Sax Rohmer

Born Arthur Henry "Sarsfield" Ward in Birmingham on February 15, 1883, he wrote under the pen name Sax Rohmer. Before becoming famous as a novelist, he worked on songs, sketches, and short pieces, gradually building a career in popular entertainment and magazine fiction.

His reputation was made by the Fu Manchu stories, which became internationally successful and were adapted for film, radio, and television. He also created other recurring characters, including Gaston Max and Sumuru, and wrote a wide range of thrillers and supernatural fiction.

Rohmer died on June 1, 1959. Modern readers often approach his work with mixed feelings: his storytelling was highly influential and gripping, but parts of it also reflect the racial fears and stereotypes of its time.