The man who was nobody by Edgar Wallace

:lol: nice. I think I probably read some Wallace's books when I was very young, but I don't remember anything. I know I was sure he wrote adventurous/mystery novels, when I chose to read something of his and read this book... well, what a surprise, just a bit of adventure, a tiny tiny bit of mystery, but not mysterious at all, I had guessed it all along, and the rest is what I might call a romance novel :-)
It's more Jane Austen than Agatha Christie, if you know what I mean :lol:
Let's see, we have our protagonist, Marjorie Stedman, a good pretty girl working as secretary for the Vance&Vance law firm. Working there she briefly meets Sir James Tynewood, recently married to actress Alma Trebizond. Nothing to like in both of them, I'm afraid. The only nice thing of Alma is the mysterious man following her everywhere: Javot. I liked him.
One night Marjorie brings a message to Tynewood Chase, and incidentally is left there to hear what they say. There's sir James, Dr Fordham and another man, that she had very recently met in the studio: he had told her he was Mr Smith from Pretoria. She hears a shot, and Sir James is on the floor. She is sworn to secrecy, but she's very shaken when she learns that he's dead!
Four years later Marjorie is not working anymore. She lives in a nice house in the country with her mother. Her father died long ago, but she has an uncle in South Africa. He went there and found a gold mine, and since they're his only relatives he's been sending them money. Uncle Solomon Stedman met Pretoria Smith (yes, mr Smith from Pretoria..) four years ago, and Smith saved his life. They became friends and partners in the mine. Smith liked the work, the place, and the man. Solomon would from time to time receive letters from Marjorie or her mother, and is now convinced that the girl is about to marry Lance Kelman. Solomon met Lance when he came to South Africa to see the place, hoping for some well-paid-but-with-nothing-to-do job. Both Solomon and Smith disliked him, of course, as does anyone reading the book: so arrogant and stupid! Now Solomon wants to prevent this marriage at all costs, and he wants to leave his money to someone good, that won't take advantage of Marjorie wealthiness, and insists that Smith must go to England and marry her. Solomon even writes to her that if she won't marry him he'll stop sending her money. She's outraged, and would have refused, had it just been for her. She would have found a job and lived her life, but she can't because she has an annoying, ungrateful, stupid mother who is full of debts. Marjorie is astonished, with all the money that uncle Solomon had sent them! Mrs Stedman has been playing cards with Alma Tynewood, losing everything; so proud to be friends with a "Lady" that she won't even consider the possibility of Alma cheating.
Marjorie hates that woman, and is sure that she cheats, but her mother won't hear a word about it! She's so arrogant and so proud to be a 'dear friend' of Lady Tynewood.. *rollingeyes*
Marjorie is forced to accept the marriage; little by little she changes her opinion about her husband, starts to have trust in him. At first she thought ill of him because of the lies Lance had told her, and because he looked drunk when she saw him and also at their wedding! but later learned that he doesn't drink, he suffers from Malaria and feels that bad if he hasn't taken his medicine.
Alma and Javot live together near their house; relations are not easy, but in the end she'll fail all her plans. It is ultimately revealed that she was already married to Javot when she married 'sir James', and that he was not what she thought. Her 'sir James' was only the stepbrother Norman Garrick, and he died that night, shooting himself. Smith is the real James Tynewood, so Marjorie is now Lady Tynewood of Tynewood Chase.
Alma wants to go back to London, but Javot likes his country life, and they reach a compromise. Their moments together were the only Alma-moments I liked.
That Marjorie and Smith would end up in love with each other was rather obvious, though, and even the 'revelation' that he was the real sir James was not a surprise at all to me. I loved the scene when they first met, and fake-James/Norman came in and she was a bit scared by the tension between the two men and instinctively she moved towards Smith to feel safe :-)
I liked this Smith very much, from beginning to end: nice, sweet, ironic, spontaneous, sarcastic, funny and loyal. I love the ending too, when of course he will stay here, living with her, not going back to Africa, and she wants him to move from his room to hers, to make it theirs, but he seems to not understand what she wants :lol:
-isn't your room very damp?
-no, not noticeably - he said in surprise - I've never seen the slightest vestige of damp
 -isn't it awfully uncomfortable?
 -most comfortable - he replied - I have never complained
 -don't you sometimes feel as if you'd like to get up and make some tea at an electric stove? - (which she had in her  room...) - she asked desperately.
"James Tynewood smiled into her eyes and pinched her ear. - Let's" he said.
The end. :-)