''Three for the Chair'' 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 1957, and by

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

in various paperback printings beginning in 1958. The book contains three stories: * "

A Window for Death "A Window for Death" is a Nero Wolfe Mystery fiction, mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published as "Nero Wolfe and the Vanishing Clue" in the May 1956 issue of ''The American Magazine''. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collect ...

", first published in '' The American Magazine'' (May 1956) as "Nero Wolfe and the Vanishing Clue" * "

Immune to Murder "Immune to Murder" is a Nero Wolfe Mystery fiction, mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published in the November 1955 issue of ''The American Magazine''. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection ''Three for the Chair'', publish ...

", first published in '' The American Magazine'' (November 1955) * "

Too Many Detectives "Too Many Detectives" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published September 14, 1956, in ''Collier's''. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection '' Three for the Chair'', published by the Viking Press in 1957. ...

", first published September 14, 1956, in ''

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 ...

Reviews and commentary

Stout's work sometimes occasioned conflicting viewpoints among the critics. ''Three for the Chair'' drew praise from Anthony Boucher in ''The New York Times'' and dispraise from Julian Symons in ''The Sunday Times'' (London).

Publication history

*1957, New York: The

, May 3, 1957, 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 ''Three for the Chair'': "Yellow cloth, front cover printed with black and blue lettering and design; spine printed with black lettering; rear cover blank. Issued in a mainly light orange dust wrapper." :In April 2006, ''Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine'' estimated that the first edition of ''Three for the Chair'' had a value of between $200 and $350. The estimate is for a copy in very good to fine condition in a like dustjacket. *1957, Toronto:

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

, 1957, hardcover *1957, 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 1957, hardcover :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 *1958, 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 ...

, April 21, 1958, hardcover *1958, New York: Bantam #A-1796, July 1958, paperback *1994, New York: Bantam Crimeline August 1, 1994, paperback *1997, Newport Beach, California: Books on Tape, Inc. July 21, 1997, audio cassette (unabridged, read by Michael Prichard) *2010, New York: Bantam Crimeline May 26, 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

{{Nero Wolfe 1957 short story collections Nero Wolfe short story collections Viking Press books