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Jim Maitland #1
Jim Maitland
Immaculate, charming, fearless wanderer, Jim Maitland, has a peculiar code of morals and an unforgettable character. Our enthusiastic narrator, Leyton, meets the legendary Maitland on the Island of Tampico - a flawless jewel in a sapphire sea, with more vice than the slums of a city - and leaps at the chance to accompany this charismatic man on his spontaneous travels.
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1923
About the author
Sapper
270 books37 followersSapper was the pseudonym of Herman Cyril McNeile, whose father was Malcolm McNeile, a Captain in the Royal Navy and, at who was at the time, governor of the naval prison at Bodmin, the town where Herman was born.
McNeile was educated at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1907. He went to France in 1914 when World War I broke out and he saw action at both the First and the Second Battle of Ypres where he displayed considerable bravery, was awarded the Military Cross and was mentioned in dispatches.
His first known published work was a series of short war stories based on his own experiences, and published under the name 'Sapper' in the Daily Mail and in the magazine 'The War Illustrated'.
These stories were immediately successful and later sold over 200,000 copies within a year when subsequently republished in book-form. His realistic writing proved most popular at a time of great stress and Lord Northcliff, the owner of the Daily Mail who recognised his talent, was so impressed by that he attempted, but failed, to have McNeile released from the army so he could work as a war correspondent.
After the War was over, in 1919, McNeile resigned from the army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and became a full-time author, publishing his first novel, Mufti, in that year.
In 1922, he moved to Sussex and lived there for the rest of his life, having married Peggy Baird-Douglas with whom he had two sons.
He began the series for which he now best remembered, that of Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond in 1920 and thereafter he wrote 10 novels featuring his eponymous hero. The public took to Drummond and McNeile had great financial success.
The first book was adapted for the stage and produced, to great success, at Wyndham's Theatre during the 1921-1922 season with Gerald du Maurier playing the main character. Films followed and the first talkie BullDog Drummond film in 1922 was reputed to have earned McNeile the vast sum of $750,000. There were 26 films made of his books.
As well as Drummond, he wrote about Ronald Standish but the majority of his work was short stories that were published in various popular monthly magazines and continued to earn him good money. Indeed, in addition to his novels, many of his books were short story collections.
He was reputedly an unremittingly hearty man, who even his good friend and collaborator Gerard Fairlie, who continued the Drummond series after McNeile's death with seven further books, described as "not everybody's cup of tea". He died on August 14, 1937 at his home in Pulborough, West Sussex.
His funeral, with full military honours, took place at Woking crematorium.
Gerry Wolstenholme
May 2010
McNeile was educated at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1907. He went to France in 1914 when World War I broke out and he saw action at both the First and the Second Battle of Ypres where he displayed considerable bravery, was awarded the Military Cross and was mentioned in dispatches.
His first known published work was a series of short war stories based on his own experiences, and published under the name 'Sapper' in the Daily Mail and in the magazine 'The War Illustrated'.
These stories were immediately successful and later sold over 200,000 copies within a year when subsequently republished in book-form. His realistic writing proved most popular at a time of great stress and Lord Northcliff, the owner of the Daily Mail who recognised his talent, was so impressed by that he attempted, but failed, to have McNeile released from the army so he could work as a war correspondent.
After the War was over, in 1919, McNeile resigned from the army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and became a full-time author, publishing his first novel, Mufti, in that year.
In 1922, he moved to Sussex and lived there for the rest of his life, having married Peggy Baird-Douglas with whom he had two sons.
He began the series for which he now best remembered, that of Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond in 1920 and thereafter he wrote 10 novels featuring his eponymous hero. The public took to Drummond and McNeile had great financial success.
The first book was adapted for the stage and produced, to great success, at Wyndham's Theatre during the 1921-1922 season with Gerald du Maurier playing the main character. Films followed and the first talkie BullDog Drummond film in 1922 was reputed to have earned McNeile the vast sum of $750,000. There were 26 films made of his books.
As well as Drummond, he wrote about Ronald Standish but the majority of his work was short stories that were published in various popular monthly magazines and continued to earn him good money. Indeed, in addition to his novels, many of his books were short story collections.
He was reputedly an unremittingly hearty man, who even his good friend and collaborator Gerard Fairlie, who continued the Drummond series after McNeile's death with seven further books, described as "not everybody's cup of tea". He died on August 14, 1937 at his home in Pulborough, West Sussex.
His funeral, with full military honours, took place at Woking crematorium.
Gerry Wolstenholme
May 2010
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 10, 2021
I really enjoyed this pulp-era collection of adventure stories by one of the era's most famous writers, Sapper, creator of BULLDOG DRUMMOND. JIM MAITLAND plays out as a series of linked chapters or vignettes as Jim Maitland, a British adventurer who's never seen without his eyeglass, and a pal travel around the globe writing wrongs. Some of the adventures are spooky - a lighthouse incident is creepy in the extreme - while others involve drunkenness, romance, attempted hijackings and more besides. The plotting and characterisation is slim but the action is constant and flows off the pace throughout. In the last couple of chapters, it moves into more exotic territory, of the kind written by Sax Rohmer, as Maitland has to work to save a damsel in distress from a death cult. The values are strictly colonial and there's a great deal of jarring racism throughout, but if you can overlook this then JIM MAITLAND certainly delivers the goods when it comes to action.
