E. Phillips Oppenheim

Edward Phillips Oppenheim (1866–1946) was an English author who dominated the genre of espionage and suspense fiction in the early 1900s. Born in London, he left school at 17 to work in his family's leather business but soon turned to writing. His first novel, Expiation, appeared in 1887, but his breakthrough came with The Mysterious Mr. Sabin (1898), a tale of international conspiracy. Oppenheim's output was staggering: over 100 novels and numerous short stories, many serialized in magazines. His works, such as The Great Impersonation (1920), often feature aristocratic heroes, secret plots, and glamorous settings. Though critics dismissed him as a commercial writer, his influence on the spy thriller genre is undeniable, paving the way for authors like John Buchan and Ian Fleming. Oppenheim's books remained bestsellers for decades, and he was one of the highest-paid authors of his time.