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The Drums of Jeopardy
Among the passengers to detrain was a man in a long black coat. The high collar was up. The man wore a derby hat, well down upon his head, after the English mode. An English kitbag, battered and scarred, swung heavily from his hand. Away toward the far end of the platform there appeared a shadowy patch in the fog. It grew and presently took upon itself the shape of a man. For one so short and squat and thick his legs possessed remarkable agility, for he reached the street just as the other man stopped at the side of a taxicab. Sixteen thousand miles, always eastward, on horses, camels, donkeys, trains, and ships; the fog would serve as an impenetrable cloak. he was within three hours of his ultimate destination! He knew all about great cities. An hour after he left the train, if he so willed, he could lose himself for all time.
- GenresFiction
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1920
1 person is currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Harold MacGrath
312 books8 followersHarold MacGrath (September 4, 1871 - October 30, 1932) was a bestselling American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.
Also known occasionally as Harold McGrath, he was born in Syracuse, New York. As a young man, he worked as a reporter and columnist on the Syracuse Herald newspaper until the late 1890s when he published his first novel, a romance titled Arms and the Woman. According to the New York Times, his next book, The Puppet Crown, was the No.7 bestselling book in the United States for all of 1901. From that point on, MacGrath wrote novels for the mass market about love, adventure, mystery, spies, and the like at an average rate of more than one a year. He would have three more of his books that were among the top ten bestselling books of the year. At the same time, he penned a number of short stories for major American magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, and Red Book magazine. Several of MacGrath's novels were serialized in these magazines and contributing to them was something he would continue to do until his death in 1932.
In 1912, Harold MacGrath became one of the first nationally-known authors to write directly for the movies when he was hired by the American Film Company to do the screenplay for a short film in the Western genre titled The Vengeance That Failed. MacGrath had eighteen of his forty novels and three of his short stories made into films plus he wrote the story for another four motion pictures. And, three of his books were also made into Broadway plays. One of the many films made from MacGrath's writings was the 1913 serial The Adventures of Kathlyn starring Kathlyn Williams. While writing the thirteen episodes he simultaneously wrote the book that was published immediately after the December 29, 1913, premiere of the first episode of the serial so as to be in book stores during the screening of the entire thirteen episodes.
Also known occasionally as Harold McGrath, he was born in Syracuse, New York. As a young man, he worked as a reporter and columnist on the Syracuse Herald newspaper until the late 1890s when he published his first novel, a romance titled Arms and the Woman. According to the New York Times, his next book, The Puppet Crown, was the No.7 bestselling book in the United States for all of 1901. From that point on, MacGrath wrote novels for the mass market about love, adventure, mystery, spies, and the like at an average rate of more than one a year. He would have three more of his books that were among the top ten bestselling books of the year. At the same time, he penned a number of short stories for major American magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, and Red Book magazine. Several of MacGrath's novels were serialized in these magazines and contributing to them was something he would continue to do until his death in 1932.
In 1912, Harold MacGrath became one of the first nationally-known authors to write directly for the movies when he was hired by the American Film Company to do the screenplay for a short film in the Western genre titled The Vengeance That Failed. MacGrath had eighteen of his forty novels and three of his short stories made into films plus he wrote the story for another four motion pictures. And, three of his books were also made into Broadway plays. One of the many films made from MacGrath's writings was the 1913 serial The Adventures of Kathlyn starring Kathlyn Williams. While writing the thirteen episodes he simultaneously wrote the book that was published immediately after the December 29, 1913, premiere of the first episode of the serial so as to be in book stores during the screening of the entire thirteen episodes.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 22, 2016
3.5 Stars
Harold Macgrath was unusual in that he wrote his novels knowing they would become movies. They're not screenplays, but you can definitely "see" the movie while you're reading.
The Drums of Jeopardy are actually two emeralds, belonging to a royal Russian family now deposed. They're in the hands now of a descendant as he flees from country to country, anarchists always hot on his trail.
Other characters include a beautiful young woman who is a newspaper reporter; an old violinist who lives near the woman and goes missing, and the young woman's unofficial godfather, a foreign agent for the U.S. government.