September 12, 2020
Nice, short, good-enough developed action stories. Didn't like reading the racial slurs that were quite common on the Southside of Chicago many years back - but that didn't take away from the satisfaction of the satisfaction of compact plot development. I recommend it. While reading this I felt I held in my hands the birth of the action detective spy mystery genres. Try it. BTW seemed our local libraries have pulled it - probably for PC. Don't let that deter you. Be bold.
March 15, 2016
A while back, I read the first of Sapper's Bulldog Drummond books and thought it rather silly. Then for some reason, my spouse and I watched a bunch of Bulldog Drummond movies from the 1930s. Yeah, they were silly, but also sort of fun. For some reason I looked up Sapper (actually Herman Cyril McNeile) and discovered he'd written a book named Jim Maitland . WTF? I thought. One of my choir buddies is Jim Maitland. I guess I'd better read about him. And so I did.
This book isn't really a novel, but rather a series of short stories having common characters. But it is also vaguely tied together at the end. Jim Maitland is a swashbuckling, itinerant wanderer. He crosses the globe where and when he pleases. At the beginning of the book, he is in the South Seas, and meets the narrator of the stories, Dick Leyton,who becomes his wandering companion. Wherever they go, there's bound to be skulduggery, various forms of honor/decency to uphold, and fights to engage.
In the last chapter they all return to England and live happily ever after, so to speak. Actually, the last chapter was a bit out of character with the rest of the book and seemed like some silly bit of farce that might have been written by Wodehouse.
It's sort of a fun book, but if you never get around to reading it, you won't have missed out on all that much. Naturally, being a product of British-Empire thinking of the Victorian and pre-Depression period (Edward VII and George V), there's the occasional bit of racism and sexism to overlook, but that pretty much goes with the territory.
This book isn't really a novel, but rather a series of short stories having common characters. But it is also vaguely tied together at the end. Jim Maitland is a swashbuckling, itinerant wanderer. He crosses the globe where and when he pleases. At the beginning of the book, he is in the South Seas, and meets the narrator of the stories, Dick Leyton,who becomes his wandering companion. Wherever they go, there's bound to be skulduggery, various forms of honor/decency to uphold, and fights to engage.
In the last chapter they all return to England and live happily ever after, so to speak. Actually, the last chapter was a bit out of character with the rest of the book and seemed like some silly bit of farce that might have been written by Wodehouse.
It's sort of a fun book, but if you never get around to reading it, you won't have missed out on all that much. Naturally, being a product of British-Empire thinking of the Victorian and pre-Depression period (Edward VII and George V), there's the occasional bit of racism and sexism to overlook, but that pretty much goes with the territory.
January 18, 2011
This is a gem. Not quite as brutal as Bulldog Drummond but damned close :). A series of stories that sort of make a novel and what a charmer. It is narrated by Jim's friend, similar to the style used by Hornung in his Raffles books. And Jim is a bruiser, I think he was a British amatuer champion boxer or some such. Anyway he and his friend travel around the world to various ports sorting things out. Drunks, Somerset Maugham type characters, the "great game" the Boche. Jim takes care of all and sundry in true British style. Some of these fellows need to be taught a lesson and Jim is not averse to taking off the belt and beating them unconscious. They deserve it of course. Sprinkled with the normal club and after dinner anecdote of far away places and long ago justice. Definitely worth a read if you like that Buchan style.
November 27, 2014
A collection of linked short stories, in fact almost a novel. Jim Maitland is very much in the mould of Sapper's most famous hero Bulldog Drummond, Bulldog however is the better character, Maitland doesn't have the ability to talk rot half as well as Bulldog. The first story (Raymond Blair - Drunkard) is set on a south seas island is a real cracker and one of Sapper's best, I was hoping the whole book would be set on the Isle of Tampico, unfortunately it isn't, instead it moves all around the world France, Egypt, Australia etc. however many of the stories are still Sapper near his best and the book is an excellent read.
May 8, 2013
I'm curious to know what happened to the woman Jim married at the end of this book since he married someone else at the end of The Island of Terror. Admittedly, Sapper was careless and forgetful with wives but to marry him off twice in two books was quite a feat.
June 9, 2014
An excellent collection of stories by the author of Bulldog Drummond.
Maitland is a legendary fellow who travels the world, righting wrongs. Some of the stories generate a good amount of tension, even though they were somewhat predictable.
Maitland is a legendary fellow who travels the world, righting wrongs. Some of the stories generate a good amount of tension, even though they were somewhat predictable.
May 3, 2016
read SOMETIME in 2004
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews