THE HOUSE OF STRATUS PAPERBACK BOOKS
TWELVE W.E. JOHNS BIGGLES BOOKS WERE
PUBLISHED BY “HOUSE OF STRATUS”.
NINE OF THE BOOKS WERE PUBLISHED ON 30th
SEPTEMBER 2001 AS BEING BY “W E JOHNS”
THESE NINE BOOKS WERE THEN LATER RE-PUBLISHED
AS BEING BY “CAPTAIN W E JOHNS”
THREE FURTHER BOOKS WERE THEN PUBLISHED
IN 2002. THOSE THREE BOOKS WERE ONLY
EVER BY “CAPTAIN W E JOHNS”
THE 12 BOOKS PUBLISHED WERE:-
1.
Biggles Takes a Holiday (1949)
2.
Biggles Breaks the Silence (1949)
3.
Biggles Gets His Men (1950)
4.
Biggles Works it Out (1951)
5.
Biggles of the Special Air Police (1953)
6.
Biggles and the Pirate Treasure and other stories (1954)
7.
Biggles of the Interpol (1957)
8.
Biggles on Mystery Island (1958)
9.
Biggles and the Missing Millionaire (1961)
10.
Biggles Flies to Work (1963)
11.
Biggles Sorts it Out (1967)
12.
The Boy Biggles (1968)
It was “Biggles of the Interpol”,
“Biggles on Mystery Island” and “Biggles Sorts it Out” which were published in
2002 – and ONLY credited to “Captain W E Johns”
EACH BOOK LISTS 24 ADDITIONAL TITLES AS BEING AVAILABLE – NOT
REFERRING TO THE TITLE OF THE BOOK IN WHICH THE LIST APPEARS
THIS WOULD INDICATE THAT 25 HOUSE OF
STRATUS BIGGLES BOOKS WERE PUBLISHED - BUT ONLY 12 WERE EVER PRINTED AND THEY
CAN BE SEEN BELOW
THE 13 OTHER TITLES REFERRED TO WERE, I
BELIEVE, NEVER PRINTED (IF ANYBODY CLAIMS TO HAVE ONE – I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A
SCAN!)
1.
Biggles Takes the Case (1952)
2.
No Rest for Biggles (1956)
3.
Biggles Takes Charge (1956)
4.
Biggles Makes Ends Meet (1957)
5.
Biggles on the Home Front (1957)
6.
Biggles Sets a Trap (1962)
7.
Biggles Takes it Rough (1963)
8.
Biggles Takes a Hand (1963)
9.
Biggles’ Special Case (1963)
10.
Biggles and the Plane that Disappeared (1963)
11.
Biggles Looks Back (1965)
12.
Biggles Scores a Bull (1965)
13.
Biggles Sees Too Much (1970)
(I have seen reference to
the publication of BIGGLES TAKES THE CASE in December 2002 with an ISBN of
0-7551-0731-4 and it is POSSIBLE that this was published.
I have a copy of a
different Biggles ‘House of Stratus’ book where a previous owner has written
“got” by the House of Stratus title “Biggles Takes the Case”.
It is, however, entirely possible that they
are referring to a version of the book published by a different publisher and
were just noting that they had that particular title.)
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THERE ARE TWO VERSIONS – ONE
CREDITED TO “W. E. JOHNS” AND ONE TO “CAPTAIN W. E. JOHNS”
BOTH ARE 204 PAGES (the “W. E.
Johns” version is significantly thicker) The rear cover illustrates 6
other books in the series Missing Millionaire – Pirate Treasure
– Breaks the Silence – Flies to Work – Works it Out – Special Air Police At the back of the book is the
short synopsise of the 6 books pictured and an order form. In the “Captain W. E. Johns”
version the same 6 books are illustrated but the last two are transposed. Printing information in both
says “This edition published in 2001 by House of Stratus, an imprint
of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24
other Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
THIS SHOWS THE REAR COVERS AND
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO VERSIONS THE "W. E. JOHNS” VERSION IS TO THE LEFT AND THE “CAPTAIN” VERSION TO THE RIGHT
01
BIGGLES TAKES A HOLIDAY – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST EDITION |
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BOTH ARE 156 PAGES (the “W. E.
Johns” version is significantly thicker) The rear cover of the W. E. Johns
version illustrates 6 other books in the series Missing Millionaire – Pirate
Treasure – Flies to Work – Takes a Holiday – Works it Out – Special Air
Police At the back of the book is the
short synopsise of the 6 books pictured and an order form. In the “Captain W. E. Johns”
version these 6 books are NOT illustrated but there is the synopsise and
order form. Printing information in both
says “This edition published in 2001 by House of Stratus, an imprint
of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24
other Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
02
BIGGLES BREAKS THE SILENCE – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST EDITION |
|
BOTH ARE 166 PAGES (the “W. E.
