Books with title Candles

FROM the records of the district court at Honolulu for the year 1898 you may, if you have patience, unearth the dim beginnings of this story of the fifty candles. It is a story that stretches over twenty years, all the way from that bare Honolulu courtroom to a night of fog and violence in San Francisco. Many months after the night of the tule-fog, I happened into the Hawaiian capital and took down from a library shelf a big legal-looking book, bound in bright yellow leather the color of a Filipino houseboy’s shoes on his Saturday night in town. I found what I was looking for under the heading: “In the Matter of Chang See.”The Chinese, we are told, are masters of indirection, of saying one thing and ......

From the records of the district court at Honolulu for the year 1898 you may, if you have patience, unearth the dim beginnings of this story of the fifty candles. It is a story that stretches over twenty years, all the way from that bare Honolulu courtroom to a night of fog and violence in San Francisco. Many months after the night of the tule-fog, I happened into the Hawaiian capital and took down from a library shelf a big legal-looking book, bound in bright yellow leather the color of a Filipino houseboy's shoes on his Saturday night in town. I found what I was looking for under the heading: "In the Matter of Chang See."The Chinese, we are told, are masters of indirection, of saying one thing and meaning another, of arriving at their goal by way of a devious, irrelevant maze. Our legal system must have been invented and perfected by Chinamen — but is this lèse majesté or contempt of court or something? Beyond question the decision of the learned court in the matter of Chang See, as set down in the big yellow book, is obscured and befuddled by a mass of unspeakably dreary words. See 21 Cyc., 317 Church Habeas Corpus , 2d Ed., Sec. 169. By all means consult Kelley v. Johnson, 31 U. S. (6 Pet.) 622, 631-32. And many more of the same sort.Here and there, however, you will happen on phrases that mean something to the layman; that indicate, behind the barrier of legal verbiage, the presence of a flesh-and-blood human fighting for his freedom — for his very life. Piece these phrases together and you may be able to reconstruct the scene in the courtroom that day in 1898, when a lean impassive Chinaman of thirty stood alone against the great American nation. In other words, Chang See v. U. S.I say he stood alone, though he was, of course, represented by counsel. "Harry Childs for the Petitioner," says the big yellow book. Poor Harry Childs — his mind was already beginning to go. It had been keen enough when he came to the islands, but the hot sun and the cool drinks — well, he was a little hazy that day in court. He died long ago — just shriveled up and died of an overdose of the Paradise of the Pacific — so it can hardly injure his professional standing to intimate that he was of little aid to his client, Chang See.

This early work by Earl Derr Biggers was originally published in 1921 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. “Fifty Candles” is one of Biggers shorter stories, a murder mystery in San Francisco where the only clue is a birthday cake with 50 candles. 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. 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.Earl Biggers was a relatively successful writer in several media including comedic plays and newspaper columns. With some of that income he would travel across the United States and out to Hawaii. His fascination for the American Pacific would make him most famous for his creation the Chinese - Hawaiian police Detective Charlie Chan. In the 50 Candles we get to see Earl Biggers in an intermediate stage as he begins to experiment with the mystery novel before Charlie Chan but after his exposure to Hawaii.50 Candles is a brief novella not quite 150pages and therefore a briskly moving whodunit. The plot begins with the scene oddly applicable to 2013 America. A Hawaiian born American citizen is forced to defend his citizenship before a doubting American courtroom. Being that he is racially Chinese his documentation is doubted and he loses his court case. The scene dissolves and the story picks up 20 years later. The story is now narrated by young Winthrop - he does not appear to have a first name.Mr. Winthrop is a mining engineer hired by the elderly Mr. Drew to turn around a failing mine in China. The young man succeeds but is cheated by Mr. Drew. Despite the enmity between these two men young Winthrop finds himself at a 50th birthday party held in Mr. Drew's giant San Francisco home. Of course the main event at the party is the stabbing death of Mr. Drew. A thick tule fog shrouding San Francisco hides truths that will ultimately reveal the murderer.Given the brevity of the book is to Bigger's credit that he manages to include a romance and several red herrings. There are some contrivances the most obvious being the willingness of Winthrop to attend a party sponsored by his enemy - it is explained away by his romance with another of the Drew's employees. But it is also necessary to the plot for the impecunious Winthrop to share a stateroom from Hawaii to San Francisco with the very rich evil old man Drew and a third-party who will also become a suspect in the murder.Mostly this is a fairly typical whodunit except that Bigger is very capable in creating a mood and keeping the story moving forward. Winthrop is the narrator of our story, half of the romantic plot and a very likely suspect. He is not the man to solve the crime. In introducing us to the man who will solve the crime, Biggers treads very close to my one most sacred requirement for a mystery; to wit the solution cannot be drawn from information known only to the person who solves crime. I'm inclined to forgive Biggers for veering so close to this line because overall 50 Candles

Biggers had always been interested in mystery fiction, but his interest in Hawaii clearly stems from a 1919 vacation in Honolulu. While there, he read a newspaper article on a Chinese detective named Chang Apana. Apana would become the model for Charlie Chan in Biggers' 1925 novel, House Without a Key, and there quickly followed five more Charlie Chan novels. Fifty Candles -- first published in the Saturday Evening Post, just two years after that 1919 vacation -- shows how Hawaii, China, and murder had already begun to come together in Biggers' imagination. The story starts in a courthouse in Honolulu, moves to China, then to fog-shrouded San Francisco. Many of the elements used in the Charlie Chan series are present: Chinese characters (both sinister and sympathetic), the Honolulu legal system, a shrewd detective (in this case, the lawyer Mark Drew rather than a policemen), and a baffling murder complete with red herrings and plenty of suspects. Though Fifty Candles is a murder mystery, it is also a romance, with the romantic elements at times in the forefront. Mostly, though, it is a book that will delight Biggers' many fans as they trace the origins of Charlie Chan.

Fifty Candles is a mystery/thriller novel by Earl Derr Biggers published in 1921. The murder mystery novel where the only clue is a birthday cake with 50 candles. if you are a big fan of earl derr biggers then you definately going to enjoy this fictitious,mysterious and full of suspense novel by earl derr bigger (1884 - 1933).Earl Derr Biggers (August 26, 1884 – April 5, 1933) was an American novelist and playwright.He is remembered primarily for his novels, especially those featuring the fictional Chinese American detective Charlie Chan, from which popular films were made in the United States and China.

This almost ninety year old mystery from Earl Derr Biggers was the most fun gift I received this past Christmas. Fans of Biggers' Charlie Chan series will find much to love in this light mystery touched with romance.Just as in Biggers' first Charlie Chan mystery, "The House Without a Key," that romantic link between the Hawaii of a different era and the city of San Francisco is explored and holds the key to the mystery. Not lost either are the cultural and class differences brought about by those migrating from China through the romantic ports of Hawaii and on to San Francisco.Young Winthrop is smitten with Mary Wills and longs to marry her. His pursuit of her will lead him to a party in the home of a former employer whose shady dealings with Winthrop himself point to him as the killer when he is found murdered. When his attorney son arrives to help police sort out the mess it is discovered that Mary Wills has been protecting her ardant admirer by removing from the scene the weapon which would implicate him.Young Winthrop's only thoughts, of course, are of surprise and joy that Mary would risk all to save him! Yes it's that kind of old-fashioned romantic charm that make this somewhat short book such a fun read. The solution will involve love once again, but not that of Winthrop and Mary Wills.Biggers always wrote his mysteries with a romantic eye, knowing that love was usually behind most men's actions, right or wrong. He had the ability to create an atmosphere of nostalgia for a Hawaii and a San Francisco already beginning to change even as he wrote during the 1920's and early 1930's. It is a fun walk through the fog-shrouded San Francisco of another time. A fine book for an evening or two under warm covers when you want to read a light mystery with the glow of innocent romance.

Biggers had always been interested in mystery fiction, but his interest in Hawaii clearly stems from a 1919 vacation in Honolulu. While there, he read a newspaper article on a Chinese detective named Chang Apana. Apana would become the model for Charlie Chan in Biggers' 1925 novel, House Without a Key, and there quickly followed five more Charlie Chan novels. Fifty Candles -- first published in the Saturday Evening Post, just two years after that 1919 vacation -- shows how Hawaii, China, and murder had already begun to come together in Biggers' imagination. The story starts in a courthouse in Honolulu, moves to China, then to fog-shrouded San Francisco. Many of the elements used in the Charlie Chan series are present: Chinese characters (both sinister and sympathetic), the Honolulu legal system, a shrewd detective (in this case, the lawyer Mark Drew rather than a policemen), and a baffling murder complete with red herrings and plenty of suspects. Though Fifty Candles is a murder mystery, it is also a romance, with the romantic elements at times in the forefront. Mostly, though, it is a book that will delight Biggers' many fans as they trace the origins of Charlie Chan.

Biggers had always been interested in mystery fiction, but his interest in Hawaii clearly stems from a 1919 vacation in Honolulu. While there, he read a newspaper article on a Chinese detective named Chang Apana. Apana would become the model for Charlie Chan in Biggers' 1925 novel, House Without a Key, and there quickly followed five more Charlie Chan novels. Fifty Candles -- first published in the Saturday Evening Post, just two years after that 1919 vacation -- shows how Hawaii, China, and murder had already begun to come together in Biggers' imagination. The story starts in a courthouse in Honolulu, moves to China, then to fog-shrouded San Francisco. Many of the elements used in the Charlie Chan series are present: Chinese characters (both sinister and sympathetic), the Honolulu legal system, a shrewd detective (in this case, the lawyer Mark Drew rather than a policemen), and a baffling murder complete with red herrings and plenty of suspects. Though Fifty Candles is a murder mystery, it is also a romance, with the romantic elements at times in the forefront. Mostly, though, it is a book that will delight Biggers' many fans as they trace the origins of Charlie Chan.

Biggers had always been interested in mystery fiction, but his interest in Hawaii clearly stems from a 1919 vacation in Honolulu. While there, he read a newspaper article on a Chinese detective named Chang Apana. Apana would become the model for Charlie Chan in Biggers' 1925 novel, House Without a Key, and there quickly followed five more Charlie Chan novels. Fifty Candles -- first published in the Saturday Evening Post, just two years after that 1919 vacation -- shows how Hawaii, China, and murder had already begun to come together in Biggers' imagination. The story starts in a courthouse in Honolulu, moves to China, then to fog-shrouded San Francisco. Many of the elements used in the Charlie Chan series are present: Chinese characters (both sinister and sympathetic), the Honolulu legal system, a shrewd detective (in this case, the lawyer Mark Drew rather than a policemen), and a baffling murder complete with red herrings and plenty of suspects. Though Fifty Candles is a murder mystery, it is also a romance, with the romantic elements at times in the forefront. Mostly, though, it is a book that will delight Biggers' many fans as they trace the origins of Charlie Chan.

Biggers had always been interested in mystery fiction, but his interest in Hawaii clearly stems from a 1919 vacation in Honolulu. While there, he read a newspaper article on a Chinese detective named Chang Apana. Apana would become the model for Charlie Chan in Biggers' 1925 novel, House Without a Key, and there quickly followed five more Charlie Chan novels. Fifty Candles -- first published in the Saturday Evening Post, just two years after that 1919 vacation -- shows how Hawaii, China, and murder had already begun to come together in Biggers' imagination. The story starts in a courthouse in Honolulu, moves to China, then to fog-shrouded San Francisco. Many of the elements used in the Charlie Chan series are present: Chinese characters (both sinister and sympathetic), the Honolulu legal system, a shrewd detective (in this case, the lawyer Mark Drew rather than a policemen), and a baffling murder complete with red herrings and plenty of suspects. Though Fifty Candles is a murder mystery, it is also a romance, with the romantic elements at times in the forefront. Mostly, though, it is a book that will delight Biggers' many fans as they trace the origins of Charlie Chan.