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Earl Derr Biggers Tells Ten Stories
In 'Earl Derr Biggers Tells Ten Stories', readers are introduced to a collection of mysteries that are not only entertaining but also provide insightful commentary on societal issues of the early 20th century. The book showcases Biggers' clever writing style, weaving together intricate plots with memorable characters in a way that keeps readers engaged from start to finish. Drawing inspiration from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, Biggers utilizes elements of suspense and surprise to deliver satisfying conclusions to each story. The literary context of the book places it among classic mystery novels, appealing to fans of the genre and those interested in early 20th-century literature. Earl Derr Biggers' knack for storytelling shines through in this collection, solidifying his reputation as a master of mystery fiction. His unique perspective and attention to detail add depth to the stories, making them both entertaining and thought-provoking. Readers who enjoy cleverly crafted mysteries with a touch of social commentary will find 'Earl Derr Biggers Tells Ten Stories' to be a captivating and rewarding read.
564 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1933
About the author
Earl Derr Biggers
289 books90 followersEarl Derr Biggers was born in Warren, Ohio on August 24, 1884. Years later, while attending Harvard University, Biggers showed little passion for the classics, preferring instead writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Richard Harding Davis. Following his graduation from Harvard in 1907, he worked briefly for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and at Bobbs-Merrill publishers. By 1908, Biggers was hired at the Boston Traveler to write a daily humor column. Soon, however, he became that paper's drama critic. It was at this time that he met Elanor Ladd, who would later become his wife and who would have a marked influence in his writing.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 9, 2026
Another book I put on my list after seeing a review on GR. Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933) is best known as the creator of the Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan. Although that character is nowadays seen as a caricature, it was progressive for its era, since at the time Chinese people were often negatively portrayed as luring women into opium addiction and prostitution. These stories predate the creation of Charlie Chan, but several references in them illustrate that the author had a positive view of the Chinese.
The stories were published in 1921-22, originally in magazines. They are generally light, upbeat and very easy to read.
The first tale, Moonlight at the Crossroads, was really very cleverly done, and I liked it a lot. I found the second one, Selling Miss Minerva, to be amusing. A car salesman takes on a challenge to sell a car to the said Miss Minerva, an elderly New England blueblood who still travels in a horse drawn carriage and who has sworn never to even travel in an automobile, let alone buy one. There’s some good humour in this story, even if the persistence of the car salesman would border on harassment by modern standards!
The next two stories, The Heart of the Loaf, and Possessions, are linked. The first was a reasonably amusing satire on small town life, and about who can claim the title of biggest fish in a very small pond. I found the second to be so-so.
The longest story in the book is The Dollar Chasers, which at 118 pages is more into novella territory. It’s a gentle mystery set on a private yacht, owned by a super-wealthy businessman who has invited his friends-who-are-really-his-enemies on a cruise. The outsider in the party is a young and lowly journalist ostensibly on board to interview one of the guests, but who in reality was invited by the host’s daughter, as the two have romantic feelings for one another. There’s no murder, but the “crime” involves the theft of a silver dollar which the host treats as a lucky charm. His business rivals know that its loss will badly affect the host’s confidence, so there is no shortage of suspects. The young journalist decides to try and solve the mystery and in doing so impress his prospective father-in-law. It’s quite fun.
The next story, Idle Hands, had similarities to the previous one in the sense of an ordinary young man in love with the daughter of a millionaire. There’s a general theme throughout of how young men need to win respect by being straight talking and honest, and by looking the other guy in the eye even when faced with someone older and much wealthier. A later story, Nina and the Blemish, is also on this theme, but was a bit too moralising for my taste. In The Girl Who Paid Dividends, several men live as parasites on the earnings of a wealthy young actress, and it’s clear what the author thinks of them!
The remaining stories, A Letter to Australia and Broadway Broke, are on a theme of aging, and how people cope with its effects. That idea also runs through several others.
It’s quite an entertaining collection if you are looking for a light read, though by the second half I was starting to find the stories a bit samey. I would probably have given a higher rating if the collection had finished after the first 5 stories.
The stories were published in 1921-22, originally in magazines. They are generally light, upbeat and very easy to read.
The first tale, Moonlight at the Crossroads, was really very cleverly done, and I liked it a lot. I found the second one, Selling Miss Minerva, to be amusing. A car salesman takes on a challenge to sell a car to the said Miss Minerva, an elderly New England blueblood who still travels in a horse drawn carriage and who has sworn never to even travel in an automobile, let alone buy one. There’s some good humour in this story, even if the persistence of the car salesman would border on harassment by modern standards!
