The House Without a Key

‘The House Without a Key’ is the first book in Earl Derr Biggers' hugely successful Charlie Chan mysteries. Atmospheric and entertaining, Biggers shows you a side of Hawaii that few will ever see. In this first novel, Chan comes to the aid of an aristocratic Boston family who find themselves in dire straits over what has befallen Dan Winterslip, the black sheep of the family, who lives in a mansion on Waikiki Beach—the house without a key.

The troubles begin when a young nephew is dispatched by the family in Boston to retrieve a wayward aunt who has overstayed her welcome in Dan Winterslip's house. Biggers brings Honolulu to life with his deft descriptions of the landscape and its hybrid ethnic communities. And with the creation of Inspector Chan, Biggers also shatters stereotypes and is ahead of his time in highlighting the positive aspects of Chinese-Hawaiian culture. The novel rejuvenated Biggers’ career as a leading writer of popular fiction in the early twentieth century.

Earl Derr Biggers was born in Warren, Ohio on August 24, 1884. Years later, while attending Harvard University, Biggers showed little passion for the classics, preferring instead writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Richard Harding Davis. Following his graduation from Harvard in 1907, he worked briefly for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and at Bobbs-Merrill publishers. By 1908, Biggers was hired at the Boston Traveler to write a daily humor column. Soon, however, he became that paper's drama critic. It was at this time that he met Elanor Ladd, who would later become his wife and who would have a marked influence in his writing.