Sax Rohmer
The Edwardian thriller-master behind Fu Manchu — thrilling, hugely influential, and very much a product of its prejudiced age.
Sax Rohmer — pen name of Arthur Henry Ward — was a British author who became a publishing sensation in the early twentieth century with his Fu Manchu thrillers, pulpy tales of a criminal mastermind and the agents pursuing him. Hugely popular and influential on the thriller and pulp traditions, the books often verge into the fantastic with exotic science, secret weapons, and lurid menace.
It must be said plainly that Rohmer's work is steeped in the racist “yellow peril” stereotypes of its era, and the Fu Manchu character is a notorious example; we note this so readers know the historical context they're entering. Expect fast Edwardian-pulp adventure that is both influential and dated. Given how thoroughly these books carry the prejudices of their era, the individual book pages are worth checking before you choose where to start; each is rated for age and content, so you can read this influential but dated pulp with clear eyes and full context.
- For readers of vintage pulp thrillers
- The influential but dated Fu Manchu series
- Every title content-rated and age-guided
