Smith, Ernest

Ernest Bramah, born Ernest Brammah Smith, was an English author, numismatist and creator of two of the most original characters in British fiction: the Chinese master storyteller Kai Lung and the blind detective Max Carrados. The stories are still read and appreciated, mostly in the UK. Smith was a recluse who refused to give interviews even though he became something of a celebrity in Britain. In 1923, his publisher even had to make a public statement to the effect that Ernest Bramah (he later adopted this spelling of his name) was a real person and not the pseudonym of a famous author.