Johns” version is significantly thicker) The rear cover of the W. E.
Johns version illustrates 6 other books in the series Missing Millionaire – Pirate
Treasure – Breaks the Silence – Flies to Work – Takes a Holiday – Works it
Out At the back of the book is the
short synopsise of the 6 books pictured and an order form. In the “Captain W. E. Johns”
version these 6 books are NOT illustrated but there is the synopsise and
order form. Printing information in both
says “This edition published in 2001 by House of Stratus, an imprint
of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24
other Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
03
BIGGLES GETS HIS MEN – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST EDITION |
|
BOTH ARE 174 PAGES (the “W. E.
Johns” version is significantly thicker) The rear cover illustrates 6
other books in the series Missing
Millionaire – Pirate Treasure – Breaks the Silence – Flies to Work – Takes a
Holiday – Special Air Police At the back of the book is the
short synopsise of the 6 books pictured and an order form. In the “Captain W. E. Johns”
version the same 6 books are illustrated but the last two are transposed. Printing information in both
says “This edition published in 2001 by House of Stratus, an imprint
of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24
other Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
04
BIGGLES WORKS IT OUT – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST EDITION |
|
BOTH ARE 184 PAGES (the “W. E.
Johns” version is significantly thicker) The rear cover illustrates 6
other books in the series Missing
Millionaire – Pirate Treasure – Breaks the Silence – Flies to Work – Takes a
Holiday – Works it Out At the back of the book is the
short synopsise of the 6 books pictured and an order form. In the “Captain W. E. Johns”
version the same 6 books are illustrated. Printing information in both
says “This edition published in 2001 by House of Stratus, an imprint
of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24
other Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
05
BIGGLES OF THE SPECIAL AIR POLICE – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST
EDITION |
|
BOTH ARE 167 PAGES (the “W. E.
Johns” version is significantly thicker) The rear cover illustrates 6
other books in the series Missing
Millionaire – Breaks the Silence – Flies to Work – Takes a Holiday – Works it
Out – Special Air Police At the back of the book is the
short synopsise of the 6 books pictured and an order form. In the “Captain W. E. Johns”
version the same 6 books are illustrated but Special Air Police is the fourth
picture. Printing information in both
says “This edition published in 2001 by House of Stratus, an imprint
of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24
other Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
06
BIGGLES AND THE PIRATE TREASURE – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST EDITION |
|
THIS HAS 164 PAGES (there is
only a “Captain W. E. Johns” version as far as I am aware) The rear cover illustrates 6 other
books in the series Missing
Millionaire – Pirate Treasure – Breaks the Silence – Flies to Work – Special
Air Police – Takes a Holiday At the back of the book is the
short synopsise of the 6 books pictured and an order form. Printing information in the
book says “This edition published in 2002 by House of Stratus, an imprint
of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24
other Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
07
BIGGLES OF THE INTERPOL – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST EDITION |
|
THIS HAS 167 PAGES (there is
only a “Captain W. E. Johns” version as far as I am aware) The rear cover illustrates 6
other books in the series Missing
Millionaire – Pirate Treasure – Breaks the Silence – Flies to Work – Special
Air Police – Takes a Holiday At the back of the book is the
short synopsise of the 6 books pictured and an order form. Printing information in the
book says “This edition published in 2002 by House of Stratus, an imprint
of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24
other Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
09
BIGGLES ON MYSTERY ISLAND – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST EDITION |
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THERE ARE THREE VERSIONS OF BIGGLES AND THE MISSING MILLIONAIRE One with the name “W. E.
Johns” on the front, one with name “Captain W. E. Johns on the front and one
with NO name on the front. ALL THREE VERSIONS ARE 148
PAGES The version missing the
author’s name from the front of the book is also missing the short story
synopsise written above the aircraft The rear cover illustrates 6
other books in the series. In the
“W.E. Johns” version the pictures are in the following order Pirate Treasure – Breaks the
Silence – Flies to Work – Takes a Holiday – Works it Out – Special Air Police In the “Captain W.E. Johns”
version and the “No Author Name” version the pictures are in the following
order Pirate Treasure – Breaks the
Silence – Flies to Work – Special Air Police – Takes a Holiday – Works it Out At the back of each book is
the short synopsise of the 6 books pictured and a three
page order form. Printing information in all
three versions says “This edition published in 2001 by House of
Stratus, an imprint of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24
other Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
09
BIGGLES AND THE MISSING MILLIONAIRE – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST
EDITION |
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BOTH ARE 141 PAGES (the “W. E.
Johns” version is significantly thicker) The rear cover illustrates 6
other books in the series Missing
Millionaire – Pirate Treasure – Breaks the Silence – Takes a Holiday – Works
it Out – Special Air Police At the back of the book is the
short synopsise of the 6 books pictured and an order form. In the “Captain W. E. Johns”
version these 6 books are NOT illustrated but there is the synopsise and
order form. Printing information in both
says “This edition published in 2001 by House of Stratus, an imprint
of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24
other Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
10
BIGGLES FLIES TO WORK – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST EDITION |
|
THIS HAS 158 PAGES (there is only
a “Captain W. E. Johns” version as far as I am aware) The rear cover illustrates 6
other books in the series Missing
Millionaire – Pirate Treasure – Breaks the Silence – Flies to Work – Special
Air Police – Takes a Holiday At the back of the book is the
short synopsise of the 6 books pictured and an order form. Printing information in the
book says “This edition published in 2002 by House of Stratus, an imprint
of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24 other
Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
11
BIGGLES SORTS IT OUT – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST EDITION |
|
BOTH ARE 148 PAGES (they are
the same thickness) The rear cover illustrates 6
other books in the series Missing
Millionaire – Pirate Treasure – Breaks the Silence – Flies to Work – Takes a
Holiday – Works it Out At the back of the book is the
short synopsise of 6
books but NOT the 6 pictured (!) There is a synopsise of
Special Air Police but no picture and no synopsise of Works it Out which is
pictured. In the “Captain W. E. Johns”
version these 6 books are NOT illustrated but there is the synopsise of the same six books as in the W.
E. Johns version and the usual order form. Printing information in both
says “This edition published in 2001 by House of Stratus, an imprint
of House of Stratus Ltd” The inner pages refer to 24
other Biggles titles as being published by the House of Stratus. |
12 THE
BOY BIGGLES – CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FIRST EDITION |
EACH BOOK
CONTAINED BRIEF NOTES ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND IN THE “W. E. JOHNS” VERSION IT READ
AS FOLLOWS:-
“William Earl Johns was born in 1893 in
Hertfordshire. He served as a
machine-gunner in the First World War, and from 1918 as a fighter pilot in France. He stayed with the RAF until 1931 as a flight instructor and a recruiting
officer. W. E. Johns started his civilian career as a
skilful aviation artist and illustrator for magazines and books. When he became a writer, he added “Captain”
to his name. In the early 1930s he
created his most famous hero, James Bigglesworth – ‘Biggles’. Based on his own war experiences, Johns’
character was an immediate success and he became an immensely popular boys’
hero. In all, W E Johns wrote ninety-eight Biggles books, but he was also a
successful writer of other novels and non-fiction. Due to the success of Biggles, he was asked
by the Air Ministry to create a female pilot to stimulate recruitment to the
WAAF, so he invented another character, ‘Worrals’. W E Johns died in 1968.”
The passage above is taken
from the “W. E. Johns” version of the books and contains a couple of errors
which I have highlighted in red.
WHEN THE
“CAPTAIN W. E. JOHNS” VERSION WAS PRINTED, THE ERRORS MADE ABOVE WERE CORRECTED
SO THAT IT READ:-
“William Earl Johns was born in 1893 in
Hertfordshire. He served as a
machine-gunner in the First World War, and from 1918 as a BOMBER pilot in France. He stayed with the RAF until 1927 as a RECRUITING OFFICER. W. E. Johns started his civilian career as a
skilful aviation artist and illustrator for magazines and books. When he became a writer, he added “Captain”
to his name. In the early 1930s he
created his most famous hero, James Bigglesworth – ‘Biggles’. Based on his own FIRST WORLD war experiences, Johns’
character was an immediate success and he became an immensely popular boys’
hero. In all, CAPTAIN W E Johns wrote ninety-SIX Biggles books, but he was also a
successful writer of other novels and non-fiction. Due to the success of Biggles, he was asked
by the Air Ministry to create a female pilot to stimulate recruitment to the
WAAF, so he invented another character, ‘Worrals’ (JOAN WORRALSON) A PILOT. W E Johns died in 1968.”
BELOW IS A PICTURE OF THE SPINES OF THESE
12 DIFFERENT BOOKS
NOTE THE SIZE OF THE FONT ON THE TWO
DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE BOOKS
AND FINALLY….
THE ORIGINAL “BIGGLES WINGS” LOGO THAT APPEARS ON ALL OF THESE BOOKS WAS ESPECIALLY
CREATED FOR THEM BY A GRAPHIC DESIGNER
WHO HAD AN ORIGINAL EMBROIDERED LOGO PROFESSIONALLY MADE.
I
OWN THIS ORIGINAL EMBROIDERY. I BOUGHT
IT FROM THE GRAPHIC ARTIST WHO CREATED IT.
RETURN TO THE MAIN W.E. JOHNS PAGE