Stephen Marlowe (born Milton Lesser, in Brooklyn, New York, died , in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is b ...

) was an American author of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

, mystery

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s, and fictional autobiographies of Goya,

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best know ...

, and

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

. He is best known for his detective character Chester Drum, whom he created for the 1955 novel ''The Second Longest Night''. Lesser also wrote using the pseudonyms Adam Chase, Andrew Frazer, C.H. Thames, Jason Ridgway, Stephen Wilder and Ellery Queen.

Biography

Lesser attended the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William II ...

, earning his degree in philosophy, marrying Leigh Lang soon after graduating. He was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. He and his wife divorced during 1962. He was awarded the French Prix Gutenberg du Livre during 1988 for ''The Memoirs of Christopher Columbus'', and during 1997 he was awarded the "Life Achievement Award" by the Private Eye Writers of America. He also served on the board of directors of the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award, ...

. During the later part of his life he lived with his second wife Ann in

Selected bibliography

As Milton S. Lesser: * ''Somewhere I'll Find You'' (1947) * ''Earthbound'' (1952) * ''The Star Seekers'' (1953) * ''Recruit for Andromeda'' (1959) * ''

Stadium Beyond the Stars ''Stadium Beyond the Stars'' is a juvenile science fiction novel by Milton Lesser published in 1960 by Holt, Rinehart & Winston with cover illustration by Mel Hunter. The story follows the adventures of Steve Frazer, a champion spacesuit racer ...

'' (1960) * ''Spacemen Go Home'' (1961) * ''Secret of the Black Planet'' (1965) As Stephen Marlowe: * ''Catch the Brass Ring'' (1954) * ''Model for Murder'' (1955) * ''Turn Left for Murder'' (1955) * ''Dead on Arrival'' (1956) * ''Blonde Bait'' (1959) * ''Passport to Peril'' (1959) * ''The Shining'' (1961) * ''Colossus: A novel about Goya and a world gone mad'' (1965) * ''The Search for Bruno Heidler'' (1966) * ''Come Over, Red Rover'' (1968) * ''The Summit'' (1970) * ''The Man with No Shadow'' (1974) * ''The Cawthorn Journals'' (or ''Too Many Chiefs'') (1975) * ''Translation'' (1976) * ''The Valkyrie Encounter'' (1978) * ''Deborah's Legacy'' (1983) * ''The Memoirs of Christopher Columbus'' (1987) * ''The Death and Life of Miguel De Cervantes'' (1991) * ''The Lighthouse at the End of the World'' (1995) Chester Drum novels (as Stephen Marlowe): * ''The Second Longest Night'' (1955) * ''Mecca for Murder'' (1956) * ''Killers Are My Meat'' (1957) * ''Murder Is My Dish'' (1957) * ''Trouble Is My Name'' (1957) * ''Terror Is My Trade'' (1958) * ''Violence Is My Business'' (1958) * ''Double in Trouble'' (with Richard S. Prather, co-starring Prather's series character Shell Scott) (1959) * ''Homicide Is My Game'' (1959) * ''Danger Is My Line'' (1960) * ''Death Is My Comrade'' (1960) * ''Peril Is My Pay'' (1960) * ''Manhunt Is My Mission'' (1961) * ''Jeopardy Is My Job'' (1962) * ''Francesca'' (1963) * ''Drum Beat - Berlin'' (1964) * ''Drum Beat - Dominique'' (1965) * ''Drum Beat - Madrid'' (1966) * ''Drum Beat - Erica'' (1967) * ''Drum Beat - Marianne'' (1968) As Adam Chase (writing with

Paul W. Fairman Paul Warren Fairman (1909–1977) was an editor and writer in a variety of genres under his own name and under pseudonyms. His detective story "Late Rain" was published in the February 1947 issue of ''Mammoth Detective''. He published his story ...

): * ''The Golden Ape'' (1959) As Andrew Frazer: * ''Find Eileen Hardin - Alive!'' (1959) * ''The Fall of Marty Moon'' (1960) As Jason Ridgway: * ''West Side Jungle'' (1958) * ''Adam's Fall'' (1960) * ''People in Glass Houses'' (1961) * ''Hardly a Man Is Now Alive'' (1962) * ''The Treasure of the Cosa Nostra'' (1966) As Ellery Queen * ''Dead Man's Tale'' (1961) As C. H. Thames: * ''Violence Is Golden'' (1956) * ''Blood of My Brother'' (1963)

References

External links

* Th
Mystery*File
blog:

Bill Pronzini Bill Pronzini (born April 13, 1943) is an American writer of detective fiction. He is also an active anthologist, having compiled more than 100 collections, most of which focus on mystery, western, and science fiction short stories. Pronzini is k ...

on Stephen Marlowe, 1928-2008. * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marlowe, Stephen 1928 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American mystery writers American science fiction writers College of William & Mary alumni Novelists from Virginia People from Williamsburg, Virginia Shamus Award winners American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers