First published in 1896, ‘The World’s Great Snare’ is one of E. Phillips Oppenheim’s earlier novels. Set in a California gold mining camp, Englishman Bryan Bryan is tracking down a mysterious man named Huntley who holds key information about Bryan’s past. Bryan encounters the beautiful Myra Mercier, who is fleeing a life of prostitution, and decides to join Bryan in his quest. Murder and vengeance follow, before Bryan escapes back to Britain. He cannot escape what transpired in California however, and the events of that time will return to haunt him.
E. Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946) was a hugely prolific and highly popular British author of novels and short stories. Born in Tottenham, London, Oppenheim left school as a teenager and worked for his leather-merchant father for 20 years prior to launching his literary career. Oppenheim published five novels under the pseudonym ‘Anthony Partridge’ before establishing his reputation as a writer under his own name. An internationally successful author, Oppenheim’s stories revolved mainly around glamourous characters, luxurious settings, and themes of espionage, suspense, and crime. He is widely regarded as one of the earliest pioneers of the thriller and spy-fiction genre as it is recognised today. Oppenheim’s incredible literary success meant that his own life soon began to mirror that of his opulent characters. He held lavish, Gatsby-style parties at his French Villa and was rumoured to have had frequent love affairs aboard his luxury yacht. Oppenheim’s success earned him the cover of Time magazine in 1927. Some of his most well-known novels include ‘The Great Impersonation’, ‘The Long Arm of Mannister’ and ‘The Moving Finger’.