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YORKE NORROY

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Full Name: Yorke Norroy
Nationality: American
Organization: State Department
Occupation Agent

Creator: George Bronson-Howard
Time Span: 1905 - 1929

ABOUT THE SERIES

Yorke Norroy is an agent of the State Department.

In the time in which he worked, namely the turn of the 20th century, he was referred to as a "diplomatic agent" employed by the Department of State. The term spy was not used, you see, in polite company for it gave a rather negative cast to the profession and Norroy was above all that. By this I mean he was above giving a bad impression. He most certainly was not above doing whatever it took to get the job done, negative or otherwise. He just would rather not look like he was anything but a polite member of the gentry.

In the opening pages of the first recorded adventure, very astute and important descriptions of Norroy are given which sum up very well the type of man that he presented as well as the style of writing all the adventures would employ:

"Seen from [a] distance, there was nothing particularly striking about him. Looking at him more closely, such an impression would be cast aside. There was something impressive in the way he held himself; and his indefinitely colored eyes had in them a certain commanding, almost supercilious look which stamped him as a man who did things.

"His hair was cut very close to the scalp, showing a pair of small, very perked-up ears, which seemed to have almost human alertness in the way they apparently stood to attention. He was of medium height, neither tall nor short, although his excessive slenderness inclined to the first impression. His hands and feet were very small-almost womanish, in fact. His clothes were just a little too much the mode of the day, and one indefinably regretted that a man of his intelligence should spend the thought necessary for such ultra-fashionable attire. They had evidently been cut not a week before, for they embodied a new wrinkle in evening clothes which had originated at the period.

"The objection which most people found in Norroy was that he was just a bit too sphinxlike in his facial expression, and that he had mastered the art of saying less in more words, when he chose, than any man in the circles in which he moved. It seemed to be Norroy's principal aim in life to persuade people that he was simply an idle butterfly of fashion, without any more brains than the modicum usually portioned out to men who make the pursuit of the fashions and the ways of the ultra-mundane their sole object of living.

"When in Washington, New York, London, Paris, or any other city where the society folk of America sojourned, he was of them, one of them, and nothing more. Yet everyone knew that much of Norroy's time was spent in other places; where, he would not tell, but every now and then he disappeared, and questions were unavailing, for none knew or could learn of his whereabouts."

Norroy's age is not specifically mentioned but he is likely in his late 20s going by the history that is alluded to and the fact that he fits in so well with those of that age in his adventures. Furthermore, his boss, the Secretary of State, treats him, while very respectfully, as someone quite a bit younger. There is no disrepect, though, in the boss's attitude for he has already learned before the first book how well Norroy can perform and how determined Norroy is in getting results.

For his own part, Norroy admits to himself that he does much of what he does not only because it is important to the country he loves but because he really enjoys his work. He is obviously quite gifted at it and while he knows there is always a chance of failure, the concept of his actually letting it happen never really takes hold in his head. He just will not allow it.

Norroy is not officially a part of the government bureaucracy. He is an independent agent and he can and apparently does do work for others but he is largely at the beckon of the Secretary and drops everything when so called. His patriotism notwithstanding, though, Norroy is not above concerns of money. Though he gives the appearance of a wealthy "dandy" he decidedly worries about getting paid and pays attention to things like expenses. It obviously takes a lot of money to look like one does not need to worry about money.

BOOKS

Number of Books:4
First Appearance:1907
Last Appearance:1922

1 Norroy, Diplomatic Agent Norroy, Diplomatic Agent
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1907

A collection of 7 adventures some of which were originally serialized in magazines:
How Norroy Created a New Republic
A Tilt with the Muscovite
The Isle of St. Anthony
The Eagles Eyrie
A Yankee Knight-Errant
The Honor of the Ambassador
The Friend of the Chief Executive
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2 Slaves of the Lamp Slaves of the Lamp
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1917

Full title was "Slaves of the Lamp; being the adventures of Yorke Norroy in his quest of the four jade plates".
Consists of five adventures originally serialized in magazines:
The Green Plates
The Green Hour
The Greenhorn
The Green Finch
Behind the Green Lamps

3 The Black Book The Black Book
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1920

Full title is "The Black Book: Being the Full Account of How the Book of the Betrayers Came Into the Hands of Yorke Norroy, Secret Agent of the Department of State".
Consists of five adventures possibly originally serialized in magazines:
The Book of the Betrayers
An Enemy to the Emperor
The Bureau of Missing Articles
His Country or His Life
A Leaf from the Kaiser's Book

4 The Devil's Chaplain The Devil's Chaplain
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1922

The year is 1918. This tale revolves around a man named Alan Allenby and how on St. Kilda's Cay he is drawn into a dangerous criminal operations involving synthetic morphine-style drugs. Allenby does not want to get involved but does want to protect the lovely Guilda Six from the enigmatic and sinister Chaplain Septimus Six. Norroy Yorke plays a very needed part helpful to Allenby.

NOVELLAS AND SHORT STORIES

Number of Stories:33
First Appearance:1905
Last Appearance:1923

1 How Norroy Created a New Republic How Norroy Created a New Republic
novelette
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1905

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in April, 1905. One of the stories in Norroy, Diplomatic Agent
This tale deals with a mission for Yorke Norroy, given him by the US President and Secretary of State, to counterattack efforts by the nation of Saxonia to push the country of Colombia into preventing the US from building a canal in Central America. Yorke will decide the best way to handle the situation was to create a new country in the Isthmus. Working against him is the beautiful Dona Ysabela de Tavera and Saxonian operative Graf Herman von Ladenburg.
[Note: history buffs will recollect that Teddy Roosevelt was instrumental in getting Panamanian rebels to declare independence in that northern province of Colombia and then rushed naval forces to the region to recognize and 'defend' the new country, all in 1903.]


2 A Tilt with the Muscovite A Tilt with the Muscovite
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1905

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in May, 1905. One of the stories in Norroy, Diplomatic Agent
Yorke Norroy is sent by the Secretary of State to Paris to meet with a M. Dumercier. That man knows the whereabouts and status of an inventor named Leo Gaylord who had been kidnapped by Russian agents and transported to Moscow. There he is being repeatedly tortured to get the details of a radically new and powerful rapid-fire naval gun capable of changing the balance of naval warfare.

3 The Isle of St. Anthony The Isle of St. Anthony
novelette
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1905

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in June, 1905. One of the stories in Norroy, Diplomatic Agent
The beautiful and seductive Honora Nugent, an Irish woman of the world, employed by the Russian Czar, has managed to seduce the plans for the defense of New York City Harbor from a man in charge of them. Now she has talked her way aboard a private yacht, the Slyph, and is leaving the country. Yorke Norroy must come up with a plan to either get the plans back or see them destroyed.

4 The Eagle's Eyrie The Eagle's Eyrie
novelette
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1905

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in July, 1905. One of the stories in Norroy, Diplomatic Agent
The title of this story refers to a castle in the European nation of Saxonia, frequent enemy to the US, owned by the seductive Baroness Aufsberg. It is to there that she has enticed Jorge Emilio de Legaspi, a politician recently elected President of the South American country of Andevia. The plan is to convince him to change from pro-US to pro-Saxonia. The Secretary of State instructs Yorke Norroy, already in Saxonia on another matter, to see to the rescue of de Legaspi immediately.

5 A Yankee Knight-Errant A Yankee Knight-Errant
novelette
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1905

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in August, 1905. One of the stories in Norroy, Diplomatic Agent
Yorke Norroy is undercover in Port Arthur, about to head into Russia to acquire intel on behalf of the Japanese government concerning Russian fortifications from a Polish officer. His mission is put at risk because of heightened diligence by Russian officials and he will have to get into a scuffle with several and go into hiding. His success and actual survival will be placed in the hands of the lovely Countess Helma de Czechowicz.

6 The Honor of the Ambassador The Honor of the Ambassador
novelette
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1905

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in September, 1905. One of the stories in Norroy, Diplomatic Agent.
Just off a 6-month mission, Yorke Norroy is given an unusual task. He is to stop a scandal involving the ambassador from the country of Andevia and his wife, Cecilia. It is possible that she is about to run away with a rich and dashing man, putting relations between Andevia and the US at risk.

7 The Friend of the Chief Executive The Friend of the Chief Executive
novelette
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1905

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in October, 1905. One of the stories in Norroy, Diplomatic Agent.
Yorke Norroy has just returned from a mission in Russia when the Secretary of State hurriedly summons him. It is feared there is a mole in the State Department and it falls to Norroy to find who it is. Norroy's prime suspect is a man named Kennedy, a close friend of the President, who has been visiting the Saxonian consul in Baltimore a lot recently.

8 The Editor and the Diplomat The Editor and the Diplomat
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1906

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in June 1906.

9 A Prince for a Pawn A Prince for a Pawn
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1906

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in July 1906 and then in The New Magazine (UK) in March 1911.

10 On the Night of the Charity Ball On the Night of the Charity Ball
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1906

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in August 1906.

11 By Aid of an Anachronism By Aid of an Anachronism
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1906

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in September 1906, and then printed in The Story-Teller in March, 1911.

12 For the Good of the State For the Good of the State
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1906

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in October 1906.

13 An Alias from Burke's An Alias from Burke's
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1907

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in October 1907

14 The Brotherhood of Suppression The Brotherhood of Suppression
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1907

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in December 1907

15 The Return of Norroy The Return of Norroy
novelette
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1908

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in October 1908 and then printed in the April 1910 issue of The Story-Teller.

16 The Code Book The Code Book
novella
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1911

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in February 1911 and then printed in the April 1911 issue of The New Magazine (UK).

17 The Witness The Witness
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1911

Originally published in The New Magazine in February 1911.

18 Further Chronicles of Norroy, Diplomatic Agent Further Chronicles of Norroy, Diplomatic Agent
novella
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1912

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in November 1912,
As the fight against the opium trade goes on in China, a captain in the Imperial cavalry sends to a female friend, Holly Lea, in New York six jade plates, not knowing that they hold the secret to producing a potent form of opium known as Shandoo. Several different factions want those plates. One of them is Yorke Norroy.

19 The Kidnapping of Norroy The Kidnapping of Norroy
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1912

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in December 1912,
[plot unknown]

20 The Curio Collector The Curio Collector
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1912

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in December 1912
Yorke Norroy, secret agent, remains in search of the parts of a six-plate jade set holding intel on opium smuggling. This latest foray takes him to Talbot Blake, a self-proclaimed connoisseur of the arts, who refuses to sell his plate to Norroy. Others will not be so ready to take 'no' for an answer.
Click here to read the story.

21 The Green Plates The Green Plates
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1912

{s~Originally published as The Green Hour Part 1 of 2 in The Popular Magazine in January 1, 1913. One of the stories in Slaves of the Lamp
[plot unknown]

22 The Green Hour The Green Hour
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1913

Originally published as The Green Hour Part 2 of 2 in The Popular Magazine in January 15, 1913. One of the stories in Slaves of the Lamp.
[plot unknown]

23 The Secret Stairway The Secret Stairway
novella
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1913

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in February 1, 1913.
[plot unknown]

24 The Greenhorn The Greenhorn
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1913

Originally published as Green Finch Part 1 of 2 in The Popular Magazine in February 1913. One of the stories in Slaves of the Lamp.
[plot unknown]

25 The Green Finch The Green Finch
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1913

Originally published as Green Finch Part 2 of 2 in The Popular Magazine in February 1913. One of the stories in Slaves of the Lamp.
[plot unknown]

26 Behind the Green Lamps Behind the Green Lamps
novella
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1913

Originally published in 2 issues (March 15 and April 1) of The Popular Magazine. One of the stories in Slaves of the Lamp.
[plot unknown]

27 The Book of the Betrayers The Book of the Betrayers
novella
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1918

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in May 1918. One of the stories in The Black Book.

28 The Enemy to the Emperor The Enemy to the Emperor
novella
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1918

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in June 1918. One of the stories in The Black Book.

29 The Bureau of Missing Articles The Bureau of Missing Articles
novella
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1918

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in June 1918. One of the stories in The Black Book.

30 His Country or His Life His Country or His Life
short story
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1918

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in July 1918. One of the stories in The Black Book.

31 A Leaf from the Kaiser's Book A Leaf from the Kaiser's Book
novella
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1918

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in July 1918. One of the stories in The Black Book.

32 The Devil's Chaplain The Devil's Chaplain
novella
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1918

Originally published 4 parts in The Popular Magazine in October 7 & 20 and November 7 & 20 1920.

33 The Lady Of The Lost Garments The Lady Of The Lost Garments
novella
Written by George Bronson-Howard
Copyright: 1923

Originally published in The Popular Magazine in February 7 1923.

MOVIES

Number of Movies:4
First Appearance:1917
Last Appearance:1929

1 Perils of the Secret Service Perils of the Secret Service
Directors: Hal Mohr, George Bronson-Howard, Jack Wells
Actor: Kingsley Benedict as Yorke Norroy
Released: 1917

