Will the Real Chester K. Steele Please Stand Up?

THE GOLF COURSE MYSTERY.
By Chester K. Steele.
1919. Reprinted 2008.

If Chester K. Steele never really existed then how could he write at least six mystery novels? The Magic Lamp Press website explains:

Chester K. Steele never existed . . . he was merely a figment of the publisher's imagination.

Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930) was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After graduating high school, he began writing juvenile fiction and created the pen name "Chester K. Steele," to use for books written by several authors hired by his publishing company, the popular Stratemeyer Syndicate.

The Chester K. Steele mysteries were intended for an older audience than the children's books like the Rover Boys and the Bobbsey Twins series Stratemeyer normally published.

Edward wrote many books and stories for young readers using numerous pseudonyms. In 1891, he married Magdalene Baker Van Camp. They had two daughters.

In 1905, he founded the Stratemeyer Literary Syndicate, for which he once again hired numerous writers whom he supplied with characters, plot outlines, and pseudonyms.

'The Mansion of Mystery' is the only book he wrote himself. The other books, including the present one ['The Golf Course Mystery'], were written by members of his publishing syndicate.

In 'The Golf Course Mystery', Harry Bartlett and Gerry Poland are friendly rivals for the hand of Viola Harwell. Unfortunately, Harry's family got the best of Viola's father, the Honorable Horace Harwell, in a business deal. Viola shows no favoritism, but her father is rumored to be distinctly cool toward Harry. The Honorable Horace dies in the middle of a golf match. The cause of death is poison. Was it suicide due to financial reverses? Or was it murder, with Harry as a prime suspect? 

The reluctant detective Colonel Ashley, assisted by his servant Shag, must solve the case. The Colonel would rather be fishing, but murder has a way of interrupting his reading of Walton's 'Compleat Angler'.

Resources:
- A Wikipedia article ("Chester K. Steele")
- Online texts available:
~ THE GOLF COURSE MYSTERY (1919) - HERE
~ THE DIAMOND CROSS MYSTERY (1918) - HERE and HERE
~ THE MANSION OF MYSTERY (1911) - HERE and HERE

Category: Detective fiction