Sax Rohmer
by George Alex Windish

London in the late 1880s to early 1900s was a city going through massive changes. Not the least of these was the immigration of thousands of Chinese immigrants who were escaping persecution in their homeland. To many Londoners, these people were mysterious, unknowable and suspicious. Many of them settled in the dock area known as Limehouse, where they were forced to live by their wits. Many of them turned to crime, and the area became almost off limits to most city dwellers. Over the many gangs that had turned to thievery and murder presided the mysterious "Mr. King."

This was the backdrop of the 13 novels featuring Dr. Fu Manchu, the epitome of everything evil. Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward, better known as Sax Rohmer, used this feeling of unease melded with the idea of a mysterious overlord in the creation of Fu Manchu. A megalomania, Fu Manchu's ultimate aim was to conquer the world in the name of China. In order to accomplish this, he blended science and sorcery, occultism and hard facts.

Sax Rohmer was born in 1883 to a hard-working father and an alcoholic mother. Undisciplined, he left school early and failed at every job that he managed to acquire. 

He turned his hand to writing for the money. He wrote quickly, but was meticulous at checking his facts, and managed to produce 50 books in his lifetime. He was terrible at handling money, though, and he and his wife were never far from starvation.

Sax Rohmer died in 1959.

George Alex Windish has been writing for many years, and has become a better typist, if nothing else. He has placed nearly a dozen short stories of horror and science fiction, has had a weekly column in a local Baltimore newspaper, and has written for and edited COUNTRY LINE, a small Pennsylvania magazine. He has also done ad copy and correspondence for businesses.  He has long been a fan of genre literature and truly tacky movies, as well as being a collector of vintage records.  Contact him at GeorgeWindish@aol.com. 

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