Charles Courtney (1) (1891–)

The writing style is dated, reminiscent of the crime story in the Sunday News, but still a good read as a "true adventure" story. I noticed only one error in my area of expertise on page 99 where the author describes Linus Yale, Sr.'s, first quaint little lock shop surrounded by a white picket fence saying that it was located in Middletown, Connecticut. While Linus Yale, Sr., was born in Connecticut, his quaint little lock shop was located in New York.

A couple anecdotes were a little vague if you are a serious student of history but probably won't bother most readers. The bank robbery on page 136 could have been any one of hundreds. There were several robberies fitting that description committed in 1876 alone.

There were also several times that the author related stories with elements that made me suspect that someone might be playing fast and loose with the facts. For example, on page 320 the author is given, as a gift from Lord Lanthern, a pirate chest that had been handed down in his family for generations. His ancester, the earlier Lord Lanthern, took his bride on a honeymoon cruise off the coast of Algiers where they were attacked by pirates who stole both his bride and all of her jewelry. The bridegroom was ransomed and hurried back to England to raise a crew to hunt down the pirates. Eight years later he caught up with them, boarded their ship and cut off the pirate's head. Oops! In his haste he had orgotten to ask what had happened to his bride! Sadly, Lord Lanthern settled for taking the pirate's treasure chest back to England where he invited his whole family for the grand opening. But when the lord turned the key in the heavy old iron padlock and threw up the lid, he jumped back in horror!… (més)