''Lay On, Mac Duff!'' is a 1942

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a re ...

by the American writer

Charlotte Armstrong Charlotte Armstrong Lewi (May 2, 1905 – July 18, 1969) was an American writer. Under the names Charlotte Armstrong and Jo Valentine she wrote 29 novels, as well as short stories, plays, and screenplays. She also worked for ''The New York Times ...

. It was first published in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Coward-McCann G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York (state), New York. Since 1996, it has been an Imprint (trade name), imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 part ...

, an

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

of Putnam. The first of a trilogy featuring amateur detective MacDougal Duff, it was followed by '' The Case of the Weird Sisters'' (1943) and '' The Innocent Flower'' (1945). The title is a punning reference to both the protagonist's name and a line from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', with the following two titles in the trilogy also referring to the play.Cypert p.55 It was Armstrong's debut novel, following two

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

plays that made no great impact.

References

Bibliography

* Cypert, Rick. ''The Virtue of Suspense: The Life and Works of Charlotte Armstrong''. Associated University Press, 2008. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. 1942 American novels American mystery novels American thriller novels Coward-McCann books Novels by Charlotte Armstrong {{1940s-mystery-novel-stub