Harold MacGrath

(1871-1932)

   Harold MacGrath was one of the best selling authors on this side of the Atlantic.  He is second only to Richard Harding Davis in his delineation of American life during the Edwardian period.  Although possessing much artistic ability, MacGrath kept his fiction aimed at the general market.  Like his alter-ego Mr. Popular Piffle, he was "too fond of Avocado pears and ten-year-old champagnes."  His style is clear and concise, and his fiction quite entertaining.  The Puppet Crown (1901) is a romantic adventure set in the decline of Imperial Europe.    The Grey Cloak (1903) is a historical swashbuckler of minor significance.  The Man on the Box was one of the top best-sellers of 1904, and was made into a successful Broadway play.  The Lure of the Mask paints a vivid portrait of a pre-WWI Continental holiday, with its plush hotels, fancy casinos, and exotic Mediterranean scenery.  MacGrath's best fiction was written during the Edwardian period.  In later years, however, he specialized in fast-paced crime and mystery potboilers.  He wrote prolifically-- sometimes up to 7,000 words a day-- and always prepared his own final drafts.  He lived in Syracuse, New York.

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Bibliography:

17359 Arms And The Woman [f|1899]
3239 The Puppet Crown [f|1901]
16041 The Grey Cloak [f|1903]
6578 The Man On The Box [f|1904]
17390 Hearts And Masks [f|1905]
17391 The Princess Elopes [f|1905]
4790 Half A Rogue [f|1906]
The Best Man [s|1907]
The Lure Of The Mask [f|c1908]
14598 The Goose Girl [f|c1909]
15671 A Splendid Hazard [f|1910]
The Carpet From Bagdad [f|1911]
The Place Of Honeymoons [f|1912]
1913 The Drums Of Jeopardy [f|1913]
18443 Parrot & Co [f|1913]
17402 The Adventures Of Kathlyn [f|1914]
H The Million Dollar Mystery [f|1915]
16051 The Voice In The Fog [f|1915]
The Man With Three Names [f|c1920]
15614 The Ragged Edge [f|1922]
The World Outside [f|1923]
Captain Wardlaw's Kitbags [f|1923]
The Green Stone [f|1924]
        A Night's Enchantment [s] [1905]
The Watteau Shepherdess [operetta] [1906]
The Enchanted Hat [s] [1908]
Deuces Wild [f] [1913]
Pidgin Island [f] [1914]
Luck of the Irish [f] [1917]
The Yellow Typhoon [f] [1919]
Private Wire to Washington [f] [1919]
Drums of Jeopardy [f] [1920]
The Pagan Madonna [f] [1921]
The Changing Road [f] [1923]
The Cellini Plaque [f] [1925]
The Sporting Spinster [f] [1926]
We All Live Through It [f] [1927]
The Wolves of Chaos [f] [1929]
The Green Complex [f] [1930]
The Blue Rajah Murder [f] [1930]
The Other Passport [f] [1931]

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Web Resources:

HAROLD MACGRATH at the Internet Movie Database

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