The Musuem
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The Dennis Wheatley 'Museum' - Instant success as an author

Following up success ... 'Such Power is Dangerous'


The first edition

DW writes about his new book to a fan
shortly after publication


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For a transcript click here

Having got a bestseller published, DW decided to find out how fast he could write. Joe Links lent him a cottage near Godalming, and DW decided to see if he could emulate Edgar Wallace by writing a book in a week. He failed, but managed to write "Such Power Is Dangerous" in a fortnight.

It was a blood-and-thunder tale set in Hollywood, and as DW was to remark in 1936 with typical honesty, he thought it "my worst book yet but some people who like straight gangster stuff thought it not too bad".

He did not seriously intend it for publication, but Hutchinson pressed him for anything else he had written which they could publish in the summer. With misgivings he passed it over to them. It came out in June, some six months after "The Forbidden Territory", and to DW's relief it sold well.

References: 'Drink and Ink' p 116
Phil Baker p 288-290.

Provenance:ex Humphreys Collection