The Case of the Gilded Lady

Perry Mason #50

by Erle Stanley Gardner

The ingredients were quite one middle-aged tycoon with a lovely young wife; one oh-so-apologetic visitor to the tycoon's office; one devoted secretary, graduate of a correspondence course of How to Be a Detective. But when these ingredients were combined and brought to the boil with the addition of one inflammable blonde - the result was murder. And when Perry Mason was called in to clean up the kitchen, he found that too many cooks almost spoiled the broth.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Detective, Legal, Novels, Mystery Thriller

199 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1956

About the author

Erle Stanley Gardner was an American lawyer and author of detective stories who also published under the pseudonyms A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J. Kenny, Les Tillray, and Robert Parr.

Innovative and restless in his nature, he was bored by the routine of legal practice, the only part of which he enjoyed was trial work and the development of trial strategy. In his spare time, he began to write for pulp magazines, which also fostered the early careers of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. He created many different series characters for the pulps, including the ingenious Lester Leith, a "gentleman thief" in the tradition of Raffles, and Ken Corning, a crusading lawyer who was the archetype of his most successful creation, the fictional lawyer and crime-solver Perry Mason, about whom he wrote more than eighty novels. With the success of Perry Mason, he gradually reduced his contributions to the pulp magazines, eventually withdrawing from the medium entirely, except for non-fiction articles on travel, Western history, and forensic science.

See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erle_Sta...

Reviews

[Tim Blackburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent Perry Mason mystery. Nice to relax to the familiar and comfortable characters of Perry, Della Street, and Paul Drake.

[Freya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't see the end coming. This one was one of the better Perry Mason's I have read. A combination of a difficult client, an interfering Secretary, lots of instances where it seems Perry is on the wrong side of the law and a conclusion that's a bolt out of the blue. This was a good one!

[Melindam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my favourite Perry Mason mysteries, but decent enough.

[Phil Noble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great twisty plot. I had forgotten how much I like Erle Stanley Gardner's writing until I picked up this book by accident.

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full confession. I didn't read every word of this one because, unfortunately, the story just did not grab me. I started it for a challenge I was doing, but had to change my selection (for the challenge) because I knew I was going to be skimming. And I did--skim that is. Just so I could actually use it for a few other challenges and so I can move it permanently off the TBR pile.

I have an on-again, off-again relationship with Perry Mason. When I was younger, I didn't care for the TV show and, later, when I started collecting the pulp-era, digest-size mysteries I seemed to run across tons of Erle Stanley Gardner books. Probably because he wrote tons of them. So, I decided to give Perry a chance in print and have found that I have to be in the right mood for him. I don't think I am right now--the whole Burger & company objecting to everything Perry does in the courtroom thing seemed really irritating this time. Especially when I knew Perry was going to win.

The story line isn't all that compelling either. Rich older guy marries beautiful, younger woman. Woman has shady past. Bad guys decide to blackmail the rich guy based on the little woman's tarnished halo. Blackmailer gets bumped off and the rich guy is suspect number one and on trial. Perry's his lawyer--so you know he's going to get off and there will be a surprise reveal at the end about who really did it. And the real culprit was a real disappointment. At least to me--I would have found it much more satisfying if the rich guy's secretary (whom he dumped in favor of the younger gal) had thought this all up so she could set the young wife up to take the fall and then she could comfort the rich guy when the little woman was convicted. But no. Definitely not one of my favorite Perry Masons.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading Gardner's Perry Mason books off and on for a long time. Many years ago, I was an intense fan of the series, and read them all, at least once. Now, after a lot of water over the dam, I'm looking at them again.

Those who are used to really fine mystery writers may find Gardner's writing style a bit stiff and mechanical. Nonetheless, I still love the general setting: the characters of Perry, Della, Paul, Lt. Tragg, and Hamilton Berger. That, and the ingenious plots, are why I read Perry Mason.

On the whole, the ones written by around 1953 are the best. This one was written in 1956, just before the TV series started. It reads like a TV drama or B-movie of that era.

Stewart Bedford is a wealthy fifty-ish man who recently married the much younger Ann Roann, a sophisticated intelligent woman who unfortunately was once involved in an insurance scam. This has been discovered by a professional blackmailer named Binney Denham. He has fingerprint evidence that it really is Ann Roann who was involved. He claims to be acting as the agent of the real mastermind, a mysterious person named Delbert. Bedford is aghast, and agrees to pay him $20000 in traveler's checks.

