Melvin L. (Melvin Linwood) Severy

Born in Massachusetts in 1863, Melvin L. Severy was an American author whose work crossed into science, music, and invention. Library and public-domain records connect him with novels including The Darrow Enigma, The Mystery of June 13th, Maitland's Master Mystery, and The Awakening.

Severy is especially interesting because he was not only a novelist. Multiple biographical sources describe him as an inventor and engineer, and associate him with the Choralcelo, an early electro-magnetic musical instrument. He is also described as a composer and artist, which helps explain the unusually wide range of interests reflected in the record he left behind.

He died in 1951. For listeners coming to his fiction now, Severy offers the appeal of an author who moved easily between mystery storytelling and turn-of-the-century experimentation, making his work feel like part literary entertainment and part window into an inventive era.