Curious Quest

A sweet, simple tale of how friendship and honesty triumph over money. The protagonist’s pun of a name—Ernest Bliss—foreshadows the plot in which this bored young millionaire transforms his indolent self and finds love. Typical of its era (1919), this book contains a few antisemitic stereotypes. The story was made famous by the 1936 film The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss with Cary Grant and Mary Brian.

E. Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946), was born in London and wrote more than one hundred novels as well as many short stories and film adaptations, some under the name of Anthony Partridge. His 1941 autobiography, The Pool of Memory, is well worth reading. (Summary by Adrian Praetzellis)