I recently read one of H. Bedford-Jones‘s series dealing with a Denis Burke. Bedford-Jones had three series of stories featuring men with this name who are probably descendants.
The third and final one, featured in Invitation to a Crime: Further Adventures of Denis Burke, ran for six stories, all set in French Morocco in the mid-1930s. The first three appeared in Short Stories in 1933, and the final three in Street & Smith’s Complete Stories in 1934 and 1935. I don’t know the source of the cover art, as none of these stories were cover-featured. The interior art was also included. This was published by Steeger Books as part of its H. Bedford-Jones Library.
Oh, and as for the “other” Denis Burkes, one series of stories has been reprinted by Steeger Books as Buccaneer Blood and contains a series from Argosy in the early 1930s. But this Denis Burke is an Irishman turned buccaneer in the 1700s. The other Denis Burke series is also known as the “Royal Vagabond” series and ran in People’s in 1916, and has yet to be reprinted. I have no idea when it’s set or what it’s about.
In this series, Denis Burke is an American rogue living in Morocco. His usual business is running guns to various Berber tribal groups fighting the French, though he does get involved in other matters. But he is a man of honor and will not help murderers and the like. His foe is Inspector Crepin of French Intelligence, who always hopes to catch him, but does not. But these stories are more focused on Burke’s other activities.
While these do seem to inspire the Humphrey Bogart film Casablanca, I should point out that the movie came out in 1942, based on an unproduced play from 1940. These stories are set about a decade before that.
In the first story, he works to prove the innocence of an Arab accused of murdering a count, in the process exposing the real murderer. In the next story, Crepin thinks Burke is running guns, when he is actually working to help save the life of a defeated chieftain and his family. Then he works to help a pair of Spanish noblemen escape, but when he learns certain things, matters change. In the next story, Burke gets tied up in a game of deception and double-crossing, and is almost framed for murder by someone who is nearly his opposite number. Next, Burke helps Crepin expose the murderer of an officer Burke likes and obtain an important report.
In the final story, strangely, Inspector Crepin doesn’t appear. Burke encounters a young woman who is the sister of a recently killed French Army pilot. But not all is as it seems, as Burke must deal with another rival.
Now, there is another Bedford-Jones series of themed stories in which Denis Burke and Inspector Crepin appear in one story in the series, Our Far-Flung Battlelines. I hope to get to that one soon as well.
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