Dead Men's Letters

by Erle Stanley Gardner

Book Overview

VG/Vg+ condition, pages tight in creaseless spine This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0881845795
• ISBN13: 9780881845792
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub
• Length: 275 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Vintage Gardner - Fun and Energetic

"Dead Men's Letters" is a collection of six episodes originally published in Black Mask magazine during 1926-27. Each installment has enough background information to be read on its own, but there is a sequential continuity to the narratives. Erle Stanley Gardner was in the business of writing. Born in 1989, Gardner was a practicing lawyer for some years before starting to write fiction at age 32. However, his productivity was stunning. Writing for the pulps in the early years, his output was in the range of one million words per year. Publishing his first novel at age 44, he wrote 82 novels featuring Perry Mason, 24 novels featuring Bertha Cool and Donald Lam (under the pseudonym of A. A. Fair), 13 non-fiction accounts of his explorations, and much more. Whew! Here was a man of energy with an amazing work ethic who assembled the right support staff to become the most read mystery writer in the world. The hero in these stories is Ed Jenkins, wanted by law enforcement in several states and known as the "Phantom Crook." There are elements present here which were, or have since become, central within the hard-boiled detective genre: A lone hero on the outskirts of society; a code of ethics which champions the underdog; beautiful and adoring women; and the hero's knowledge that he will never enjoy love from a committed relationship or respectability in society. These are plot-driven stories, and the action is nearly non-stop. The exploits are fast-paced - chases and escapes are in every episode. The speed of physical movement - of fist, foot or automobile - frequently drives the story. Still, Gardner's text has significantly more description of characters and their environment than was his style in the Perry Mason novels. As an aside, there are some minor but annoying publishing errors. It seems to me that preserving and presenting these otherwise 'lost' stories was a worthy calling, but the occasional repeated paragraph or the randomly inserted paragraph break in the middle of a sentence detract from the quality of the book. If the publishers used acid-free paper, it is not so stated. In terms of fun and excitement, this collection deserves five stars. The book in not great literature and the final chapter is distinctly over-the-top. However, the stories provide enjoyable adventures and offer insights into the early development of detective fiction. The work may not appeal to everyone, but there are delightful rewards for those who have a fondness for classic American entertainment and those interested in exploring some of the best writing from the pulps of the 1920's.