There are thrills aplenty, kidnappings, break-ins, chase and follows, mystery regarding identity and always at the very heart of it all....the drums of jeopardy.
What I loved:
The character Cutty (the godfather). He collects ancient drums (real ones) and has a passion for green stones. In fact, while other men will play solitaire to clear their thinking, Cutty will get out a stack of women's portraits and dress them up with loose jewels, green, of course. He has seen "the drums of jeopardy" just once in his life...and would just about sell his soul to do so again.
What bugged me:
A little too "America the beautiful" for my taste. Also, the idea of Russian "bad blood" had me rolling my eyes a bit.
Harold Macgrath was unusual in that he wrote his novels knowing they would become movies. They're not screenplays, but you can definitely "see" the movie while you're reading.
The Drums of Jeopardy are actually two emeralds, belonging to a royal Russian family now deposed. They're in the hands now of a descendant as he flees from country to country, anarchists always hot on his trail.
Other characters include a beautiful young woman who is a newspaper reporter; an old violinist who lives near the woman and goes missing, and the young woman's unofficial godfather, a foreign agent for the U.S. government.
There are thrills aplenty, kidnappings, break-ins, chase and follows, mystery regarding identity and always at the very heart of it all....the drums of jeopardy.
What I loved:
The character Cutty (the godfather). He collects ancient drums (real ones) and has a passion for green stones. In fact, while other men will play solitaire to clear their thinking, Cutty will get out a stack of women's portraits and dress them up with loose jewels, green, of course. He has seen "the drums of jeopardy" just once in his life...and would just about sell his soul to do so again.
What bugged me:
A little too "America the beautiful" for my taste. Also, the idea of Russian "bad blood" had me rolling my eyes a bit.
May 14, 2021
Real rating: 4 stars
Emotional rating: 5 stars
This one ticked all the boxes. Major underdog vibes but toss in a lady journalist, a secret service man, a diabolical Bolshevist-socialist who’s been friends to Lenin, “cursed” emeralds, an Amati violin and a man who can play it, and a triple measure of danger? I want my own copy to reread right away.
Set just after WW1
Content: a few swears, mention of torture
On LibriVox and archive.org https://archive.org/details/drumsjeop...
Emotional rating: 5 stars
This one ticked all the boxes. Major underdog vibes but toss in a lady journalist, a secret service man, a diabolical Bolshevist-socialist who’s been friends to Lenin, “cursed” emeralds, an Amati violin and a man who can play it, and a triple measure of danger? I want my own copy to reread right away.
Set just after WW1
Content: a few swears, mention of torture
On LibriVox and archive.org https://archive.org/details/drumsjeop...
February 2, 2023
I read this after having seen the 1931 film adaptation starring Werner Oland who later went on to play Charlie Chan. Apparently even then film adaptations saw no need to be faithful to their sources as the film had a completely different plot from that of the novel. An odd little number from 1920, the book itself is probably of most interest now for having provided the actor Boris Karloff his screen name. Aside from that, the book is not particularly well written nor that much of a thriller by today's standards. The characterization of the villain Boris Karlov does show that even at that early date there was strong anti-Communist (at the time, anti-Bolshevik) sentiment in the US and the threat to capitalism clearly recognized.
November 6, 2021
I picked this up because of the possible connection with Boris Karloff (the villain's name is Boris Karlov). I gave up in disgust because of the non-stop racism.
November 27, 2017
Started out fine, but got bogged down in the middle and eventually became tedious. Should have been about a hundred pages shorter.
July 10, 2015
Read this story for the adventure and history of life after WWI.
I give it a five because I learned more about the changing world after WWI than in any history book, TV show about history, and any fictional book I have read.
It's fiction! But it feels honest to me. You must decide for yourself!
It was rah, rah for us, those blessed to live here, in this blessed country. Are we worthy?
I give it a five because I learned more about the changing world after WWI than in any history book, TV show about history, and any fictional book I have read.
It's fiction! But it feels honest to me. You must decide for yourself!
It was rah, rah for us, those blessed to live here, in this blessed country. Are we worthy?
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews