tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22222968023383852672024-03-19T01:47:41.832-07:00OntosMike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.comBlogger1812125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-47684038456403109092024-03-17T11:47:00.000-07:002024-03-17T11:47:00.044-07:00"His Forehead Rested in a Pool of Blood, Surrounded by the Tiny Browning Footprints of the Flies"<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">"I, Gardener."<br />By Allen Kim Lang (born 1928; <i>FictionMags </i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/a/a08.htm">HERE</a>; <i>ISFDb </i><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?12793">HERE</a>; <i>SFE </i><a href="https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/lang_allen_kim">HERE</a>.)<br />First appearance: <i>Fantastic Science Fiction Stories,</i> December 1959.</span></b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zbGdCTuPfzAVbQVnKUD_WcS1_09eJJTgAIJpi6MdQc-XZjniusDgOGQYqPMz_6h5v2NSuyoZ6Wxa4GsTFtkY0RnPn51PdxP8fH5ES8Fuh-2Dlq6N01GcxKSXIhqtpin7ZaQoaydgO6QcxlfhsSrNu1ZL2P7SQJ9OQDRpsC0decWbDKQ3o-khXS2zd6nm/s474/'Fantastic%20Science%20Fiction%20Stories'%20cover,%20December%201959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zbGdCTuPfzAVbQVnKUD_WcS1_09eJJTgAIJpi6MdQc-XZjniusDgOGQYqPMz_6h5v2NSuyoZ6Wxa4GsTFtkY0RnPn51PdxP8fH5ES8Fuh-2Dlq6N01GcxKSXIhqtpin7ZaQoaydgO6QcxlfhsSrNu1ZL2P7SQJ9OQDRpsC0decWbDKQ3o-khXS2zd6nm/s16000/'Fantastic%20Science%20Fiction%20Stories'%20cover,%20December%201959.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Reprinted in <i>Fantastic</i>, April 1969.</span></b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietVvqAwl6PZ3HNcXeak_Hk22rA1bbiLgqgOR59blD_44J84lcuCkNuHQBu5rcv-s3hWY1wUbEFW3QCju5YX51RSavg8W38uwQQTM_yIx6AX5eG2Z1WzHb2SSleaDZprojqELqrwDTCuejA-HIwyRQHW7io6w8GSHNluiu6hl9KxDwym_et-PsBvVZBLK4/s538/'Fantastic'%20cover,%20April%201969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietVvqAwl6PZ3HNcXeak_Hk22rA1bbiLgqgOR59blD_44J84lcuCkNuHQBu5rcv-s3hWY1wUbEFW3QCju5YX51RSavg8W38uwQQTM_yIx6AX5eG2Z1WzHb2SSleaDZprojqELqrwDTCuejA-HIwyRQHW7io6w8GSHNluiu6hl9KxDwym_et-PsBvVZBLK4/s16000/'Fantastic'%20cover,%20April%201969.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short short story (7 pages).<br />Online at <i>SFFAudio</i> (<a href="https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/sffaudio-usa/mp3s/IGardenerByAllenKimLang.pdf">HERE</a>) and <i>The Luminist Archives</i> (<a href="https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/SF/FAN/FAN_1959_12.pdf">HERE</a>; go to text page 89).</span></b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /> <b><span style="font-size: medium;">"<i>'I was imperfect,'</i> he said."</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>It has been noted many times that we often fool ourselves into thinking we exercise mastery not only over nature but also ourselves because of our inventions, which will serve to save us from our own folly. But wasn't it <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla">a genius inventor</a> who cautioned, <i>"You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension"?</i> Because that's just what our narrator is about to experience . . .</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Main characters:</span><br />~ The narrator (unnamed):</i></b><br /><b> "I had flown to Boston to sign Doctor Axel Ozoneff to a contract with my new fall television show, <i>'Point of View'.</i>"</b><br /><b><i>~ Doctor Axel Ozoneff:</i></b><br /><b> ". . . a writer whose byline appeared on the Contents page of a dozen magazines and journals regularly as their copyright notice, and a poet of considerable skill, Dr. Ozoneff </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>was besides something of a television personality."</b><br /><b><i>~ The gardener:</i></b><br /><b> ". . . stared at me as though gauging my sincerity; then he looked for a moment as though his leather face might bend into a smile."</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">References and resources:</span></i><br />- "a cadre of intellectual <i>fuglemen"</i>:<br /> Formerly a military term that has been broadened: <i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"These days it is used for a person who is a staunch advocate, a cheerleader, a publicist, or a mouthpiece." </span></i>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugleman">HERE</a>.)