A. E. W. Mason was one of the best and most popular storytellers in the first half of the twentieth century. He was remembered by his contemporaries for his genial and companionable nature and his hearty laugh and also for his enthusiasm for travel and mountaineering. His enthusiasms gave experiences and settings to his writings. His masterpiece, The Four Feathers (1902), combines adventure and careful character analysis so successfully that when he applied the same methods to the detective novel his contribution to the genre was considered by many to be as significant as the creation of Sherlock Holmes in the previous century. Mason's blending of characterization and psychology with high adventure is his lasting contribution to fiction. The genre was still in its infancy and did not always follow the patterns for mainstream literature, but Mason saw no reason to treat entertainment any less seriously than he would...