Sexton Blake

Sexton Blake Meets His Greatest Female Foe!

"What a wonderful woman!... What a brain-what thoroughness! Truly, my unknown friend, you give the chase a decided zest!" Sexton Blake, Beyond Reach of the Law

Mademoiselle Yvonne Cartier. Yvonne the Adventuress. The Princess of Mystery. Whatever her title, most fans agree her first appearance changed Sexton Blake's world forever. No female adversary before her matched her in style and daring, no one before her captured the detective's heart so thoroughly. She quickly became a fan favourite and appeared in Blake adventures for thirteen years, at first matching wits with the great detective and then later fighting alongside him.

Yvonne's story begins with an act of betrayal. Towards the end of the Edwardian age, the Cartiers are swindled out of their land in Australia. Yvonne swears vengeance upon the eight men who destroyed her family and begins to go after them one by one. Her exploits were wildly popular, the public enthralled by the tale of a young woman righting wrongs in the vein of a female Count of Monte Cristo. Readers wrote in from all around the globe, praising the Yvonne tales, some asking the editors to have Sexton Blake marry Yvonne and have them fight crime side by side.

The 'Vengeance Series' ran in the Union Jack from January to July 1913 and was comprised of the eight titles collected in this anthology: Beyond Reach of the Law, When Greek Meets Greek, On the Brink of Ruin, Settling Day, A Minister of the Crown, The Detective Airman, The Missing Guests and By Right of Possession. Of special note: When Greek Meets Greek also marks the debut of legendary Blake foe Dr. Huxton Rymer. You'll find out more about him in our second Teed anthology Sexton Blake: Rymer and Wu Ling.

This is the first of fourteen anthologies that collects G. H. Teed's most popular works from 1913 to 1917. Each edition includes all of the original illustrations! Enjoy!