Review: The Professors Mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 18, 2012
Other reviews have outlined the book adequately: in 1911, date of publication, a young man falls in love with a young woman but finds courtship  prevented by some mysterious circumstances which restrain her from engaging normally in the process, as she seems to desire, and makes her family more hostile to him, than appears normal. As he gradually is called upon by the girl and her family to help them out with various problems, he becomes more and more frustrated at his ignorance of what is going on and why the girl continues to hold him at arm's length despite their increasing reliance upon him. The ultimate resolution occurs during a spiritualistic event of a kind much in vogue at the time (and which had the interest of such notables as Arthur Conan Doyle).I found the contemporary 1911 setting interesting, Stamford and New York City, as well as the subways and trolley cars. The norms of social interaction between middle class male and female, and the deference to family norms, were also a source of pleasure. The book, so far as it went, appears nicely representative of the times; giving the romance a flavor not to be found today. Key characters are well drawn, some "walk-ons" are, however, clearly stereotypes generally accepted at the time.I should note that ethnic designations, common at the time, are freely used as they were in common speech for decades after this book was written. They are terms people, like the characters in the book, would have used, but are rightly considered offensive today. You should factor in the degree to which use of the terms degrade your pleasure before beginning to read.Over-all, I enjoyed much in the book and would recommend it for those who have a taste for period mysteries written in the period in which they take place. Readers who are looking for 'police procedurals' or  'who dun its' may well be disappointed.