</b><br /><b>- "a mystery figure in <i>a Navaho sand-painting":</i><br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"> <i>"There are 600 to 1,000 different traditional designs for <u>sandpaintings </u>known to the <u>Navajo</u>. They do not view the paintings as static objects, but as spiritual, living beings to be treated with great respect. More than 30 different sandpaintings may be associated with one ceremony."</i></span> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandpainting#Native_American_sandpainting">HERE</a>.)</b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzmnXxew0FK6RFNUAGMkOyEfd7Z8fsIOOubaYbj9DOxeaG1LwnUokTQhWRvW9nCAGCh_yIL3PRJ_LcMr4PPbOQ6f_nmCdn7fZv_dE5p7ZoDtj6x79Tk0O-o1rX-Qnnz27GSlF3tHtKns5CA7grqM6pr4SdmmspOknwYHuuPtzwtu2dRPSG5PSpTEes1Df/s1024/Painting%20-%20Navajo%20sandpainting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="1024" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzmnXxew0FK6RFNUAGMkOyEfd7Z8fsIOOubaYbj9DOxeaG1LwnUokTQhWRvW9nCAGCh_yIL3PRJ_LcMr4PPbOQ6f_nmCdn7fZv_dE5p7ZoDtj6x79Tk0O-o1rX-Qnnz27GSlF3tHtKns5CA7grqM6pr4SdmmspOknwYHuuPtzwtu2dRPSG5PSpTEes1Df/w400-h252/Painting%20-%20Navajo%20sandpainting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>- "the taxi drive from <i>Logan International Airport</i>":</b><br /><b> A very active place: <span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"[<u>Logan </u>is]</span></b><i><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts. It opened in 1923, covers 2,384 acres (965 ha), has six runways and four passenger terminals, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the largest airport in both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the New England region in terms of passenger volume and cargo handling as well as the busiest airport in the Northeastern United States outside the New York metropolitan area. The airport saw 42 million passengers in 2019, the most in its history."</span></span></b></i><b> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_International_Airport">HERE</a>.)</b><br /><b>- "the sting of <i>the lilies'</i> sermon missed me":<br /> A lot of symbolism has been attached to lilies: <span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">"In the Victorian language of flowers, <u>lilies </u>portray love, ardor, and affection for your loved ones, while orange lilies stand for happiness, love, and warmth. Lilies are the flowers most commonly used at funerals, where they symbolically signify that the soul of the deceased has been restored to the state of innocence."</span></i> </span>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilium#In_culture">HERE</a>.) Is the gardener hinting at something sinister with his comments?</b><br /><b>- "why <i>the poet sang</i> his dream of the land where they <i>[lemon-trees]</i> grow":<br /> A reference to <i>"Mignon"</i> by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. (<i>Poetry Nook</i> <a href="https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/mignon">HERE</a>.)</b><br /><b>- <i>"Radioisotopes?"</i>:<br /><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"> "A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, <u>radioisotope </u>or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess numbers of either neutrons or protons, giving it excess nuclear energy, and making it unstable. . . . Unplanned exposure to radionuclides generally has a harmful effect on living organisms including humans, although low levels of exposure occur naturally without harm. The degree of harm will depend on the nature and extent of the radiation produced, the amount and nature of exposure (close contact, inhalation or ingestion), and the biochemical properties of the element; with increased risk of cancer the most usual consequence."</span></i> (<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radionuclide">HERE</a>.)</b><br /><b>- <i>"Squamous epithelium!"</i>:<br /><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"> "<u>Squamous </u>cells have the appearance of thin, flat plates that can look polygonal when viewed from above. Their name comes from squāma, Latin for 'scale' – as on fish or snake skin. The cells fit closely together in tissues, providing a smooth, low-friction surface over which fluids can move easily."</span></i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epithelium">HERE</a>.)</b><br /><b>- "The wall of <i>the First Law</i>":<br /><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span>Supposedly an insuperable prohibition devised by Isaac Asimov: <i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"<u>The First Law</u>: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."</span></i></b> <b>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics">HERE</a>.)