Did her new husband do it? He says so, but Perry suspects he’s just trying to cover for his new bride. She’s secretly been married, and that’s the basis for the blackmail. And so before you know it, he’s dead and she’s accused of his murder. Her uncle and guardian, Edward Norton, won’t give her any money from her trust, so that she can pay off the blackmailer. The story has a beautiful young blond with a fiery temper, Frances Celane, being blackmailed. But this is the first Perry Mason story to feature his courtroom manipulations. Still no appearance by District Attorney Hamilton Burger or Lieutenant Tragg. And for the first time, Mason’s young law clerk Frank Everly. “The Case of the Sulky Girl” was the second of the Perry Mason books, published in September 1933. The story also appeared in the Perry Mason television series, adapted for the Mabroadcast, with the incomparable Raymond Burr starring as Perry. “The Case of the Velvet Claws” was the fifth installment.
#The first perry mason book series
Perry Mason appeared in a series of six motion pictures for Warner Bros. Pictures with William Warren starring as Perry Mason and Claire Dodd as Della Street. In 1936, this story was filmed by Warner Bros. But I missed the courtroom scenes prevalent in the later books. And in turn, she puts the blame on Perry Mason himself! But Perry avoids being double-crossed, and valiantly fights to see that she is cleared of the charges.Ī good introduction to the series I really liked it. But before things are done, she is accused of murder. She comes to Perry Mason claiming she is being blackmailed. The plot has to do with a mystery woman who calls herself Eva Griffin. These would be introduced in later Perry Mason stories. And most telling, there is no courtroom scene in the entire novel. District Attorney Hamilton Burger and Lieutenant Tragg don’t appear in this story. For the first time, we meet Perry, his secretary Della Street, and his favorite detective, Paul Drake. “The Case of the Velvet Claws” was the first Perry Mason mystery written by Erle Stanley Gardner and published in March 1933. For right now, let’s take a look at the first two in the series. I’ll be resurrecting those comments about the Perry Mason books here on ThePulp.Net on an occasional basis. Admittedly, some were better than others, but each one kept my interest and kept me turning the pages into the wee hours of the night.Īs I finished reading each of these Perry Mason tales, I wrote a couple paragraphs summarizing my thoughts on the story. He wrote 86 Perry Mason stories, and I’ve read them all… and in order! I never found a dud in the bunch. The Perry Mason novels are for what Erle Stanley Gardner is best known. Kenny, Robert Park, Robert Parr and Les Tillray. Green, Grant Holiday, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J. Some of his other pen names were Charles M. He wrote the Cool and Lam books under the pen name A.A. As a result, he started writing some of his character series under various pen names. He wrote so much that he feared he would dilute the demand for his work. He wrote over a million words a year, putting him in an elite class with fellow pulp writer Walter B. In addition to creating Perry Mason, Gardner also was the talent behind other character series: Cool and Lam, Doug Selby, Ed Jenkins, Bob Larkin, Speed Dash, Paul Pry, Lester Leith, and the list just goes on and on. He went on to publish in some of pulpdom’s greatest magazines: Black Mask, Top-Notch Magazine, Sunset, Fawcett’s Triple-X, Argosy, Flynn’s Detective Fiction, Clues, Ace High, Dime Detective, Double Detective… and that’s just scratching the surface. His first pulp magazine story published was “The Police of the House” in the June 1921 issue of Breezy Stories. But his interests extended beyond the law to writing. No wonder his courtroom scenes seemed so real. That’s right, the author of those great Perry Mason stories was a real lawyer. I’m not sure what to make of that, but all of the “official” photos show a solemn man.Įrle Stanley Gardner passed the California state bar in 1911. But the strange thing was that none showed him smiling. The pulps were a wonderful training ground for writers, and that’s where Gardner honed his craft.Īs I looked for a publicity photo of Gardner, I found various ones from over the years. Perry Mason first appeared in book form, written by long-time pulp author Erle Stanley Gardner. And that makes Perry Mason a perfect fit for me. Erle Stanley Gardner, author of the Perry Mason series
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