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Atkey, Bertram

Page history last edited by J F Norris 5 years, 7 months ago

Bertram Atkey was an English author and the creator of Smiler Bunn, a character who may have inspired John Dickson Carr's Sir Henry Merivale. He also invented a disabled boy detective, Nelson Chiddenham and an upper-class detective called Prosper Fair who is the Duke of Devizes in disguise. Atkey was the uncle and father-in-law of Barry Perowne, who writing under his legal name Philip Atkey continued the adventures of Prosper Fair in a series of short stories which were published in The Saint Mystery Magazine between 1960 and 1965.

 

"The Un-Punctual Painting" by Bertram Atkey is reprinted from his collection Smiler Bunn, Gentleman Adventurer (1927). This is a funny comic detective story. Smiler Bunn, who appeared in many books, is not well known today - at least, I've never read any of his tales. Smiler Bunn:

 

  • Is middle aged
  • Is a comic detective of high intelligence but silly character
  • Calls himself "the old man".
  • Has an earthy, salty quality, in contrast to the high-toned people he meets.
  • Uses a lot of contractions when speaking: "I'm, don't, m'friends..."
  • Looks at people with a "benign gaze".
  • Comforts women with awkward, hearty language - but effectively
  • Talks well to children: "Hello, sonny. Looking at the pictures, hey?"

 

Mike Grost

 

Bibliography

Easy Money (1908)

The Amazing Mr Bunn (1912)

The Golden Lady (1914)

The Smiler Bunn Brigade (1916)

Smiler Bunn, Manhunter (1920)

Winnie O’Wynn and the Wolves (1921)

Harvest of Javelins (1922)

Hercules-Sportsman (1922)

The Man with Yellow Eyes (1923)

Smiler Bunn, Gentleman Crook (1923)

The Pyramid of Lead (1924)

Smiler Bunn, Byewayman (1925)

Winnie O’Wynn and the Dark Horses

Smiler Bunn, Gentleman-Adventurer (1927)

The Midnight Mystery (1928)]

Mr Dass (n.) (1929)

Smiler Bunn, Crook (1929)

The House of Strange Victims (1930)

The Mystery of the Glass Bullet (1931)

Crooks’ Castle (n.) Newnes (1935)

Arsenic and Gold (1939)

The House of Clystevill (1940)

 

Comments (1)

Ronald Smyth said

at 7:14 am on Dec 17, 2023

Mike Grost is mistaken. Smiler Bunn is not a detective, he is a thief, conman and swindler. He belongs in the same rogue category as Simon Templar or Norman Conquest. Any detecting is simply to get enough information to enable his own coups.

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