</b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiOfA57MI0JvLJNLNtYYHozqc8ACO-UD94Ewhy-W-ZVvVdPv5nLlfsRTnDh1-UTS7gP2rAPBMvMN_PZjoJzICIZG7PBSNsgHjY7bONXFQCJep-EZZslWu25G09heqob1SmtDJzE3WqvXata2FYan58si4UnE3Ry3SqbxojihW8zvmNFzcdRIcRyeVUN3M/s640/SF%20-%20Doctor%20Who%20-%20'The%20Robots%20of%20Death'%20image%201.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiOfA57MI0JvLJNLNtYYHozqc8ACO-UD94Ewhy-W-ZVvVdPv5nLlfsRTnDh1-UTS7gP2rAPBMvMN_PZjoJzICIZG7PBSNsgHjY7bONXFQCJep-EZZslWu25G09heqob1SmtDJzE3WqvXata2FYan58si4UnE3Ry3SqbxojihW8zvmNFzcdRIcRyeVUN3M/w400-h300/SF%20-%20Doctor%20Who%20-%20'The%20Robots%20of%20Death'%20image%201.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>- "mysteries and science-fiction and textbooks and essays":<br /> What person could produce such prodigious works? <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>"A prolific writer, he </i>[Isaac Asimov]<i> wrote or edited more than 500 books. He also wrote an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Best known for his hard science fiction, Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as popular science and other non-fiction."</i></span> </span>(<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov">HERE</a>.)</b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYn0rZqrqzEJhNOTXVQ6Jixag-_jGWiDjqj2ZgS71aoe_L1azP9YVIM36NalFsiTMbTjtMDmBBYMHtQn1XCQtagHJ8Cu-Iq-rdnaVlhdNpfIQrSpBdcQJqNQ-ToaqjA6OsQG2f_kOakAduyuwNTyS1dCDk3B7DSi7ztNeP4ajSsA4jvMyI8KoSmOXu1Kc/s600/Isaac%20Asimov%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="600" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYn0rZqrqzEJhNOTXVQ6Jixag-_jGWiDjqj2ZgS71aoe_L1azP9YVIM36NalFsiTMbTjtMDmBBYMHtQn1XCQtagHJ8Cu-Iq-rdnaVlhdNpfIQrSpBdcQJqNQ-ToaqjA6OsQG2f_kOakAduyuwNTyS1dCDk3B7DSi7ztNeP4ajSsA4jvMyI8KoSmOXu1Kc/w400-h253/Isaac%20Asimov%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>- "I am <i>his creature</i>, sir":</b><br /><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i> "Victor Frankenstein builds the <u>creature </u>over a two-year period in the attic of his boarding house in Ingolstadt after discovering a scientific principle which allows him to create life from non-living matter. Frankenstein is disgusted by his creation, however, and flees from it in horror. Frightened, and unaware of his own identity, the monster wanders through the wilderness. . . . Enraged, the creature feels that humankind is his enemy and begins to hate his creator for abandoning him. However, although he despises Frankenstein, he sets out to find him, believing that he is the only person who will help him."</i></span></b> (<b><i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein%27s_monster">HERE</a>.)</b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqhsft_NCkj96UbXPU7nAsR4fTzpstkLdWWFpJTEFUzTt6eRxJz4e5PT1amxywe6SKUDk6vOCJoHdaZzqoNFNMHO4iZyNCq5Ipe3r3cSkCbiCWLfmVWDCquZbM9VptYL2Hxuv0O7q5FjdLq6VIOluZKi7FhSv6KtOmWED39AIJ_hFF5AMlAcYrqBQB5_v/s800/Frankenstein%20-%20Image%20of%20Frankenstein's%20monster%20(1831).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="800" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqhsft_NCkj96UbXPU7nAsR4fTzpstkLdWWFpJTEFUzTt6eRxJz4e5PT1amxywe6SKUDk6vOCJoHdaZzqoNFNMHO4iZyNCq5Ipe3r3cSkCbiCWLfmVWDCquZbM9VptYL2Hxuv0O7q5FjdLq6VIOluZKi7FhSv6KtOmWED39AIJ_hFF5AMlAcYrqBQB5_v/w400-h319/Frankenstein%20-%20Image%20of%20Frankenstein's%20monster%20(1831).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>- One of the characters in our story easily passes <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nils_John_Nilsson">Nilsson's</a> Employment Test: <i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"A machine performs an economically important job at least as well as humans in the same job."</span></i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_general_intelligence">HERE</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanoid_robot">HERE</a>.)</b><br /><b>- Our latest encounter with Asimov and his Laws concerned his story <i>"Mirror Image"</i> (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2022/04/by-human-values-i-believe-this-may-be.html">HERE</a>).</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</span><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-63365487708256813072024-03-13T11:40:00.000-07:002024-03-16T09:35:36.141-07:00"Three Measly Little Miles!"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Old Fireball."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Kerry Dale No. 1.