The Secret Seven (Frank Richards)
The Secret Seven! – front cover of The Magnet, 3 November 1934
|
|
|
A Tyrant Rules Greyfriars!
The High Hand! The Greyfriars Storm-Troops! The Secret of the Vaults! The Secret Seven! Fooled on the Fifth! The Dictator of Greyfriars! The Brotherhood of Justice! A Traitor in the Camp! The Schoolboy Sleuth! Putting Paid to Prout! |
|
| Author | Charles Hamilton, writing as Frank Richards |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Charles Henry Chapman and Leonard Shields |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature, School story |
| Publisher | Amalgamated Press |
| Published in English | 1934 |
| No. of books | 11 |
| Preceded by | “Bunter the Billionaire” series |
| Followed by | “Christmas at Hilton Hall” series |
The Secret Seven series is an 11 part series of stories published in The Magnet magazine in 1934. The author was prolific writer Charles Hamilton, writing under the pen name Frank Richards. The series was republished by the Howard Baker (Greyfriars Press) as two volumes of Magnet facsimile editions in 1976.
The stories are set in the fictional Greyfriars School. Venerable and respected Headmaster Dr. Locke, along with popular Head Prefect George Wingate and several other senior prefects, are all hospitalised after a road accident. Portly and pompous Fifth Form master Mr Prout is appointed as temporary Headmaster. He in turn appoints the bullying Gerald Loder as temporary Head Prefect. A tyrannical regime ensues, with unjust and brutal punishments raining down across the school.
The junior schoolboys respond by forming a secret society, the Secret Seven, to fight back against Loder and Prout. Despite its name, there are many more than seven members of the society – the name “Secret Seven” is designed to mislead the authorities and divert suspicion from the ringleaders.
A series of lively adventures follow before the Secret Seven finally triumph over Loder and Prout.
The Greyfriars School stories were written by author Charles Hamilton, under the pen name Frank Richards, over a 53-year period from 1908 until his death on Christmas Eve 1961. During this time, it is estimated that he was responsible for the equivalent of over 1,000 full-length novels, which ranks him as one of the most prolific published authors of all time. From 1908 until early 1940, he was responsible for almost all of the content of the weekly children’s publications The Magnet and The Gem, featuring school stories at the fictional Greyfriars and St Jim’s Schools.
The Secret Seven was an 11 part series published in The Magnet in 1934. In 1976, the series was republished by the Howard Baker (Greyfriars Press) in two volumes of facsimiles of the original Magnet publications. The series is from what is considered by critics as the Magnet’s “golden age”, spanning 1930-1934, when Hamilton produced his finest work.
Hamilton’s writing style has been compared with that of his contemporary P G Wodehouse. A light and distinctive prose style combines with a strong comedic element and a large ensemble of strongly drawn characters. The exceptional volume of material produced by Hamilton over his writing career allowed both characters and locations to be developed in great depth.
...
Wikipedia