Sexton Blake - Blake's Evolution

Blake's Evolution

As the years passed, Blake's character underwent various permutations. Originally, he was created in the vein of earlier 19th century detectives but in the late 1890s, Blake's authors consciously modeled him on Sherlock Holmes. It was not until 1919 that Blake took on a more distinctive personality. The golden age of the story papers coincided with Blake's golden age, as he became far more action-oriented than Holmes and duelled with a variety of memorable enemies.

Many of Blake's writers had been men of adventure, men who had travelled the world and seen the seamier side of life. When World War II started, they enlisted, leaving just a small group of writers behind (with the addition of the occasional guest writer). Consequently, the standard of Blake's stories suffered.

In November 1955, William Howard Baker took over as editor of the Sexton Blake Library and, in 1956, introduced a successful update of the Blake formula. The Sexton Blake Library found new popularity with faster-moving, more contemporary stories (often influenced by American pulp fiction).

Blake, who had moved a number of times over the years, moved to a suite of plush offices in Berkeley Square (while retaining lodgings at Baker Street) and acquired a secretary, Paula Dane, who became a not-quite-love interest for Blake. Tinker was given a real name, Edward Carter, and Blake's office receptionist Marion Lang was introduced as his female counterpart.

Covers, which had become rather staid in the early 50s, became far more dynamic and a new group of authors were commissioned.

Baker remained as editor until 1963 (his last story being "The Last Tiger") before becoming Blake's licensor/publisher and continuing to oversee Blake's print adventures until 1969.