The drum

Murder and intrigue in a princely state on the Indian border. A fairy drum no one must see beaten. A secret mission across the Hindu Kush and friendship between an Indian Prince and an English drummer-boy. All these are elements of "The Drum" which is one of two novels by A.E.W. Mason set in India. A pukka adventure in the days of the Raj. This and other titles at www.arepo.biz

Alfred Edward Wooley Mason was born in 1865. He was educated at Dulwich College before being sent up to Oxford University. Once his formal education was completed, Mason went on to become an actor. He began his writing career with historical fiction and then moved into the arena of politics, becoming a Liberal Member of Parliament for Coventry in 1906. But his love of writing carried on and Mason developed his style to incorporate detective fiction, introducing one of the earliest fictional detectives, Inspector Hanaud, the Gallic counterpart to Sherlock Holmes. His detective fiction contains material clues and spontaneity. Throughout the course of his life he produced over thirty titles. A E W Mason died in 1948.