The Angel of Terror

Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was born on the 1st April 1875 in Greenwich, London. Leaving school at 12 because of truancy, by the age of fifteen he had experience; selling newspapers, as a worker in a rubber factory, as a shoe shop assistant, as a milk delivery boy and as a ship's cook.

Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was born into London poverty as an illegitimate child on April 1, 1875. Joining the army at 21 as a war correspondent, he returned to London burdened with debts. He started to write thrillers in order to raise some income, and soon found success with books like The Four Just Men. Utilizing his experiences in the Congo, he also wrote a series of colorful stories featuring Commissioner Sanders. By 1921, he had become an internationally known author, eventually publishing over 170 novels, 957 short stories and 18 stage plays, with more than 160 films having been made from his work. Wallace moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s where he worked as a scriptwriter for RKO studios. While working on the rough draft of King Kong, he died suddenly on February 10, 1932, from undiagnosed diabetes.