of a gun-runner "captured by Arabs, presented to the Mysterious White Sultan" and eventually becoming the Sultan's second in command in his desert army
Mysterious Waye, the story of "The unsetting sun"
The story of John Waye a fearless adventurer on a self imposed assignments of vengence.
Beau Ideal
This is the third volume in the "Beau . . ." series by P.C. Wren of which the first, "Beau Geste" Is the most well-known, In my opinion "Beau Ideal" is the best of the three. It is more coherent--avoiding the extended coda of the first book and the quite unsympathetic hero of the second, "Beau Sabreur". Yes, it has the colonial patriarchal racism, the culturally accepted sexism, and the ridiculous sense of duty and "stiff upper lip" of the time Here, however, the hero has a certain darkness of soul and the adventures are as exciting as ever.
Beau Sabreur
Sequal to "Beau Geste," the story of Michael, Digby and John Geste in the French Foreign Legion. The story begins as three Legionnaires do not return promptly from furlough and end up in the poky. There, the hero duels with a traitor and wins, causing him to gain the designation "Beau Sabreur." Later he is sent into the desert to learn the ways of the Arabs and to help forge a peace treaty. There he encounters a lovely American journalist. Meanwhile the defeated traitor tries to stop the treaty from going through.
Beau Geste
A cavalry unit, having crossed the Sahara to relieve a besieged French Foreign Legion fort, arrives to an eerie silence -- the enemy has vanished, and the post's walls and ramparts are defended by dead men. The fort's commander, slain by a bayonet through the heart, clutches a letter that links the riddle of the desert massacre to another mystery, the long-ago and far-away theft of a sapphire known as the Blue Water. It was the scandalous disappearance of the Blue Water that led to the self-exile of Beau, the oldest of the Geste brothers. John and Digby couldn't believe that Beau was a thief and refused to allow him to shoulder the blame alone. Thus all three Gestes turned up in North Africa, among the ranks of the Foreign Legion. Their story of suspense, betrayal, and bravery has inspired several movie versions and remains a favorite with readers who relish a classic adventure.
The Wages of Virtue
Written in 1913, starts with prologue explaining why the hero had to join the French Foreign Legion and stay there (more).
Dew and mildew
Wren's first book, with nineteen loosely connected stories describing Anglo-Indian life, touching on attempts to disrupt British rule by both Indians and English visitors. The stories are connected by a house built over a fakir's grave and so sullied by a curse repeatedly causing residents to die in strange ways.
Five Classic Adventure Novels
King Solomon's mines / by Sir Henry Rider Haggard -- Under the red robe / by Stanley Weyman -- The prisoner of Zenda / by Anthony Hope -- The lost world / by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- Beau Geste / by P.C. Wren.
King Solomon's Mines and Other Adventure Classics
Fort in the jungle
Adventure novel of a French Foreign legion officer being trapped in a jungle fort with his men after they accept a spy mission.
Classic Ghost Stories
Judge's house / Bram Stoker -- Upper berth / F. Marion Crawford -- Narrative of the Ghost of a hand / J. Sheridan Le Fanu -- To be taken with a grain of salt / Charles Dickens -- Tell-tale heart / Edgar Allan Poe -- Gabriel-Ernest / Saki -- Furnished room / O. Henry -- My own true ghost story / Rudyard Kipling -- Lost hearts / M.R. James -- Called / P.C. Wren -- Who knows? / Guy de Maupassant -- When I was dead / Vincent O'Sullivan -- Face / E.F. Benson -- Open window / Saki.
Heroic War Stories
Fair stood the wind for France / H.E. Bates -- How Brigadier Gerard won his medal / Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- The Invaders (from The Last enemy) / Richard Hillary - The War of the worlds / H.G. Wells -- All quiet on the western front / Erich Maria Remarque -- The Battle of Borodino (from War and peace) / Leo Tolstoy -- Catch 22 / Joseph Heller -- Buller's guns / Richard Hough -- Arctic convoy (from H.M.S. Ulysses) / Alistair MacLean -- The Red badge of courage / Stephen Crane -- Escape from Colditz (from They have their exits) / Airey Neave -- Goodbye to all that / Robert Graves -- The Moon's a balloon / David Niven -- The Warrior's soul / Joseph Conrad Fly for your life / Larry Forrester -- The Naked and the dead / Norman Mailer -- The Reason why / Cecil Woodham Smith -- The Affair at Coulter's Notch / Ambrose Bierce -- The Fort at Zinderneuf (from Beau Geste) / P.C. Wren -- The Cruel sea / Nicholas Monsarrat -- Waterloo (from Vanity fair / W.M. Thackeray -- Enemy coast ahead / Guy Gibson V.C. -- Into battle (from Her privates we) / Frederic Manning -
