P.C. Wren’s Followers (45)

P.C. Wren

Born

in Deptford, London, England

November 01, 1875

Died

November 22, 1941

Genre

Literature & Fiction

Influences

Frederick Marryat R.M. Ballantyne G.A. Henty H. Rider Haggard ...more

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Percival Christopher Wren (1 November 1875 – 22 November 1941) was a British writer, mostly of adventure fiction. He is remembered best for Beau Geste, a much-filmed book of 1924 involving the French Foreign Legion in North Africa, and its sequels, Beau Sabreur and Beau Ideal.

Born as plain Percy Wren, in Deptford, South London, England, Percy was the son of a schoolmaster. After graduation with a Master of Arts degree from St. Catherine's College, Oxford, a non-collegiate college for poorer students, Percy worked as a boarding school teacher for a few years, during which he married Alice Shovelier, and had a daughter (Estelle, born 1901). In 1903 he joined the Indian Education Service as headmaster of Karachi High School (now Pakistan). Whi Percival Christopher Wren (1 November 1875 – 22 November 1941) was a British writer, mostly of adventure fiction. He is remembered best for Beau Geste, a much-filmed book of 1924 involving the French Foreign Legion in North Africa, and its sequels, Beau Sabreur and Beau Ideal.

Born as plain Percy Wren, in Deptford, South London, England, Percy was the son of a schoolmaster. After graduation with a Master of Arts degree from St. Catherine's College, Oxford, a non-collegiate college for poorer students, Percy worked as a boarding school teacher for a few years, during which he married Alice Shovelier, and had a daughter (Estelle, born 1901). In 1903 he joined the Indian Education Service as headmaster of Karachi High School (now Pakistan). While in India, he joined the Poona Volunteer Rifles with the rank of Captain, before his service was terminated in October 1915 after sick leave. He resigned from the Indian Education Service in November 1917. It is presumed that his wife died in India, for no record of her return to Britain has been found; his daughter having died in England in 1910. From there it is claimed that he joined the French Foreign Legion for a single tour of five years though he would have been 42 years of age on enlistment, somewhat older that the usual recruit. He lived out the remainder of his life in England concentrating on his literary career. One of the few photographs of Wren known shows a typical British officer of the Edwardian era with clipped moustache, wearing plain dark blue regimental dress.

Wren was a highly secretive man, and his membership of the Legion has never been confirmed. When his novels became famous, there was a mysterious absence of authenticating photographs of him as a legionnaire or of the usual press-articles by old comrades wanting to cash in on their memories of a celebrated figure. It is now thought more likely that he encountered legionnaires during his extensive travels in Algeria and Morocco, and skillfully blended their stories with his own memories of a short spell as a cavalry trooper in England. While his fictional accounts of life in the pre-1914 Foreign Legion are highly romanticised, his details of Legion uniforms, training, equipment and barrack room layout are generally accurate. This may however simply reflect careful research on his part - the descriptions of Legion garrison life given in his work The Wages of Virtue written in 1914 closely match those contained in the autobiographical In the Foreign Legion by ex legionnaire Edwin Rosen, published Duckworth London 1910. ...more

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P.C. Wren’s books

Average rating: 3.98 · 4,978 ratings · 400 reviews · 118 distinct works • Similar authors

	Beau Geste (Beau Geste #1) 4.02 avg rating — 3,675 ratings — published 1924 — 255 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Beau Sabreur really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 209 ratings — published 1926 — 93 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Beau Ideal 3.93 avg rating — 150 ratings — published 1928 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Key to Wren & Martin's Regular & Multicolour Edition of High School English Grammar & Composition by P.C. Wren, H. Martin 3.80 avg rating — 92 ratings — published 1935	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	BEAU TRILOGY (BEAU GESTE, BEAU SABREUR, BEAU IDEAL) & 36 STORIES OF THE FOREIGN LEGION (Timeless Wisdom Collection Book 3670) 4.10 avg rating — 81 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	High School English Grammar and Composition Book by P.C. Wren, H. Martin 4.06 avg rating — 54 ratings — published 1935 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Foreign Legion Omnibus: Beau Geste, Beau Sabreur, and Beau Ideal 4.14 avg rating — 42 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wages of Virtue 3.58 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 1916 — 107 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Snake and Sword: A Novel 3.58 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 1914 — 180 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Soldiers of Misfortune 3.72 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 1910 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by P.C. Wren…

Series by P.C. Wren

Beau Geste (3 books)
by

P.C. Wren

4.02 avg rating — 4,038 ratings

Quotes by P.C. Wren (?)

“The place was silent and - aware.”
― P.C. Wren

tags: atmosphere, genius-loci, horror, locale

8 likes

“The ocean, the desert, and the jungle are the last strongholds and resorts of peace. ("Fear")”
― Percival Christopher Wren

tags: peace, silence

5 likes

“As he walked along, consciously enjoying the early coolness of the morning, he turned and looked behind him. People often do this and are usually surprised to find that there is some reason for turning around. Sometimes there is no apparent reason and they wonder why they did it. ("Ordeal By Water")”
― Percival Christopher Wren, Odd - But Even So: Stories Strangers Than Fiction

tags: intuition

4 likes

See all P.C. Wren's quotes »

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P.C. Wren’s Followers (45)

P.C. Wren

Combine EditionsP.C. Wren’s books

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Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
P.C. Wren’s books