"I must visit old friends in the Code Room. I had been twenty-four when I came there. I was now forty. Sixteen long years. To me, a lifetime. To American, an episode. Sixteen years of drudgery, illness, espionage, brain-wearying science, flowery letters and honors. Why? To what purpose? " (Herbert O. Yardley in, The American Black Chamber, p.374)
Imposter Revealed: The Life of a Fallen Cryptographer
After the capture of his second novel and the establishment of H.R 420, Yardley soon had to give up hopes of a life as a successful writer, and move on to other dreams. However, that goal proved harder than expected. While publishing his novel aware Yardley with much praise and fame, he was also barred from any future endeavors in governmental work. Unwilling to give up, Yardley attempted writing again, but this time, he dabbled in fiction. Yardley ended up writing two adventure novels titled, "The Red Sun of Nippon," and "The Blonde Countess". However, unlike his first novel, these two lacked the excitement of his rather fictionalized fiction, and did not get many good reviews.
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Although Yardley failed to pursue the life of a writer, his perseverance led to his brief stint as a screenwriter. In 1934, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer found the beautiful woman spy, the secret codes, and the infallible cryptologist of, "The Blonde Countess," ideal for their purposes.After some brief plot modifications, film company was able to produce a powerful screenplay in 1935 titled, "Rendez-Vous."
In addition to being a cryptographer, a published writer and screenwriter, Yardley did a brief stint in Canada. Unable to find work in the United States, Yardley set out to Canada in 1940, where he compiled YardleyGrams for “Liberty Magazine.” While had compile a few editions of Yardleygrams for the Magazine, the following three are the most detailed ones.
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In 1941, after having served countless officials from China to Canada, Herbert O. Yardley returned home. In returning to Washington, he served as an enforcement officer in the food division of Price Administration. His popular and final novel, "The Education of a Poker Player", revealed an information course no poker and was published in 1957, a year before his death.
On August 7th, 1958, Herbert O. Yardley died of a stroked at his home in Silver Spring, Maryland, and was buried with military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. Herbert.O Yardley’s obituaries all labeled him as “the father of American cryptography,” and although they were wrong, their label demonstrated the great impression that Yardley’s words had made on America. Although unethical, his love had captured the imagination of the public and influenced many other amateurs to dabble in cryptology themselves. It is therefore for those reasons that some credit must be attributed to the infamous, Herbert O. Yardley.
