Other editions of book Seven Keys to Baldpate Illustrated

Seven Keys to Baldpate is a 1913 novel by Earl Derr Biggers. A bestseller, it was adapted by George M. Cohan into a play, which in turn was adapted several times for film, radio and TV.[1][2][3]The plot of the novel differs from the play in many respects.[4]The setting was based on the real Baldpate Mountain.[5] An American hotel inspired by that name, The Baldpate Inn, opened in 1918.

In the middle of winter a young novelist William Magee travels to a summer tourist town seeking for solitude and inspiration for his greatest novel yet. He gets to the Baldpate Mountain resort, and even though the hotel is closed he makes an arrangement with the caretaker and gets the key to the hotel. But soon after he gets in, he finds out that he is not the only one there, for there are seven keys to the place and seven people with various stories of why they are there. Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933) was an American novelist and playwright best known for his mystery novels. His first novel Seven Keys to Baldpate was a major success and it was adapted into several movies and plays. Even greater success came with his series of detective novels featuring Chinese American detective Charlie Chan. Many of his novels were made into movies.

"Seven Keys to Baldpate is a 1913 novel by Earl Derr Biggers. A bestseller, it was adapted by George M. Cohan into a play, which in turn was adapted several times for film, radio and TV.The plot of the novel differs from the play in many respects.The setting was based on the real Baldpate Mountain. An American hotel inspired by that name, The Baldpate Inn, opened in 1918."

"Seven Keys to Baldpate is a 1913 novel by Earl Derr Biggers. A bestseller, it was adapted by George M. Cohan into a play, which in turn was adapted several times for film, radio and TV.The plot of the novel differs from the play in many respects.The setting was based on the real Baldpate Mountain. An American hotel inspired by that name, The Baldpate Inn, opened in 1918."

"Seven Keys to Baldpate is a 1913 novel by Earl Derr Biggers. A bestseller, it was adapted by George M. Cohan into a play, which in turn was adapted several times for film, radio and TV.The plot of the novel differs from the play in many respects.The setting was based on the real Baldpate Mountain. An American hotel inspired by that name, The Baldpate Inn, opened in 1918."

Earl Derr Biggers (1884 – 1933) was an American novelist and playwright. He is remembered primarily for his novels, especially those featuring the Chinese American detective Charlie Chan, from which popular films were made in the United States and China. The popularity of Charlie Chan extended even to China, where audiences in Shanghai appreciated the Hollywood films. Chinese companies made films starring this fictional character.

This early work by Earl Derr Biggers was originally published in 1913 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. “Seven Keys to Baldpate” tells a mysterious tale of a famous author who comes to a summer mountain resort in the dead of winter, determined to find peace and quiet to write his next book. But before his first night is out, a steady stream of unexpected visitors begins to fill the hotel. . .men and women with stories of love, loss, and flight. . .none of them telling the truth. Before the week is out, there will be bribery, gunfire and fights in the snow, and hidden truths unmasked. Earl Derr Biggers was born on 26th August 1884 in Warren, Ohio, Usa. Biggers received his further education at Harvard University, where he developed a reputation as a literary rebel, preferring the popular modern authors, such as Rudyard Kipling and Richard Harding Davis to the established figures of classical literature. While on holiday in Hawaii, Biggers heard tales of a real-life Chinese detective operating in Honolulu, named Chang Apana. This inspired him to create his most enduring legacy in the character of super-sleuth Charlie Chan. The first Chan story “The House Without a Key” (1925) was published as a serialised story in the Saturday Evening Post and then released as a novel in the same year. Biggers went on to write five more Chan novels and all were licensed for movie adaptations by Fox Films. These films were hugely popular with several different actors taking the lead role of Chan. They were even a success in China where the appeal of a character from the country being the hero instead of the villain appealed to film-goers. Eventually; over 40 films were produced featuring the character. Biggers only saw the early on-screen successes of Charlie Chan due to his death at the age of only 48 from a heart attack in April 1933.

"Seven Keys to Baldpate is a 1913 novel by Earl Derr Biggers. A bestseller, it was adapted by George M. Cohan into a play, which in turn was adapted several times for film, radio and TV.The plot of the novel differs from the play in many respects.The setting was based on the real Baldpate Mountain. An American hotel inspired by that name, The Baldpate Inn, opened in 1918."