Editing H. C. McNeile (section)

==Biography==

===Early life===
[[File:Quadrangle of Cheltenham College - geograph.org.uk - 194659.jpg|thumb|upright=1|[[Cheltenham College]], where McNeile enjoyed playing sports, but did not excel at them{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}}]]

McNeile was born in [[Bodmin]], [[Cornwall]].  He was the son of Malcolm McNeile, a [[Captain (Royal Navy)|captain]] in the [[Royal Navy]] who at the time was governor of the [[Bodmin Gaol|naval prison]] at Bodmin,{{sfn|Bourn|1990|pp=24–25}}{{efn|Malcolm McNeile was also later the governor of Lewes Naval Prison.{{sfn|Green|2004}}}} and Christiana Mary (née Sloggett).{{sfn|Green|2004}} The McNeile family had ancestral roots from both Belfast and Scotland,<ref name="S Times: Obit" /> and counted a general in the [[British Indian Army]] among their members.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=110}}

McNeile did not like either of his given names but preferred to be called Cyril, although he was always known by his friends as Mac.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=110}}{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=25}} After attending a [[Preparatory school (United Kingdom)|prep school]] in [[Eastbourne]], he was further educated at [[Cheltenham College]].{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}} On leaving the college, he joined the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]],{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=25}} from which he was commissioned into the [[Royal Engineers]] as a [[second lieutenant]] in July 1907.<ref name="Gaz: 2nd Lt" /> He underwent further training at the [[Royal School of Military Engineering]] before a short posting to [[Aldershot Garrison]].{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}} He received promotion to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] in June 1910<ref name="Gaz: 1st Lt" /> and was posted to [[Canterbury]], serving three years with the 3rd Field Troop, until January 1914, when he was posted to Malta.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}}

In 1914 McNeile was promoted to the rank of [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]].<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=29038|page=381|date=12 January 1915}}</ref><ref name="S Times: Obit" /> He was still in Malta when the war broke out and was ordered to France in October 1914;{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}} he travelled via England and married Violet Evelyn Baird on 31 October 1914.{{sfn|Green|2004}} She was the daughter of [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-Colonel]] Arthur Baird Douglas of the [[Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders|Cameron Highlanders]].{{sfn|Who Was Who|1967|p=883}}{{efn|He is also named as Arthur Sholto Douglas in some sources.{{sfn|Green|2004}}}}

===First World War service===
On 2 November 1914 McNeile travelled to France as part of the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]].{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}}{{sfn|Haycraft|2005|p=129}} Few details are known about McNeile's wartime service, as his records were [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)#Access to documents|destroyed by incendiary bombs]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. He spent time with a number of Royal Engineer units on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], including 1st Field Squadron RE, 15th Field Company RE and RE elements of the [[33rd Division (United Kingdom)|33rd Division]].{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}}
[[File:No Man's Land - 1ed ed cover.jpg|thumb|upright|left|US cover of ''No Man's Land'', published in 1917]]
McNeile's first known published story, ''Reminiscences of Sergeant Michael Cassidy'', was serialised on page four of the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' from 13 January 1915.{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|p=140}}{{efn|Although there are claims that suggest Sapper's first stories were published in ''[[Blackwood's Magazine]]'', none of these appear in the 1914–1918 issues under the name McNeile or Sapper.{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|pp=163–164}} His obituary in ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' states that he had written "practically nothing" prior to the war.<ref name="S Times: Obit" />}}  As serving officers in the British Army were not permitted to publish under their own names except during their [[Half-pay|half-pay sabbaticals]], many would write under a pseudonym;{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=25}} [[Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe|Lord Northcliffe]], the owner of the ''Daily Mail'', gave McNeile the pen name "Sapper", as the Royal Engineers were commonly known as the [[Sapper]]s.<ref name="Observer: Obit" />{{sfn|Watson|1971|p=63}} McNeile later confided that he had started writing through "sheer boredom".<ref name="S Times: Obit" /> Some of his stories appeared on page four of the ''Daily Mail'' over the following months.{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|pp=140–141}} Northcliffe was impressed by his writing and attempted, but failed, to have him released from the army to work as a war correspondent.{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=25}} By the end of 1915, he had written two collections of short stories, ''The Lieutenant and Others'' and ''Sergeant Michael Cassidy, R.E.'', both of which were published by [[Hodder & Stoughton]].{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|p=140}} Although many of the stories had already appeared in the ''Daily Mail'',{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|p=140}} between 1916 and 1918 ''Sergeant Michael Cassidy, R.E.'' sold 135,000 copies and ''The Lieutenant and Others'' published in 1915 sold 139,000 copies.{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|p=142}} By the end of the war he had published three more collections, ''Men, Women, and Guns'' (1916), ''No Man's Land'' (1917) and ''The Human Touch'' (1918).{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|p=140}} In 1916 he wrote a series of articles titled ''The Making of an Officer'', which appeared under the initials C. N., in five issues of ''[[The Times]]'' between 8 and 14 June 1916.{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|p=150}}<ref name="Times: Making Officer" /> The articles were aimed at young and new officers to explain their duties to them; these were collected together and published by Hodder & Stoughton later in 1916.{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|p=150}}

