Erle Stanley Gardner

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Lore & Background

Gardner provided more information about Mason's character in earlier novels, while knowledge of his character is largely taken for granted in the later works, the television series, and films. In the first novel (The Case of the Velvet Claws, 1933), Mason describes himself: "You'll find that I'm a lawyer who has specialized in trial work, and in a lot of criminal work...I'm a specialist on getting people out of trouble." Gardner depicts Mason as a relentless attorney attracted to complex, unconventional cases that appear unwinnable. He frequently accepts clients on a whim, driven by curiosity about their problems, for a minimal retainer, and finances the case investigations himself when necessary. In The Case of the Caretaker's Cat (1935), his principal antagonist, District Attorney Hamilton Burger, says: "You're a better detective than you are a lawyer. When you turn your mind to the solution of a crime, you ferret out the truth." In The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink (1952), a judge who witnesses one of Mason's unusual tactics says: "Mr. Mason...from time to time you seem to find yourself in predicaments from which you extricate yourself by unusual methods which invariably turn out to be legally sound."

Reader's Guide

Erle Stanley Gardner's significance lies in his creation of the Perry Mason series, which became a defining work of legal detective fiction. The series was adapted for motion pictures and a long-running radio series. These were followed by the best-known adaptation, the CBS television series Perry Mason (1957–1966), starring Raymond Burr. A second television series, The New Perry Mason starring Monte Markham, ran from 1973 to 1974. Thirty Perry Mason television films aired from 1985 to 1995, with Burr reprising the role in 26 of them up to his death in 1993. A third television series, HBO's Perry Mason, starring Matthew Rhys, aired from 2020 to 2023. Julian Symons noted that 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." Gardner wrote more than 30 additional Perry Mason novels between 1957, when the television series began, and his death in 1970.

Did You Know?

• The Perry Mason series ranks third in the top ten best-selling book series.
• The character Perry Mason was inspired by Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Earl Rogers.
• Gardner wrote more than 30 additional Perry Mason novels between 1957, when the television series began, and his death in 1970.
• In 2015, the American Bar Association's publishing imprint, Ankerwycke, began reissuing Gardner's Perry Mason books, which had been out of print in the United States.
• The HBO series presents Perry Mason as a private detective who becomes a lawyer, a veteran of World War I, and an alcoholic divorced father.

The Relentless Advocate

Perry Mason, Gardner's creation, is defined less by biography than by temperament. He is a trial specialist who gravitates toward cases that seem hopeless, accepting clients on impulse and sometimes funding his own investigations. His philosophy, articulated in The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito (1943), is not that he defends criminals but that he demands impartial justice and due process as a safeguard for everyone. District Attorney Hamilton Burger calls him a better detective than lawyer; a judge in The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink (1952) acknowledges his unusual but legally sound methods. His personal life remains deliberately sparse—no family, no education, no detailed physical description. He lives in an apartment, drives well, eats at restaurants, and his only romantic thread is Della Street. His professional bond with Paul Drake is well established. In the first novel, The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933), Mason self-describes as someone who gets people out of trouble, and warns that others will call him a shyster.

From Page to Screen and Back

Perry Mason's journey beyond the printed page has been extensive and varied. Early motion pictures in the 1930s took considerable liberties, including marrying off Della Street and turning Paul Drake into a comic sidekick named Spudsy. A long-running radio series followed. The most recognized adaptation was the CBS television series from 1957 to 1966, starring Raymond Burr. A second series with Monte Markham ran from 1973 to 1974. Between 1985 and 1995, thirty television films aired, with Burr reprising the role in twenty-six of them until his death in 1993. Most recently, HBO's series featuring Matthew Rhys aired from 2020 to 2023, reimagining Mason as a private investigator who becomes a lawyer, a WWI veteran with a troubled discharge, an alcoholic, and a divorced father living on a family dairy farm. Each adaptation expanded or reinterpreted the character in ways Gardner never incorporated into his novels.

A Commercial Colossus

The Perry Mason franchise occupies a remarkable position in publishing history. Gardner produced eighty-two novels and four short stories, each revolving around a client accused of murder, typically unfolding through a preliminary hearing or jury trial. The series ranks third among the top ten best-selling book series of all time. The character's name itself has a curious origin: as a boy, Gardner read Youth's Companion, a magazine published by the Perry Mason Company, and he later borrowed that name for his fictional attorney. The character was inspired by Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Earl Rogers. Despite the franchise's enduring popularity, the books fell out of print in the United States. In 2015, the American Bar Association's publishing imprint, Ankerwycke, began reissuing Gardner's Perry Mason titles, reintroducing them to American readers after a significant absence from bookshelves.

The Problem of Proliferation

A persistent tension in the Perry Mason canon is the gap between Gardner's novels and the screen adaptations. With roughly eighty novels written and over two hundred seventy television episodes produced, the TV writers inevitably invented vast amounts of background, plot, and character detail that Gardner never acknowledged in his ongoing series. Between 1957 and his death in 1970, Gardner wrote more than thirty additional Perry Mason novels, yet he did not fold in any of the television material. The 1930s films introduced non-canonical developments. The HBO series went furthest, giving Mason a WWI service record in the 79th Division, a tattoo of the Cross of Lorraine, a blue-ticket discharge after mercy-killing wounded comrades in a gas attack, and a life on a multi-generational dairy farm. The earlier TV series offered its own hints—Navy service at Ulithi, a minesweeper, a destroyer in the Pacific—none of which appear in the books. Each medium built its own version of the man.