During and after the First World War, Edgar Wallace wrote several story and article series for the Glasgow Sunday Post, a weekly newspaper founded in 1915 by the Scottish shipping and media magnate David Couper Thomson. Some of these series were published under Wallaces own name, others including the present work under the house-author name of John Anstruther.
In total Wallace is credited with over 170 novels, almost 1,000 short stories, and 18 stage plays.