During his time with the Royal Engineers, McNeile saw action at the First and Second Battles of Ypres{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=25}}—he was [[Chemical warfare|gassed]] at the [[Second Battle of Ypres|second battle]]{{sfn|Bertens|1990|p=51}}—and the [[Battle of the Somme]].{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}} In 1916 he was awarded the [[Military Cross]]<ref name="Gaz: MC" /> and was [[mentioned in dispatches]];<ref name="Medal Rolls 1916" /> in November that year he was [[gazetted]] to acting [[Major (United Kingdom)|major]].<ref name="Gaz: Maj" /> From 1 April to 5 October 1918, he commanded a battalion of the [[Middlesex Regiment]] and was promoted to acting lieutenant-colonel;<ref name="Gaz: Lt C, Middx" /> the scholar Lawrence Treadwell observes that "for an engineer to command an infantry regiment was&nbsp;... a rarity".{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}} 18th Battalion, [[Middlesex Regiment]] under McNeile saw action for the remainder of his command, and were involved in fighting during the [[Hundred Days Offensive]] in the St. Quentin-Cambrai sector in September 1918;{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}} during the year, he was again mentioned in dispatches.<ref name="Gaz: MID 2" /> On 2 October 1918 he broke his ankle and was briefly hospitalised, which forced him to relinquish his command of the battalion on 4 October. He was on convalescent leave when the war ended in November 1918. During the course of the war, he had spent a total of 32 months in France,{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}} and had probably been gassed more than once.{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=25}} His literary output from 1915 to 1918 accounted for more than 80 collected and uncollected stories.{{sfn|Bertens|1990|p=51}} His brother—also in the Royal Engineers—had been killed earlier in the war.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=111}}

===Post-war years===
McNeile had a quiet life after the war; his biographer [[Jonathon Green]] notes that "as in the novels of fellow best-selling writers such as [[P. G. Wodehouse]] or [[Agatha Christie]], it is the hero who lives the exciting life".{{sfn|Green|2004}} Although he was an "unremittingly hearty man",{{sfn|Adrian|Symons|1992|p=70}} he suffered from delicate health following the war.{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=30}} He had a loud voice and a louder laugh, and "liked to enliven clubs and restaurants with the sight and sound of military good fellowship"; his friend and collaborator Gerard Fairlie described him as "not everybody's cup of tea",{{sfn|Watson|1971|p=63}} and commented that "he was loud in every possible way—in his voice, in his laugh, in his clothes, in the unconscious swagger with which he always motivated himself, in his whole approach to life".{{sfn|Fairlie|1952|p=15}} McNeile and his wife had two sons.{{sfn|Who Was Who|1967|p=883}}

