England's Secret Weapon explores the way Hollywood used Sherlock Holmes in a series of fourteen films spanning the years of World War II in Europe, from The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1939 to Dressed to Kill in 1946. Basil Rathbone's portrayal of Holmes has influenced every actor who has since played him on film, TV, stage and radio, yet the film series has, until now, been neglected in terms of detailed critical analysis. The book looks at the films themselves in combination with their historical context and examines how the studio ‘updated' Holmes and recruited him to fight the Nazis, steering a careful course between modernising the detective and making sure he was still recognisable as the ‘old Holmes’ in clothes, locations and behaviour.

England's Secret Weapon analyses the way the studio steered a careful course between modernising the detective and making sure he was still recognisable as the 'old Holmes' - in clothes, locations and behaviour.

England's Secret Weapon explores the way Hollywood used Sherlock Holmes in a series of fourteen films spanning the years of World War II in Europe, from The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1939 to Dressed to Kill in 1946. Basil Rathbone's portrayal of Holmes has influenced every actor who has since played him on film, TV, stage and radio, yet the film series has, until now, been neglected in terms of detailed critical analysis. The book looks at the films themselves in combination with their historical context. Though the first two films were set in the detective's 'true' Victorian period, Holmes was then 'updated' and recruited to fight the Nazis. He came to represent the acceptable face of England for the Americans - the one man who could be relied upon to ensure an Allied victory. Enthusiasm for a Nazi-fighting Holmes soon waned, however, and the series moved first into ghost-and-ghouls chillers, and finally into visceral horror films in which Professor Moriarty, Holmes' old enemy, had been replaced by a new breed of villain - a deadly female. England's Secret Weapon charts the studio's careful course between modernising the detective and making sure he was still recognisable as the 'old Holmes', in clothes, locations and behaviour.

Alex Rider is now an IMDb TV/Amazon Original Series! "Readers ages 8 to 15 with a taste for tough-guy thrills will gobble this one up."--Wall Street Journal International bestselling author Anthony Horowitz's short story collection expands the universe of teen spy Alex Rider with more thrilling action, espionage, and pulse-pounding heroics. Inspired by Horowitz's millions of fans worldwide, Secret Weapon expands the world of Alex Rider with more thrilling action and pulse-pounding heroics. Follow Alex as he infiltrates a terrorist hideout in Afghanistan, fights to prevent an assassination attempt at a ski resort over Christmas, and much more! The #1 New York Times bestselling Alex Rider is back with more exciting, edge-of-your-seats adventures! Contains a combination of new and previously published material, together for the first time! Praise for Never Say Die: "Once again amid races, chases, hails of bullets, and increasingly spectacular explosions, the teenage James Bond pulls off one awesome feat of derring-do after another. [This] fresh caper . . . roars along to a (naturally) explosive climax." --Booklist

The CIA keeps a lot of secrets. None more deadly than him.After a covert mission became personal, the only way elite counterterrorism operative, Alexander King, could keep his loved ones safe, and the eyes of Washington's enemies blind to his existence, was to disappear.A year after his family buried a body they thought was his, King saves a young woman from a car bomb in London, and that's when his work in the shadows becomes complicated. Because she's not who he thinks she is, and the web that King is pulled into is tangled with enemies that reach the highest levels of the United States government.But this web being spun by a sadistic terrorist isn't your average one-time explosive attack. Saajid Hammoud is aiming higher. He isn't trying to cripple the greatest military in the world, he's looking to control it. And owning the presidential candidate with a clear path to the White House gets him all the way to the top.When politics fail, and the might of the world's most powerful nation hangs in the balance, it's secret weapons like Alexander King who scour the alleys and back avenues that often make the difference. Unfortunately, King isn't the only secret in this high stakes game of war. But for the sake of the free world, he sure as hell better be the best.If you couldn't put down Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp, Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Brad Thor's Scot Harvath, or David Baldacci's Will Robie, fans of Bradley Wright believe you won't be able to put down the addictive Alexander King._____________________________Praise for international bestselling author Bradley Wright: ★★★★★ "Best new thriller author since Vince Flynn, David Baldacci, and Brad Thor!"★★★★★ "Loved ALL the books. Bradley is one of my favorite writers. When you start the book, it is impossible to put down."★★★★★ "As soon as you start this book, and every other book by Bradley Wright, you are immediately engulfed in nonstop action and suspense!"★★★★★ "King sits alongside Rapp, Reacher, and Harvath as my favorite action-thriller heroes.

Critical Acclaim for Secret Weapons of World War II "Breuer has produced yet another collection of rip-roaring tales. . . . A delightful addition to the niche that Breuer has so successfully carved out." -Publishers Weekly "It is Breuer's portrayal of the competition for technological superiority between the Allies and the Nazis that grabs the reader and shows the significance of each wartime discovery and invention." -State Journal-Register, Springfield, Illinois In the fast-paced, suspenseful Secret Weapons of World War II, noted military historian William Breuer chronicles the clandestine battle that occurred between the brilliant scientists and codebreakers of the Allies and the Axis powers. Re-creating the covert missions, hoaxes, spying, conspiracies, and electronic sleuthing, Breuer deftly uncovers the spectacular feats of the fascinating men and women who determined the outcome of the war-providing an unprecedented look at the least-known operations and plots conducted by both sides.