Lone Wolf Books In Order

Publication Order of Lone Wolf Books

The Lone Wolf series is a popular book series of the early 30s. It revolves around a former jewel thief turned police detective who goes by the nickname of Lone Wolf. The original name of the character is given as Michael Lanyard. This series is comprised of 8 books in total released between 1917 and 1934. The original creator of the character and the writer of the series is Louis Joseph Vance, a well-known screenwriter, producer, and novelist of the early 20th century. There were some 24 movies made based on the character between 1917 and the late 1940s. Lone Wolf’s character has also featured on several television and radio shows. Another character to feature alongside Lone Wolf in most of the adaptations was Jamison, the assistant, and butler of Lone Wolf named Jamison. This character was portrayed by Eric Blore in eleven movies.

Some of the actors who played the lead role of Lone Wolf in the movies include Bert Lytell, Bertram Grassby, Jack Holt, Henry Walthall, Warren William, Thomas Meighan, Gerald Mohr, Melvyn Douglas, Ron Randell, etc. Walter Coy and Gerald Mohr have portrayed the lead character in a radio show having the title in the name of the character. Whereas on TV, the role was donned by Louis Hayward. Michael Lanyard is depicted as having a European origin. He has a soft spot for beautiful ladies in trouble and always tries to help them out. Michael Lanyard has undergone training in criminal arts under the guidance of his mysterious Irish mentor named Bourke. Author Louis Joseph Vance has set the stories in different countries of Europe.

A successful book written in the series by the author is its debut novel entitled ‘The Lone Wolf’. It was first published in 2014 and released again in 2014 by Mysterious Press. The story starts out as a dark mystery and then goes on to become lighter. It revolves around the life of an English boy, who is mysteriously transported to Paris. The boy starts working as a dogsbody of a seemingly seedy French hotel called Troyon’s. As he grows up, he enters into thievery and starts carrying out petty theft. One day, a jewel thief catches the boy in one of his acts and makes him his apprentice.

The boy grows up and returns to Troyon’s several years later. What follows next is a conspiracy and subsequent mayhem as the hero tries to take control of the situation in his bid to set things right. The story is quite enjoyable overall. There are many twists & turns, intriguing characters, and mind-blowing action sequences that make the story interesting until its last page. There is also a little bit of romance that serves as a good addition to the mixture of intrigue and action and keeps the readers involved in the story from start to finish.

Another wonderful book of this series is known as ‘Alias the Lone Wolf’. It was originally released in 1921 and released by the Mysterious Press publication in 2014. The story takes place in England during the Spring. This is the first novel of the series in which Michael Lanyard is depicted on the front and center. Initially, it is mentioned that Michael Lanyard has cut himself off from the Secret Service run by the Royal family and has decided to wander around Southern France without any aim for some time. Without any surprise to anyone or himself, Michael Lanyard falls into a dangerous situation in the countryside. Even after turning forty, he seems to possess the charm that makes women around him go crazy. Most of the ladies he comes across in the French countryside find him irresistible.

When one of those women informs him that a criminal organization has victimized her, he steps into action to save the innocent women and does right whatever wrong was done to her. The trail of the culprit takes Michael Lanyard to Paris, Cherbourg, and the Atlantic. Finally, he finds himself on a ship filled with rogues and a beautiful lady. After undergoing a long sea voyage, the story comes to an end in a satisfying manner. Michael Lanyard’s heroics are hailed and his charm continues to impress the females around him. This novel entertained a large number of readers across the globe and served as a motivation for movie adaptations. Several noted film producers were very much impressed by its story and ended up making movies by casting the popular actors of that time. It motivated author Vance to continue writing stories featuring Michael Lanyard as the primary character.

Louis Joseph Vance was a well known American producer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known for creating the popular character Michael Lanyard, a former criminal turned private detective known by the name Lone Wolf. Louis was born in Washington, DC on September 19, 1879. He was the only child of his parents Lillian Beall Vance and Wilson J. Vance. After completing his education from the Brooklyn Polytechnic Insititute, Louis went on to write novels and chose writing as his career. He was married to Anne E. Hodges and had a son named Wilson Beall Vance. Starting from 1901, Louis had begun writing short stories and essays. It was only after creating Lone Wolf that his career saw immense progress. The character not only featured in his novels, but also more than 20 movies, radio shows, and television programs.

When Universal Pictures approached him for developing a movie based on one of his novels, Louis relocated to Los Angeles. In 1915, he had laid the foundation of Fiction Pictures, Inc., a production company that used to distribute its films through Paramount Pictures. The first release of this company was the 1915 movie called The Spanish Jade. Louis had penned its screenplay. He was the general manager and president of the company during its entire duration of the operation. Initially, Louis operated the company from Glendale before relocating it to its Hollywood-based new studio. Later, the company went out of business and was bought by Famous Players. The death of Louis Joseph Vance occurred on December 16, 1933, in New York City. He was sleeping alone at night when a lighted cigarette caught fire and burned down his entire apartment. His death was termed as accidental and his last remains were buried in Brooklyn’s St George Protestant Church.