Clarence Budington Kelland

THE SHOOTOUT AT THE O.K. CORRAL AND THE ENDING OF THE OLD WEST AS IT HAD NEVER BEEN TOLD BEFORE - FROM THE WOMAN'S POINT OF VIEW - IN THIS LOST WESTERN CLASSIC. Riva Cane a strong-willed, determined woman came to Tombstone to start a millinery shop, turn it into a successful enterprise, make money and achieve independence. Focused entirely on business, she had never met a man who attracted her and had no interest in romance or marriage. (Like many of Kelland's heroines Riva Cane is based on his mother, an 1890s feminist and successful business woman who was a force in local politics and the Congregational Church. And in Tombstone he gives one of the most complete portraits of her relationship with his father, who has much in common with the easy-going and easily-amused hero.) Shortly after Riva arrived in Tombstone one of the seminal events in the town's early history took place, as a raging fire swept through the clapboard business district, destroying offices, restaurants, hotels and threatening its economic survival. Riva immediately took an action which was to prove controversial, and investing her meager life savings doubled it in just ten minutes.Her millinery was successful, a hit with the women of the gentry, but not particularly profitable - and what Riva did next made her wealthy, but also the subject of scandal, gossip and disapproval.Then Riva met Doc Holliday, and through him the Earp brothers, whose battle against the murderous Clanton clan she supported, which brought her back at least partway into the good graces of Tombstone's respectables.Finally, Riva encountered the two men who would the greatest impact her young life: Billy Clanton, youngest of the Clanton gang, raised to think robbery and murder were a normal part of life he fell in love with Riva at first sight - whatever Riva wanted he swore he would steal it for her and that he would kill any man who came between her and him. Leonidas Brewster, faro dealer at a local gaming saloon, whose mysterious disappearances were the subject of sinister whispers, and whose habit of rescuing her from dangerous situations Riva was certain she could handle herself, infuriated her to the point of madness. He kept coming between her and Billy Clanton and was first on the killer kid's list.All three of their lives, and the future of Tombstone, hung by a thread on the day the Clanton's gathered at the O.K. Corral, and the Earps buckled on their gunbelts.'Tombstone' is a fitting climax to Kelland's Arizona Quartet, as it is to the story of the settling of the Old West."The Earps, the Clantons, Doc Holliday. and all the glamorous characters of Arizona's toughest early-day town come to life in surprising and convincing fashion in 'Tombstone' by Clarence Budington Kelland, one of the nation's great storytellers. Miss Reva Cane, a lovely yet practical-minded young thing from Vermont, is the heroine and like all of Kelland's heroines is as interesting as she is glamorous. The novel comes to a climax with the epic gun battle in the O.K. Corral. Kelland has done a masterful job in weaving fact and fiction together. Kelland fans will rank it at the top. It definitely is recommended reading." -Arizona Republic"The town was Tombstone, its newspaper The Epitaph, its theatre the Bird Cage Opera House, and its population such as Curly Bill, Big Nose Kate, the Flying Nymph and Johnny-behind-the-deuce. Add the richest silver deposits since the Comstock Lode, a well-organized group of cattle rustlers and smugglers, and there's small wonder that it gained the reputation of being one of the wildest of the West's wild towns. Mr. Kelland plants a Vermont girl in Tombstone where she expands her aunt's dressmaking business into the 1881 equivalent of an exclusive "shoppe." The climax is the famous shoot-out between the Earps and the Clantons. Clarence Budington Kelland's 'Tombstone' is the best blending of fiction with history that this reviewer has seen." -NY Times

