Gerald Verner(1897-1980)
- Writer
Gerald Verner was born Robert Stuart Pringle in Streatham, London,
England, on June 26,1897. He was a prolific writer of thrillers and
wrote more than 120 novels translated into over 35 languages. Among his
successful stage plays were adaptations of
Peter Cheyney's "The Urgent Hangman" into
"Meet Mr.Callaghan" (1952) and the
Agatha Christie thriller "Towards Zero"
(1956). Many of his books were adapted into radio serials, stage plays
and films. In the 1930s he wrote for the magazines "The Thriller" and
"Detective Weekly". With changed titles and the protagonists, many of
these stories were recycled as novels for publisher Wright & Brown. His
style was heavily influenced by that of
Edgar Wallace. The
Duke of Windsor was an avid fan of
Verner's thrillers and was presented with a special edition of 15 of
them bound in blue. He died of natural causes at Broadstairs, Kent,
England on September 16, 1980.
In his early days Verner used to write as Donald Stuart, and his output included 44 stories for the Sexton Blake Library. He also wrote 6 stories for Union Jack and 3 for the The Thriller. He also wrote two plays, "Sexton Blake" and "The Shadow", as well as two films, The Man Outside (1933) and The Shadow (1933). He died of natural causes at Broadstairs, Kent, England, on September 16, 1980. His son, Christopher Verner, has supervised many special effects projects for films and TV commercials.
In his early days Verner used to write as Donald Stuart, and his output included 44 stories for the Sexton Blake Library. He also wrote 6 stories for Union Jack and 3 for the The Thriller. He also wrote two plays, "Sexton Blake" and "The Shadow", as well as two films, The Man Outside (1933) and The Shadow (1933). He died of natural causes at Broadstairs, Kent, England, on September 16, 1980. His son, Christopher Verner, has supervised many special effects projects for films and TV commercials.
