Introduction On Racism Epigraphs A History of the Pulps A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Glossary and Character Taxonomy Breakdown by Country of Origin Bibliography Table of Contents The Best of the Encyclopedia
Swift, Falcon. Falcon Swift was created by Edwy Searles Brooks (William Beeke, Sexton Blake, Norman Conquest, Ironsides Cromwell, Clive Derring, Carson Grey, Jimmy Harding, Dixon Hawke, Invisible Speedman, Frank Kingston, Marko the Miracle Man, Umlosi, Waldo the Wonder Man) and appeared in at least thirty-five stories in Boys’ Magazine from 1922 to 1934, beginning with “The Exploits of Falcon Swift” (Boys’ Magazine, Feb. 27, 1922).
Falcon Swift is a Great Detective. He is an English "sporting detective," an amateur consulting detective whose hobby is sports of all kinds. Swift is a champion at every sport he takes part in, from boxing to cricket, and while at Cambridge got a triple blue, but inevitably his hobby embroils him in a crime. After school Swift inherited his dead parents' wealth and began a life of leisure from a "cosy sanctum" in London. At some point during this period Swift saved a street urchin from a life of crime. This urchin, Chick Conway, pledged his lot to Swift and became his stalwart and fearless assistant. Swift's Mrs. Hudson is Biddy Malone, who cooks and cleans for Swift when she isn’t being clubbed, drugged, or kidnaped.
Swift continues to compete for cash rewards, but many of his opponents are revealed to be crooks, often members of or leaders of international crime rings. Swift beats them fairly in sporting competition and then turns them over to the police. Not all of Swift’s cases are sports-oriented; on at least one occasion he enlists undercover in the Black Dragoons to ferret out a traitor. Swift’s archenemy is the Lupin Claude Montana, the "arch-crook of five continents," who succeeds in taking the proceeds of the English Cup even though Montana had warned Swift ahead of time.
Swift is described as having "skin of satin whiteness" and "long arms and slightly sloping shoulders." He is course handsome and well-dressed, usually in full evening dress; he wears a monocle (one of his nicknames is the "Monocled Manhunter") and smokes a pipe. He drives a Hispano-Suiza and pilots his own plane.
Table of Contents / Annotations / Blog / Books / Patreon / Twitter / Contact me