The Beverly Gray Mystery Stories, comprising 26 novels published between 1934 and 1955, were written by Clair Blank whose pen name was Clarissa Mabel Blank Moyer. The series began as a series of school stories, and followed Beverly's progress through college, her various romances, and a career as a reporter before becoming strictly a mystery series.
Beverly is portrayed as an extraordinarily determined individual, with "a driving ambition in her heart that would not let her idle her life away." Across 26 books, she leads "such a life of adventure as would tax the resources of any soap opera heroine".
Books
*This title was dropped from the series in 1938.
Beverly Gray, Freshman
Beverly Gray, Freshman is the first book in the Beverly Gray series. Published concurrently in 1934 with Sophomore, Junior, and Senior, it introduces Beverly as a freshman at Vernon College.
Beverly makes her first appearance as she steps off the train carrying her to Vernon College. She is accompanied by her childhood friend, Anne White. They attend Vernon to follow in their mothers' footsteps. Beverly's mother is described as "the patron saint of Vernon College".
The two girls settle into life at Vernon College, where Beverly's paternal surname affords her anonymity as she attempts to succeed "on her own merits, not under another's colors." Three of the other four freshmen in her dormitory—Lenora Whitehill, Rosalie Arnold, and Lois Mason—prove friendly, while Beverly's roommate Shirley Parker is "aloof" and "patronizing." These girls variously join Beverly in the seven chapters preceding winter break, where they break curfew to view a movie (chapter 2); are caught (chapter 3); are hazed by the sophomores and juniors (chapter 4); gain revenge by crashing the junior and sophomore masquerade dance (chapter 5); scrape through a geometry examination (chapter 6); and beat the juniors in a basketball game (chapter 7).
Winter break sees Beverly and Anne reunite the "Lucky Circle," a collection of eight childhood friends, and together they go camping. As the group returns home, they become lost in a blizzard. The boys in the group try to find their way back, with Beverly leading them. She sprains her ankle, falls down a hill, and awakes to the sight of a tall and disheveled-looking woman. The "hermit woman of Dunnsville," or "Big Bertha," as she calls herself, is a homicidal escapee from a sanitarium. Bertha believes Beverly to be the daughter for whose death she was responsible and starts treating her ankle. During Beverly's second night of captivity, she sneaks away while Bertha sleeps. Unfortunately, she falls into a pit trap and climbs out to find herself face to face with a bear. Bertha arrives and fights the animal. They return to the cabin, where Beverly's father shows up to rescue her, and Bertha escapes.
During the spring term, Beverly discovers that Shirley is sneaking out at night to meet a man, Tom. He exhorts her to run away with him, and Shirley agrees to go the next night. Beverly, Anne, Lenora, Lois, and Rosalie confront her to no avail. Shirley leaves but returns shortly thereafter.
Shirley is a new woman upon her return and is no longer unfriendly, losing her aloofness toward Beverly when the latter saves her from a fire. Beverly ends up in the college infirmary with her mother watching over her, and Shirley visits to offer her friendship.
The remainder of Beverly's first year passes quickly. Shirley performs in a play and is asked to join a theater company over the summer. Tom, who witnesses her performance, is rebuffed again when he attempts to woo her. He returns as Beverly and Shirley walk back to their dormitory, confronting them with a revolver and demanding ten thousand dollars from Shirley's rich father, threatening to sell the "story of the rich Shirley Parker who was going to run away with a thief" to the newspapers. Shirley calls his bluff, and Beverly whacks his wrist with a stick causing him to drop the gun. Tom leaves, and Shirley keeps his revolver as a memento. The book ends with a going-away party at the students' favorite ice cream parlor, where Beverly's friends gather for a celebration in her honor. The college dean gives a toast, and Beverly is given an engraved watch.
Beverly Gray, Sophomore
Beverly Gray, Sophomore explores the mystery that the series would become known for. Beverly spends most of her year investigating a seemingly haunted mansion used by drug smugglers. She also manages to foil a jewel theft over winter break, survive a plane crash, and solve the theft of a set of history examination questions.