Author. His romantic adventure sagas typically involved English military men in such faraway places as India and North Africa. He is best known for the novel "Beau Geste" (1924), probably the most popular work ever written about the French Foreign Legion, and its sequels "Beau Sabreur" (1926) and "Beau Ideal" (1928). Hollywood filmed "Beau Geste" three times, notably in 1939 with Gary Cooper. Wren was a secretive man who may have indulged in some mystification about his early life. Many sources state he hailed from Devon, England, and was a descendent of famed architect Sir Christopher Wren; others claim he was born Percy Wren in London, the son of a poor schoolmaster. He worked at that profession after receiving an MA from St. Catherine's College, Oxford. In 1903 he joined the Indian Education Service as headmaster of Karachi High School (now in Pakistan) and wrote several educational textbooks. His first work of fiction, the story collection "Dew and Mildew", was published in 1912. At the start of World War I Wren was commissioned a captain in the Poona Volunteer Rifles but was invalided out of service after a year; in 1917 he returned to England and devoted himself to writing. The popular success of "Beau Geste" caused speculation that Wren himself had once served in the Foreign Legion, though there is no evidence of this and the author remained tight-lipped on the matter. In all he wrote 30 novels and nine volumes of short stories. They include "The Snake and the Sword" (1914), "Soldiers of Misfortune" (1929), "Good Gestes (a series of tales related to the "Beau Geste" narrative, 1929), "Valiant Dust" (1932), "Sinbad the Soldier" (1935), and "The Disappearance of General Jason" (1940).
Author. His romantic adventure sagas typically involved English military men in such faraway places as India and North Africa. He is best known for the novel "Beau Geste" (1924), probably the most popular work ever written about the French Foreign Legion, and its sequels "Beau Sabreur" (1926) and "Beau Ideal" (1928). Hollywood filmed "Beau Geste" three times, notably in 1939 with Gary Cooper. Wren was a secretive man who may have indulged in some mystification about his early life. Many sources state he hailed from Devon, England, and was a descendent of famed architect Sir Christopher Wren; others claim he was born Percy Wren in London, the son of a poor schoolmaster. He worked at that profession after receiving an MA from St. Catherine's College, Oxford. In 1903 he joined the Indian Education Service as headmaster of Karachi High School (now in Pakistan) and wrote several educational textbooks. His first work of fiction, the story collection "Dew and Mildew", was published in 1912. At the start of World War I Wren was commissioned a captain in the Poona Volunteer Rifles but was invalided out of service after a year; in 1917 he returned to England and devoted himself to writing. The popular success of "Beau Geste" caused speculation that Wren himself had once served in the Foreign Legion, though there is no evidence of this and the author remained tight-lipped on the matter. In all he wrote 30 novels and nine volumes of short stories. They include "The Snake and the Sword" (1914), "Soldiers of Misfortune" (1929), "Good Gestes (a series of tales related to the "Beau Geste" narrative, 1929), "Valiant Dust" (1932), "Sinbad the Soldier" (1935), and "The Disappearance of General Jason" (1940).
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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