On 13 June 1919 McNeile retired onto the reserve officer list and was confirmed in the rank of major.<ref name="Gaz: Major" /> The same year he also published a novel, ''Mufti'', in which he introduced a type of character as "the Breed", a class of Englishman who was patriotic, loyal and "physically and morally intrepid".{{sfn|DelFattore|1988|p=223}} Although well received by the critics, the book failed commercially and, by the end of 1922, had only sold 16,700 copies from its first print run of 20,000; the unsold copies were pulped and the novel went out of print later that year.{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|p=163}}
{{Quote box|align=left|quote = "Demobilised officer,&nbsp;... finding peace incredibly tedious, would welcome diversion. Legitimate, if possible; but crime, if of a comparatively humorous description, no objection. Excitement essential."|source = Advertisement placed in ''[[The Times]]'' by Drummond in [[Bulldog Drummond (novel)|''Bulldog Drummond'']]{{sfn|McNeile|1920|p=25}}|width = 300px|salign = right}}
In 1920 McNeile published ''[[Bulldog Drummond (novel)|Bull-Dog Drummond]]'', whose [[Bulldog Drummond|eponymous hero]]—a member of "the Breed"—became his most famous creation.{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|p=137}} He had first written Drummond as a detective for a short story in ''[[The Strand Magazine]]'', but the character was not successful and was changed for the novel, which was a [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]].{{sfn|DelFattore|1988|p=223}} Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]], MC was described in the novel's sub-title as "a demobilised officer who found peace dull" after service during the First World War with the fictional [[Loamshire Regiment]]. Drummond went on to appear in ten full-length novels by McNeile{{efn|The ten Drummond novels are: ''Bull-Dog Drummond'' (1920), ''The Black Gang'' (1922), ''The Third Round'' (1924), ''The Final Count'' (1926), ''The Female of the Species'' (1928), ''Temple Tower'' (1929), ''The Return of Bull-Dog Drummond'' (1932), ''Knock-Out'' (1933), ''Bull-Dog Drummond at Bay'' (1935) and ''Challenge'' (1937).{{sfn|Neuburg|1983|p=41}}}} and a further seven by his friend [[Gerard Fairlie]].{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=54}} The character was an amalgam of Fairlie, himself, and his idea of an English gentleman.{{sfn|DelFattore|1988|p=223}}{{efn|Bourn disputes the Fairlie background to the character, noting that it was Fairlie who made the claim, although "he was still at school when Sapper created his&nbsp;... hero".{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=31}}}} Drummond also had roots in the literary characters [[Sherlock Holmes]], [[Sexton Blake]], [[Richard Hannay]] and [[The Scarlet Pimpernel]].{{sfn|Panek|1981|p=78}} Drummond was characterised as large, very strong, physically unattractive and an "apparently brainless hunk of a man",{{sfn|Usborne|1983|p=150}} who was also a gentleman with a private income;{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|p=153}} he could also be construed as "a brutalized ex-officer whose thirst for excitement is also an attempt to reenact {{sic}} the war".{{sfn|Jaillant|2011|p=138}} The character was later described by [[Cecil Day-Lewis]], author of rival gentleman detective [[Nigel Strangeways]], as an "unspeakable public school bully".{{sfn|Watson|1971|p=69}} Drummond's main adversary across four novels is Carl Peterson,{{efn|The four Drummond novels with Carl Peterson are: ''Bull-Dog Drummond'' (1920), ''The Black Gang'' (1922), ''The Third Round'' (1924) and ''The Final Count'' (1926).{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=132}}}} a master criminal with no national allegiance, who is often accompanied by his wife, Irma.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=131}} Irma is described by Jonathon Green as "the slinky epitome of a twenties '[[femme fatale|vamp]]{{' "}},{{sfn|Green|2004}} and by Lawrence Treadwell as dark, sexy and from an oriental background, "a true ''femme fatale''".{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=132}} After Carl Peterson's death in ''The Final Count'', Irma swears revenge on Drummond and kidnaps his wife—whom he had met in ''Bull-Dog Drummond''—with the intent of killing him in the ensuing chase.{{sfn|DelFattore|1988|p=225}} Irma Peterson appears in six of McNeile's books, and in a further five by Fairlie.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=132}}{{efn|The six Drummond novels with Irma Peterson are: ''Bull-Dog Drummond'' (1920), ''The Black Gang'' (1922), ''The Third Round'' (1924), ''The Final Count'' (1926), ''The Female of the Species'' (1928) and ''The Return of Bulldog Drummond'' (1932).{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=132}}}}
[[File:Bulldog Drummond lobby card 1.jpg|thumb|[[Lobby card]] for US screenings of the 1922 film, ''[[Bulldog Drummond (1922 film)|Bulldog Drummond]]'']]
McNeile adapted ''[[Bulldog Drummond (play)|Bulldog Drummond]]'' for the stage.  It was produced at [[Wyndham's Theatre]] during the 1921–22 season, with [[Gerald du Maurier]] playing the title role;{{sfn|DelFattore|1988|p=224}} it ran for 428 performances.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=23}}{{efn|Du Maurier again played the role on 8 November 1932 in a special charity performance at the [[Adelphi Theatre|Royal Adelphi Theatre]] attended by King [[George VI]].{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=182}}}} The play also ran in New York during the same season, with [[A. E. Matthews]] as Drummond.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=23}}{{efn|The play was later adapted for the screen and became the [[silent film|silent]] 1922 film [[Bulldog Drummond (1922 film)|''Bulldog Drummond'']], with [[Carlyle Blackwell]] as the lead.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=22}}}} Later in 1922 McNeile resigned his reserve commission with the rank of lieutenant-colonel,<ref name="Gaz: Lt Col" /> and moved as a [[tax exile]] to [[Territet]], [[Montreux]], Switzerland, with his wife;{{sfn|Bertens|1990|p=52}} the Swiss countryside was later described in a number of his stories.{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=30}}{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=114}}

