"This Little Piece of Glass Is Going To Hang You"

BEFORE THERE WAS an American "Ironside" on television, there was a British "Ironsides" (note the final letter) in dozens of print publications. Here is one of his rare adventures in the short form, in a story aimed at schoolboys:

"The Clue of the Glass Stopper."

By Victor Gunn (Edwy Searles Brooks, 1889-1965; Wikipedia HERE; the ISFDb HERE; the SFE HERE; and the Fan Page HERE and HERE).

First appearance: Collins Boys' Annual (1953).

Short short story (7 pages).

Online at Comic Book Plus (HERE; go to text page 113).

   "It's rather a good thing we came here, after all—because this is a case of murder."

NO, it wasn't an accident, even though the killer wants everybody to think that. Sherlock Holmes derived a life lesson from the look and smell of a flower; Chief Inspector Cromwell will derive a case of murder from the look and smell of a broken bottle . . .

Main characters:

~ Sergeant Johnny Lister ("And why are you looking like a codfish with a diseased liver?"), Professor Martin Jelk ("was still lying crumpled on the floor near the bench, just as he had fallen"), the doctor ("Jelk must have died within a few seconds"), Dr. James Berger ("I've had that thing for years—I amuse myself with it in the country, potting at rabbits"), Thomas Broderick ("What a loss!"), the girl clerk ("The porter's not always in the front lobby, and Mr. Broderick could have used the stairs"), and Chief Inspector Bill Cromwell ("Hold him, Johnny! I think he's going to faint!").

Odd word choice:

   "Cromwell—Scotland Yard," jerked Ironsides.

Resources:

- The murder method here puts us in mind of a 1933 novel by Dorothy Sayers.

- When it comes to sheer pulp fiction output Victor Gunn (whose real name was Edwy Searles Brooks), undoubtedly earns the title of Uberpulpster Supreme. According to Wikipedia: "He is believed to have written around 40 million words." And, yes, he's the one who gave us "Norman Conquest," out of necessity, it seems: "The magazines that had published his stories started running into financial trouble in the 1930s, and Brooks started publishing hardcover novels for the adult market in 1938 with the first novel in the Norman Conquest series under pseudonyms. His serialised novels included the Norman Conquest and Ironsides Cromwell stories." (Wikipedia HERE.)

This is not today's sleuth.

- The definitive article about Edwy Searles Brooks is by Norman Wright in the Ephemera Book and Magazine Collector, October 20, 1998 (online HERE; 13 pages).

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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