Percival Christopher Wren

Beau Geste is a 1924 adventure novel by P. C. Wren. It has been adapted for the screen several times.Michael "Beau" Geste is the protagonist. The main narrator (among others), by contrast, is his younger brother John. The three Geste brothers of Brandon Abbas are used as a metaphor for the British upper class values of a time gone by, and "the decent thing to do" is, in fact, the leitmotif of the novel.The Geste brothers are orphans and have been brought up by their aunt. The rest of Beau's band are mainly Isobel and Claudia (only daughter of Lady Patricia, and in a way, also reason enough for Michael to join the French Foreign Legion), and Lady Patricia's relative Augustus.When a precious jewel known as the "Blue Water" goes missing, suspicion falls on the young people, and Beau leaves Britain to join the Foreign Legion (la L gion trang re), followed by his brothers, Digby (his twin) and John. There, after some adventure and separation from Digby, the sadistic Sergeant Lejaune gets command of the little garrison at Fort Zinderneuf in French North Africa, and only an attack by Tuaregs prevents a mutiny and mass desertion (of course the Geste brothers and a few loyals are against the plot). Throughout the book and adventures, Beau's behaviour is true to France and the Legion, and he dies at his post. At Brandon Abbas, the last survivor of the three brothers, John, is welcomed by their aunt and his fianc e Isobel, and the reason for the jewel theft is revealed to have been a matter of honour, and to have been the only "decent thing" possible.

The Later India Novels Part B contains two novels, The Man of a Ghost and Worth Wile; the story of Richard Wendover. The novels are typical adventure novels of the "Northwest Frontier" of British India, which were very popular in the early twentieth century in both book and film productions. The Man of a Ghost starts out in East Africa during World War I where Wendover is given a court-martial and a dishonorable discharge when he is found on duty in an apparent drunken state. Wendover and his friend, the Pathan, Shere Khan, wander over Africa and Central Asia, until finally Wendover and Shere Khan are able to prove Wendover was drugged by the medical officer. Worth Wile starts with the story of a military airplane raid that crashes in the mountains. The young airman, John Vere-Vaughan, survives the crash and is taken prisoner by the Pathans and is used in a plot to capture a British outpost. The novel continues with a flashback and introduces, Wendover's best friend, Sybil Ffoulkes, who is in love with him. Prince (and Commissar) Bailitzin who was a rival for Sybil's hand becomes a Russian secret service agent and is involved in capturing and torturing Wendover as a British secret service agent. After escaping, Wendover saves Vere-Vaughan after he is reinstated and reunited with Sybil. But soon a tragic series of events occur where Wendover has to break Shere Khan out jail, and has to flee back to the mountains.

The Later India Novels Part A contains two novels, Beggars' Horses, published in America in 1943, after Wren's death, as The Dark Woman, and Explosion which never saw an American publication. Beggars' Horses is the story of six British army officers who have a confrontation with an Indian fakir or Holy Man. The six officers are asked what they would "wish" for. One asks for great strength, the others ask to be healthy, to live a long life, for happiness, for great wealth, and for great courage. The rest of the story is how the six men obtain their wishes and how "a dark woman" interacts with them. Explosion deals with a plot by Indian agitators to use a large bomb to kill British officials and destroy several buildings: a literal explosion. The main characters are Anthony Steele, the Superintendent of Police, and Betty Gopaldas, an young English woman married to an Indian, who is one of the group of agitators planning the explosion. With Betty, being infatuated with Steele, he is able to persuade her to help him uncover the bomb plot. There are minor plots about British society in an Indian city during the British Raj, and Wren is able to convey the thoughts and feelings of a strong Imperialist in favor of British rule.

Driftwood Spars By Percival Christopher Wren

Cupid in Africa By Percival Christopher Wren

The Foreign Legion Novels Part B contains the novels Paper Prison, published in 1939, and The Uniform of Glory, published in 1941. Paper Prison is the story of twin fraternal brothers, Mark and Luke Tuyler, and the woman whom they love, Rosanne. Paper Prison is a complex novel, published (and assumed to be written) in the later part of Wren's life. It is more realistic than most of his more famous novels, with its themes of infidelity, divorce, blackmail, and "killing no murder." The Uniform of Glory is a humorous novel which has the subtitle of "being the true story of a free Frenchman's night out." It is the story of Denis Ducros, a legionnaire who is the servant of the Colonel, Louis Rochefort. On the night of a Legion f te day, Denis dons the uniform of the Colonel and cleverly impersonates him out on the town. Denis has a number of adventures pretending to be the Colonel, including giving non-commissioned officers a dreadful time, giving ordinary legionnaires an enjoyable time, helping the Colonel's daughter with her romance, and helping a number of "filles de joie" to escape their environment for the evening.

"Cupid in Africa", by Percival Christopher Wren. Percival Christopher Wren was a british writer, mostly of adventure fiction (1875-1941).

"The Wages of Virtue", by Percival Christopher Wren. Percival Christopher Wren was british writer, mostly of adventure fiction (1875-1941).