RAY RAYMOND

Full Name:	Ray Raymond
Nationality:	British
Organization:	None
Occupation	Other - Lawyer

Creator:	William Le Queux
Time Span:	1909 - 1909

ABOUT THE SERIES

Ray Raymond is a lawyer.

In training he is a barrister rather than a solicitor. Not actually a practicing one, at least according to the man who narrates Raymond's adventures, John James Jacox. They shared a "set of rather dismal chambers in North Stone Buildings, Lincoln's Inn" which sounds like they were roommates except for a subsequent statement indicated he resided in a prettily furnished flat in Bruton Street, while I lived in rooms round in Guilford Street, Bloomsbury, in my lonely bachelordom".

Raymond was the "eldest son of Sir Archibald Raymond, Bart., the well-known Cardiff coal-owner who sat for East Carmarthen" and had himself been "adopted as candidate for West Rutland at the next election, and his party predicted of him great things". From that we can deduce that Raymond was well off and not actually needing to work for a living so his intended career in politics was almost hereditary.

He is described as having "long, thin legs" and is said to present "the appearance of the typical athletic young Englishman, aged about thirty, clean-shaven, clean-limbed, with an intelligent and slightly aquiline face, a pair of merry grey eyes, and light brown hair closely cropped. He was an all-round good fellow, even though his life had been cast in pleasant places".

Though his life seemed already scripted for him, Raymond, in the adventures we have of his, has decided to use the time remaining until the next election to "with commendable patriotism [take] up the burning question of German spies in England, which had been so lightly pooh-poohed by both the Prime Minister and the Minister for War. His intention was, if possible, to checkmate their activity, and at the same time reveal to the public the fool's paradise in which we are living now that 'the Day' - as they call it in Germany - is fast approaching - the day of the invasion of Great Britain".

He is helped in these set of endeavors by not only Jacox but also Raymond's fiancee, Vera, "the pretty, fair-haired daughter of Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Vallance, the Admiral-Superintendent of Portsmouth Dockyard". That woman provides a good share of logical and insightful advice which Raymond is intelligent enough to heed, once in a while.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	1
First Appearance:	1909
Last Appearance:	1909


1			Spies of the Kaiser Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 A collection of 14 connected adventures of Ray Raymond of British Intelligence. The stories are: How the Plans of Rosyth Were Stolen The Secret of the Silent Submarine The Back-Door of England How the Germans Are Preparing for Invasion The Secret of the New British Aeroplane The Secret of the New Armour-Plates The Secret of the Improved "Dreadnoughts" The German Plot Against England The Secret of Our New Gun The Secret of the Clyde Defences The Peril of London How Germany Foments Strife Our Wireless Secrets Playing a Desperate Game

NOVELLAS AND SHORT STORIES

Number of Stories:	14
First Appearance:	1909
Last Appearance:	1909


1			How the Plans of Rosyth Were Stolen short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. Story deals with the certainty by Ray Raymond, working with his friend Jack Jacox, that the new naval plans for a base at Rosyth had been stolen by German spies. Investigating, the pair latch onto a suspicious foreign waiter and stalk him, resulting in the capture of a couple of spies with additional plans to blow up the Forth Bridge.

2			The Secret of the Silent Submarine short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. The discover of a severely injured German aboard a British train from Guilford to Vauxhall interests Ray Raymond and friends. He, Jacox, and Vera are certain the man was part of an espionage ring and they eventually link him to efforts to obtain the plans for a new stealth submarine.

3			The Back-Door of England short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. While following a suspicious car through East Anglia, Ray Raymond and his friend Jacox are certain they are onto a spy operation. They latch on to two men they are certain are casing the region in preparation for an invasion. Their subsequent discovery of German spy Erna Stolberg will lead them to a safe house and detailed plans for the hiding of arms and supplies for that invasion. Raymond uses a small explosive device to destroy the enemies' work.

