Beverly Gray in the Orient

Beverly Gray #8

by Clair Blank

Early printing. Lists to this title at the front of the book (list still includes World's Fair, which was later dropped from the series when Grosset and Dunlap took it over), Bound in light green with blue lettering, turquoise endpapers with 'house scene.' Glossy frontispiece. Thicker format. 251 pp.

247 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

A year after her high school graduation in 1933, Clair Blank's first four books in the Beverly Gray series had been published -- she was a published author at the age of 18. In 1935, she wrote The Adventure Girls at the K Bar O and was immediately asked by the publisher for two additional stories so that it could be made into a series.

Clair Blank lived in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She graduated from college, became a typist and secretary, and during World War II worked as a volunteer for American Women’s Voluntary Services, a group that drove visiting Army officers around locally. She married George Elmer Moyer, a welder, in 1943 and had two sons.

Series:
* Beverly Gray
* The Adventure Girls

Reviews

[Kaitlyn Dunnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are, as I remembered, getting better. More plot, more character development. Now if I could just overlook the constant use of passive voice . . .

[Kirsten Elson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just didn't love the Asian theme as much as the other adventures. I felt that the college books were the very best.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ooh, those dastardly Chinamen! :)

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Refreshingly feminist, in the best Nancy Drew style. The female characters are smart, talented, independent, strong-willed, level-headed, resourceful, and don't let anyone tell them what they can't do. Unfortunately also quite naive in its benevolent racism, colonialism, and class privilege.

A light, fast-paced, travel / adventure / mystery, on the whole enjoyable for one so drawn to the genre as myself. As a woman it left me empowered and motivated, both to travel and to pursue my career, but I was cringing many times at how she portrayed Asia and Asian people.