It’s the birthday of British author Sax Rohmer, real name Arthur Sarsfield Ward (but originally named Arthur Henry Ward—enough with the name changes already), best known as the creator of one of the last century’s most compelling villains, the Chinese villain Fu Manchu. Rohmer was born in 1883 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, and was interested from his earliest days in things like the occult and ancient Egypt, and in fact his first story was titled “The Mysterious Mummy” (1903). (If you’re suddenly in the mood to step away from this post and watch a Scooby Doo, I’ll understand.)

Eventually Rohmer grew interested in East Asia, though never in a super politically correct sort of way, and finally wrote The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu (1913), which was about the worldwide conspiracy of the “Yellow Peril.” (This would be a good time to clear your throat and shift uneasily in your seat). The novel was a huge success and Rohmer followed with several more right away, then tried to step away from Fu Manchu and focused on writing other novels and story collections, the list of which is as long as your arm. At one point he created a mystery-solving magician based on his friend Harry Houdini. In 1931, Rohmer finally caved in to the demands of the masses and wrote Daughter of Fu Manchu, followed by another ten or so books in the series. The books are still available on Amazon and loved in a classic-pulp-mystery sort of way, and are evidently well written and truly suspenseful. Some critics have said that Rohmer’s racism was simply a product of his times; the Chinese government and various Chinese communities in the U.S. and London have been less forgiving of his wildly stereotyped portrayals.

Rohmer died in London in 1959 of the Asian Flu. I am not making that up.

Fun fact: In 1984, author Cay Van Ash published his novel, Ten Years Beyond Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Matches Wits with the Diabolical Dr. Fu Manchu. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a major influence on Rohmer, so somehow this seems appropriate.

It’s also the birthday of feminist activist and author Susan Brownmiller (b. 1935), best known for the meticulously researched, Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape (1973), which immediately became a controversial classic. In it Brownmiller makes the provocative claim that rape is “nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear.” She has written several other books, including the novel Waverly Place (1989), and her most recent work is My City Highrise Garden (2017) about her experiences gardening on a Manhattan terrace twenty stories high.

Have a fine Thursday and stay scrupulously honest to the data.