WW II HOME FRONT ROMANTIC COMEDY WITH A STRONG SEASONING OF DANGER AND MYSTERY "Fast-paced, rich in humor, excitement and romance." -Williamsburg Tribune Only a few months earlier, the young woman now known as Jane Smith had lived a life of luxury and privilege as the ruler of a small Balkan kingdom. She enjoyed glittering balls, the finest furnishings, the handsomest of men, the most exquisite of foods. Her only friends were four bearded old men who served as her cabinet, and worshiped the ground she walked on. Then the Germans had marched in, and she and her four councilors barely escaped with their lives. The elderly men had no idea how to survive in the dangerous, terror-stricken new world of wartime Europe. Jane Smith's brains and strength of will won them through peril and certain death across battlefields, perilous borders, famine-filled countries and criminal rings-to the continent's edge and across the sea to freedom and safety in the US. When at last Jane Smith shepherded her elderly charges down the gangplank and into Manhattan, they had only a few hundred dollars left and found themselves living in a shabby old brownstone. Jane had solved many problems and endured many dangers to reach the land of liberty. But her troubles were only beginning. Now that they were here-how would they survive? An unprecedented new challenge faced her. They were safe...but how would they earn their way in this bustling new land, five insignificant figures among teeming millions? To find a way, Jane knew she would have to remake herself and her companions. For the qualities that had made her friends with the leading statesmen in Europe in no way qualified them for jobs in New York's melting pot. And most importantly, who was she in the absence of royal power and prestige? How would she house and feed herself, let alone the four whose lives and welfare were in her hands? She needed to find work she could do, earn their living and prove herself as worthy a citizen as any other American. But nothing in her previous life or training had prepared her for such a challenge. Suddenly Jane Smith had an inspiration. There was one thing the five of them knew intimately: luxurious furnishings and sumptuous decorations. What she didn't know was where, in an unknown new land, to begin-or that she would face competition, racketeers, and the previously unknown problem of publicity. But she had not quailed among falling shells, starvation, and deadly peril, and she would not quail now. Then, the woman who had been raised for a royal match found the one thing she never imagined in all her visions of a new life-a man she could love. But he was only a common soldier... Suspenseful, humorous, heartwarming mystery filled with Kelland's signature oddball characters, including: Jason Tickle of Lard Can, OK: he struck oil and built a palace for a princess, but where would he find a princess to sleep in it? Rapunzel Tickle: a large, awkward young woman, her father built her a palace, but she didn't want to be a princess; she wanted the simple life. Mrs. Jim Slemp: a leading NY socialite, comfortable with her adipose, many times widowed, fabulously wealthy, her voice of brass hid a heart of gold. Sledge Mantor, gangster-about-town: Jane Smith was in his way to a fortune-he liked to play rough, but Jane could play rougher. Canopus Jones: NY's most popular gossip columnist, Canopus stumbled on the two biggest stories of his life and couldn't print either one. Though he fancied himself a cynic, he had infinite faith in Rapunzel's flapjacks. Major Lincoln Bowie of the US Marines: what was so secretive about his past that even Canopus Jones would not reveal it? "A grownup fairy tale in usual urbane Kelland style." -Kirkus Reviews "An amazing book. I love the party scene at the end. It makes me cry every time I read it." -Goodreads

WHEN WORLD WAR II THRUST HER INTO A NEW JOB, SHE FOUND IT HAD ALSO THRUST HER INTO DANGER, MYSTERY AND A MILLION DOLLAR RIDDLE FIRST U.S. BOOK PUBLICATION "Romance-suspense-action, Kelland is exceptional." -Los Angeles Times Nancy Youngblood had grown up down the street from Robert Dalhart and known they were right for each since childhood. But Robert just thought of her as a kid sister type. Since World War II had started, Robert fresh out of college had been working as executive assistant to his father who operated the Dalhart Manufacturing Company, an important factory vital to the war effort. Then his father died and Robert was left in charge. Nancy knew it was her one chance to let Robert discover the love they could share. Since she was heir to 25% of the factory she insisted on becoming Robert's executive assistant, and quickly proved her worth. But Robert was so caught up in his new responsibilities he never noticed Nancy. That's when sabotage began to stalk the plant, a murdered man who couldn't be identified was found, mysterious shadowy figures began to appear outside her windows at night, and rumors of Nazi activity began to circulate. None of those scared Nancy - but what did scare her was the feeling that Robert Dalhart was being framed for the murder or about to become murder's next victim. Suddenly Nancy realized that when she had taken on her new job at Dalhart Manufacturing she had also taken on danger, mystery and a million dollar riddle. Another masterpiece of romantic suspense, written by Clarence Budington Kelland to fulfill the government's request for inspiring stories that showed with the men drafted and gone to war, women could capably take up their jobs and prove equally strong in facing daunting situations.So successful in portraying life from the 1940s woman's pov (his heroines were always based on his feminist, businesswoman mother), it was published in Woman's Home Companion, Murder for a Million is filled with his signature oddball characters and offbeat dialogue. Among the memorable people readers will meet are: Miss Hattie and Miss Nellie, twin sisters who were inseparable - until they suddenly started appearing in town one at a time. Whitelaw Bowen, a man who didn't believe in rules or laws - but genuinely fell in love with Nancy. Mrs. Knowland and Mrs. Hickman, two nosy neighbors who sat out on the porch all day and never missed a thing that happened (or didn't happen) - they were never left out of the loop on the local gossip because they were always its source. Rosalind Cheney, the term "dangerous curves" was made for this golden haired New York nightclub siren, who thought she was sitting on top of the world - until she found she was in over her head on murder.Manton Turner, a long-lost brother who turned out to be a cheap gunman who thought he could terrify any woman with a revolver - till Nancy turned the tables on him. Detective Clovis, wished Nancy would stay out of the case - but he never turned down any of the clues she brought him. Willard Lestrange, this highly-respected businessman wanted to buy the Dalhart Manufacturing Company - did that have anything to do with the labor trouble or sabotage the plant was experiencing or was it the work of Nazi Fifth Columnists? "When a very serious author turns his hand to murder thrillers, and particularly to as blithe and vivid a heroine as Nancy Youngblood, one m ust really acknowledge his mastery of the craft. Nancy, a brilliant young woman, being of an investigating disposition, gets herself involved in a complicated mystery of murder and high finance; and only after much trial and tribulation does she land the man of her choice, who had been singled out for many of the most outrageous slings of ill-fortune. A murder mystery far above the average, where the technique of the plot and the quality of the writing are concerned." -The World