Perry Mason - Novels

Novels

Erle Stanley Gardner "had spent more than twenty years practicing law in California, and the knowledge he gained was put to good use in the Perry Mason stories, which hinge on points of law, forensic medicine or science as clever as a watch mechanism ... and also the total lack of characterization". While the Mason novels were largely a form of pulp fiction of the sort that began Gardner's writing career, they are unusual in that the whodunnit mysteries usually involved two solutions: one in which the authorities believed (whereby Mason's client was guilty) and an alternative explanation (whereby Mason's client was innocent). The second half of each novel is devoted to a courtroom scene, during which Mason arrives at the alternative explanation and proves it to the satisfaction of the court. "It is perfectly true that our author works to formula; in one sense, the plot never varies. Having said this, one must add that the variety of persons and circumstances and the ingenuity in contriving the details that Gardner dreamed up in his dozens of cases are astonishing and entrancing."

A hallmark of the stories is that Perry Mason (with the assistance of his devoted secretary Della Street and his faithful private investigator Paul Drake), once embarked on a case, will juggle the evidence using unusual (even bizarre) tactics to mislead the police--but (except for the very earliest novels) always in an ethical fashion:

"It's my contention, Della, that an attorney doesn't have to sit back and wait until a witness gets on the stand and then test his recollection simply by asking him questions. If facts can be shuffled in such a way that it will confuse a witness who isn't absolutely certain of his story, and if the attorney doesn't suppress, conceal, or distort any of the actual evidence, I claim the attorney is within his rights." —Erle Stanley Gardner, The Case of the Long-Legged Models (1958)

The influence of the television series has given the general public the impression that Mason is highly ethical. In the earliest novels, however, Mason was not above skulduggery to win a case. In The Case of the Counterfeit Eye (1935) he breaks the law several times, including manufacturing false evidence (glass eyes). Mason manipulates evidence and witnesses, resulting in the acquittal of the murderer in The Case of the Howling Dog (1934). The Case of the Curious Bride (1934) is

"...a good Perry Mason except for one great flaw, which the author would scarcely have been guilty of later on: he tampers with the evidence, by having a friend move into an apartment and testify to the state of the doorbells. ... One is left with the uncomfortable idea that maybe the murder did not take place as Mason reconstructs it." —Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor, A Catalogue of Crime

In the later novels, the only crime which he can be seen to commit might be illegal entry, when he and Paul Drake are searching for evidence. And even then, he would expect to put up a strong and effective defense leading to an acquittal. Hamilton Burger is constantly under the impression that Mason has done something illegal, but has never been able to prove it. Gardner prefaced many of his later novels with tributes to coroners and forensic pathologists whose work was instrumental to solving cases. Gardner inserts his ideas about the importance of proper autopsies into many of his Mason novels. In The Case of the Fugitive Nurse, for instance, close scrutiny of dental records in the identification of burned bodies is a key point. In that same story, the possible use of additives to track illegal resale of medical narcotics is examined.

However, a study of Gardner’s novels by critic Russel B. Nye did expose a pattern. Nye called Gardner’s novels as formal as Japanese Noh drama. He described fairly rigid plot points:

• Attorney Perry Mason’s case is introduced.
• Mason and his crew investigate.
• Mason’s client is accused of a crime.
• Further investigations ensue.
• The trial begins.
• In a courtroom coup, Mason introduces new evidence and often elicits a confession from the lawbreaker.