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The Agony Column
The Agony Column
Notices in the personal column of the London Daily Mail, that romantic institution popularly called "The Agony Column," afford a medium for the introduction of the lovely girl and the hero in the opening of this story. A maze of perplexing circumstances follow, and throughout there is the same originality of treatment that one finds in the author's previous works. Turned into a motion picture The Second Floor Mystery in 1930
Book 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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A great, fun book. And a fast read with humor, adventure and romance. The author's first Charlie Chan book is available as a free download from archive.org. I'd never read a book by Biggers before, but this one is great fun! And manybooks.net is a great site! The downloads here seem to have a lot cleaner (in terms of transcription errors) than other sites. Great job!
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Very reminiscent of Richard Harding Davis's In the Fog.
05/04/2010
Yep, it's a light hearted adventure. Nicely done.
04/26/2010
I absolutely love this book! I couldn't stop smiling about it, it was so cute! I would recommend this to anyone. It has romance, mystery, and comedy. Who doesn't love that? It has a great twist to the story, which may seem obvious to most, but I have to say I didn't see it coming.
I'm new to this website, and I have to say that this is the best thing ever!!! So many great books to choose from, and all free! Older books are my favorite, so I'm pretty excited about my new "find". :)
I'm new to this website, and I have to say that this is the best thing ever!!! So many great books to choose from, and all free! Older books are my favorite, so I'm pretty excited about my new "find". :)
04/07/2010
Very nicely done. A good read and a good ending!
01/22/2010
Highly recommended. Enjoyed every minute of it!
10/26/2008
Such fun! I enjoyed every minute of it. Excellent, short read. Leaves you wanting more.
01/31/2008
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.
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.
12/13/2007
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
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
10/04/2006
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