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Murder By The Book
''Murder by the Book'' is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout published in 1951 by the Viking Press, and collected in the omnibus volume ''Royal Flush'' (1965). Plot summary Inspector Cramer takes the unprecedented step of approaching Nero Wolfe for his help on a stalled murder investigation. Leonard Dykes, a clerk for a law partnership, was found dead in the East River. The police found in Dykes' apartment a list of men's names and Cramer wishes to have Wolfe's opinion on it. But other than suggesting Dykes may have been trying to invent an alias, Wolfe can't help. A month later Wolfe, is approached by the father of Joan Wellman, a reader for a fiction publisher, who was killed in a hit-and-run incident, late at night in Van Cortlandt Park. After reading a recent letter that Joan had written to her parents, Wolfe realises that the name ‘Baird Archer’, an author whose novel Joan was reading for her employer, had also appeared on the list found in Leonard Dykes’ apartme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and 39 novellas between 1934 and 1975. In 1959, Stout received the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award. The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon XXXI, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century. In addition to writing fiction, Stout was a prominent public intellectual for decades. Stout was active in the early years of the American Civil Liberties Union and a founder of the Vanguard Press. He served as head of the Writers' War Board during World War II, became a radio celebrity through his numerous broadcasts, and was later active in promoting world federalism. He was the long-time president of the Authors Guild, during whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman à Clef
''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction. This metaphorical key may be produced separately—typically as an explicit guide to the text by the author—or implied, through the use of epigraphs or other literary techniques. Madeleine de Scudéry created the ''roman à clef'' in the 17th century to provide a forum for her thinly veiled fiction featuring political and public figures. The reasons an author might choose the ''roman à clef'' format include satire; writing about controversial topics and/or reporting inside information on scandals without giving rise to charges of libel; the opportunity to turn the tale the way the author would like it to have gone; the opportunity to portray personal, autobiographical experiences without having to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambit (novel)
''Gambit'' is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1962. Plot introduction A chess prodigy is poisoned during a club tournament, and the police arrest the member who served the victim hot chocolate. Wolfe is hired to exonerate the suspect, but finds that no one else has either an adequate motive or the requisite opportunity. ''Gambit'' employs three distinctive plot elements found in other Wolfe stories. The means by which poison is administered is very similar to the means used in " Cordially Invited to Meet Death". A tape recording is made in an Italian restaurant, one which also appears in "Poison à la Carte". And the part that a gambit plays in a murder echoes "Method Three for Murder". Plot summary Sally Blount's father, Matthew Blount, has been arrested for the murder of Paul Jerin, a chess master. Blount had arranged for Jerin to play twelve simultaneous games of blindfold chess at his club. Well into the contest, Jerin com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Champagne For One
''Champagne for One'' is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1958. The back matter of the 1995 Bantam edition of this book includes an exchange of correspondence between Stout and his editor at Viking Press, Marshall Best. A letter from Stout to Best, dated July 1958, shows that Stout suggested as a title both "Champagne for One" and also "Champagne for Faith Usher." Best's reply states that Viking was quite satisfied with "Champagne for One." Plot introduction Archie Goodwin sits in for a friend at a charity dinner dance for unwed mothers, and one of the guests drops dead on the dance floor. Plot summary Archie Goodwin receives a phone call from an acquaintance, Austin “Dinky” Byne, asking for a favour. Byne routinely acts as a chaperone for an annual dinner hosted by his aunt, Louise Grantham Robilotti, which is given in honour of four young unwed mothers living at Grantham House, a charity supported by her late husband. Byne c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plot It Yourself
''Plot It Yourself'' (British title ''Murder in Style'') is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1959, and also collected in the omnibus volume ''Kings Full of Aces'' (Viking 1969). Plot introduction A group of authors and publishers hires Nero Wolfe to investigate a series of plagiarism claims. Wolfe, by his own admission, bungles the investigation so badly that three murders result. In ''Plot It Yourself'', Stout draws on his lengthy experience with book publishers, with authors (via, for example, his presidency of the Authors Guild), and with the writing process itself. Apart from the series' continuing characters, all the players in the book are directly associated with the publishing industry. Stout adds as subtext his take on the peculiar relationship between book authors and book publishers — part symbiosis, part animosity. Stout himself experienced at least one instance of contentious relations with his publishers. Plot summary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Doorbell Rang
''The Doorbell Rang'' is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1965. Plot introduction Nero Wolfe is hired to force the FBI to stop wiretapping, tailing and otherwise harassing a woman who gave away 10,000 copies of a book that is critical of the Bureau and its director, J. Edgar Hoover. ''The Doorbell Rang'' generated controversy when it was published, due largely to its unflattering portrayal of the FBI, its director and agents. It was published at a time when the public's attitude toward the FBI was turning critical, not long after Robert F. Kennedy and J. Edgar Hoover clashed and the Bureau was coming under fire for its investigations of Martin Luther King Jr. Some dismissed the book: ''National Observer (United States), National Observer'' described it as "little more than an anti-FBI diatribe", and Nero Wolfe fan John Wayne wrote Rex Stout a terse note of goodbye after reading the condensed magazine version.McAleer, John, ''Rex S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Lust
''Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason'' was written by Nancy Pearl, former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book and inspiration for the Librarian action figure. It was published in 2003 by Sasquatch Books and during its first year of publication it went into its fourth printing with over 90,000 copies. Impact Will Manley, in an ''American Libraries'' article, wrote of Pearl's book, "Just when I was ready to put the last nail in the coffin of reader's advisory services, up pops the best book ever written on the subject." With books sorted by topics ranging from action heroines to cat crazy and graphic novels to political fiction and author spotlights such as Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Allen Lethem (; born February 19, 1964) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His first novel, ''Gun, with Occasional Music'', a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was publishe ...: Too Good ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nancy Pearl
Nancy Pearl (born January 12, 1945) is an American librarian, best-selling author, literary critic and the former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library.Rebekah DennNancy Pearl trading the quiet confines of the library for a life of leisure ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', August 2, 2004. Her prolific reading and her knowledge of books and literature first made her locally famous in Seattle, Washington, where she regularly appears on public radio recommending books. She achieved broader fame with ''Book Lust,'' her 2003 guide to good reading. Pearl was named 2011 Librarian of the Year by '' Library Journal''. She is also the author of a novel and a memoir. Life Nancy Pearl was raised in Detroit, Michigan and, by her own account, spent much time of her childhood at the public library. Her decision to become a librarian started at the age of 10 with the inspiration of the children's librarian at her local public library. She credits bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stuart M
Stuart may refer to: Names *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile * Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northern Territory *Stuart, the former name for Alice Springs (changed 1933) * Stuart Park, an inner city suburb of Darwin *Central Mount Stuart, a mountain peak Queensland * Stuart, Queensland, a suburb of Townsville * Mount Stuart, Queensland, a suburb of Townsville *Mount Stuart (Queensland), a mountain South Australia * Stuart, South Australia, a locality in the Mid Murray Council *Electoral district of Stuart, a state electoral district * Hundred of Stuart, a cadastral unit Canada *Stuart Channel, a strait in the Gulf of Georgia region of British Columbia United Kingdom *Castle Stuart United States *Stuart, Florida *Stuart, Iowa *Stuart, Nebraska * Stuart, Oklahoma *Stuart, Virginia *Stuart Township, Holt County, Nebras ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The League Of Frightened Men
''The League of Frightened Men'' is the second Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. The story was serialized in six issues of ''The Saturday Evening Post'' (June 15–July 20, 1935) under the title ''The Frightened Men''. The novel was published in 1935 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. ''The League of Frightened Men'' is a Haycraft Queen Cornerstone, one of the most influential works of mystery fiction listed by crime fiction historian Howard Haycraft and Ellery Queen. Plot introduction When two men die under mysterious circumstances and a third disappears after appealing to Wolfe for protection, suspicion falls on Paul Chapin, a controversial author and friend of the three men who was severely injured many years ago at their hands as a result of a hazing prank. The remainder of the men involved, united together as a "League of Atonement", are in fear for their lives against Chapin's vengeance, but when a third man dies Wolfe determines that he may not be the only threat they face. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Too Many Cooks (novel)
''Too Many Cooks'' is the fifth Nero Wolfe detective novel by American mystery writer Rex Stout. The story was serialized in ''The American Magazine'' (March–August 1938) before its publication in book form in 1938 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. The novel was collected in the omnibus volume ''Kings Full of Aces,'' published in 1969 by the Viking Press. Plot introduction Wolfe, a knowledgeable gourmet as well as a detective, attends a meeting of great chefs, ''Les Quinze Maîtres'', at a resort in West Virginia, and jealousies among them soon lead to strife; then, one of the chefs is murdered. Wolfe sustains his own injury in the course of finding the culprit but also obtains the secret recipe for ''saucisse minuit''. Plot summary Nero Wolfe accepts an invitation to address ''Les Quinze Maîtres'' ("The Fifteen Masters"), an international group of master chefs, on the subject of American contributions to fine cuisine. The group is meeting at the Kanawha Spa resort in West Virgini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York City. Overview The ''New York Times'' has published a book review section since October 10, 1896, announcing: "We begin today the publication of a Supplement which contains reviews of new books ... and other interesting matter ... associated with news of the day." In 1911, the review was moved to Sundays, on the theory that it would be more appreciatively received by readers with a bit of time on their hands. The target audience is an intelligent, general-interest adult reader. The ''Times'' publishes two versions each week, one with a cover price sold via subscription, bookstores and newsstands; the other with no cover price included as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
