Cover image for

The Agony Column

Author Earl Derr Biggers
Categories Mystery / Detective, Pulp, Romance
Language English
Published 1916
Notes

Turned into a motion picture The Second Floor Mystery in 1930

Approx. 24,864 words.

Excerpt

e lady at least, I said, will understand. He sneered at that. He shook his silly gray head. I will admit he had me worried. But now you have justified my faith in you. Thank you a million times for that!

Three weeks I have been in this huge, ungainly, indifferent city, longing for the States. Three weeks the Agony Column has been my sole diversion. And then--through the doorway of the Carlton restaurant--you came--

It is of myself that I must write, I know. I will not, then, tell you what is in my mind--the picture of you I carry. It would mean little to you. Many Texan gallants, no doubt, have told you the same while the moon was bright above you and the breeze was softly whispering through the branches of--the branches of the--of the--

Confound it, I don't know! I have never been in Texas. It is a vice in me I hope soon to correct. All day I intended to look up Texas in the encyclopedia. But all day I have dwelt in the clouds. And there are no reference books in the clouds.

Now I

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Average Rating:

2008.01.31
Linda Otto

Such fun! I enjoyed every minute of it. Excellent, short read. Leaves you wanting more.

2007.12.13
Gail Greenwood

My mother introduced me to this wonderful "did it really happen" mystery when I was about 15 (around 1962); I loved it then, and still do. My sister (seven years younger) read it when she was in her teens and loved it. We both want the 1916 copy our mother had; it was originally owned by my mother's sister (as indicated by her bookplate). Based on the stamp in the book, she purchased it from The White House Circulating Library in San Francisco, CA, (check-out dates from 1927 and 1928 indicate the book was out most of the time). Our mom and her sister were avid readers.

Lest I give the impression that this is a teen-aged girl's book, my husband read it when age 62 and thoroughly enjoyed it.

There is a lovely romantic story woven tastefully into the intriguing mystery, giving the reader a glimpse into a time when a lady was a lady. The words and style of writing, coming from 1916, are wonderfully appropriate for this book. There are no offensive words or actions, something hard to come by in novels these days. You can share this book with anyone.

If you are looking for a mystery with charm and grace, a good read for the day spent by a cozy fire, and one that will hold you to the last page, select The Agony Column.

2006.10.04
Richard Bohan

This is a pretty good short mystery story, set in London in the very first days of the First World War. It involves murder, espionage and the arrest of an innocent man, all presented through letters. It also involves a nice romance inaugurated through the agony colony of the Morning Post.

Like most short stories written at this period, the story involves a twist at the end. Alert readers will spot the twist coming. Those who do not appreciate the O. Henry style of short stories will probably be annoyed.

This is Biggers before his creation of Charlie Chan. Defenitely worth reading for mystery fans