NEWTON MOORE
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Full Name: |
Newton Moore |
Nationality: |
British |
Organization: |
Secret Service Fund |
Occupation |
Agent |
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Creator: |
Fred M. White
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Time Span: |
1900 - 1900 |
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ABOUT THE SERIES
Newton Moore is an agent with the British Secret Service Fund.
Exactly why the department is called a "fund" is not mentioned but looking up the definition of the word shows that it can mean something "saved or made available for a particular purpose", in this case espionage. It also could mean a "large stock or supply of something" as in a "fund of information". Either explanation would fit and together they make sense as well.
This intelligence organization works out of the Foreign Office and its personnel have considerable authority throughout the country and have responsibility for many things happening outside the borders. It is directed by the austere Sir Gresham.
In addition to being the best operative the group has, Moore is a novelist with a good deal of success, his books being known not only in England but also throughout Europe. His ability to pen interesting stories has worked against him, though, as he is said to be a man "cursed with a vivid imagination, and unseen terrors always unmanned him." In fact, in a passage in the first recorded adventure, "he had described himself as a coward, who was a hero in spite of himself. His imagination magnified the unseen danger, but the same fine inventiveness taught him the right moment to strike." As time passes and other missions are told, his "cowardness" is largely forgotten though he does retain a healthy discretion.
He is a slight man with a retreating hairline leaving a pronounced widow's peak and he routinely wears a pince-nez. He is shown in illustrations in the magazine to have a very narrow pointed chin and a sharp thin nose. Clean shaven, his sideburns reach the top of his earlobes. The actual tales say little about his looks, though.
The success that Moore has had as a novelist and possibly an inheritance allows him to live rather well. He has a nice set of apartments in London and has a manservant named Painter who is an ex-sergeant in Scotland Yard's CID. The latter does not get involved much, however, in Moore's cloak and dagger escapades.
Moore boasts he knows "all the little bands of scoundrels who are on this game" as well as "quite au faut with every foreign ruffian in England." His inventiveness comes in handy on several occasions and his gift for planning is well known. "The fox had a dozen ways of escape from the hounds, and fell into their jaws at last. The cat had one avenue and escaped by it. Moore's method must be like that of the cat." it is said in one passage.
BOOKS
Number of Books: | 1 |
First Appearance: | 1900 |
Last Appearance: | 1900 |
One reference I found on the web indicated there might have been a collection of these stories published back in 1900 but the best source and the definitive expert of such publications, Al Hubin's incredibly good CRIME FICTION IV does not list that book so I would tend to doubt its existence.
The website www.batteredbox.com mentions a release of these stories in a collection edited by Douglas G. Greene. While it lists an ISBN, I could find no reference to a copy. I do believe, however, that it does exist.
The copy I found was an ebook version on Amazon.
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1 |
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The Romance of the Secret Service Fund
Written by Fred M. White
Copyright: 1900
A collection of six short stories published in the Pearson Magazine in 1900. The stories are:
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NOVELLAS AND SHORT STORIES
Number of Stories: | 6 |
First Appearance: | 1900 |
Last Appearance: | 1900 |
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1 |
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By Woman's Wit
Written by Fred M. White
Copyright: 1900
First published in Pearson Magazine v 4, no 1, July 1900. First story in the collection The Secret Service Fund is asked to help preserve the rule of the country of Contigua by its leader, Prince Boris, but Russia was using disaffection by some to stir up a revolution so they could step in and annex the province. Newton Moore is sent to pull off the mission, well aware that the three previous agents had all been murdered.
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2 |
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The Mazaroff Rifle
Written by Fred M. White
Copyright: 1900
First published in Pearson Magazine v 4, no 2, Aug 1900. Second story in the collection An Englishman with the Russian name of Mazaroff has invented a fantastic rifle but before it can to into production, the prototype is stolen - apparently by the inventor.
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3 |
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In The Express
Written by Fred M. White
Copyright: 1900
First published in Pearson Magazine v 4, no 3, Sep. 1900. Third story in the collection One of the greatest spies in Europe was Mefer and he, invariably unbeatable, had gotten his hands on a set of plans crucial to England. Newton Moore's job is to convince him to give them up with no real leverage and while on an express train.
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4 |
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The Almedi Concession
Written by Fred M. White
Copyright: 1900
First published in Pearson Magazine v 4, no 4, Oct. 1900. Fourth story in the collection The leader of a small principality in the Indian subcontinent made a deal with a British company. Then the men bringing the payment were ambushed and killed. The leader then made a new deal with the Russians. Newton Moore is tasked with getting the leader, now visiting London, to play nice.
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5 |
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The Other Side Of The Chess-Board
Written by Fred M. White
Copyright: 1900
First published in Pearson Magazine v 4, no 5, Nov. 1900. Fifth story in the collection . It is the Prime Minister himself who asks for the help of Newton Moore. The current ambassador to Asturia, a man of impeccable reputation and success, has been failing of late in his attempts to broker a treaty and it is suspected he might be a traitor. Moore is sent undercover as his new secretary to find the truth.
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6 |
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Three Of Them
Written by Fred M. White
Copyright: 1900
First published in Pearson Magazine v 4, no 5, Dec. 1900. Sixth and last story in the collection One of the Permanent Under-Secretaries at the Foreign Office is found murdered in his office late at night as he was drafting a document for dispatch. The case is shunted from Scotland Yard to Newton Moore by the Foreign Secretary with the orders to get the document back at all costs.
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