One of the most prolific and yet relatively unknown American authors, Harry Stephen Keeler represented to many the quintessential writer: one who wrote for the love of writing, despite fan base, profit or any other external factors.

Overview

Born in Chicago in 1890, Keeler's childhood was spent exclusively in Chicago, a city so beloved by the author that a large number of his works took place in and around the city. As a young child, his mother inexplicably (most likely due to an inability to adequately care for him) committed him to an insane asylum, thus fostering his interest with the insane, insane asylums and the sane who had been committed to such places. Beginning around age sixteen, Keeler pumped out a steady stream of original short stories and serials which were subsequently published in many small pulp magazines of the day. At age 22, Keeler realized that writing full time wasn't as profitable as other professions; he thus took a job as an electrician in a steel mill, working by day and writing by night. It was at this time that Keeler met his future wife, Hazel Goodwin, whom he'd later marry in 1919.

Published in 1924, Keeler's first mass-produced novel, The Voice of the Seven Sparrows, introduced audiences the world over to Keeler's complicated story lines, wildly improbable in-story coincidences and sometimes sheer baffling conclusions. Unfortunately, Keeler's complex, labyrinthine stories alienated his intended reading audience who were, at this point, generally accustomed to simplistic stories about young men from other planets defending the galaxy and wise-cracking detectives wrapped up in murder mysteries.

Because of this, however, Keeler began to gain some notoriety in the mid-1930's as a purveyor of new and original stories. His popularity was realized when, in 1934, his book Sing Sing Nights was made into no less than two B-grade horror films, one of which starring screen legend Bela Lugosi. In spite of his popularity, Keeler's fiction and writing style grew increasingly bizarre, often substituting action or plot for laboriously lengthy dialogues and diatribes between characters. These events lead to his American publishing company, Dutton, dropping him in 1942. The next eleven years were hard for Keeler as his writing drifted even further beyond the norm and short stories written by his wife (a moderately successful writer herself) were found increasingly within his novels. By 1953 British publishers Ward Lock printed their final Keeler novel, thus forcing the writer to pen his stories exclusively for an overseas market with stories often translated for publication in and around Spain.

For a brief time Keeler was happy again until Hazel died in 1960. Pressing forward, Keeler remarried in 1963 in a marriage that rejuvenated his spirit for writing. Unfortunately, many of the new stories written by Keeler during this time went unpublished, including the relatively infamous The Scarlet Mummy. Sadly, Keeler himself died four years later in 1967, leaving behind a legacy of creativity for his fans everywhere.

Writing Trademark

If there is a single thing Keeler is famous for, it would be the MacGuffin-esque insertion of skulls into nearly all his stories. While many plots revolved around a skull or the use of one in a crime or ritual, others featured skulls merely as a side diversion, including one case where a human skull was used as a paperweight on the desk of a police detective!

Body of Work

[This list of the body of work is taken from the Ramble House website. Please visit their website as found below in the 'External Links' section.]

Serials

Tuddleton Trotter Series

• The Matilda Hunter Murder Volume 1
• The Matilda Hunter Murder Volume 2
• The Matilda Hunter Murder Volume 3
• The Case of the Barking Clock
• The Trap (RH Original)

Marceau Series

• The Marceau Case Volume 1
• The Marceau Case Volume 2
• X. Jones—Of Scotland Yard Volume 1
• X. Jones—Of Scotland Yard Volume 2
• The Wonderful Scheme of Mr. Christopher Thorne Volume 1
• The Wonderful Scheme of Mr. Christopher Thorne Volume 2
• Y. Cheung, Business Detective

The Mysterious Mr. I

• The Mysterious Mr. I
• The Chameleon

Vagabond Nights

• The Skull of the Waltzing Clown
• The Defrauded Yeggman
• 10 Hours
• When Thief Meets Thief

Hallowe’en Nights

• Hallowe'en Nights 1: Finger! Finger! Volume 1
• Hallowe'en Nights 2: Finger! Finger! Volume 2
• Hallowe'en Nights 3: Behind That Mask

