''And Four to Go'' (British title ''Crime and Again'') is a collection of

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West 35th Street in Ne ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

s by Rex Stout, published by the

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

in 1958. The book comprises four stories — three appearing previously in periodicals, and one making its debut in print: * " Christmas Party" (''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

'', January 4, 1957, as "The Christmas-Party Murder") * " Easter Parade" (''

Look To look is to use sight to perceive an object. Look or The Look may refer to: Businesses and products * Look (modeling agency), an Israeli modeling agency * ''Look'' (American magazine), a defunct general-interest magazine * ''Look'' (UK ma ...

'', April 16, 1957, as "The Easter Parade Murder") * "

Fourth of July Picnic "Fourth of July Picnic" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published as "The Labor Union Murder" in the July 9, 1957, issue of '' Look'' magazine. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection '' And Four to Go'', pu ...

" (''

'', July 9, 1957, as "The Labor Union Murder") * "

Murder Is No Joke "Murder Is No Joke" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published in the 1958 short-story collection '' And Four to Go'' (Viking Press). Stout subsequently rewrote and expanded the story as "Frame-Up for Murder", serialized in thr ...

", later expanded as " Frame-Up for Murder" and serialized in three issues of ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' (June 21–July 5, 1958)

Publication history

*1958, New York: The

, April 29, 1958, hardcover. :In his limited-edition pamphlet, ''Collecting Mystery Fiction #10, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part II'',

Otto Penzler Otto Penzler (born July 8, 1942) is a German-born American editor of mystery fiction, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City. Biography Born in Germany to a German-American mother and a German father, Penzler moved to The B ...

describes the

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

of ''And Four to Go'': "Blue cloth, front cover and spine printed with red; rear cover blank. Issued in a mainly brick red dust wrapper." :In April 2006, ''Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine'' estimated that the first edition of ''And Four to Go'' had a value of between $200 and $350. The estimate is for a copy in very good to fine condition in a like dustjacket. *1958, New York: Viking (

Mystery Guild Bookspan LLC is a New York–based online bookseller, founded in 2000. Bookspan began as a joint endeavor by Bertelsmann and Time Warner. Bertelsmann took over control in 2007, and a year later, sold its interest to Najafi Companies, an Arizon ...

), August 1958, hardcover. In the printing of "Easter Parade," a page presenting black-and-white versions of the four ''Look'' magazine photographs is placed between pages 96 and 97. :The far less valuable Viking book club edition may be distinguished from the first edition in three ways: ::* The dust jacket has "Book Club Edition" printed on the inside front flap, and the price is absent (first editions may be price clipped if they were given as gifts). ::* Book club editions are sometimes thinner and always taller (usually a quarter of an inch) than first editions. ::* Book club editions are bound in cardboard, and first editions are bound in cloth (or have at least a cloth spine).Penzler, Otto, ''Collecting Mystery Fiction #9, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part I'', pp. 19–20 *1959, London:

Collins Crime Club Collins Crime Club was an imprint of British book publishers William Collins, Sons and ran from 6 May 1930 to April 1994. Throughout its 64 years the club issued a total of 2,012in "The Hooded Gunman -- An Illustrated History of Collins Crime ...

, May 25, 1959, hardcover (as ''Crime and Again'') *1959, New York: Bantam #A-2016, November 1959, paperback, 35¢ *1962, London: Fontana #629, 1962 (as ''Crime and Again'') *1974, New York:

Mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

#Q8528, December 1974, paperback, $1.25 *1992, New York: Bantam Crime Line December 1992, paperback, Rex Stout Library edition with introduction by Jane Haddam *1997, Newport Beach, California: Books on Tape, Inc. October 31, 1997, audio cassette (unabridged, read by Michael Prichard) *2010, New York: Bantam Crimeline July 21, 2010,

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

References

External links

{{Nero Wolfe 1958 short story collections Nero Wolfe short story collections Viking Press books