The handover of the money is arranged at a motel where Bedford is kept occupied by a sexy young woman named Geraldine Corning. Eventually they have some whiskey that is drugged. When Bedford wakes up, he is alone (surprise, surprise) with the corpse of Binney Denham.

At this point we are 24% of the way into the book with no mention of Perry Mason! Surely this is a record. (In The Empty Tin, Perry is first mentioned 7% of the way in. Usually, of course, he is mentioned on page 1.) But it turns out that Perry has done work for Bedford before, so soon Bedford and his very competent secretary, Elsa Giffin, arrive to get advice. Unusually, Elsa has taken a correspondence course in detective work and knows how to lift latent fingerprints. Perry makes use of her skill.

Who or what is the "gilded lilly"? It refers to (one of) the perpetrator(s) trying too hard.

This is a good, mid-level story. The fingerprint juggling is a noteworthy touch. Hamilton Burger is sure that Perry has gone too far this time, switching evidence. Average use of Della and Paul Drake.

The courtroom cross examinations are quite good. There is a lot of drama when one of the women is cross-examined.

Recurring theme: a hotel or motel where various people go in and out and some are witnessed.

Some use of Sgt. Holcomb, a little of Lt. Tragg. There are no interesting little embellishments. No exotic locations. No romance between Perry and Della. Unlike "The Screaming Woman," written only a year later, the writing here is rather dry and uninspired.

Recommended, with reservations. There are better Perry Mason books. On the other hand, the logic of the resolution (the "reveal") is sound. I don't see any loose ends. It's a very good plot. It does not involve people doing very unlikely things.

The cast:

Stewart Bedford, wealthy fifty-ish man who recently married the younger
Ann Roann, lovely woman with a past.
Elsa Griffin, devoted secretary to Stewart Bedford.
Binney Denham, smarmy blackmailer.
Delbert, mysterious mastermind behind blackmailing schemes.
Geraldine Corning, sexy young woman who gets around.
Morrison Brems, manager of the Staylonger Motel.
Harry Elston, another mysterious acquaintance of Binney Denham.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Perry Mason reread during the quarantine whose plot seemed familiar to me this time around. However, I couldn't remember who did it. And although I ultimately missed the actual murderer, I did twig to the plot twist. Gardner plays fair here. The twist is clean, not a deus ex machina. The characters are a bit better than his usual wooden folks, and for a change the women are somewhat believable. This is still a universe in which Della Street is the only good one, though. It is amazing that Gardner's career overlapped with Rex Stout's. Just for comparison, I reread Stout's Prisoner's Base. This time I remembered the murderer. The plot was complicated, but Stout peopled it with terrific characters and the dialogue is fresh even now. Gardner's world is far more dated.

Recommended.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

To protect his wife, Stewart Bedford agrees to help a blackmailer. He wakes up to find the blackmailer killed with his own gun. He will need the aid of Perry Mason. Gardner follows his usual storyline.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: Stewart G. Bedford entered his private office, hung up his hat, walked across to the huge walnut desk which had been a birthday present from his wife a year ago, and eased himself into the swivel chair.


Premise/plot: The first four chapters introduce us to the major players, and in addition gives us a glimpse of the crime scene. Perry Mason enters into the novel in chapter five--after the crime has been committed but before the police have been called.


The basics: Stewart G. Bedford is a happily married man. His wife, Ann Roann, is twenty years younger than him, and incredibly beautiful and a real charmer. His secretary, Elsa Griffin, considers herself an amateur detective. She reads true crime magazines a bit obsessively. So when a man, Binney Denham, comes to Bedford's business to blackmail him, his secretary is FULL of ideas on how to stop him. Her response frightens him a bit. But the problem of blackmail remains. How does a sane, reasonable man respond to the threat of blackmail when he loves his wife and would do anything to protect her from being hurt?


My thoughts: I love reading Perry Mason almost as much as I love watching Perry Mason. It is impossible for me to read Perry Mason and not hear Raymond Burr. That's not a bad thing. If anything it makes for a fun reading experience. I definitely recommend the series, and this one is a nice addition to it.

[Amit Bikram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike most cases involving Mason, this one doesn't have an immediate entry for the criminal defense lawyer and his secretary. There's a man being blackmailed owing to some sordid past in his wife's life. Eventually, the man ends up being accused of murder. The blackmailing and murder events are dragged out long enough for me to wonder if it is at all a Mason movie or if the fumbling, scared accused would solve the case with the help of his secretary. As it turns out, Mason was absolutely needed and he managed to pull the accused and his wife out of the pot without letting them drop into the fire.

