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THE demand for the three books by Mr. Edgar Wallace which we have already published— "The Melody of Death," "Angel Esquire" and "The Thief in the Night"—never slackens for a moment. Mr. Wallace is a phenomenal "best seller." He is not the Author of one or two books which have sold quite astonishingly well; he has written scores of volumes which have attained such sales. Every book which he writes gives pleasure to many thousands of readers. A new Edgar Wallace story is a welcome event in the lives of countless people.

"Elegant Edward" is another entirely new Edgar Wallace book. It is a volume of short stories. And readers will find that the stories contained in it present the Author in a merry vein. This is one of the most entertaining volumes that he has ever written. It has the genuine thrill of an Edgar Wallace book. Each story deals with crooks and detectives, and the unexpected occurs in every tale. The reader has hardly recovered from one surprise before he is confronted with the next. And though there are seven short stories in this book, the volume has a unity, for each story in the main concerns the adventures of the same crook— Elegant Edward. He is a droll character. His crimes are not conceived in a spirit of overwhelming and deadly seriousness. There is a light touch in all his performances. Nor is his skill always of such a high order that he outwits the police. His encounters with them are almost in the nature of a friendly game in which the better man, whoever he may happen at the time to be, wins, with no lasting ill-feeling on the part of his opponent—all according to the true spirit and tradition of British sport. Sometimes Elegant Edward is the better man. On equally frequent occasions he is not. But he is clever, as well as droll. And his criminal escapades give Mr. Wallace an opportunity for some really humorous descriptions of comic situations. Thus there is a delightful variety about the entertainment in this book. The combination of humour, ingenuity and thrill is remarkably pleasing. This is Mr. Wallace in one of his lightest and most charming moods.

Moreover, he shows himself a very skillful writer of the short story. Immediately at the beginning of each tale he arouses the reader's interest, subtly introducing some fact half clothed in mystery which provokes curiosity; and he keeps that curiosity alive, excited but still unsatisfied until almost the last word of each narrative. And the conclusion, when it comes, is usually so unexpected but appropriate that one finds oneself immediately plunging into the next tale to enjoy another dose of such intriguing mystery. That is the essential quality of a short story in a volume of short stories. Each tale should leave the reader requiring more of such stuff. Each should be an irresistible provocation to him to go on and peruse the next. "Elegant Edward" contains seven such stories. No one who picks up this book will lay it down after reading only two or three of its episodes; it will not be put aside until they have all been enjoyed. It is a pleasure to introduce to the vast host of the Author's admirers this book which shows him in such an extremely delightful mood.

The Editor