Gems of Mystery

In the Fog – by Richard Harding Davis’s The Affair at the Hotel Semiramis – by A.E.W. Mason Hearts and Masks – Harold MacGrath Three wonderful tales of mystery from some of the best known writers of the period before the First World War — A foggy London night, a Russian princess who steals jewels, a corpse; A mysterious murder, an opera singer, and stolen pearls; Two young people who crash a masked ball only to find themselves caught up in a daring theft of jewels; These are the subjects of this collection of entertaining tales of love, jewels, and mystery.

Author Biography

Richard Harding Davis (April 18, 1864-April 11, 1916) was an American journalist and author. Born in Philadelphia, he came by his writing talents from his parents, as his mother was an author and his father a journalist and newspaper editor. He first attracted national attention with his articles on the Johnstown flood and went on to be a war correspondent during the Spanish-American, Boer and Russo-Japanese wars. He was a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt and helped to create the legend of the Rough Riders. He traveled widely in Central and South America and Africa and wrote extensively about his experiences. Much of his fiction is set in the various locales he visited as a journalist. He was married twice and died of a heart attack at the age of 51. Harold MacGrath (September 4, 1871-October 30, 1930) was an American novelist and writer of screenplays. Born in Syracuse, New York, he first worked as a journalist for the Syracuse Herald before turning to fiction. He wrote stories and novels of romance, mystery, espionage, and adventure, and in addition to having a number of top ten selling books he also wrote stories for many of the major magazines of the day. He was one of the first major authors to write for the film industry and over twenty of his stories and novels were turned into films. Alfred Edward Woodley (A. E. W.) Mason (May 7, 1865-November 22, 1948) was a London born author and politician. His career outside of writing included being a member of parliament and serving with British Naval Intelligence during World War I. As an author, he wrote over twenty books and three successful plays. His most famous work is The Four Feathers which has been made into several films. He also wrote the series of books featuring the French detective Inspector Hanaud whom he introduced in At the Villa Rose.