Book Board Chat

... and, in all those old novels everyone smoked. If someone went into a room the first thing they would do would be to light a cigarette or be offered a cigarette. After a good meal in a restaurant they would light up a cigarette of a cigar. Light up a cigar in a restaurant? Good grief.

In the 1942 novels all red blooded men joined the armed forces to fight. The main character in a novel would have time to solve the crime stating that he was to report for active duty in a few days or weeks. The male detectives in 1942 movies would often say the same thing. I know from the TV series that the character Perry Mason served in the navy during WWII. I wonder how, or if, that was treated in the 1940s Perry Mason novels.

In one 1942 novel the detective was stationed in San Diego waiting to be shipped out, He would send instructions to his female partner telling her what to do to solved the local crime. That worked out okay.

By 1943 and later, it seemed that not so much emphasis was put on the men in novels to join up.