Legion Pulp: Warriors in Exile – Gentleman Royal

This month’s story is from Blue Book Magazine (June 1938).  It is installment #13 of 17 in the Warriors-in-Exile series of Foreign Legion stories written by the famous and prolific pulp author H. Bedford Jones.  This one takes place during the Franco-Siamese War of 1893.  One has to hand it to Bedford-Jones, as this is probably the only story written that is set in this conflict in all of pulp fiction.   As Bedford-Jones often does, this story begins as a frame story.  A tale recounted to the narrator of the story by another who participated in the events.  This time it is by a Pierre Dupre, a highly decorated former legionnaire who tells about his early experiences in the Siam incursion and his comrade, an “Unknown Solder” the mysterious Corporal Andre d’Ici.  The story takes the concept of Legion anonymity and plops it in the jungles of Siam, adds a nefarious arms dealer, a naive young legionnaire and just enough action to make it to the end of 10 pages.  It’s not the best Warriors-in-Exile stories and I found Beford-Jones’ writing in this case somewhat hard to follow but it’s not bad.  Also, if there was an allusion in the end to a real life royal family I’m too obtuse to figure it out.  …and the girl in the story?…it doesn’t end well for her.

Warriors in Exile – Gentleman Royal

Note: The entire Warriors-in-Exile series can be found in this most excellent book from Steeger Books.  That’s 373 pages of pulp goodness.