Wren, P(ercival) C(hristopher)

(British, 1885–1941)

Wren was born in Devon, and after graduating from Oxford his varied life included periods in the French Foreign Legion and the Indian Educational Service. Begin with his best-known book, Beau Geste (1924), in which Michael ‘Beau’ Geste enlists in the French Foreign Legion after being wrongfully suspected of a jewel theft. He is joined by his brothers Digby and John, and the book recounts their adventures in the searing Sahara and describes conditions in the Legion in realistic detail. Beau Sabreur (1926) and Good Gestes (1929) are sequels. Wren's other books include Dew and Mildew (1912), a collection of stories based on his Indian experiences which celebrate the resourcefulness of the expatriate Englishman. Two Feet from Heaven (1940) deals with a man who becomes a killer when his wish to help the underprivileged involves him in sordid entanglements.

Rudyard Kipling, Henry Rider Haggard  DH