The Brand of Silence

The Brand of Silence is a detective novel by Johnston McCulley published in 1919 under the pseudonym ”Harrington Strong”. Johnston McCulley was the creator of the character Zorro and many others.

The Brand of Silence - A Detective Story finds Sidney Prale returning to New York after ten years during which he sought his fortune. But he finds New York a very changed place, and even more distressing, he finds that his old friends are now turning their backs on him, his old haunts no longer welcome him, and there seems to be a conspiracy against him.

Why can't he receive service in hotels, restaurants, and theaters that he once frequented? Who is working against him? And just as importantly, why? And what is the meaning of the notes he receives which remind him of "retribution"?

Johnston McCulley (1883-1958) was the author of hundreds of stories, fifty novels, numerous screenplays for film and television, and the creator of the character Zorro.

Many of his novels and stories were written under pseudonyms. Aside from Zorro, McCulley created many other pulp characters, including Black Star, The Mongoose, and Thubway Tham. Many of McCulley's characters; the Green Ghost, the Thunderbolt, and the Crimson Clown, were inspirations for the masked heroes that have appeared in popular culture from McCulley's time to the present day.