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The secret mark,
Secret mark
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1923
7 people want to read
About the author
Roy J. Snell
198 books8 followersRoy Judson Snell wrote more than 84 novels for young adults under his own name and also using the pseudonyms David O'Hara, James Craig and Joseph Marino.
His tales were mostly directed at boys, though he wrote at least one series of mysteries for girls. He also wrote some animal fantasy tales for younger children and they began with 'Little White Fox and His Artic Friends' (1916). He was later to say that he sold the book for "the great sum of $6.24".
He also wrote a series entitled 'Radio- Phone Boys', which began with 'Curly Carson Listens In' (1922).
Born in Laddonia, Missouri, Snell moved to the Sycamore area and there he learned his father's trade of erecting windmills. He entered Wheaton academy after his 19th birthday, graduated, and then worked his way through Wheaton College, finishing with the class of
1906.
His brother's death led to him entering the ministry and he accepted the pastorate of a small church in rural Southern Illinois. After only a year he became principal of a church supported
school in the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky. "A person could just as
likely get shot as not there," Snell once remarked, and he added, "It was a constant struggle to see who would
take over the school — the big boys or me." He eventually won and gained the respect of his students and their parents alike.
He then spent two semesters' graduate study at Harvard, after which he went as a Congregationalist missionary to Alaska. While there he was responsible for over 350 Eskimos and 2,500 reindeer. He returned to
the area the following year, and afterwards he earned his B.D. degree at Chicago Seminary and his master's degree from the University of Chicago.
He briefly served in France with the Y.M.C.A. during World War 1, service which interrupted his new-found writing
career. Once he returned to the United States he began to write in earnest.
A dozen books flowed from his pen, most of them on adventure and mystery themes for youngsters, and then the author began lecturing and for the following 30 years he gave illustrated talks about his many travels.
He had a lengthy career as a novelist, claiming that he often wrote 2,000 words per hour, and was later to say, "You have to develop a second personality to write. It's a hard thing to do. Oftentimes I felt like giving up the whole business."
He continued, "I had all the luck on my side. If I were a young man today, I'd hesitate going into a writing career. I wouldn't know where to start. Kids don't read as much today with TV and movies. No I've had my day and I got out of it just what I wanted."
Readers also got what they wanted for as a testimony to his skill, more than one and one-half million copies of his books were sold.
He died in Wheaton, Illinois.
His tales were mostly directed at boys, though he wrote at least one series of mysteries for girls. He also wrote some animal fantasy tales for younger children and they began with 'Little White Fox and His Artic Friends' (1916). He was later to say that he sold the book for "the great sum of $6.24".
He also wrote a series entitled 'Radio- Phone Boys', which began with 'Curly Carson Listens In' (1922).
Born in Laddonia, Missouri, Snell moved to the Sycamore area and there he learned his father's trade of erecting windmills. He entered Wheaton academy after his 19th birthday, graduated, and then worked his way through Wheaton College, finishing with the class of
1906.
His brother's death led to him entering the ministry and he accepted the pastorate of a small church in rural Southern Illinois. After only a year he became principal of a church supported
school in the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky. "A person could just as
likely get shot as not there," Snell once remarked, and he added, "It was a constant struggle to see who would
take over the school — the big boys or me." He eventually won and gained the respect of his students and their parents alike.
He then spent two semesters' graduate study at Harvard, after which he went as a Congregationalist missionary to Alaska. While there he was responsible for over 350 Eskimos and 2,500 reindeer. He returned to
the area the following year, and afterwards he earned his B.D. degree at Chicago Seminary and his master's degree from the University of Chicago.
He briefly served in France with the Y.M.C.A. during World War 1, service which interrupted his new-found writing
career. Once he returned to the United States he began to write in earnest.
A dozen books flowed from his pen, most of them on adventure and mystery themes for youngsters, and then the author began lecturing and for the following 30 years he gave illustrated talks about his many travels.
He had a lengthy career as a novelist, claiming that he often wrote 2,000 words per hour, and was later to say, "You have to develop a second personality to write. It's a hard thing to do. Oftentimes I felt like giving up the whole business."
He continued, "I had all the luck on my side. If I were a young man today, I'd hesitate going into a writing career. I wouldn't know where to start. Kids don't read as much today with TV and movies. No I've had my day and I got out of it just what I wanted."
Readers also got what they wanted for as a testimony to his skill, more than one and one-half million copies of his books were sold.
He died in Wheaton, Illinois.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 17, 2016
This is the third title in a series of adventure stories for girls written by Roy J. Snell in the early 1920's. I read this to fulfill a challenge task which required a book published in 1923. I had seen the author's name at Gutenberg quite a bit and had thought it would be fun to read the series, so I read the first two, and saved this one for that challenge.
Well, the first book of the series was quite exciting, the second one was a DNF for me, and this one was just a little above that. It is really a shame that Snell could not seem to create the same atmosphere in his later books as he did in The Blue Envelope. I had high hopes for The Secret Mark, but I could not quite get lost in the story. Not to mention the idea that extremely rare books were not being kept under lock and key in controlled atmospheric conditions! Horrors!
