Perry Mason Returns

SensualPoet · 03-31-2012, 09:20 PM

Or should I saw Perry Mason arrives? Finally! As ebooks.

For absolutely no good reason, the wonderful 70+ novels of Erle Stanley Gardner, starring the court room's most famous criminal lawyer, Perry Mason, have been languishing in the twilight zone. Now, they make a return to print -- or, e-print in this case.

You can start here: The Case of the Velvet Claws, the first novel in the series published in 1933 .. now as a Kindle and priced at $5.99.

It's not clear who is publishing these but there are a few dozen, all sporting "copyright 2011 Erle Stanley Gardner" and bearing covers from various publishers. Only Amazon appears to have these; Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Sony and Google Play do not carry these.

I don't see any announcement anywhere about the books coming back into print but there they are. I'm just glad to see them resurfacing!

(This was discussed in 2010 in this thread: The Case of the Missing Publisher.)

speakingtohe · 03-31-2012, 09:21 PM

I hope the Bertha Cool and Donald lam series follows. I love those books.

Helen

SensualPoet · 03-31-2012, 09:25 PM

Other titles in the Kindle series:
The Case of the Curious Bride - 1935
The Case of the Substitute Face - 1938

... more to follow after Earth Hour ... switching off for a bit!

The Case of the Perjured Parrot - 1939
The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife - 1945
The Case of the Vagabond Virgin - 1948
The Case of the Fiery Fingers - 1951
The Case of the Hesitant Hostess - 1953
The Case of the Runaway Corpse - 1954
The Case of the Fabulous Fake - 1969

... it does seem odd the titles chosen and the "purloined covers". Every single novel was originally published by Wm Morrow in hardcover; Morrow is now part of HarperCollins. Several different imprints published the series in paperback over the years, including Fawcett and Ballantine.

... and then there is the case of Arcturus Crime Classics which appears to be releasing classics like Francis Durbridge, Margarey Allingham and others in print and Kindle ebook (the latter for $4.99). The Case of the Crooked Candle is set for immediate release in paper.

HarryT · 04-01-2012, 04:04 AM

We only seem to have 10 of them available at the moment on Amazon UK. You say that there are more on Amazon US?

WT Sharpe · 04-01-2012, 04:11 AM

in the U.S., Amazon started selling them back in September if I remember correctly. I've bought every book mentioned to date in this thread and have read several. I always loved those Perry Mason books, especially the earlier ones before Gardner caved to pressures from his fellow lawyers (E.S.G. was a practicing attorney) to clean up Mason's act.

Mike L · 04-01-2012, 07:27 AM

Erle Stanley Gardner wrote many excellent crime stories other than the Perry Mason series. I wonder if there are any of these will become available.

Mike

WT Sharpe · 04-01-2012, 10:13 AM

Top of the Heap:

http://www.amazon.com/Heap-Crime-Mar.../dp/B004V4FP4W

SensualPoet · 04-01-2012, 11:07 AM

So, how are they from a production stand-point, Tom? Reasonably error free? Is there any "publication data"? Have they been reissued with proper ISBNs?

As pleased as I am to see these 10 titles, it seems these are "gray market". If nothing else, surely, the new publisher does not have rights to the covers shown. All the Mason books are floating around the net in fan produced copies; it would be nice to see an official release.

And, yes, Mike and Helen, I'd like to see more of the other Gardner stories return!

WT Sharpe · 04-01-2012, 11:09 AM

The production values are really good. I haven't noticed any major malfunctions, and at $5.99 per book, the price is right.

WT Sharpe · 04-01-2012, 11:15 AM

Just looking at The Case of the Curious Bride, the copyright is 1934 and 2011, Erle Stanley Gardner. I assume his estate holds it, as he's been dead over 40 years. For more information on that particular book, see http://www.amazon.com/The-Case-Curio.../dp/B005QBMJUC.

The covers are nice, too.

HarryT · 04-01-2012, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

As pleased as I am to see these 10 titles, it seems these are "gray market". If nothing else, surely, the new publisher does not have rights to the covers shown. All the Mason books are floating around the net in fan produced copies; it would be nice to see an official release.

Can you clarify how many there actually are? We have ten on Amazon UK. You say there are ten in the US, but the original poster said "a few dozen"!

TimW · 04-01-2012, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Can you clarify how many there actually are? We have ten on Amazon UK. You say there are ten in the US, but the original poster said "a few dozen"!

I only see ten, Harry.

HarryT · 04-01-2012, 12:35 PM

Thanks, Tim. Sounds as if we have the same ones.

SensualPoet · 04-01-2012, 06:26 PM

I posted the full list I can see from Canada.

Joe Blades, Associate Publisher is mentioned in the "Editorial Reviews" blurb ... but he left Ballantine in 2005 so that blurb has nothing to do with the present publisher's edition.