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Nat Schachner (1895-1955; <i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Schachner">HERE</a>; <i>ISFDb </i><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?467">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Illustrated by Schneeman (1912-72; <i>ISFDb </i><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1826">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYZlkWda8xKmrDA0bkZ6vnhtWDwimWL7hPFMRE3An_GyMRlmI0Z_pDO5bCLqahoqxMEv0ET4bZVL6A2_RRAT0fWzUzYseX-QL70mlJmAYiZWf0cNuXDqCGPoby6UqHXjy2jJ2k9E0Svmpxxfr1EoEVhlQCxqSaYbSXBemG5A6eRLBuBlL_5eTSqWpKhf6/s1074/'Old%20Fireball'%20illo%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="761" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYZlkWda8xKmrDA0bkZ6vnhtWDwimWL7hPFMRE3An_GyMRlmI0Z_pDO5bCLqahoqxMEv0ET4bZVL6A2_RRAT0fWzUzYseX-QL70mlJmAYiZWf0cNuXDqCGPoby6UqHXjy2jJ2k9E0Svmpxxfr1EoEVhlQCxqSaYbSXBemG5A6eRLBuBlL_5eTSqWpKhf6/w453-h640/'Old%20Fireball'%20illo%201.jpg" width="453" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Astounding</i>, June 1941.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSHIUTYemIjyLKi7IRxYJV8lQMihyphenhyphenHNVz8xjJdwXyCOK3LlN3V6rx_uTDTDh6rY0nyQDfitcWZvw4hqZDyCgthS7uf75Lu8GnzRuuglOC5_GBSHnpRKBgaLSJmGZEJ6QYbN8Q2h26tJh9CZGP5L0I-FZFRKC-qWvcF6pkw__8_E4fW-nK7BW0yr-sGqd8/s581/'Astounding%20Science%20Fiction'%20cover,%20June%201941.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSHIUTYemIjyLKi7IRxYJV8lQMihyphenhyphenHNVz8xjJdwXyCOK3LlN3V6rx_uTDTDh6rY0nyQDfitcWZvw4hqZDyCgthS7uf75Lu8GnzRuuglOC5_GBSHnpRKBgaLSJmGZEJ6QYbN8Q2h26tJh9CZGP5L0I-FZFRKC-qWvcF6pkw__8_E4fW-nK7BW0yr-sGqd8/s16000/'Astounding%20Science%20Fiction'%20cover,%20June%201941.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Novelette (27 pages, 2 illos).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78kg-MvQt-7mO2l5VzaEZFs06ZSXo6WV0dC1lkJEDlJcTToU-GhpqXRaf85DN3uSp996FDslikdGvLIugLxrGw7Y4hRvYmRtQeUXfwL5qQlVTk1aNfh4xtpatyv5pjtOajzxuplDBFO_aGxqZ15MH-Vpacmk2XylZsKv4J7GYex_asBAcMJ56ExeHwjCY/s591/'Old%20Fireball'%20illo%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78kg-MvQt-7mO2l5VzaEZFs06ZSXo6WV0dC1lkJEDlJcTToU-GhpqXRaf85DN3uSp996FDslikdGvLIugLxrGw7Y4hRvYmRtQeUXfwL5qQlVTk1aNfh4xtpatyv5pjtOajzxuplDBFO_aGxqZ15MH-Vpacmk2XylZsKv4J7GYex_asBAcMJ56ExeHwjCY/s16000/'Old%20Fireball'%20illo%202.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>The Luminist Archives</i> (<a href="https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/SF/AST/AST_1941_06.pdf">HERE</a>; go to text page 79).</span></b></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">(Note: Text slightly faded.)</span></i></b></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">(Parental caution: Some harsh language.)</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> "As space became less of a thing unknown, and law and order took the place of the old scramble for new worlds, however, codes were established, spheres delimited and space law came into being."</i></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>A contract is a contract, and you're well-advised to read the fine print. A battle of wits and wills erupts between the umbrageous owner of a huge space corporation and a normally smart young lawyer who injudiciously forgets about the fine print and gets himself in a bind. Ultimately the question becomes whether the younger guy will be able to outsmart the corporate magnate <i>before </i>said captain of industry goes toes up . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Main characters (in order of appearance):</i></span></b></div><div><b><i>~ Simeon Kenyon:</i></b></div><div><b> "Old Fireball was his nickname because of his habit of staging explosions on the slightest provocation."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Sally Kenyon:</i></b></div><div><b> "She was mighty easy to look at."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Kerry Dale:</i></b></div><div><b> "It was quite a comedown—from legal light to cargo wrestler. But what the hell! It was a job; and his funds were out."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Roger Horn:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . that smug old fossil."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Jem:</i></b></div><div><b> "He shoved suddenly; and Kerry, off balance, went flying into the hold."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Captain Zachariah Ball of the </i>Flying Meteor<i>:</i></b></div><div><b> <i>"'Put this blasted swab into the brig,'</i> he roared, <i>'without food or water until he's ready to work. And if he bothers me again, I'll make rocket fuel of him'."</i></b></div><div><b><i>~ Jericho Foote:</i></b></div><div><b> "He must of spent a cool hundred thousand on that expedition of his alongside. All he brought back for it was a beautiful chart of that whole sector of space."