The Four Just Men (book)
Encyclopedia
The Four Just Men is a detective thriller published in 1905 by the British
writer Edgar Wallace
. The eponymous "Just Men" appear in several sequels.
s (including a European Prince
) who kill people in the name of Justice — while returning to England in 1905. He had to create his own publishing company, Tallis
, to publish it and decided to manage a 'guess the murder method' competition in the Daily Mail
with a prize of £1,000. Edgar intended to advertise the book on an unprecedented scale, not just in Britain itself but across the Empire. He approached the proprietor, Lord Harmsworth for the loan of the £1,000 and was promptly refused, but Edgar pressed ahead anyway. His alarmed workmates at the Mail prevailed upon him to lower the prize money to £500: a £250 first prize, £200 second prize and £50 third prize, but were unable to restrain him in the privacy of his home. Edgar had advertisements placed on buses, hoardings, flyers, and so forth, running up an incredible bill of £2,000. Though he knew he needed the book to sell sufficient copies to make £2,500 before he saw any profit, Edgar was confident that this would be achieved in the first three months of the book going on sale, hopelessly underestimating the expenses.
Enthusiastic, but without any substantial managerial skill, Edgar had also made a far more serious error. He ran the FJM serial competition in the Daily Mail but failed to include any limitation clause in the competition rules restricting payment of the prize money to one winner only from each of the three categories. Only after the competition had closed and the correct solution printed as part of the final chapter denouement did Wallace learn that he was legally obliged to pay every person who answered correctly the full prize amount in that category; if 6 people got the 1st Prize answer right, he would have to pay not £250 but 6 x £250, or £1500, if 3 people got the 2nd Prize it would be £600 and so on.
Additionally, though his advertising gimmick had worked as the novel was a bestseller, Wallace discovered that instead of his woefully over-optimistic three months, FJM would have to continue selling consistently with no margin of error for two full years to recoup the £2,500 he had mistakenly believed he needed to break even. Unfortunately during this period the number of entrants correctly guessing the right answer continued to rise inexorably. Wallace's response was to simply ignore the situation, but circumstances were ominous. As 1906 began and continued without any list of prize winners being printed, more and more suspicions were being voiced about the honesty of the competition. In addition, for a working-class Edwardian family, £250 was a fortune and since those who were winners knew it (courtesy of the published solution) they had been waiting impatiently for the prize to be paid out. Harmsworth, having refused the initial £1,000 loan, was furious at having now to loan over £5,000 to protect the newspaper's reputation because Wallace couldn't pay.
Wallace went bankrupt and hastily sold the rights to the novel for £75 to Sir George Newnes
to provide token amounts to his creditors.
, a film in 1939
and as a television series in 1959.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writer Edgar Wallace
Edgar Wallace
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
. The eponymous "Just Men" appear in several sequels.
Publication
Edgar Wallace formed the idea of The Four Just Men — four young, handsome, immensely wealthy vigilanteVigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
s (including a European Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
) who kill people in the name of Justice — while returning to England in 1905. He had to create his own publishing company, Tallis
Tallis
-People:* Gorden Tallis, an Australian rugby league player* John Tallis, cartographer* Raymond Tallis, an English geriatrician and intellectual* Thomas Tallis , an English composer-Other:...
, to publish it and decided to manage a 'guess the murder method' competition in the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
with a prize of £1,000. Edgar intended to advertise the book on an unprecedented scale, not just in Britain itself but across the Empire. He approached the proprietor, Lord Harmsworth for the loan of the £1,000 and was promptly refused, but Edgar pressed ahead anyway. His alarmed workmates at the Mail prevailed upon him to lower the prize money to £500: a £250 first prize, £200 second prize and £50 third prize, but were unable to restrain him in the privacy of his home. Edgar had advertisements placed on buses, hoardings, flyers, and so forth, running up an incredible bill of £2,000. Though he knew he needed the book to sell sufficient copies to make £2,500 before he saw any profit, Edgar was confident that this would be achieved in the first three months of the book going on sale, hopelessly underestimating the expenses.
Enthusiastic, but without any substantial managerial skill, Edgar had also made a far more serious error. He ran the FJM serial competition in the Daily Mail but failed to include any limitation clause in the competition rules restricting payment of the prize money to one winner only from each of the three categories. Only after the competition had closed and the correct solution printed as part of the final chapter denouement did Wallace learn that he was legally obliged to pay every person who answered correctly the full prize amount in that category; if 6 people got the 1st Prize answer right, he would have to pay not £250 but 6 x £250, or £1500, if 3 people got the 2nd Prize it would be £600 and so on.
Additionally, though his advertising gimmick had worked as the novel was a bestseller, Wallace discovered that instead of his woefully over-optimistic three months, FJM would have to continue selling consistently with no margin of error for two full years to recoup the £2,500 he had mistakenly believed he needed to break even. Unfortunately during this period the number of entrants correctly guessing the right answer continued to rise inexorably. Wallace's response was to simply ignore the situation, but circumstances were ominous. As 1906 began and continued without any list of prize winners being printed, more and more suspicions were being voiced about the honesty of the competition. In addition, for a working-class Edwardian family, £250 was a fortune and since those who were winners knew it (courtesy of the published solution) they had been waiting impatiently for the prize to be paid out. Harmsworth, having refused the initial £1,000 loan, was furious at having now to loan over £5,000 to protect the newspaper's reputation because Wallace couldn't pay.
Wallace went bankrupt and hastily sold the rights to the novel for £75 to Sir George Newnes
George Newnes
Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet was a publisher and editor in England.-Background and education:...
to provide token amounts to his creditors.
Characters
The four Just Men of the original novel are George Manfred, Leon Gonsalez, and Raymond Poiccart, who recruit a fourth, Thery, in their campaign to punish wrong-doers who are beyond the reach of the law. In later books, Wallace develops their backstory. The original fourth man, Merel, had died in Bordeaux, and the remaining three either recruit a fourth ad hoc or operates as a team of three. After the Great War, they are pardoned on condition that they remain within the law, and Poiccart retires to Spain. Gonsalez and Manfred continue to operate a legitimate detective agency.Adaptations
The Four Just Men was adapted as a silent film in 1921The Four Just Men (1921 film)
The Four Just Men is a 1921 British silent crime film directed by George Ridgwell and starring Cecil Humphreys, Teddy Arundell and Charles Croker-King. It was based on the 1904 novel The Four Just Men by Edgar Wallace...
, a film in 1939
The Four Just Men (film)
The Four Just Men is a 1939 British thriller film directed by Walter Forde and starring Hugh Sinclair, Griffith Jones, Edward Chapman and Garry Marsh. It is based on the novel The Four Just Men by Edgar Wallace.-Cast:...
and as a television series in 1959.
External links
- EDGAR WALLACE The Four Just Men by David L. Vineyard.