Through the Moon-Gate Door - a Mystery Story for Girls

Okay, while reading this particular "Mystery Story for Girls," I had to keep reminding myself repeatedly that this book was published in 1938, and as such, I needed to read it with that particular time period in mind.  Otherwise, I would probably find this book to be one of the most xenophobic and racist books that Mildred Wirt (Benson) ever wrote!  While I can normally just overlook a comment or two within these series books of the last century, since I know they were written at a time when society had a different view of Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans and African-Americans, this one made it a lot more difficult to overlook, as the book is quite well permeated with bad dialect, racist themes, and misconceptions regarding the Chinese beliefs and way of life.  I would actually love to find out just where Benson got the idea for this book, and whether the representations within the story were a result of common views in America at that time, or if she actually believed the things set forth in the book.  I guess at this point, we will likely never know...

In any event, Through the Moon-Gate Door is not your typical mystery story.  Instead of your more common mystery themes of lost inheritances, missing heirs, swindled fortunes, long-lost relatives, or haunted houses, Mildred Wirt instead wrote a mystery that was very topical for its time - a story involving smuggling of weapons!  Yes, there were also stolen jewels, but as theorized by the protagonist of this tale, they "...will be used to purchase more guns and ammunition" (p. 175).  The villain of the story has only one purpose, as explained by his niece: "He has one aim in life and that is to establish his power in China.  Totain that end he sacrifices everything, even his own flesh and blood" (p. 188).  While the sleuths in this tale certainly encounter their fair share of standard children's series tropes - from close calls, to an attack on their car, to threats, to being bound and gagged, the ultimate revelations at the solution to this mystery certainly show a much darker and seedier side of life than the normal mysteries of this time did.  Again, this leaves one to wonder what state of mind Benson was in when she wrote this.

The two amateur sleuths in this book are Sally Brandon and Thelma French.  The name of the main character, Sally Brandon, sounded so familiar to me, and I wracked my brain trying to figure out where I had heard of it before - and then it dawned on me.  The name is a combination of two other fictional series characters of the time - Sally (from Sally for Short and Sally Found Out) and Nancy Brandon (from Nancy Brandon and Nancy Brandon's Mystery), two 2-book series written by Lilian Garis, all of which were published prior to this book.  Now, it was likely just a coincidence as to the names, but, hey, let's face it - what would these children's mysteries be without coincidences?  Now, back to the two main characters - Sally is definitely the Nancy Drew of the story - strong-willed, unafraid, and more than willing to step up and help someone in need, no matter the cost to herself; Thelma, meanwhile, is more like Bess Marvin - she's timid, reluctant to take any chances, and more than a little afraid when it comes to stepping outside of her comfort zone just to solve a mystery.  The two characters play well off of each other, and it's rather enjoyable to read how Sally sometimes has to forcefully drag her friend into some not-so-safe situations!

The mystery begins when Sally and Thelma visit Mr. Chan's Oriental Shop in San Francisco's Chinatown to attend an auction that is being held.  The girls are attending merely as good fun, having no intention of buying anything.  While there, they run into Li-la Wing, a girl who used to attend classes with them at school, but who suddenly dropped out two years ago for unknown reasons.  Li-la's reaction to the two girls is mixed, and Sally and Thelma are left wondering what is behind her hot/cold reactions.  Through inadvertence, the girls happen to witness the owner, Mr. Chan, removing what appears to be a large, green emerald from a hidden place within a Buddha statue - and this leads to their becoming involved in the nefarious plans of Li-la's villainous uncle, Mr. Wing.  The emerald is stolen, the Buddha statue goes missing, and when Sally returns home with a box of mixed items she bought for only one dollar, she finds the statue and the emerald hidden therein!  Before she can return the stolen items, they are stolen yet again, and this time, Sally has reason to believe her family's Chinese servant, Lin, knows more about what is happening than he lets on.  The girls soon discover that Li-la is being mistreated by her uncle, being held against her well at the Moon-Gate Estate, where her uncle has established a Chinese amusement park of sorts; but Sally suspects there is more going on at that estate than just entertainment for the locals and tourists.  When Li-la gives them a reluctant tour of the estate, Sally becomes intrigued with a Moon-Gate door that Li-la refuses to open and claims no knowledge of what lies beyond.  But Sally is determined to not only help rescue Li-la from her uncle's clutches, but she also resolves herself to find a way to get through the Moon-Gate door and discover what waits on the other side!

Now, with respect to the portrayal of Chinese men within this story - the dialect is something else.  "Me velly solly," the male servant says to Sally on page 25, "Me think Missee gone all day on gad-trip.  So makee cake to fill up time."  This is the manner in which Lin speaks throughout the book, as to some of Mr. Chan's, as well as Mr. Wing's, employees.  Geoffrey Lapin one indicated that Benson once informed him that she was never good with dialect, so her husband (Asa Wirt) would write the dialect needed for her stories.  One must wonder if he provided this Chinese dialect, or if it was the work of Benson herself.  Additionally, she is not afraid to use some rather derogatory terms when it comes to the Chinese - a policeman asks Sally, "Having an argument with a Chink?" on page 31, and later, Mr. Brandon informs Sally that the owner of a ship that is to be anchored at the Moon-Gate Estate has been suspected "..of transporting Chinese coolies to this country illegally" (p. 97).  Some online research shows that during this time (mid-1930s), there was a definite division between white Americans and the Chinese Americans, and that while the Chinese were views as "exotic and different," they were also looked down upon by white American society due to alleged illegal activities that seemed to be prevalent within the Chinese communities (Depression Era: 1930s: Chinatown: De Facto Segregation).  Therefore, when read in the context of the time period within which this mystery was written, the attitude toward the Chinese should not come as so much of a surprise.

Putting aside the xenophobia and racism, the underlying story was actually pretty good. And the severity of the danger that Sally and Thelma ultimately find themselves, at the mercy of a ruthless man who would think nothing of throwing his two captives overboard to their deaths (p. 185), truly amps the suspense.  There is really no doubt as to the identity of the villain in this story, but it's the suspense and mystery that builds as Sally and Thelma try and figure out a way of rescuing Li-la and finding proof as to Mr. Wing's illicit activities that makes this such a great read.  With of Mildred Wirt's Mystery Stories for Girls behind me, I'm left wondering just what the remaining four books in this series hold in store!

RATING:  7 handsomely decorated Ming Dynasty bowls out of 10 for crafting an oddly unique mystery for its time!