37-512: James Green aka " Sudden " is a fictional character created by an English author Oliver Strange in the early 1930s as the hero of a series, originally published by George Newnes Books Ltd , set in the American Wild West era. Oliver Strange died in 1952, and the series was revived by Frederick H. Christian in the 1960s. Christian classified the books as "Piccadilly westerns", that is books written by English authors, simply drawing on
74-536: A home economics book published by Newnes is Housekeeping Made Easy: a Handbook of Household Management Appealing Chiefly to the Middle-Class Housekeeper ; by Mrs. Waldemar Leverton [c. 1910]; a more comprehensive manual called Home Management was edited by Alison Barnes and published in the 1950s in two volumes. Newnes took over publication of Chambers's Encyclopaedia in the period 1950–1966, putting out four new editions. Newnes retained
111-429: A Wild West setting of dusty towns, ranches, and saloons. Sudden's background story is not explicitly detailed but it is mentioned several times that as a young man, he promises his dying foster father that he will find the two men who cheated him and take revenge. In Sudden—Outlawed , which goes back to the beginning of his story, he has returned to Texas from an Eastern education, but sets out on his quest for revenge on
148-411: A cooperative relationship with former employee and fellow publisher C. Arthur Pearson (1866–1921), and by 1914, C. Arthur Pearson Ltd (founded in 1890) had essentially become an imprint of Newnes. With Pearson's death in 1921, this arrangement was formalized, and in 1929 Newnes purchased all outstanding shares of Pearson's company. The Pearson imprint focused mostly on magazines from the 1930s through
185-629: A director in the company, which exported rubber collected near the Inambari River in Peru. He was chairman of the board of directors of Commonwealth Oil Corporation , and the abandoned oil shale mining site of Newnes , in Australia, was named after him. Sir George Newnes died at his Lynton home in June 1910 aged 59, having suffered ill health from diabetes for some time. He was succeeded in
222-480: A diverse range of tit-bits of information presented in an easy-to-read format. He funded the magazine by opening a vegetarian restaurant in Manchester. The addition of competitions increased the readership of the periodical, and in 1884 Newnes moved publication to London. Tit-Bits reached a circulation of 700,000 by the end of the 19th century. It paved the way for popular journalism – most significantly,
259-469: A diverse range of tit-bits of information presented in an easy-to-read format. He funded the magazine by opening a vegetarian restaurant in Manchester. The addition of competitions increased the readership of the periodical, and in 1884 Newnes moved publication to London. He began to work with W. T. Stead , with whom he founded the Review of Reviews in 1890. Tit-Bits reached a circulation of 700,000 by
296-529: A town that either has several unlawful elements or recent conflicts and mysterious deaths. Sudden earns the respect of the townspeople, fights against all odds, defeats the villains, protects the wronged, and then rides out into the sunset to continue his search. Many events are repeated in all the stories, for example, fist fights in which the cowboy faces a bigger adversary without using any weapons, and emerges victorious; gun fights describing Sudden's lightning speed; and kidnapping-cum-rescue-cum-chase sequences as
333-467: A widower with references to Noreen clearly suggesting her death. The Range Robbers was the first book published, but when Oliver Strange continued the series, he went back and forth with Sudden's history and so the publication order is not the same as the chronological order. All Sudden novels are out of print today. Oliver Strange wrote 10 Sudden books – Frederick H. Christian wrote 5 Sudden books – George Newnes Books Ltd George Newnes Ltd
370-470: Is a British publisher. The company was founded in 1891 by George Newnes (1851–1910), considered a founding father of popular journalism. Newnes published such magazines and periodicals as Tit-Bits , The Wide World Magazine , The Captain , The Strand Magazine , The Grand Magazine , John O'London's Weekly , Sunny Stories for Little Folk , Woman's Own , and the "Practical" line of magazines overseen by editor Frederick J. Camm . Long after
407-568: Is now recognized as a leading publisher of electronics and electrical engineering books. George Newnes Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet (13 March 1851 – 9 June 1910) was a British publisher and editor and a founding figure in popular journalism. Newnes also served as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for two decades. His company, George Newnes Ltd , was known for such periodicals as Tit-Bits and The Strand Magazine ; it continued publishing consumer magazines such as Nova long after his death. His father, Thomas Mold Newnes,
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#1732798163999444-555: Is resolved. He is revealed to be Donald Peterson, son of one of the men he has been hunting, and he marries Noreen, who turns out to be the abducted daughter of his foster father. The other object of his search is the villain of this story, whom Sudden exposes and kills. The second story to be written, The Law o' the Lariat , follows on from The Range Robbers . In it Sudden, this time calling himself Jim Severn, has temporarily left his wife and family to go and help another rancher. However,