The next two stories, The Heart of the Loaf, and Possessions, are linked. The first was a reasonably amusing satire on small town life, and about who can claim the title of biggest fish in a very small pond. I found the second to be so-so.
The longest story in the book is The Dollar Chasers, which at 118 pages is more into novella territory. It’s a gentle mystery set on a private yacht, owned by a super-wealthy businessman who has invited his friends-who-are-really-his-enemies on a cruise. The outsider in the party is a young and lowly journalist ostensibly on board to interview one of the guests, but who in reality was invited by the host’s daughter, as the two have romantic feelings for one another. There’s no murder, but the “crime” involves the theft of a silver dollar which the host treats as a lucky charm. His business rivals know that its loss will badly affect the host’s confidence, so there is no shortage of suspects. The young journalist decides to try and solve the mystery and in doing so impress his prospective father-in-law. It’s quite fun.
The next story, Idle Hands, had similarities to the previous one in the sense of an ordinary young man in love with the daughter of a millionaire. There’s a general theme throughout of how young men need to win respect by being straight talking and honest, and by looking the other guy in the eye even when faced with someone older and much wealthier. A later story, Nina and the Blemish, is also on this theme, but was a bit too moralising for my taste. In The Girl Who Paid Dividends, several men live as parasites on the earnings of a wealthy young actress, and it’s clear what the author thinks of them!
The remaining stories, A Letter to Australia and Broadway Broke, are on a theme of aging, and how people cope with its effects. That idea also runs through several others.
It’s quite an entertaining collection if you are looking for a light read, though by the second half I was starting to find the stories a bit samey. I would probably have given a higher rating if the collection had finished after the first 5 stories.
November 3, 2025
Clever work by Earl Derr Biggers. In these ten stories, all of which were originally published in The Saturday Evening Post, mainly in 1921 and 1922, Biggers updates Horatio Alger's "rags to riches" storyline. Instead of a poor boy making good and working his way to the top, Biggers uses middle class men who encounter millionaires and prove their worth either through the millionaire or his daughter. A young would-be artist cashes out on his dream to sail around the world and finds the value of family life. In another instance, a melon farmer meets up with a Wall Street tycoon's daughter, and the spoiled rich kid is left pining for the farmer. In yet another story, a young reporter proves his worth as a detective for his newspaper's owner and the owner's daughter. And, too, a story relates how a bored millionaire tires of retirement, buys a garage, and hides his wealth from his hard working but out of money partner--and, of course, the partner falls for the millionaire's daughter. While these young men are testing and proving themselves in an almost social Darwinian manner, the backstory of the millionaires is relevant, too. It turns out they have all come from humble beginnings and worked their way up as well. They, in fact, came from the original generation of Horatio Alger heroes that started their journeys in the America of the 1880s and 1890s.
As to be expected for a Saturday Evening Post readership, the stories are all optimistic, even when death intrudes. They resolve on high notes. But they do have a message. Old money needs new blood. For the offspring of the rich tend to be spoiled and lazy. It takes an infusion of the industrious middle class to keep the family fortunes intact. A couple of stories, on the other hand, are outliers, tales about aging Broadway actresses who need to find a way to deal with either old age or declining appeal. But even there, the danger exists of grafting families and friends. In one case, an old millionaire friend steps in to give advice and help and save the day. In another, the first story of the collection, a young millionaire barely escapes the clutches of a fading actress whose troupe depends upon her to salvage one more tour in Australia.
So we get stories that are laced with nostalgia (a sort of double nostalgia for readers in the first half of the twenty-first century, as they look back fondly over people one hundred years ago who were themselves nostalgic for the century before), spots of humor, often in dark situations, some melancholy, but also optimism for the American future. The latest story in the collection was written in 1928, however, but a year before the Wall Street crash of 1929 and a new generation of despairing, cynical Depression-era writers. So it's sunny side up for these ten tales. I only wish there had been ten more to read.
As to be expected for a Saturday Evening Post readership, the stories are all optimistic, even when death intrudes. They resolve on high notes. But they do have a message. Old money needs new blood. For the offspring of the rich tend to be spoiled and lazy. It takes an infusion of the industrious middle class to keep the family fortunes intact. A couple of stories, on the other hand, are outliers, tales about aging Broadway actresses who need to find a way to deal with either old age or declining appeal. But even there, the danger exists of grafting families and friends. In one case, an old millionaire friend steps in to give advice and help and save the day. In another, the first story of the collection, a young millionaire barely escapes the clutches of a fading actress whose troupe depends upon her to salvage one more tour in Australia.
