Ridgwell Cullum (pseudonym of Sidney Groves Burghard) (13 August 1867 – 3 November 1943) was a British writer who wrote a large number of adventure novels over more than 30 years, usually set in sparsely populated regions of the United States or Canada.
He left home aged 17 to join a gold rush in the Transvaal in South Africa, where he became involved in the conflict between British and Boer settlers; he travelled to the scene of another gold rush in Yukon in north-west Canada; he spent a few years cattle-ranching in Montana, USA.
His first novel The Devil's Keg, set in Alberta, Canada, was published in 1903. After its success he settled in Britain and became a full-time writer. Several of his novels were made into films.
Works
- The Devil's Keg (US: The Story Of The Foss River Ranch) (1903)
- The Hound From The North (1904)
- In the Brooding Wild (1905)
- The Night Riders (1906) - made into a film (1920)
- The Watchers Of The Plains (1908)
- The Compact (1909)
- The Sherriff Of Dyke Hole (1909)
- The Trail Of The Axe (1910) - made into a film (1922), featuring Dustin Farnum and George Fisher
- The One-Way Trail (1911)
- The Twins Of Suffering Creek (1912) - made into a film The Man Who Won (1923), directed by William A. Wellman and featuring Dustin Farnum, Jacqueline Gadsden and Lloyd Whitlock
- The Golden Woman (1913)
- The Way Of The Strong (1914) - made into a film (1919), directed by Edwin Carewe and featuring Anna Q. Nilsson, Joe King and Harry Northrup
- The Law-Breakers (1914)
- The Son Of His Father (1915) - made into a film (1917) directed by Victor Schertzinger and featuring Charles Ray, Vola Vale and Robert McKim
- The Men Who Wrought (1916)
- The Triumph Of John Kars (1917)
- The Purchase Price (US: The Forfeit) (1917) - made into a film The Forfeit (1919), directed by Frank Powell and featuring House Peters, Sr.
- The Law Of The Gun (1918)
- The Heart Of Unaga (1920)
- The Man In The Twilight (1922)
- The Luck Of The Kid (1923)
- The Saint Of The Speedway (1924)
- The Riddle Of Three-Way Creek (1925)
- The Candy Man (US: Child Of The North) (1926)
- The Wolf Pack (1927)
- The Mystery Of The Barren Lands (1928)
- The Tiger Of Cloud River (1929)
- The Treasure Of Big Waters (1930)
- The Bull Moose (1931)
- Sheets In The Wind (1932)
- The Flaming Wildness (1934)
- The Vampire Of N'Gobi (1935)
- One Who Kills (1938)