481-432: Is respectful of the law, unwilling to use a gun unless absolutely necessary, humanitarian, brave, strong, and fair. The first book was published in 1930 and was followed by 10 more until the 1940s and featured vivid descriptions of the western American landscape, rare in an author at that time. The series became popular for its exciting narrations combining elements of mystery, suspense, and action, with engaging characters, in
518-595: Is that of Sudden himself and Noreen. One of the young men he befriends, however, reappears in more than one of the stories. After Strange's death in 1952 the novels were still selling well, and an editor at Corgi Books in England had the idea of continuing the series, with the approval of Strange's family [1] . Under the name of Frederick H. Christian he produced "modest little three-weeks-to-write westerns", which also sold successfully. Christian not only copied two novels with almost similar story lines, but also botched up
555-571: The Daily Mail was founded by Alfred Harmsworth , a contributor to Tit-Bits , and the Daily Express was launched by Arthur Pearson , who worked at Tit-Bits for five years after winning a competition to get a job on the magazine. Newnes began to work with W. T. Stead , with whom he founded the Review of Reviews in 1890. In 1891 his publishing business was formed into George Newnes Ltd . Arguably Newnes' best-known publication
592-747: The Hulton Press – producing a diverse range of titles from Lady's Companion , Woman’s Own , Nova , Rave and Flair , to Practical Mechanics and Practical Television . In 1959, the company was purchased by Odhams Press , and in 1961, the company became part of the International Publishing Corporation . Further sales, in 1970 to Reed International , and a 1992 merger with Dutch science publisher Elsevier NV , left Newnes part of Reed Elsevier (now RELX Group ). Newnes, with offices in Oxford and Boston ,
629-653: The Lynton Village railway station and the Lynmouth Bay railway station .) Newnes provided a silver cup for the Newnes Trophy series of chess matches between Great Britain and the United States, conducted over transatlantic cable from 1896 to 1911. Newnes was involved in the creation of The Inambari Para-Rubber Estates, Limited and held 100,000 shares valued at £1 each. His son Frank became
666-601: The Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway — to join the two towns, and also provided the town hall and other amenities. Largely as a result of Sir George's efforts, the 19-mile Lynton and Barnstaple Railway opened in 1898 ostensibly to bring visitors from the mainline railways at Barnstaple. (He was also involved in funding the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway and the Clifton Rocks Railway , as well as
703-580: The "fancy goods" trade, working in London and Manchester. He began his career in publishing in 1881 when he founded Tit-Bits as a direct response to the Elementary Education Act 1870 which introduced education for children aged 5–12 and hence produced a new young generation able to read. The magazine was initially published in Manchester like a mini-encyclopedia, containing extracts from books and other publications, but principally
740-521: The 1924 Mount Everest expedition. He re-entered the Commons in 1900 as MP for Swansea , and held the seat until he retired at the January 1910 general election . Newnes built a large home called Hollerday House in Lynton , North Devon . It was destroyed by fire in 1913. He played a major part in the development of the twin towns of Lynton and Lynmouth . He built an innovative cliff railway —
777-536: The 1950s, known for ongoing titles like Home Notes and London Opinion , as well as Men Only . Notable comics titles published by Pearson in the 1950s and early 1960s included the romance comics Mirabelle , The New Glamour , and Marty ; and the Picture Stories and Picture Library series. Decades after the proprietor's death, Newnes/Pearson continued into the 1960s as one of London's three leading magazine publishers – along with Odhams Press and
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#1732798163999814-521: The Newnes imprint continue to be published by Elsevier . Founder George Newnes began his career in publishing in 1881 when he founded Tit-Bits as a direct response to the Elementary Education Act 1870 which introduced education for children aged 5–12 and hence produced a new young generation able to read. The magazine was initially published in Manchester like a mini-encyclopedia, containing extracts from books and other publications, but principally
851-522: The baronetcy by his son, Frank Newnes , who had served as MP for Bassetlaw , Nottinghamshire from 1906 to 1910. In 1891 his publishing business was formed into a company that bore his name, George Newnes Ltd . The company was reconstructed in 1897 with a capital of 1,000,000 pounds, and began the publication of books. In 1896 Newnes founded the book series, The Penny Library of Famous Books. After Newnes' death in 1910, his son Frank Newnes succeeded him as president of George Newnes Ltd. Decades after
888-400: The climax. Often he acts as a detective, piecing together clues, and revealing the villain in a well-attended denouement, leading to a violent resolution. Further, in every book, Sudden befriends a young man who acts as a capable sidekick, and this young friend falls in love and inevitably wins the hand of the girl he loves; the only exception is The Range Robbers where the romantic involvement
925-434: The conventions the genre, with no first hand experience of America. The Sudden books are among the earliest and best-loved of the type. Sudden is portrayed as an intrepid and accurate gunfighter in search of two men who cheated his foster father. James Green earns the nickname "Sudden" because of his lightning speed with a gun. Sudden is portrayed as a stereotypical gunfighter: an intelligent and resourceful drifting cowboy who