The following year McNeile introduced the character of Jim Maitland, a "footloose sahib of the period".{{sfn|Usborne|1983|p=178}}{{efn|Although published in the 1920s and 30s, the Maitland stories were set in 1912–13.{{sfn|Usborne|1983|p=178}}}} Maitland was the protagonist of the 1923 novel ''Jim Maitland''; he later appeared in a second novel in 1931, ''The Island of Terror''. Around the time McNeile killed off the Carl Peterson character in ''The Final Count'' (1926), he also introduced the character Ronald Standish, who first appeared in ''The Saving Clause'' (1927) and ''Tiny Carteret'' (1930){{sfn|DelFattore|1988|p=225}} before becoming the protagonist in two collections of short stories, ''Ronald Standish'' (1933) and ''Ask for Ronald Standish'' (1936). The character also appeared in the final three Drummond novels, ''Knock-Out'' (1933), ''Bull-Dog Drummond at Bay'' (1935) and ''Challenge'' (1937).{{sfn|DelFattore|1988|p=225}} Standish was a sportsman who played cricket for England and was a part-time consultant with the [[War Office]].{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=152}}

In 1929 McNeile edited a volume of short stories from [[O. Henry]], ''The Best of O. Henry''; the stories had served as models for him when he had started as a writer.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=124}} The same year, the film [[Bulldog Drummond (1929 film)|''Bulldog Drummond'']] was released, starring [[Ronald Colman]] in the title role. Colman was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] at the [[3rd Academy Awards]] ceremony.<ref name="Academy Awards: 1930" /> The film earned $750,000 at the box office,{{sfn|Frank|1997|p=86}} and McNeile received an estimated £5,000 for the rights to his novel.<ref name="S Times: Obit" /> The same year he wrote his second play—''The Way Out''—which was staged at the [[Harold Pinter Theatre|Comedy Theatre]] in January 1930.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=170}}{{efn|The cast for ''The Way Out'' included [[Ian Hunter (actor)|Ian Hunter]] and [[Beatrix Thomson]].{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=170}}}} About a year later he and his wife returned to England, and settled near [[Pulborough]], West Sussex.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=114}}

In 1935 McNeile, Fairlie, [[Sidney Gilliat]] and [[J.O.C. Orton]] collaborated on the screenplay ''[[Bulldog Jack]]'', a "comedy thriller" with [[Jack Hulbert]] and [[Fay Wray]], which was produced by [[Gaumont British]].{{sfn|DelFattore|1988|p=226}}<ref name="BFI: Bulldog Jack" />

===Death and legacy===
In 1937 McNeile was working with Fairlie on the play ''Bulldog Drummond Hits Out''{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=26}}{{efn|Jonathon Green names the play as ''Bulldog Drummond Again'', although this is not supported by any other sources.{{sfn|Green|2004}}}} when he was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer. He came to an agreement with Fairlie for the play to continue after his death and for Fairlie to continue writing the Drummond stories.{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=30}}{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|pp=26–27}} McNeile died on 14 August 1937<ref name="Times: Obit" /> at his home in [[West Chiltington]], West Sussex.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=113}} Although most sources identify throat cancer as the cause of death, Treadwell also suggests that it may have been lung cancer.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=27}} It was "traceable to his war service",{{sfn|Green|2004}} and attributed to a gas attack.{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=25}} His funeral, with full military honours, was conducted at [[Woking]] crematorium.<ref name="Times funeral" /> At his death his estate was valued at over £26,000.<ref name="S Times: Obit" />

''Bulldog Drummond Hits Out'' was finished by Fairlie and had a short tour of Brighton, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh, before opening in London at the [[Savoy Theatre]] on 21 December 1937.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=27}} The story was later turned into a novel by Fairlie, with the title ''Bulldog Drummond on Dartmoor''.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|pp=27–28}} Fairlie continued to write Drummond novels, seven in total. When the Second World War broke out, Fairlie put Bulldog Drummond firmly in the anti-fascist camp, fighting for Britain.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=64}}{{efn|The seven Bulldog Drummond novels written by Fairlie are: ''Bulldog Drummond on Dartmoor'' (1938), ''Bulldog Drummond Attacks'' (1939), ''Captain Bulldog Drummond'' (1945), ''Bulldog Drummond Stands Fast'' (1947), ''Hands Off Bulldog Drummond'' (1949), ''Calling Bulldog Drummond'' (1951) and ''The Return of the Black Gang'' (1954).{{sfn|Neuburg|1983|p=41}}}}

Drummond, McNeile's chief literary legacy, became a model for other literary heroes created in the 1940s and '50s.{{sfn|Panek|1981|p=78}} [[W. E. Johns]] used McNeile's work as a model for his character [[Biggles]],{{sfn|Sutherland|2012|p=142}} while [[Ian Fleming]] admitted that [[James Bond (literary character)|James Bond]] was "Sapper from the waist up and [[Mickey Spillane]] below".{{sfn|Green|2004}} [[Sydney Horler]]'s popular character "Tiger" Standish was also modelled on Drummond.{{sfn|Bertens|1990|p=52}}