Lane, Margaret - Edgar Wallace: the Biography of a Phenomenon (1964)

Margaret Lane, novelist and at one time married to Wallace's son Bryan, provides a sympathetic but not uncritical view of Wallace's life and works. After a leisurely review of his early life and background the pace speeds up as Wallace throws himself into his literary work. Unfortunately Lane's interest is more in the theatrical works than the novels, and these are glossed over very briefly, as are the many sexual adventures. Though Wallace made and spent enormous amounts of money the overall impression is of a driven man who derived most of his pleasure from work. The book is illustrated with many black and white photos and contains an index of names and titles.