Lucile and Florence are still at the university, and Lucile works in the uni library to help pay her way. One night when she thinks she is all alone in the stacks, she hears a noise and discovers a book thief, who escapes before Lucile can think up anything to say. What should she do? Tell the authorities? No, of course not! She should solve the mystery herself, of course! And so she clumsily proceeds to do so.
This book did not require much thinking on my part, so it turned out to be just the right title for a sleepless night. I had issues with Miss Lucile. She was constantly hearing Someone Following Her, but kept shrugging it off; she fussed and worried more than she should have once she made her decision to solve the mystery herself; and she forgot about a very important piece of evidence until it was more convenient to the story; and she left Florence out of the loop once again. Gee, seems like maybe I have more issues with Snell than with Lucile!
I won't be reading any more in this series, but I would like to read at least one of the three WWII era books he wrote, about girls that go off to join the WACS, the WAVES, and the Ferry Command. However, I'm skimming the first one before making it an official Currently Reading. If I don't like it, none of them will show up on any of my 'real' lists.
I do have to say that I liked this bit of advice, even though it sort of came out of left field in the story. At a point when Lucile is alone and worried about what to do next, we get this paragraph, one of the only places that made me sit up and take notice:
"Often and often we find this true in life; we face seemingly unbearable situations—something is to happen to us, we are to go somewhere, be something different, do some seemingly undoable thing and we say, “We cannot endure it,” yet we pass through it as through a fog to come out smiling on the other side. We are better, happier and stronger for the experience. It was to be so with Lucile."
Extra points for that bit of wisdom, Mr. Snell!
Well, the first book of the series was quite exciting, the second one was a DNF for me, and this one was just a little above that. It is really a shame that Snell could not seem to create the same atmosphere in his later books as he did in The Blue Envelope. I had high hopes for The Secret Mark, but I could not quite get lost in the story. Not to mention the idea that extremely rare books were not being kept under lock and key in controlled atmospheric conditions! Horrors!
Lucile and Florence are still at the university, and Lucile works in the uni library to help pay her way. One night when she thinks she is all alone in the stacks, she hears a noise and discovers a book thief, who escapes before Lucile can think up anything to say. What should she do? Tell the authorities? No, of course not! She should solve the mystery herself, of course! And so she clumsily proceeds to do so.
This book did not require much thinking on my part, so it turned out to be just the right title for a sleepless night. I had issues with Miss Lucile. She was constantly hearing Someone Following Her, but kept shrugging it off; she fussed and worried more than she should have once she made her decision to solve the mystery herself; and she forgot about a very important piece of evidence until it was more convenient to the story; and she left Florence out of the loop once again. Gee, seems like maybe I have more issues with Snell than with Lucile!
I won't be reading any more in this series, but I would like to read at least one of the three WWII era books he wrote, about girls that go off to join the WACS, the WAVES, and the Ferry Command. However, I'm skimming the first one before making it an official Currently Reading. If I don't like it, none of them will show up on any of my 'real' lists.
I do have to say that I liked this bit of advice, even though it sort of came out of left field in the story. At a point when Lucile is alone and worried about what to do next, we get this paragraph, one of the only places that made me sit up and take notice:
"Often and often we find this true in life; we face seemingly unbearable situations—something is to happen to us, we are to go somewhere, be something different, do some seemingly undoable thing and we say, “We cannot endure it,” yet we pass through it as through a fog to come out smiling on the other side. We are better, happier and stronger for the experience. It was to be so with Lucile."
Extra points for that bit of wisdom, Mr. Snell!
dnf
February 12, 2016Watching the mc continuously miss the obvious was too painful for me. Everything else I have read by this author has been great. I feel like the author dropped the ball on this one, but other readers seem to like it. Then again, I do hate books with stupid characters.
October 13, 2015
I think that this is book #3 in a series of Girls' Mysteries by Roy Snell. Marian is missing from this book. Lucile is rooming with a girl named Florence and they are still going to college in Chicago. This mystery deals with the theft of valuable books. Each book that is stolen has the mark of a gargoyle on the corner of the page. The reader knows who the thief is from the beginning, but the mystery is why the books are being stolen. Lucile, who works in the college library, also knows who the thief is but she doesn't report it. I guessed early on why the books were being stolen but I still enjoyed the dangerous situations that Lucile got herself into while on the trail of the thief.
August 1, 2024
Two wrongs don't make a right...but three do?
This book started out interestingly enough. A mysterious theft at a university library on a dark and stormy night. The books in question both had a mysterious symbol on the inside flap...is it significant? Who is stealing rare books?
As a librarian, and as someone who has spent countless nights in a university library, this intro grabbed me immediately. Unfortunately, the story went downhill from here. And by downhill, I mean, the story car took a detour, drove a mile or two, then promptly drove off a cliff.
What happened? (You may ask...) The whole mystery premise. The whole stinking thing.
