Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward (15 February 1883 - 1 June 1959), better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is most remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu. Born in Birmingham, Rohmer had an entirely working class education and early career before beginning to write. His first published work was in 1903, the short story The Mysterious Mummy for Pearson's Weekly. He made his early living writing comedy sketches for music hall performers and short stories and serials for magazines. In 1909 he married Rose Knox. He published his first novel Pause! anonymously in 1910 and the first Fu Manchu story, The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu, was serialized over 1912-13. It was an immediate success with its fast paced story of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie facing the worldwide conspiracy of the 'Yellow Peril'. The Fu Manchu stories, together with those featuring Gaston Max or Morris Klaw, made Rohmer one of the most successful and well-paid writers in of the 1920s and 1930s. But Rohmer was very poor at handling his wealth. After World War II the Rohmers moved to New York. Rohmer died in 1959 due to an outbreak of avian influenza ("Asian Flu"). Ward was often attacked, even shortly after the Manchu stories were published, for creating a character that reflected "racist assumptions".[2] He himself, "bemused" at the furor, occasionally defended his character by saying that the portrait was "fundamentally truthful" because "criminality was often rampant among the Chinese", especially in Limehouse.[2] A number of films were made featuring Dr. Fu Manchu. Warner Oland starred in three early talkies: 1929's The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu, 1930's The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu, and 1931's Daughter of the Dragon. Boris Karloff starred in 1932's The Mask of Fu Manchu. There was a Republic Pictures serial, Drums of Fu Manchu in 1940 and a short-lived TV series, The Adventures of Fu Manchu in 1956. The character was revived after his creator's death for a series of variable quality starring Christopher Lee: The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967), The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968), and The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969). Pulp film legend Harry Alan Towers produced two films based on the Sumuru character in the 1960s, and an updated space fantasy version in 2002. Legendary comic actor Peter Sellers starred in the 1980 spoof, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu. The Fu Manchu characters were featured in Marvel Comics' long-running series, Master of Kung-Fu and were revived for two novels by Rohmer's friend and biographer, Cay van Ash. A new authorized novel featuring the characters, The Terror of Fu Manchu by William Patrick Maynard was published in April 2009. Sax Rohmer #1 was the first single and track from the Mountain Goats album Heretic Pride. see also: