He's a lady's man, a man's man-and a wanted man, on the run in 1930s Europe….Meet Blacky Lee, ruggedly handsome with a quick wit and a roguish charm. Think Clark Gable-with larceny in his heart and a price on his head. A price put there by the German Gestapo. But Blacky's always got an angle, and this time it's as audacious as they come. He'll hide in plain sight, impersonating the crowned head of a Balkan kingdom. He'll become The Iron Duke. Can he pull it off? Win the love of a country…and of a beautiful woman? All Blacky has to do is risk everything-and, for once in his life, find a way to do the right thing. Hubbard and Gable were fast friends and fellow adventurers. While Hubbard was writing for Columbia Pictures in 1937, the studio often called upon him to doctor scripts for Gable-giving him a unique knowledge of the man and inspiration for characters like Blacky Lee.
"Two novellas, first published in the magazine Five-Novels (in 1940 and 1947 respectively), reiterate the case for Hubbard as one of the great pulp writers, with colorful prose, lively action writing, exotic locales, fresh variations on standard characters and situations, and well-constructed plots. In Iron Duke, Blacky Lee, fleeing the Nazis with his less adventurous sidekick, impersonates the ar
Ellery Queen
". . . the adventure ones are just so much fun, that you wish there were more things written like them."
Kevin J. Anderson
"Prolific pulp-fiction author Hubbard (1911-1986) offers a variation on a familiar romantic theme with this fast-paced…thriller set in WWII Europe. Blacky Lee, an American weapons dealer, just happens to be the spitting image of Archduke Philip of Aldoria, a coincidence that enables him to dodge Nazis and ensnare the heart of the attractive Countess Zita."
