HAPPY 121ST BIRTHDAY ERLE STANLEY GARDNER!

June 30, 2010

How many of you remember watching Perry Mason on television?

Did you know that Perry Mason’s creator was one of the most prolific and best-selling authors of all time? Erle Stanley Gardner was born July 17, 1889 in Malden, Massachusetts. While working as a lawyer in Ventura, California, he began writing mystery stories. In all, he wrote 146 books, including 85 Perry Mason mysteries. The Mystery Writers of America awarded him the title Grand Master in 1962. He died March 11, 1970, at his ranch near Temecula, California.

It would be interesting to compare his Perry Mason character to such fictional private investigators as Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone, Stuart Woods’ Stone Barrington, and Spenser, created by Robert Parker. Who are some other fictional characters that fit into this genre?

Jeanne R.