It is a slow-moving case, with action coming quite late into the book. Even then, it doesn't feel like there's a lot of jeopardy in the actions that Mason takes, unlike the earlier written books of the 30s and the 40s. This Mason is far more restrained, with the vindicative DA eager to trap him for any minor infraction.

What I like about the book is the simplicity of the plan hatched by the criminal(s), which is made confusing by the presence of multiple red herrings, and one witness lying to protect themselves. Once the possibility of any other witness lying is eliminated, it is obvious who the murderer could be.

[Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was definitely shocked by the ending and was 100% not expecting it. the writer made me suspicious of so many people yet it was the one person i didnt suspect. although it was a very good book there wasn't anything that made it different than any other mystery books but if you are into murder mystery books i definitely recommend this, it was very interesting trying to figure out who the murderer was!!

[Elizabeth S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the Perry Masons. Begins with the client being blackmailed, and that gets rather tedious and annoying. The end discovery of the real killer is, of course, surprising. But the legal, courtroom stuff wasn't as interesting as in other Perry Mason books.

[Richa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too convenient an end. All nicely tied up. But this is one of those books where Mason plays around with the evidence, luckily which turns out alright at the end.
The only good part was the lovely court room argument back and forth, over technicalities.

[Stven · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long opening sequence describing the situation and cast of characters that will give us our murder is not the best approach to a Perry Mason book since we're all waiting to see what Perry himself is going to get up to. Once we got rolling, it was a pretty good story.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long setup prior to Mason entering. Setup made defendant look foolish and made me uncomfortable. Recovered with good red herring and enjoyable storytelling, although was a bit of a jump to the resolution.

[Aravena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not particularly egregious, but also not a standout if you've read your share of Perry Mason's stuff. This time, it's a case involving a wealthy widow who recently remarried, an overly polite blackmailer, and no less than three potential femme fatale in an eventual murder mystery inside a shady motel.

The book opens with the chain of events leading to the murder, told through the PoV of the wealthy man and eventual Perry's client, Stewart G. Bedford. Usually, I prefer not to see the client's PoV so that we have the same knowledge of the case as Perry, unless it's done particularly well, as in The Case of the Waylaid Wolf. It's not as essential here, though I suppose it helped with the immersion and pacing. In any case, it led to the usual race against the police for information and evidences, as well as Perry's struggle against the client's (again as per usual) questionable action and bias.

I found the investigation and court battle segments to be lacking, apart from Perry's clever (and borderline unethical) switcheroo of key evidences. The prosecution side was particularly limp this time around, making the court proceeding a tedious affair to read. Finally, it ended with a whimper of culprit reveal, a bystander witness type of character without any real scene before his unmasking, whom Perry zeroed in on based on mere hunch and conjecture .

I do have to admit, though, that while none of the three key female characters being the culprit resulted in a less interesting narrative payoff, it's also kinda subversive in its own right. Likewise, the typical setup of a rich old man marrying an attractive young woman was portrayed in a more sympathetic/romantic light, with both turning out to be Good Loyal People™ at the end. Gotta feel for the overzealous secretary (and amateur fingerprint collector) who ended up with nothing for her sheer devotion, though—time to move on, lass!.