So we get stories that are laced with nostalgia (a sort of double nostalgia for readers in the first half of the twenty-first century, as they look back fondly over people one hundred years ago who were themselves nostalgic for the century before), spots of humor, often in dark situations, some melancholy, but also optimism for the American future. The latest story in the collection was written in 1928, however, but a year before the Wall Street crash of 1929 and a new generation of despairing, cynical Depression-era writers. So it's sunny side up for these ten tales. I only wish there had been ten more to read.
October 10, 2021
Before writing his successful mystery novels about Honolulu detective Charlie Chan, Earl Derr Biggers wrote short stories that appeared in magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post. Several of these were turned into screenplays for movies in the 1920s and 30s. Few of them have any mysterious elements--they are charming slices of life from everywhere from Southern California to the East Coast to the south seas. Pleasant little stories--unfortunately not quite what I though I was getting when I picked the book up originally. ★★★
"Moonlight at the Crossroads": While on a South Seas tour, a selfish actress is about to ruin the lives of her fellow actors. What can anyone do to influence the choices made in the moonlight? A couple of actors know just how to play the scene.
Odd turn, isn't it, that so notably selfish a woman should be the instrument of so much happiness?
"Selling Miss Minerva": A crackerjack car salesman in California is offered a salary increase to come East and give his selling technique a real workout--on Miss Minerva Bluebottle of Stonefield, Massachussets. If Billy Anderson can sell a car to Miss Minerva, then he really is the greatest salesman in the world...
"The Heart of the Loaf": Bobby Dana comes back home to Mayfield after five years of adventures to paint a portrait of one of the town's leading men (now deceased), helps create a feud and resolve it all in one go, and trots off the field with the heart of...a certain young lady.
"Possessions": More of Bob Dana and his new wife...and learning what it means to have possessions.
"The Dollar Chasers": A parody of the detective story involving the theft of one dollar. But it's a special dollar--it's the first (silver) dollar that Jim Batchelor ever earned and he swears it's his lucky charm. If Bill Hammond, reporter, can find the dollar, he'll earn an editor's position...and a wife.
"Idle Hands": Jim Alden has retired and been put out to pasture. If he doesn't find something to do with himself soon, he just knows he's going to be pushing up daisies. So, he buys himself a half interest in a garage...
"The Girl Who Paid Dividends": Peggy Malone is a successful chorus girl with a pretty face and a big heart. She finds herself supporting her husband and her deadbeat dad and brother. Her husband finally decides to pull his weight and cut Peggy loose from her other responsibilities.
"A Letter to Australia": All about a letter from one best friend to another...that never gets written.
"Nina & the Blemish": A spoiled rich girl meets the only man who might be her match...but he doesn't seem interested.
"Broadway Broke": Nellie Wayne is a retired theatrical star whose family needs help. She saves the day by selling her plays to a film producer.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
"Moonlight at the Crossroads": While on a South Seas tour, a selfish actress is about to ruin the lives of her fellow actors. What can anyone do to influence the choices made in the moonlight? A couple of actors know just how to play the scene.
Odd turn, isn't it, that so notably selfish a woman should be the instrument of so much happiness?
"Selling Miss Minerva": A crackerjack car salesman in California is offered a salary increase to come East and give his selling technique a real workout--on Miss Minerva Bluebottle of Stonefield, Massachussets. If Billy Anderson can sell a car to Miss Minerva, then he really is the greatest salesman in the world...
"The Heart of the Loaf": Bobby Dana comes back home to Mayfield after five years of adventures to paint a portrait of one of the town's leading men (now deceased), helps create a feud and resolve it all in one go, and trots off the field with the heart of...a certain young lady.
"Possessions": More of Bob Dana and his new wife...and learning what it means to have possessions.
"The Dollar Chasers": A parody of the detective story involving the theft of one dollar. But it's a special dollar--it's the first (silver) dollar that Jim Batchelor ever earned and he swears it's his lucky charm. If Bill Hammond, reporter, can find the dollar, he'll earn an editor's position...and a wife.
"Idle Hands": Jim Alden has retired and been put out to pasture. If he doesn't find something to do with himself soon, he just knows he's going to be pushing up daisies. So, he buys himself a half interest in a garage...
"The Girl Who Paid Dividends": Peggy Malone is a successful chorus girl with a pretty face and a big heart. She finds herself supporting her husband and her deadbeat dad and brother. Her husband finally decides to pull his weight and cut Peggy loose from her other responsibilities.
"A Letter to Australia": All about a letter from one best friend to another...that never gets written.
"Nina & the Blemish": A spoiled rich girl meets the only man who might be her match...but he doesn't seem interested.
"Broadway Broke": Nellie Wayne is a retired theatrical star whose family needs help. She saves the day by selling her plays to a film producer.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
July 27, 2015
Magnificent
Biggers was a master at weaving stories that brought out the rawness in human nature, both good and bad. You want to root for the underdog and feel disdain for the villain. These stories are of a bygone era, where romance bloomed. They also reveal the fact that a class or caste system has always existed, and always will exist, as long as there are rich and poor, different shades of skin, or educated and uneducated. Of course, the comparisons could go on forever, but the point is that Earl Derr Biggers knew people and put down in writing a powerful statement about mankind with every story he wrote. Highly entertaining.
Biggers was a master at weaving stories that brought out the rawness in human nature, both good and bad. You want to root for the underdog and feel disdain for the villain. These stories are of a bygone era, where romance bloomed. They also reveal the fact that a class or caste system has always existed, and always will exist, as long as there are rich and poor, different shades of skin, or educated and uneducated. Of course, the comparisons could go on forever, but the point is that Earl Derr Biggers knew people and put down in writing a powerful statement about mankind with every story he wrote. Highly entertaining.
March 26, 2019
Earl Derr Biggers stories are always hit or miss. He can be very entertaining, or he can be godawful, eg: The Agony Column. The only good thing I found in the book was 'The Dollar Chasers' but it is so good I gave the book 5 stars on the basis of this one story. Today when one talks about mystery stories, it's always a murder mystery. I don't know when it happened that the term 'murder mystery' became a redundancy but that's what you have today. Back in the late 1800s thru the 1920s mystery stories concerned themselves with missing items, stolen papers, purloined jewels, kidnappings, and bank robberies. Murders were few. Now I can't think of anything in film or print coming after 1970 that doesn't involve a murder. I don't like murders. They cheapen the life of the victim, especially in cozy mysteries where said victim is an afterthought, something to be gotten away with as quickly as possible so we can get on with the cute eccentricities of the solver. This early EDB tales has nothing to do with murder. Instead 'The Dollar Chasers' concerns the theft of a dollar -- a lucky silver dollar which a millionaire holds responsible for all his good fortune. Bad people want to get the dollar away from him, hoping it will remove him from some political and business arenas. Bill, a newspaper reporter, is on the millionaire's yacht when the theft takes place, and he takes it on himself to catch the robber in hope of winning the millionaire's daughter's hand in marriage. After many false starts he eventually succeeds. The attitude is light-hearted, yet there's an air of seriousness. The heroine is actually worthy of the title, not that she does anything helpful, but at least she doesn't do anything stupid. EDB plays fair by giving us one clue, but you still have to think about it before you get it. I liked it. There was a bit of send-up concerning the classes, Bill representing the hard-working everyman vs all the rich snobs aboard the yacht. If you're looking for a pleasant experience then 'The Dollar Chasers' offers as good a time as any. The story probably won't stay with you, but at the same time you won't feel like you wasted your time either..
November 2, 2017
Ten stories originally published in The Saturday Evening Post. Not many of them can be considered mysteries, they are quite far from the Charlie Chan novels. Five of them I liked specially:
1. Moolight at the crossroads, with its surprise ending.
2. The heart of the loaf, a story of love and artist, with a Romeo & Juliet touch, but without the tragic ending.
3. The dollar chasers, the nearest to a mystery story in the whole book, with a convoluted plot of many people trying to steal one dollar!
4. Idle hands. Yes, I know, the dice were loaded from the beginning, but it's a nice story.
5. Broadway broke, about the struggle of theatre fans against the onslaught of the movies.
1. Moolight at the crossroads, with its surprise ending.
2. The heart of the loaf, a story of love and artist, with a Romeo & Juliet touch, but without the tragic ending.
3. The dollar chasers, the nearest to a mystery story in the whole book, with a convoluted plot of many people trying to steal one dollar!
4. Idle hands. Yes, I know, the dice were loaded from the beginning, but it's a nice story.
5. Broadway broke, about the struggle of theatre fans against the onslaught of the movies.
March 1, 2026
I am a big fan of the short story as an immersive literary adventure, and these don’t disappoint. It’s important for readers to realize however that most of them were written around a hundred years ago, and they reflect the general worldview and social mores of the time. If you ratchet your mindset back to that period before you delve into these stories, you shouldn’t be disenchanted. They are mostly about striving, the human impulse to better one's circumstances in life. Biggers also had a soft spot for romance and love, and what's not to like about that? There is also an inherent optimism and sense of self-reliance layered through the pages that captures the character and mood of a period just before the great depression; a period that was arguably more innocent than today. So, crack the cover and savor the experience of a trip back in time. REG
April 3, 2021
Five stars for "The Dollar Chasers," an excellent short mystery novel.
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