Even curiouser: as far as I can tell, there is no ISBN and no publisher listed. How weird is that? I suspect these are non-sanctioned releases but if they are well produced, one might as well grab them while one can!

carpetmojo · 04-01-2012, 07:01 PM

"Perry Mason Returns"

It's a miracle !!

He walks ............

.....

03-31-2012, 09:20 PM	#1
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Perry Mason Returns Or should I saw Perry Mason arrives? Finally! As ebooks. For absolutely no good reason, the wonderful 70+ novels of Erle Stanley Gardner, starring the court room's most famous criminal lawyer, Perry Mason, have been languishing in the twilight zone. Now, they make a return to print -- or, e-print in this case. You can start here: The Case of the Velvet Claws, the first novel in the series published in 1933 .. now as a Kindle and priced at $5.99. It's not clear who is publishing these but there are a few dozen, all sporting "copyright 2011 Erle Stanley Gardner" and bearing covers from various publishers. Only Amazon appears to have these; Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Sony and Google Play do not carry these. I don't see any announcement anywhere about the books coming back into print but there they are. I'm just glad to see them resurfacing! (This was discussed in 2010 in this thread: The Case of the Missing Publisher.)

03-31-2012, 09:25 PM	#3
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Other titles in the Kindle series: The Case of the Curious Bride - 1935 The Case of the Substitute Face - 1938 ... more to follow after Earth Hour ... switching off for a bit! The Case of the Perjured Parrot - 1939 The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife - 1945 The Case of the Vagabond Virgin - 1948 The Case of the Fiery Fingers - 1951 The Case of the Hesitant Hostess - 1953 The Case of the Runaway Corpse - 1954 The Case of the Fabulous Fake - 1969 ... it does seem odd the titles chosen and the "purloined covers". Every single novel was originally published by Wm Morrow in hardcover; Morrow is now part of HarperCollins. Several different imprints published the series in paperback over the years, including Fawcett and Ballantine. ... and then there is the case of Arcturus Crime Classics which appears to be releasing classics like Francis Durbridge, Margarey Allingham and others in print and Kindle ebook (the latter for $4.99). The Case of the Crooked Candle is set for immediate release in paper. Last edited by SensualPoet; 03-31-2012 at 11:06 PM.

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03-31-2012, 09:21 PM	#2
speakingtohe Wizard Posts: 4,812 Karma: 26912940 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet	I hope the Bertha Cool and Donald lam series follows. I love those books. Helen

04-01-2012, 04:04 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	We only seem to have 10 of them available at the moment on Amazon UK. You say that there are more on Amazon US?

04-01-2012, 04:11 AM	#5
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	in the U.S., Amazon started selling them back in September if I remember correctly. I've bought every book mentioned to date in this thread and have read several. I always loved those Perry Mason books, especially the earlier ones before Gardner caved to pressures from his fellow lawyers (E.S.G. was a practicing attorney) to clean up Mason's act.

04-01-2012, 07:27 AM	#6
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	Erle Stanley Gardner wrote many excellent crime stories other than the Perry Mason series. I wonder if there are any of these will become available. Mike

04-01-2012, 10:13 AM	#7
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	Top of the Heap: http://www.amazon.com/Heap-Crime-Mar.../dp/B004V4FP4W

04-01-2012, 11:07 AM	#8
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	So, how are they from a production stand-point, Tom? Reasonably error free? Is there any "publication data"? Have they been reissued with proper ISBNs? As pleased as I am to see these 10 titles, it seems these are "gray market". If nothing else, surely, the new publisher does not have rights to the covers shown. All the Mason books are floating around the net in fan produced copies; it would be nice to see an official release. And, yes, Mike and Helen, I'd like to see more of the other Gardner stories return!

04-01-2012, 11:09 AM	#9
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	The production values are really good. I haven't noticed any major malfunctions, and at $5.99 per book, the price is right.

04-01-2012, 11:15 AM	#10
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	Just looking at The Case of the Curious Bride, the copyright is 1934 and 2011, Erle Stanley Gardner. I assume his estate holds it, as he's been dead over 40 years. For more information on that particular book, see http://www.amazon.com/The-Case-Curio.../dp/B005QBMJUC. The covers are nice, too.

04-01-2012, 12:35 PM	#13
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Thanks, Tim. Sounds as if we have the same ones.

04-01-2012, 06:26 PM	#14
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	I posted the full list I can see from Canada. Joe Blades, Associate Publisher is mentioned in the "Editorial Reviews" blurb ... but he left Ballantine in 2005 so that blurb has nothing to do with the present publisher's edition. Even curiouser: as far as I can tell, there is no ISBN and no publisher listed. How weird is that? I suspect these are non-sanctioned releases but if they are well produced, one might as well grab them while one can!

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04-01-2012, 07:01 PM	#15
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	"Perry Mason Returns" It's a miracle !! He walks ............ .....