author
Clinton H. (Clinton Holland) Stagg
1888–1916
Best known for creating one of mystery fiction’s earliest blind detectives, this Newark-born writer packed a lot into a very short life. He moved from newspaper work into fiction and early screenwriting, leaving behind brisk, inventive stories before his death at just 27.
1 Audiobook
Thornley Colton : Blind detective
by Clinton H. (Clinton Holland) Stagg
About the author
Clinton Holland Stagg was an American journalist, author, and screenwriter born in Newark, New Jersey, in November 1888. He worked for a newspaper before turning to magazine fiction and, later, to silent-era film writing.
He is most remembered for creating Thornley Colton, nicknamed the "Problemist," a wealthy blind detective who solves cases through sharp reasoning and heightened senses. Stagg wrote a series of Thornley Colton stories as well as the 1916 novel Silver Sandals, and he also published High Speed that same year.
His career was brief but unusually varied. In Hollywood he wrote scenarios and stories for early film companies, but he died in an automobile accident in Santa Monica, California, on May 3, 1916. Even with such a short life, his detective fiction still stands out for its originality.