Sexton Blake, a fictional British detective, appeared in more than 4,000 novels and short stories over the last 130 years. The character—whose popularity rivaled that of Sherlock Holmes in his day—has appeared in comic strips, radio series, movies, television programs, books, and newspapers since his first appearance in 1893.
Blake was created by Harry Blyth, who published the first story under the pseudonym “Hal Meredeth.” Blake’s first appearance, “The Missing Millionaire,” was a short story published in The Halfpenny Marvel on December 20, 1893. It was not an terribly impressive debut and did little to signal the arrival of a major fictional character. However, Blyth persisted and published additional stories featuring Blake until his death in 1898, at which point the stories were writ
