Percy James Brebner

Born in Islington, London, on March 24, 1864, he was educated at King’s College School and worked in the Share and Loan Department of the Stock Exchange before turning to fiction full time. He was the eldest son of James Brebner, a bank manager, and he died in London on July 31, 1922.

His books ranged across adventure, romance, and detective fiction. Some of his earliest novels appeared under the pen name Christian Lys, while later work under his own name helped build his reputation as a dependable writer of lively popular fiction.

He is especially remembered for Professor Christopher Quarles, an elderly philosophy professor with a sharp deductive mind, often described as being in the Sherlock Holmes tradition. Brebner’s mix of mystery plotting and page-turning adventure has helped keep his work in circulation for modern readers.