A silent "film" lasting 90 minutes. It was actually 9 different adventures, each a 10-minute episode, all written by George Bronson-Howard. Overall direction of the project was under the eye of Hal Mohr but the direction of  the individual episodes was done by Bronson-Howard for the first 7 and Jack Wells for the last 2. The producer for the project was Kingsley Benedict who would also play the part of Yorke Norroy. The episodes were:
The Last Cigarette - The heads of Saxonia's Secret Service plot against Yorke Norroy after he causes one of their key agents to fail in his mission. Ironically, their method of dispatch will be used by Norroy to escape being killed!
The Clash of Steel - A Princess Seraphina flees her horrible marriage taking her son, Paul with her. Count Stefan, an agent for Saxonia, uses this as a way to cause trouble benefitting Saxonia. Yorke Norroy must find a way to stop him and save Seraphina and Paul for a vengeful husband.
The Dreaded Tube - An anarchist named Xabra is due to be executed for a bombing that killed four people. The terrorist organization The Red Brotherhood is threatening to unleash the bubonic plague in New York City if Xabra is killed. Yorke Norroy must stop them.
The Crimson Blade - An arms dealer named Herman Von Ladenburg is providing guns and such to Filipino rebels and it is the job of Yorke Norroy, aided by fellow agent Carson Huntley, to stop him. The action takes place largely in Neropa, Turkey.
The Man in the Trunk - Cissy Reginald seeks the held of Yorke Norroy to help find her sweetheart, Carson Huntley. He, they will find out, is being held by a Mexican named Diego Rey who is torturing him to get details about a new noiseless machinegun.
The Signet Ring - Peyton Car is a young naval officer as well as the inventor of a new style of submarine. When he commits suicide in despair of unrequited love for Alida Astaire, she in turn steals his plans and sells them to Saxonian agents. It falls to Yorke Norroy to convince those operatives that she was being false with them.
The International Spy - Guy Sterner is a not very honorable man who has married a Senator Bohun's daughter in order to get into government himself. He then uses the opportunity to leak classified documents to an international spy named Ehricke. It is Yorke Norroy's job to stop the activity.
The Master Spy - Yorke Norroy and Carson Huntley are on a dangerous mission to recover stolen fort defense plans. This will involve working with a British agent named John Gaunt who is worried about not surviving the assignment.
The Mysterious Iron Ring - When Yorke Norroy gets involved in a case of stolen defense plans, he finds he has to deal with a powerful criminal known only with the initials H.I.J. as well as a beautiful and dangerous woman named Countess Irma Hardenbergh who is very friendly with a US Senator.
These were all silent films.

2 The Further Adventures Of Yorke Norroy The Further Adventures Of Yorke Norroy
Director: Duke Worne
Writer: George Bronson-Howard
Actor: Roy Stewart as Yorke Norroy
Released: 1922

A silent "film" lasting just under 60 minutes. It was actually 4 different adventures, each a 10-minute episode, all written by George Bronson-Howard. The titles of each adventure are unknown and apparently there are no known copies of the film existing.

3 The Man From Headquarters The Man From Headquarters
Director: Duke Worne
Writer: Arthur Hoerl
Actors: Cornelius Keefe as Yorke Norroy, Edith Roberts as Countess Jalna
Released: 1928

A silent film based on the novel The Black Book.
Yorke Norroy is given to safeguard half of a map showing the location of a cache of gold. Heading to Washington, he is attacked by minions of Countess Jalna of Albania, head of a criminal organization. When they fail, she decides to use her charms instead but ends up falling for the hero.

4 The Devil's Chaplain The Devil's Chaplain
Director: Duke Worne
Writer: Arthur Hoerl
Actors: Cornelius Keefe as Yorke Norroy, Virginia Brown Faire as Princess Therese, Josef Swickard as The King, Boris Karloff as Boris
Released: 1929

A silent film based on the novel The Devil's Chaplain.
"Escaping from a revolution, the King of a mythical Balkan country heads to the United States. Here he finds a friend in the form of dashing secret service agent Yorke Norroy."

MY COMMENTS

There are many incredibly gifted writers creating jewels in the spy-fi genre about times many decades removed from their creation. Alan Furst is a particularly noteworthy member of that group and he can put you in the midst of the times so well you become a tad disoriented when you pull back from the book to the present.

However, there is nothing so realistic and authentic as reading a book written in the time it is set, written as a contemporary piece, and then read many years later. In the case of Yorke Norroy, that would be over a century ago. When you read these books you are experiencing it as the author intended, warts and all.

This is very important to remember when you enter Norroy's world. None of us are perfect in this day and age and many of our beliefs and attitudes will be considered dated and, who knows, even wrong by the mores of people in 2217 even though for us today they are the way things should be. That is decidedly the case with the Norroy stories read by us now.

The attitude of the rich and mighty towards the common (the great unwashed) is not so great these days but it was incredibly worse back then. Opinions and beliefs about money and sex and lifestyles are presented by a man of his generation told to people of his generation but now read by people of ours. It is a huge case of culture shock at different times.

And yet it shows that for the most part people have not changed a whole lot, either.

GRADE

My Grade: B

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