''The Chinese Orange Mystery'' is a novel that was written in 1934 by

Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...

. It is the eighth of the

mysteries. In a poll of 17 detective story writers and reviewers, this novel was voted as the eighth best

locked room mystery The "locked-room" or "impossible crime" mystery is a type of crime seen in crime and detective fiction. The crime in question, typically murder ("locked-room murder"), is committed in circumstances under which it appeared impossible for the perpetr ...

of all time.

Plot summary

A wealthy publisher and collector of precious stones and Chinese postage stamps has a luxurious suite in a hotel that serves to handle his non-publishing business and the comings and goings of his staff, his relatives, and his female friends. When an odd and anonymous little man arrives and refuses to state his business, no one is surprised; he is locked (from outside ''only'') in an anteroom with a bowl of fruit (including

tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...

s, also known as Chinese oranges) and left to await the publisher's arrival. When the door is unlocked, though, a truly bizarre scene is displayed. The little man's skull is crushed, his clothing is reversed, back to front, all the furnishings of the room have been turned backwards — and two African spears have been inserted between the body and its clothing, stiffening it into immobility. The circumstances are such that someone has been observing every entrance to the room, and no one has apparently entered or left. The situation is further complicated by some valuable jewelry and stamps, the publisher's business affairs and romantic ''affaires'', and a connection with "backwardness" for seemingly every character. It takes the considerable talents of Ellery Queen to sort through the motives and lies and arrive at the twisted logic that underlies every aspect of this very unusual crime.

Literary significance & criticism

(See

.) The character of Ellery Queen and the

aspect were probably initially suggested by the novels featuring detective

Philo Vance Philo Vance is a fictional amateur detective originally featured in 12 crime novels by S. S. Van Dine in the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, Vance was immensely popular in books, films, and radio. He was portrayed as a stylish—even foppish— ...

S.S. Van Dine S. S. Van Dine (also styled S.S. Van Dine) is the pseudonym used by American art critic Willard Huntington Wright (October 15, 1888 – April 11, 1939) when he wrote detective novels. Wright was active in avant-garde cultural circles in pre-Worl ...

, which were very popular at the time. At this point in time, however, Van Dine's sales were dropping and Queen's were beginning to rise. This novel was the eighth in a long series of novels featuring Ellery Queen, the first nine containing a nationality in the title. This particular novel is much cited in reference works discussing ways and means of the locked room mystery, including the famous "Locked Room Lecture" from '' The Hollow Man'' because of its unusual solution. It is also unusual because it is one of the few murder mysteries in which the victim's name is never known—and it doesn't really matter to the solution. The introduction to this novel contained a detail which is now not considered part of the Ellery Queen canon. The introduction is written as by the anonymous "J.J. McC.", a friend of the Queens. Other details of the lives of the fictional Queen family contained in earlier introductions have now disappeared and are never mentioned again; the introductory device of "J.J. McC." lasts only through the tenth novel, ''Halfway House'', then vanishes (though J.J. appears onstage in ''Face to Face'' in 1967). The "nationality" mysteries had the unusual feature of a "Challenge to the Reader" just before the ending is revealed—the novel breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

and speaks directly to the reader. "I maintain that at this point in your reading of ''The Chinese Orange Mystery'' you have all the facts in your possession essential to a clear solution of the mystery." This was the only Ellery Queen novel to be included in a list of the top ten "impossible crime" mysteries of all time (created by noted locked-room mystery writer

Edward D. Hoch Edward Dentinger Hoch (February 22, 1930 – January 17, 2008) was an American writer of detective fiction. Although he wrote several novels, he was primarily known for his vast output of over 950 short stories. Biography Hoch (pronounced ...

). ''The Chinese Orange Mystery'' was eighth on the list.Hoch, Edward D., editor. ''All But Impossible!: An Anthology of Locked Room and Impossible Crime Stories by Members of the Mystery Writers of America''. New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1981.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The novel was loosely adapted for the 1936 film ''

The Mandarin Mystery ''The Mandarin Mystery'' is a 1936 American film directed by Ralph Staub, loosely based on ''The Chinese Orange Mystery'', a novel featuring detective character Ellery Queen. Plot summary Two murders are committed and a $50,000 Chinese Mandar ...

'', starring

Eddie Quillan Edward Quillan (March 31, 1907 – July 19, 1990) was an American film actor and singer whose career began as a child on the vaudeville stages and silent film and continued through the age of television in the 1980s. Vaudeville and silent fi ...

as Ellery Queen. Some elements of the novel were used as the basis for the 1941 film ''Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery'', which was then novelized as ''The Penthouse Mystery'' by a

ghost writer A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

and published as by

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Orange Mystery, The 1934 American novels American novels adapted into films Novels by Ellery Queen Locked-room mysteries Frederick A. Stokes Company books