[Serdar Poirot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stewart Bedfors adında başarılı bir iş adamı, eski karısı öldükten sonra bir süre sadık sekreteri Elsa Griffin'e karşı yakınlaşmış ancak Ann Broan ile tanışınca her şeyi unutup onunla evlenmiştir. Gayet mutludur ama bir gün ofise Binney Dunham adında biri gelir ve Delbert adında birinin isteği üzerine geldiğini, karısının eski bir suçlu olduğunu, 20 bin dolar vermezse Delbert'in bu bilgileri magazin gazetelerine satacağını söyler. Açık bir şekilde şantaj yapılır ve Stewart interkomu açık unuttuğu için Elsa da bunları duymuştur. Seyahat çeki halinde istenilen parayı hazırlar ve Geraldine Corring adında bir kadın onu araba ile alır. Biraz gezdikten sonra Staylonger Otele girerler. Burada iki ayrı oda tutan Stewart, genç ve güzel kadına yüz vermez. Binney ortalıkta yoktur. Birer içki içer ve uyuyakalır. Gözünü açtığında Geraldine yoktur ama Binney öldürülmüş bir halde bulunur. Silahı kayıptır. Oradan kaçar ve yolda Elsa onu alarak Perry Mason'a getirir. Bu davayı üzerine alır ama karısını davaya alet etmeyecekti3. Paul ve Della ile sıkı bir araştırmaya girer. Ama bu arada Teğmen Tragg de araştırmalara başlar ve dostça bir ziyaret edip Mason ve ekibini uyarır. Elsa'yı oteldeki 12 nolu odaya parmak izi almaya gönderen Mason, otel müdürü Morrison Beng'in dikkatini çekmemesini ister. Elsa bazı parmak izleri almıştır. Ama tanıdık bir parmak izi vardır. Daha önceden Ann'e de şantaj yapan Binney, yolun sonuna gelmiştir. Mason Ann ile de konuşur ama o ısrarla otele gelmediğini söyler. Karısını kurtarmak için kendi üzerine suç alan Stewart yakan yanlış şeyler anlatır. Hamişton Burger ve Holcomb keyiflidir. Dava devam eder. Mason kaybetmek üzereyken Elsa parmak izlerinin Ann'e ait olduğunu söyler. Ama incelemede ona ait çıkmaz. Morrison da gelen kadının Ann olduğuna emindir. Acaba Mason Katili bulabilecek midir? Elsa neden böyle yapmıştır? Gizemli şantaj ortağı Harry Elston kimdir? Keyifle bir solukta okunan bir roman.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perry Mason's client this time makes some bad decisions in dealing with a blackmailer, who ends up dead with a bullet in the back fired from the client's gun. To be fair, the guy is desperately trying to protect his wife, but he's in hot water regardless of his motivation. He's arrested for the murder and is facing the gas chamber.


Conflicting loyalties complicate Perry's investigation into the case. The client places his wife's safety over doing what's best to avoid the death penalty. The wife may or may not be loyal to her husband. The client's confidential secretary is loyal to him and might be willing to throw the wife to the wolves to protect him. Everything soon hinges on a set of fingerprints that Perry manages to tamper with (without legally tampering with them) in order to pull yet another metaphorical rabbit out of his hat in the courtroom.


I've always enjoyed the Perry Mason novels--fast-paced, smart, and clever mysteries that usually bring the stories to satisfying conclusions.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read. This is a nice, tight plot, although at the beginning I wondered how the character being blackmailed could be so dumb. But then I had to remind myself this story was published in the 1950s.
One thing about this book is that it feels as if it was scanned from the original publication(s) and no one bothered to proof the book and make corrections as in missing punctuation, missing letters in words, and things like too instead of to. I'm happy I bought this on sale. But for that strange character behavior and the mistakes in the text, this would have been 5 star.

[Dean Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shakes up the format a bit. The opening chapters are about the soon to be accused defendant and the murder is presented from his perspective.

Usually, we start from Perry and Della's perspective. It would have been fun to have a novel from Paul Drake's perspective. (And may I say again how stupid it was for HBO to have show about Perry Mason as a DETECTIVE. Like having a story about Simba as a wildebeest. Perry's identity is as a lawyer. If they had wanted to do a Paul Drake, detective show, that would have been sensible.)

[Charles R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whom Do You Call?

You go to a motel to pay off a blackmailer. There you are given a drink. You suddenly become drowsy and realize that the drink was drugged, but it is too late. When you come to, you find the blackmailer shot to death with your own gun.
Whom do you call? Perry Mason, of course! But how does he get his client out of this jam? Read the story and find out!

[Princess Pie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy the Mason books, and this one is no exception. While I don’t think it’s one of the best in the series, it’s still a very enjoyable read and has Gardner/Mason’s hallmarks: wit, cleverness, and clear indications that the author/protagonist have a legal a background and would be formidable adversaries in court.

[Mark Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

A blackmail scheme results in murder. Manipulations of key evidence, including a brazen act of obfuscation by Perry, get justice despite the bad decisions of his client. I'm not sure I fully understand the motivation of the real villain. It all seems over-contrived.

[John Lomnicki, · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best one yet, I was really fooled

It took a sophisticated amount of groundwork to lay the foundation for everything that was happening, it was simple, yet complex- misdirection aplenty and it was so subtle- Perry Mason at his finest!

[Jc · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good opening and a great set of court room scenes puts this case in the top ten Mason mysteries (along with way more than 10 others) as Perry must defend a man accused of killing his own blackmailer.

[Denise Kearney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I book $.99

[Ruvi Perera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like always a really good mystery!

[Lawrence FitzGerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

#50. Good everything, no theme 4-stars

Perry made two assumptions that turned out to be pivotal. Both were character assessments. He always has something in his back pocket.

[Jeff Bradbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining read. Not spectacular but entertaining.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun, fast-paced mystery! Really enjoyed the final couple of twists.