962-460: The death of his foster parent, using the name James Green. Almost at once, he himself is wrongly accused of murder and robbery and becomes an outlaw. In Sudden (1933), he is pardoned by the Governor of Arizona, Bleke, made a US deputy marshal , and subsequently sent on (typically undercover) missions to maintain law and order. In The Range Robbers , in fact the first book to be written, his story
999-454: The end of the 19th century. It paved the way for popular journalism – most significantly, the Daily Mail was founded by Alfred Harmsworth , a contributor to Tit-Bits , and the Daily Express was launched by Arthur Pearson , who worked at Tit-Bits for five years after winning a competition to get a job on the magazine. Arguably his best-known publication was The Strand Magazine , begun in 1891, in which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1036-518: The founder's death, Newnes was known for publishing ground-breaking consumer magazines such as Nova . Newnes published books by such authors as Enid Blyton , Hall Caine , Richmal Crompton , Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , George Goodchild , W. E. Johns , P. G. Wodehouse , and John Wyndham . Initially an independent publisher, Newnes became an imprint of the International Publishing Company in 1961. Today, books under
1073-553: The narrative in Sudden Strikes Back , where a bully tries to ride Sudden's horse and gets thrown down; the name of the girl who watches is given as "Noreen," Sudden's wife who he meets only much later in The Range Robbers (according to Oliver Strange) which describes an almost identical incident. Similarly, Sudden at Bay has strong resemblances to Sudden (1933) . In Dead or Alive! , Christian makes Sudden
1110-450: The original situation outlined in The Range Robbers , of a once-outlaw turned undercover lawman, forced to move from place to place on his own quest for vengeance, provided a framework for any number of more or less self-contained stories, and Strange devoted the rest of the series to these earlier adventures. The stories in the series follow very conventional and repetitive plot lines. A plot line typically revolves around Sudden arriving in
1147-618: The parish of Lynton, and Hesketh House, in the borough of Torquay , both in the county of Devon." He paid for the new Putney Library , built in 1899. Around this time he became the main sponsor of the Southern Cross Expedition to Antarctica; part of his contribution was the purchase of a movie camera from Arthur S. Newman, who would later supply similar cameras to Herbert Ponting of Captain Scott's 1910-3 Terra Nova Expedition and John Baptist Lucius Noel , photographer on
Sudden - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-402: The proprietor's death, George Newnes Ltd (and its imprint C. Arthur Pearson Ltd ) continued into the 1960s as one of London's three leading magazine publishers – along with Odhams Press and the Hulton Press – producing a diverse range of titles from Lady's Companion , Woman's Own , Nova , Rave and Flair , to Practical Mechanics and Practical Television . In 1959, the company
1221-517: The seat for ten years, before his defeat by the Conservative millionaire horse-breeder, Harry McCalmont in 1895 . In addition, Newnes refounded The Westminster Gazette in 1893 to support the Liberal party when The Pall Mall Gazette became a Unionist paper. In 1895 he was created a baronet "of Wildcroft, in the parish of Putney , in the county of London ; of Hollerday Hill, in
1258-573: Was The Strand Magazine , begun in 1891, in which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was first able to publish his Sherlock Holmes mystery series. Newnes also founded other magazine titles, including The Wide World Magazine (1888), The Westminster Gazette (1893), and Country Life (1897). In 1896, Newnes began the publication of books, founding the book series The Penny Library of Famous Books. Other book series published would include Newnes' Sixpenny Novels Illustrated, Newnes' Sixpenny Copyright Novels, and The Library of Useful Stories. The company
1295-634: Was a Congregational church minister at the Glenorchy Chapel, Matlock . George Newnes was born in Matlock Bath , Derbyshire , and educated at Silcoates School and then at Shireland Hall, Warwickshire , and the City of London School . In 1875, he married Priscilla Hillyard. They had two sons; the eldest died at age eight (his death was said to have devastated his father), and Frank Newnes (born 1876). In 1867 he entered commerce in
1332-400: Was first able to publish his Sherlock Holmes mystery series. He also founded other magazine titles, including The Wide World Magazine (1888), The Westminster Gazette (1893), and Country Life (1897). Politically, Newnes was Liberal , and in 1885 he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the newly created constituency of Eastern Cambridgeshire or Newmarket . He held
1369-507: Was reconstructed in 1897 with a capital of one million pounds. George Newnes died in 1910; his son Frank (1876–1955), who had followed his father into his publishing business, became President of George Newnes Ltd. In the period 1932–1934, Newnes editor Frederick James Camm launched a " Practical " line of magazines that included Practical Mechanics , Practical Motorist , Practical Television , and Practical Wireless . These titles became known as "Camm's Comics." An example of
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