PODCAST · arts

Kate Plus Ten

by Edgar Wallace

In the era when this story was written it was unusual to have a woman portrayed as a criminal mastermind. However in this case Edgar Wallace has presented us with Kate Westhanger, a beautiful young lady with a talent for pulling off nefarious plots with incredible originality who leads a team of male associates in crime. Kate comes up with a brilliant scheme to pull off a huge caper. Enter Inspector Michael Pretherston, an equally intelligent practitioner on the other side of the law who must somehow bring Kate to justice. This is especially difficult due to the fact that Kate always keeps her hands clean while others do the dirty work. A battle of wills ensues between the forces of good and evil with the inevitable love interest added to the mix. An ingenious criminal puzzle and just the right person to solve it. An ideal recipe for early twentieth century entertainment. - Summary by Howard Skyman