Background
Ken Royce was born in Croydon, United Kingdom in 1920 and began writing at school.
Ken Royce was born in Croydon, United Kingdom in 1920 and began writing at school.
He would buy cheap exercise books and sell them fully illustrated for twice the price. During World World War II he served with "various regiments" and reached the rank of Captain. He ran his own travel business and made full use of it to gather background for his books
He died in 1997.
He wrote 36 thriller novels between 1959 and 1997 under his own name (including The Third Arm, The Stalin Account, Fall-Out, 10,000 Days and Channel Assault), and three as Jacks. His best known works were his novels featuring semi-reformed cat burglar William "Spider" Scott, an XYY Manitoba, whose extra "Y" chromosome (in the erroneous-but-conventional wisdom of the time) gave him a pre-disposition towards criminality. After attempting to "go straight", he finds his talents are in demand not only from the criminal underworld, but also the secret service, and he is co-opted into dangerous undercover work (usually through blackmail, the temptations of money, or through his interest being piqued).
Royce wrote eight books featuring Scott:
The XYY Manitoba (1970)
Concrete Boot (1971)
The Miniatures Frame (1972)
Spider Underground (The Masterpiece Affair) (1973)
Trap Spider (1974)
The Crypto Manitoba (1984)
The Mosley Receipt (1985).
Number Way Back, aka Hashimi"s Revenge (1986 - a direct sequel to The Mosley Receipt). A television series of The XYY Manitoba in 1976-1977 (adapting the early books) created a popular appetite for the character, and also that of his nemesis, Detective Sergeant George Bulman, a relatively minor character in the original books, but brought to life on the screen by the memorable performance of Don Henderson.
After the run of Spider Scott programmes ended, Bulman had many television adventures not based on Royce"s work (the series Strangers, 1978-1982, and Bulman, 1985-1987).