Adventures of a Skull

• The Man with the Magic Eardrums
• The Man with the Crimson Box
• The Man with the Wooden Spectacles
• The Case of the Lavender Gripsack

The Big River Trilogy

• The Portrait of Jirjohn Cobb
• Cleopatra’s Tears
• The Bottle with the Green Wax Seal

Circus Series

• The Vanishing Gold Truck
• The Ace of Spades Murder
• The Case of the Jeweled Ragpicker
• Stand By—London Calling!
• The Case of the Crazy Corpse
• The Circus Stealers (RH Original)
• A Copy of Beowulf (RH Original)
• Report on Vanessa Hewstone (RH Original)
• The Six from Nowhere (RH Original)
• The Case of the Two-Headed Idiot (RH Original)

The Way Out Series

• The Peacock Fan
• The Sharkskin Book
• The Book with the Orange Leaves
• The Case of the Two Strange Ladies
• The Case of the 16 Beans

Steeltown Series

• The Case of the Canny Killer
• The Steeltown Strangler
• The Crimson Cube (RH Original)

Quiribus Brown Series

• The Murdered Mathematician
• The Case of the Flying Hands (RH Original)

Hong Lei Chung Series

• The Strange Will
• The Street of a Thousand Eyes 1 (RH Original)
• The Street of a Thousand Eyes 2 (RH Original)
• The Six from Nowhere (RH Original)
• The Riddle of the Wooden Parrakeet 1 (RH Original)
• The Riddle of the Wooden Parrakeet 2 (RH Original)

Ramble House Series

• The White Circle (RH Original)
• I Killed Lincoln at 10:13! Volume 1 (RH Original)
• I Killed Lincoln at 10:13! Volume 2 (RH Original)
• Strange Journey Volume 1 (RH Original)
• Strange Journey Volume 2 (RH Original)

Non-Serials

• Adventure in Milwaukee (RH Original)
• The Affair of the Bottled Deuce (RH Original)
• The Amazing Web Volume 1
• The Amazing Web Volume 2
• The Blackmailer (RH Original)
• The Box from Japan Volume 1
• The Box from Japan Volume 2
• The Box from Japan Volume 3
• The Case of the Ivory Arrow
• The Case of the Mysterious Moll
• The Case of the Transparent Nude
• The Case of the Transposed Legs
• The Face of the Man from Saturn
• Find the Clock
• The Five Silver Buddhas
• The Flyer Hold-Up (RH Original)
• The Fourth King
• The Gallows Waits, My Lord (RH Original)
• The Green Jade Hand
• Hangman's Nights
• The Iron Ring
• The Man Who Changed His Skin (RH Original)
• The Monocled Monster
• The Murder of London Lew
• The Mysterious Card (RH Original)
• The Mysterious Ivory Ball of Wong Shing Li (RH Original)
• The Mystery of the Fiddling Cracksman
• The Photo of Lady X (RH Original)
• Riddle of the Travelling Skull
• The Scarlet Mummy Volume 1 (RH Original)
• The Scarlet Mummy Volume 2 (RH Original)
• The Search for X-Y-Z Volume 1
• The Search for X-Y-Z Volume 2
• Sing Sing Nights
• The Spectacles of Mr. Cagliostro Volume 1
• The Spectacles of Mr. Cagliostro Volume 2
• The Straw Hat Murders (RH Original)
• The Stolen Gravestone (RH Original)
• Thieves' Nights
• The Tiger Snake
• The Voice of the Seven Sparrows
• The Washington Square Enigma

"We are drawn to the inescapable conclusion that Mr. Keeler writes his peculiar novels merely to satisfy his own undisciplined urge for creative joy. "

--The New York Times, 1942

External Links

• The Official Harry Stephen Keeler Home Page - The official webpage for Harry Stephen Keeler, including an in-depth
• The Harry Stephen Keeler Society - An excellent society dedicated to the preservation of Keeler's legacy.
• 'My Trip to Columbia University To Discover the Unknown Works of Harry Stephen Keeler' - A great site for a general overview of Keeler's published works and other odds and ends.
• Ramble House - A publishing company dedicated to reproducing Keeler's literary works.