4			How the Germans Are Preparing for Invasion short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. Ray Raymond, Jacox, and Vera investigate the murder of James Pavely, a British pilot found dead under suspicious circumstances. The man was found dead in a ditch and though he was said to be nearly broke, he had a large sum of money on him. The investigation takes the trio to a pub called the Goad and Binnacle and a German cell stockpiling ammo and gathering intel on the area for the upcoming invasion.

5			The Secret of the New British Aeroplane short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. Also printed in the anthology called Mysterious Air Stories edited by William Patrick in 1986. A German spy named Karl Straus, working under the alias of Goldstein, is out to get the details of a new highly secret British aeroplane. That is the belief of Ray Raymond and his friend but proving it will be a very dangerous undertaking. Luckily, Vera will be able to provide the key information.

6			The Secret of the New Armour-Plates short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. Concerned with a Professor Emden who has a revolutionary steel hardening process which the German Navy is very interested in, Ray Raymond is disappointed when Emden dismisses the threat. Also worrisome is the man's daughter, Nella, who is dating an Italian name Mellini who the group believes is really working for the enemy.

7			The Secret of the Improved "Dreadnoughts" short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. This tale deals with a man named Nye (really Jacox in disguise) who is hired to be the driver for a man named Brackenbury. The latter, along with a good friend of his, are very much involved in the social scene which includes prominent Germans. Nye begin to suspect that espionage is going on and he steps in when sensitive intel on new battleship designs are getting handed over.

8			The German Plot Against England short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. This story deals with the interaction of Jacox and a young woman named Suzette Darbour who he knew before under a different name. He wants her help in catching German spies. Unfortunately, she is being controlled by an American conman who must be nullified. The ultimate goal is to learn more about a proposed secret alliance between Germany, Russia, and the U.S.

9			The Secret of Our New Gun short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. Ray Raymond and his colleague Jacox go up against German spies who are determined to get the intel on a powerful new gun being developed at the Armstrong Works at Elswick. This in turn leads them to dismantle a spy ring working out of a German club in Newcastle.

10			The Secret of the Clyde Defences short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. Jacox recounts how he and his mechanic have been on the road in a car travelling over ten thousand miles in England conducting a military survey 'from the Tyne to the Thames'. A chance encounter one night with two women, a mother and grown daughter, who need a ride, will not work out well for him and all the intel he had amassed.

11			The Peril of London short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. Jacox is undercover again, this time as a valet. He is hired by a Baron von Enrenburg who is suspected of being a German spy. After learning the Baron is working with a shady Dutch citizen, Jacox is caught snooping and faces certain death until rescued by Ray Raymond. the scheme the spies were involved in was the arming of numerous German citizens in England to take over London when the upcoming invasion starts.

12			How Germany Foments Strife short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. Investigation of Hermann Hartmann, a German agent provocateur, has Ray Raymond and Jacox following the man to Russia where Hartmann is ordered to stir unrest in the large country.

13			Our Wireless Secrets short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. Two men, Paul Dubois and Frederick Gessner are suspected of being spies against England, especially since they are close to Hartmann from the previous adventure. What they are up to, though, remains a mystery, at least until they pay a visit to a factory near the docks. With Vera's help, Ray Raymond discovers a plan to set up a wireless telegraphy system at that factory to more easily and quickly send intel to Germany.

14			Playing a Desperate Game short story Written by William Le Queux Copyright: 1909 Contained in the book Spies of the Kaiser. Jacox is spending Christmas Eve alone in London when he chances upon an old friend, Otto Engler, who is in London working on a scheme to create a new alloy. Jacox is invited to a dinner to talk more about it and is told to invite his friend, Ray Raymond. It will turn out to be a trap involving bon-bons which are really bombs.

MY COMMENTS

Oh my stars! Ray Raymond does not need anyone else in the world thinking good things about him because this man thinks enough of them himself. This fellow is, to me, quite insufferable.

But then again being so near perfect, if not there already, it is a darn good thing that in the turbulent times in which he takes his adventures that he is there. How else would England and the Crown ever survive?

If you think I write these works with a touch of sarcasm, I reckon I did not put enough into the pot. Read these for their historical value, which is considerable. Just be prepared.

GRADE

My Grade: C+

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