Finished tonight -
The Case of the Velvet Claws
Copyright 1933 by Erle Stanley Gardner
(Perry Mason number 1)
It's 1933, in the midst of the Depression, and Mason charges $500 retainers and throws $50 bribes around like confetti. It reads more hard-boiled than the later ones(Gardner was a hugely prolific writer for pulp magazines before writing his first novel). Della Street, it turns out, it 27-ish, and was wealthy before her family lost their money, so she went to work, Paul Drake is prevalent, but no Tragg or Hamilton Burger. Mason drives a Buick coupe (with the accent over the "e"), looks for a "clew" (sp) , and hides out for a while in a hotel room where he gets a quart of whiskey from the bellboy(having earlier followed a person of interest to a speakeasy).At the end, Mason kisses Della on the lips !
Next up, The Case of the Sulky Girl, also copyright 1933. After that, 85 more to go.
The Case of the Velvet Claws
Copyright 1933 by Erle Stanley Gardner
(Perry Mason number 1)
It's 1933, in the midst of the Depression, and Mason charges $500 retainers and throws $50 bribes around like confetti. It reads more hard-boiled than the later ones(Gardner was a hugely prolific writer for pulp magazines before writing his first novel). Della Street, it turns out, it 27-ish, and was wealthy before her family lost their money, so she went to work, Paul Drake is prevalent, but no Tragg or Hamilton Burger. Mason drives a Buick coupe (with the accent over the "e"), looks for a "clew" (sp) , and hides out for a while in a hotel room where he gets a quart of whiskey from the bellboy(having earlier followed a person of interest to a speakeasy).At the end, Mason kisses Della on the lips !
Next up, The Case of the Sulky Girl, also copyright 1933. After that, 85 more to go.
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