What inspired me to continue the Charlie Chan mystery book series

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Revisiting the Legacy of Charlie Chan

Charlie Chan, the fictional detective character created by author Earl Derr Biggers in 1925, became a household word for much of the twentieth century. Millennials and Gen Z may not know the name, but Charlie’s exploits enthralled millions around the world in six books, dozens of films, on radio and television (even comic strips and a Saturday morning animated series) for decades.

As Sandra M. Hawley put it:

Students of American popular culture have called him "a national institution" and "very much a part of American folklore." This popularity and longevity indicate that the Chinese detective touched a chord in the American public. Half a century is a good run for any character.

Others have noted that Chan was a heroic character, a transitional figure. Inspired by real-life detective Chang Apana, Biggers intended his detective to depart from the negative Fu Manchu stereotypes of the day. In so doing, he created a positive stereotype (condemned by some later critics), but a well-intentioned addition to mystery and detective fiction with cultural resonance then and now. 

The Biggers Chan arrived less than a year after the passage of 1924’s Asian Exclusion Act and became a cultural phenomenon in the U.S. and around the world. A flawed, sometimes stereotypical character, yes; but one who arrived and thrived at a time when anti-Asian discrimination prevailed in countless other ways, according to Harvard historian and author Erika Lee:  

“ . . . the dominant American attitudes about Asian immigrants labeled them as Asiatic invasions, Oriental hordes, or a yellow peril—an unending threat and danger coming from the East with the intention of dominating and destroying the West, a threat to global white supremacy.” 

Biggers’s Chan not only solves all his cases—he sharply and wittily overcomes dismissive and racist attitudes.

A Personal Connection

I grew up on Arthur Conan Doyle and moved on to Agatha Christie and other authors. And then there were the movies–Charlie Chan movies were widely available on late-night and weekend television in the mid-20th century. Once I had seen several, I found Biggers’s novels at the local library. I loved the movies, and I developed a deep appreciation for the books. 

What Drew Me In

Describing the appeal of fiction’s Charlie Chan, the only Chinese detective on the Honolulu police force a hundred years ago, inevitably relies on comparisons to other characters. Each well-known character in mystery fiction since Sherlock Holmes has talents, methods, and personality quirks that help establish their appeal to readers. 

Charlie’s initial appeal to me was the mysteries, plots, pacing, and settings of the 1930s and ‘40s films. The movies drew me in, and Chan’s wise, warm, witty personality hooked me. The books confirmed the film character’s appeal and deepened it. Chan in print was more fully realized, and I also appreciated the written word’s detailed glimpses into the life and culture of a bygone era. 

Continuing the Charlie Chan Mystery Book Series

Some years ago I became aware that Charlie Chan the character had fallen into the public domain. Gradually I formed an idea, if not a plan:  Earl Derr Biggers died even as he was preparing to write a seventh Chan novel; what if I were to carry on where he left off? Would it be more than just a vanity project?

I wrote a few chapters and gave them to a publisher friend for some feedback. To my surprise, he said that he wanted to publish the manuscript that became Death, I Said: A Charlie Chan Mystery in 2023. 

The Tangled String followed in 2024 as I began to think of the reboot of the Biggers Chan as a series—at least three novels timed to mark the character’s centennial year, 2025. 

Balancing Old and New

My first goal was to honor Biggers without tampering too much with his creation or simply mimicking him. So, Death, I Said is set in the early-to-mid 1930s, shortly after the events depicted in EDB’s last book, Keeper of the Keys. 

I chose to weave in some of the characters and events from the public domain Biggers books. I took a few minor liberties, partly to fill in a few gaps Biggers had left in Chan World. For example, I gave names to Mrs. Chan and several of the Chan children.

Strong female characters in my series may seem like a nod to more recent attitudes, but in this regard I’m following Biggers’s lead. His Chan novels feature a number of determined and outspoken women.  

Chan’s English evolved in the Biggers series and was more polished than in the films. Even in the first book, Chan could be eloquent: “Is it proper for me to infer that you come on business connected with the homicide?” True, Chan’s truncated sentences in Biggers often omit pronouns and articles. Subjects and predicates occasionally disagree.

The detective’s vocabulary, however, equals or exceeds that of those he encounters. And he demonstrates his lexical agility even further in The Chinese Parrot, when circumstances require him to assume a disguise and speak the stereotypical pidgin necessary to sell his alter ego’s identity. (In addition to his native Cantonese and English, he also demonstrates a familiarity with the native Hawaiian language spoken in the islands.) 

All things considered, I’ve tried to let Charlie speak in his own familiar way, including the aphorisms many Chan fans love. However, I have relied more on actual Chinese proverbs from well-documented sources than the kind of “It is difficult to pick up needle with boxing glove” quips common to Hollywood’s Chan. 

What’s Next

A thriving Chan fan culture, especially those devoted to the black-and-white movies, persists online.  Most of the movies are available on YouTube, and four of Biggers’s six books are now freely available online; the last two will enter the public domain in the next few years. Chan fandom is alive and well, and readers have said some nice things about my first two books: “thoroughly entertaining . . . flavor of the original novels . . . Excellent read . . . both the mystery itself, and the writing, are outstanding . . .  will definitely get the next book in the series."

My third book is scheduled for publication in November 2025. What will happen after that—will the series continue?—is a mystery not even Charlie can solve at this point. Rest assured that readers of this blog and subscribers to my SwannNotes newsletter will be the first to know about future plans. 

Final Thoughts

I’m indebted to readers and all those who’ve encouraged my work—especially folks like Lou Armagno and Drew Thomas. Special thanks to Nick Burns at NKB Publishing and—above all—to my wife, Patricia Swann, for her years of encouragement.

In addition to celebrating Chan as pure entertainment, I’m pleased to play a small part in the cultural conversation about Chan’s role as a historical bridge between East and West. I recommend Yunte Huang’s 2010 book Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History. He sees Chan as culturally significant—a flawed character in many ways, but a positive one in others—a slyly humorous portrayal of a fanciful fiction. 

Charlie’s origins reflect the realities and imperfections of a historical period; but the character’s conquests of criminals and the prejudiced still resonate today. Charlie’s faults and finer qualities are kaleidoscopic; they form and reform in interesting ways.

He’s not really Chinese, of course; he was a 20th-century white writer’s idea of an immigrant Chinese who became an American citizen and detective. As fiction, he’s believable in the world he inhabits. How he overcomes prejudice and racism offers timeless lessons for all who encounter “the other”—be they stranger, foreigner, or immigrant. 

Long live Charlie Chan.