About “Egbert” the Black Cat in Behind That Curtain (1928)?

Like yourself (I’m sure) I’ve always puzzled at the introduction of Egbert, the black cat in Earl Derr Biggers’ fourth Charlie Chan novel Behind That Curtain? No really! I’ve always wondered what enticed Biggers to add him into the fold. And what’s with that name…Egbert? He appears only briefly in Chapters I and II. Egbert actually helps open the story in the first paragraph:

BILL RANKIN sat motionless before his typewriter, grimly seeking a lead for the interview he was about to write. A black shadow shot past his elbow and materialized with a soft thud on his desk. Bill’s heart leaped into his throat and choked him.

But it was only Egbert, the office cat. Pretty lonesome round here, seemed to be Egbert’s idea. How about a bit of play? Rankin glared at the cat with deep disgust. Absurd to be so upset by a mere Egbert, but when one has been talking with a great man for over an hour and the subject of the talk has been murder, one is apt to be a trifle jumpy.

He reached out and pushed Egbert to the floor. “Go away,” he said. “What do you mean, scaring me out of a year’s growth? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

His dignity offended, Egbert stalked off through the desert of typewriter tables and empty chairs.

– Behind That Curtain, 1928, Chapter 1, “The Man From Scotland Yard.”

Now to give him full credit, Egbert also appears briefly in Chapter two. He slowly crossed the path of retired Scotland Yard Inspector Sir Frederick Bruce; who later just happens to meet with some…misfortune!

Sir Frederic strode on across the city room. A cat may look at a king, and Egbert stood staring with interest at the former head of the C.I.D. Just in front of the door, the Englishman paused. It was either that or a collision with Egbert, moving slowly like a dark shadow across his path.

– Behind That Curtain, 1928, Chap 2, “What Happened to Eve Durand.“

So was Biggers a cat person? Why the brief inclusion of this cat, and why name him Egbert? Was the cat a foretelling of Sir Frederick’s demise? Well, perhaps the reason can be found on the site CWA-Cat Writers’ Association, under the title: How and Why to Add Cats to your Fiction Writing by Debbie De Louise (AKA: librarian.) She goes on to tell us that there are four types of cats that appear in fiction writing:

• Main Character Cats (M.C. Cats)
• Supporting Character Cats
• Subplot Cats
• Cameo Cats

In the above article, Debbie goes on to explain “How to add cats to your plot!” And she has this to say as far as the reason for adding them to your writing:

“They can add humor and humanity to a story. With their unique purr-sonalities and mystical natures, they make purr-fect characters to write about.”

Now to be perfectly upfront, Biggers never actually stated Egbert is a black cat. Rather, he first described him as a black shadow and then a dark shadow. But when I read the description that’s how I picture him. Besides did you know that black cats are unique in the feline category? Yep, they are. Here’s 10 reasons why!

As for the name “Egbert.” I may have discovered why Biggers’ selected that particular name. Biggers may have named the cat after another fellow Ohio Author, Egbert Cleave. The writer flourished in the 1870s and some of his more noteworthy publications, included: Cyclopaedia of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County (Biggers once worked on Cleveland’s newspaper The Plain Dealer), A Biographical Cyclopaedia and Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Gentlemen (though later, Biggers did attend Harvard), and in particular this one, Cleave’s Biographical Cyclopaedia of Homoeopathic Physicians and Surgeon (This last one just has a nice schizophrenic ring to it–like a cat!)

Hope your Halloween is filled with goblins, witches and black cats–the cute kitten kind!

“At night all cats are black.”

– Keeper of The Keys, 1932, Chapter 13

Postscript. While the fictional Egbert made it into a Chan novel, one real black feline made his way into the Chan films; Puzzums the black cat in Charlie Chan’s Chance (1932.) Find out more about Puzzums and his inseparable partner Ko-Fan on Rush Glick’s Website in “The Study.”