13 Maurice Sarrail was the French commander of the Allied armies on the Macedonian Front in Salonika in the early months of 1917; the novel was serialized before his replacement in November, but “General D***” is more likely to be Henry Descoin, commander of the garrison at Korçë in Albania.
14 Based on a manuscript by Paschal Grousset (alias André Laurie), this novel, known in English as The Begum’s Fortune, was first published in 1879.
15 The French term torpille [torpedo] had a wider range of reference at this time that it acquired when the term was largely restricted to water-borne missiles fired by submarines; it could be used to refer to any kind of “guided missile.” I have refrained from substituting the latter term because its use would be anachronistic.
16 The use of liquid oxygen as an explosive was relatively short-lived, but cartridges intended for that purpose were manufactured for some years at the Linde factory in Munich under the name of oxylignite.
17 There is no such Cape; Leroux might be thinking about Cape Wrath, much further to the north, although the distance he gives is more suggestive of Iona, of the island of Mull.
18 Bertha Krupp, the elder child and heir of Friedrich Alfred Krupp, was the sole proprietor of the Krupp industrial empire from 1902-1943, although her husband Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach actually ran the company; their marriage was arranged by Kaiser Wilhelm II because a woman was considered incapable of running the concern, and Gustav added Krupp to his surname to complete his qualifications. It was in Bertha Krupp’s “honor” that the Allied troops nicknamed German long-range artillery pieces “Big Berthas” (she was not a slim woman).
19 As related in Rouletabille à la guerre.
20 Presumably Louis Chéron (1660-1725), although he left France in 1685 when the Edict of Nantes was revoked (he was a Protestant) and became a naturalized British citizen.
21 Instead of feeding prisoners of war real bread, which was in short supply, the Germans fed them “KK bread”, from Kleie und Kartoffeln [bran and potatoes], whose recipe remains uncertain and was probably variable.
22 Jules Huret (1853-1915) traveled extensively in the early years of the 20th century, sending back reports to Le Figaro and other Parisian newspapers from various parts of Europe and the Americas; he was the best-known of Leroux’s colleagues and rivals. He published two books on Germany, in 1907 and 1913.
23 Magic-City was a dance hall located in the Rue de l’Université. Leroux and the backfisch [girl] were not to know that, undestroyed by Zeppelin raids and Big Bertha shells, it would become notorious in the 1920s as the venue of an annual Mardi Gras “drag ball.”
24 In fact, there were only 107 people aboard the Atlas V when it made the historic journey in question on the night of 3-4 January 1914.
FRENCH MYSTERIES COLLECTION
M. Allain & P. Souvestre. The Daughter of Fantômas
A. Anicet-Bourgeois, Lucien Dabril. Rocambole
Guy d’Armen. Doc Ardan and The City of Gold and Lepers
A. Bernède. Belphegor
A. Bernède. Judex (w/Louis Feuillade)
A. Bernède. The Return of Judex (w/Louis Feuillade)
A. Bisson & G. Livet. Nick Carter vs. Fantômas
V. Darlay & H. de Gorsse. Lupin vs. Holmes: The Stage Play
Paul Feval. Gentlemen of the Night
Paul Feval. John Devil
Paul Feval. ’Salem Street
Paul Feval. The Invisible Weapon
Paul Feval. The Parisian Jungle
Paul Feval. The Companions of the Treasure
Paul Feval. Heart of Steel
Paul Feval. The Cadet Gang
Paul Feval. The Sword-Swallower
Emile Gaboriau. Monsieur Lecoq
Goron & Gautier. Spawn of the Penitentiary
Maurice Leblanc. Arsène Lupin vs. Countess Cagliostro
Maurice Leblanc. The Blonde Phantom
Maurice Leblanc. The Hollow Needle
Maurice Leblanc. The Many Faces of Arsène Lupin
Gaston Leroux. Chéri-Bibi
Gaston Leroux. The Phantom of the Opera
Gaston Leroux. Rouletabille & the Mystery of the Yellow Room
Gaston Leroux. Rouletabille at Krupp’s
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 1
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 2
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 3
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 4
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 5
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 6
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 7
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 8
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 9
Frank J. Morlock. Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper
P.-A. Ponson du Terrail. Rocambole
Antonin Reschal. The Adventures of Miss Boston
P. de Wattyne & Y. Walter. Sherlock Holmes vs. Fantômas
David White. Fantômas in America
English adaptation and introduction Copyright 2013 by Brian Stableford.
Cover illustration Copyright 2013Genkis & Sev.
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ISBN 978-1-61227-144-6. First Printing. February 2013. Published by Black Coat Press, an imprint of Hollywood Comics.com, LLC, P.O. Box 17270, Encino, CA 91416. All rights reserved. Except for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The stories and characters depicted in this novel are entirely fictional. Printed in the United States of America.
Rouletabille at Krupp's Page 19