When our main character Lucile discovers the child behind the book thefts, instead of telling the authorities, the university, or even her roommate, she decides that the child doesn't look like a thief, so there must be some other explanation. She follows the child, who she witnesses steal NUMEROUS other books, and yet does nothing... AGAIN! (Ok, at this point, her roommate knows, but that's it.)
Finally, after many stupid incidents where Lucile discovers even more thefts (but still protects the child thief), the truth comes out. The books really did originally belong to the child's guardian, but had been stolen years ago and the child was stealing them back from their current owners for her guardian.
While I sympathize with the original owner, the current owners (who were getting their books stolen), had purchased the books outright from book sellers! It wasn't their fault that the book sellers obtained the books from shady places. EVERY SINGLE ONE of the current owners was NOT the original thief! And yet, the child was never faulted for her actions! She was even allowed to keep the books and/or their monetary value after her guardian died at the end of the book. This is absolutely ridiculous and completely unethical! If the current owners were willing to relinquish their claims on the books once they found out what happened, WHY DIDN'T THE ORIGINAL OWNER JUST GO TO THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE INSTEAD OF CONVINCING A CHILD TO STEAL FOR HIM!?!?!
Which brings me back to my opening statement...two wrongs don't make a right...but apparently three do! Yes, it wasn't right that the books were stolen from their owner. Yes, it wasn't right to steal them back. But apparently by covering up the thefts until all the books were stolen back (aiding and abetting), that solved the entire problem and now the world is a happy and safe place and everyone lives happily ever after.
Gag me.
This book started out interestingly enough. A mysterious theft at a university library on a dark and stormy night. The books in question both had a mysterious symbol on the inside flap...is it significant? Who is stealing rare books?
As a librarian, and as someone who has spent countless nights in a university library, this intro grabbed me immediately. Unfortunately, the story went downhill from here. And by downhill, I mean, the story car took a detour, drove a mile or two, then promptly drove off a cliff.
What happened? (You may ask...) The whole mystery premise. The whole stinking thing.
When our main character Lucile discovers the child behind the book thefts, instead of telling the authorities, the university, or even her roommate, she decides that the child doesn't look like a thief, so there must be some other explanation. She follows the child, who she witnesses steal NUMEROUS other books, and yet does nothing... AGAIN! (Ok, at this point, her roommate knows, but that's it.)
Finally, after many stupid incidents where Lucile discovers even more thefts (but still protects the child thief), the truth comes out. The books really did originally belong to the child's guardian, but had been stolen years ago and the child was stealing them back from their current owners for her guardian.
While I sympathize with the original owner, the current owners (who were getting their books stolen), had purchased the books outright from book sellers! It wasn't their fault that the book sellers obtained the books from shady places. EVERY SINGLE ONE of the current owners was NOT the original thief! And yet, the child was never faulted for her actions! She was even allowed to keep the books and/or their monetary value after her guardian died at the end of the book. This is absolutely ridiculous and completely unethical! If the current owners were willing to relinquish their claims on the books once they found out what happened, WHY DIDN'T THE ORIGINAL OWNER JUST GO TO THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE INSTEAD OF CONVINCING A CHILD TO STEAL FOR HIM!?!?!
Which brings me back to my opening statement...two wrongs don't make a right...but apparently three do! Yes, it wasn't right that the books were stolen from their owner. Yes, it wasn't right to steal them back. But apparently by covering up the thefts until all the books were stolen back (aiding and abetting), that solved the entire problem and now the world is a happy and safe place and everyone lives happily ever after.
Gag me.
December 1, 2020
The “Secret Mark” is a very exciting adventure/mystery story for girls. The events mostly take place in the city of Chicago, often in dangerous neighborhoods. Marion, a college girl who works in the university library, becomes aware that some valuable books are being quietly stolen by an innocent looking child. She follows up, discovering where the girl lives, and many unusual circumstances and questions begin to pile up as Marion and her roommate follow from one clue to another. Many interesting facts are woven into the story about book sellers, book bindings, and correctors of valuable books. I would have given it 4 stars, but since it was written for girls, I felt the kind and courageous heroines knowingly put themselves into several dangerous, questionable, and unwise situations that could influence young readers into poor decision making. First published in 1923, I listened to this book read by one of my favorite LibriVox narrators: Lee Ann Howlett.
July 6, 2022
I read the e-book edition from Project Gutenberg. It was a good enough adventure story and I enjoyed it.
I wondered about the "Portland Charts" that were mentioned several times, Wikipedia says they are "portolan charts".
I wondered about the "Portland Charts" that were mentioned several times, Wikipedia says they are "portolan charts".
maybe
March 6, 2014
Opening: Lucile Tucker’s slim, tapered fingers trembled slightly as she rested them against a steel-framed bookcase. She had paused to steady her shaken nerves, to collect her wits, to determine what her next move should be.
“Who can it be?” her madly thumping heart kept asking her.
And, indeed, who, besides herself, could be in the book stacks at this hour of the night?
The link: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41837
September 16, 2018
Intriguing plot and fully drawn characters, an excellent reading. I hope he writes more. Recommended reading for mystery lovers.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews