Perry Mason Books In Order

Publication Order of Perry Mason Books

Publication Order of Perry Mason Collections

Perry Mason is a popular character in the series of books written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason is the fictional lawyer who enjoys solving very difficult cases which have no hopes and sometimes even finances the case too. Erle Stanley Gardner himself has written in one of his books that he named his character after the publisher who published his first book as he was a great fan of the Youth’s Champion published by Perry Mason and Company. The popular series was later adapted into a popular TV series by the same name and soon one of the titles, The Case of the Velvet Claws, was made into a Hollywood movie too. Many other popular titles from the series were also made into movies. Perry Mason’s popularity soared so high that Warner Bros made 6 movies based on the titles. The Perry Mason series was so popular that it even was made into a radio show which also got very popular and ran for 3200 episodes. It is believed that the popular Indian Detective series Adaalat and Barrister Vinod were both inspired by the Perry Mason series.

Other popular characters of the Perry Mason Series

Interestingly, the series came with a few strong supporting characters such as Della Street who was Perry Mason’s secretary who supported all his investigations and cases. Paul Drake was the private investigator who helped Perry Mason to do the investigations for his unusual and difficult cases. These 2 supporting characters are featured from the very first book in Perry Mason series which is The Case of Velvet Claws released in 1933. Gardner introduces Hamilton Burger, who is the district attorney, in one of the later novels.

The television series had a few regular characters which were not in the original book series. Carl Jackson, David Gideon, Lt. Andy Anderson, Terrance Clay and Lt. Steve Drumm are some characters who were regular in the television and television movies that were telecast based on the Perry Mason series.

Perry Mason – Admired equally on print, radio, television and movies!

Since the author Erle Stanley Gardner himself studied law, his stories were more or less foolproof and his character initially even went out of his ways to prove his client innocent. Though initially, Perry Mason did take some unethical ways to save his clients, he later conformed to only ethical ways and played more with the investigative part. His ways were so popular that as many as 80 titles were released under the Perry Mason series. The 10-year-long television Perry Mason series also became a big rage among 2 generations. Many television films were also made based on the popular series which also became quite admired. In fact, the series became the stepping stones for many admired actors like Burt Reynolds, Barbara Eden, Adam West, Robert Redford, Dick Clark, Angie Dickinson, James Coburn, Leonard Nimoy, Cloris Leachman and Ryan O’Neal. Another long run was that Raymond Burr has played the main character in 26 of the 30 odd television movies based on the Perry Mason series. Burr was played the role of Perry Mason throughout the television series of 10 years.

To keep the reality in check, 3 of the Perry Mason series fail the case. The Case of the Witless Witness is one such title where Perry Mason loses the non-murder case. His client is found guilty in The Case of the Terrified Typist though he manages to save her from the clutches of law. But in The Case of the Deadly Verdict, his client is proven guilty and sentenced to death.

An account of a couple of Perry Mason titles

To get you some idea of the character and the series, let us look briefly into a couple of books from the series so that you will understand what it is all about. The first title I have chosen in The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink. This was published in 1952. The story revolves around a restaurant waitress who leaves her moth-eaten mink coat amidst a commotion. The restaurant owner blames that she is wanted by the police and hence the people come after her creating the commotion. Della and Mason happen to be at the crime scene when it happens and Della gets hold of the coat smartly. A couple more murders happen in the hotel later which ultimately brings out a Police man’s murder that happened a year ago. Paul Drake is called in to investigate and the restaurant manager Morris Alburg also seems to be involved in the plot. A couple of twists and Mason has to stand in the witness stand in the court. Finally, the actual culprit is found by Mason (obviously!).

The Case of the Howling Dog is the 4th book published in the Perry Masons series. The book begins with the client wanting to file a case against his neighbor whose dog’s howling annoys the client. Though Mason tries to avoid the trivial case, the client presses on it and Mason finally pays a visit to his client’s house to see what the issue was. Mason is convinced of the howling issue as he himself finds it quite annoying. The client’s neighbor refuses it straightaway and blames that his client is out of his mind. But Mason is taken aback when his client makes a will giving away all his wealth to this neighbor’s wife. Then the neighbor and the dog are shot dead and the will appears to be in the name of the real wife of the neighbor and not the lady who’s living with him. Perry Mason gets the clues just before the police are able to. The inevitable courtroom scenes are introduced in this series with this title. Read the book to find out what actually happens!

Though the current generations may find it difficult to accept the ways of Perry Mason series that easily, considering the time the books were released, they were quite captivating. That is the main reason the Perry Mason series became a super hit in all media – print, radio, television and movies. The last book in the series by Erle Stanley Gardner, The Case of the Fabulous Fake, was published in 1969. The Case of the Fenced-In Woman and The Case of the Postponed Murder were published posthumous in 1972 and 1973. Much later, during 1989-90, Thomas Chastain wrote 2 Perry Mason stories under the license that it was based on characters created by Gardner. They were titled Perry Mason in The Case of Too Many Murders and Perry Mason in The Case of the Burning Bequest.

One Response to “Perry Mason”

1. Karthick Baskar: 3 years ago

   Guys pls try this series it has everything literally everything

   Reply