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Jake Henner:</i></b></div><div><b> "There wasn't anything left tuh bring back tuh bury, so I sorta registered the rock for his sake, me bein' sentimentallike."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Bellamy:</i></b></div><div><b> <i>"'They . . . they wouldn't have met,'</i> Bellamy went on unhappily."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>References and resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- "many and <i>Homeric </i>were the legal <i>tilts </i>and <i>battles"</i>:</b></div><div><b> <i>"Homeric"</i>: A reference to the poet Homer and his magnum opuses, <i>The Iliad</i> and <i>The Odysse</i>y. (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer">HERE</a>.) <i>"tilts"</i>: Contests usually called <i>"jousting."</i> (<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jousting">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "the dangers of <i>the Belt"</i>:</b></div><div><b> Science fiction writers fell in love with the Asteroid Belt a long time ago. (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_belt">HERE </a>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroids_in_fiction">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "the government of <i>Mars"</i>:</b></div><div><b> In those days Mars was a stylized version of the Sahara. (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars">HERE </a>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_in_fiction">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- <i>"Ceres, Pallas, Vesta</i>, and <i>Juno"</i>:</b></div><div><b> Not nearly as hospitable as many SFF authors have imagined: <i>Ceres </i>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_(dwarf_planet)">HERE</a>), <i>Pallas </i>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Pallas">HERE</a>), <i>Vesta </i>(<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_Vesta">HERE</a>), and <i>Juno </i>(<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_Juno">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><b>- "the web-footed natives of <i>Venus"</i>:</b></div><div><b> Our author adopts the swampy version of the mysterious planet. (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus">HERE </a>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_in_fiction">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "the <i>Ganymedan </i>hoosegow":</b></div><div><b> So far the biggest known moon in the Solar System. (<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganymede_(moon)">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "not far from <i>Jupiter</i> itself":</b></div><div><b> Some wag has said that the Solar System consists of the Sun, the planet Jupiter, and a bunch of debris; over 1,300 Earths could fit inside Jupiter. (<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter">HERE </a>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_in_fiction">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "the first <i>gold stampedes</i> on Earth to California and the Klondike":</b></div><div><b> It's reasonable to assume that gold fever will move out into space when humans do. (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_rush">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "he formed <i>holding companies"</i>:</b></div><div><i><b> "A <u>holding company</u> is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own stock of other companies to form a corporate group.</b></i>"<b> (<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holding_company">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "the law of <i>inertia"</i>:</b></div><div><b> In our story Kerry Dale puts a lot of faith in inertia. (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertia">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "a little space <i>knockabout</i> with a cruising range to the Moon":</b></div><div><b> An extrapolation from maritime usage: <i>"a small yacht or dinghy."</i></b></div><div><b>- "a still-unexplored <i>Saturn"</i>:</b></div><div><b> And still the most spectacular of the Outer Planets; some would say it's the prettiest one in the System. (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "The new <i>atom-smashers</i> that powered the world's work":</b></div><div><b> An optimistic expectation. (<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_accelerator">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "the <i>elements of its orbit"</i>:</b></div><div><b><i> "Evolution of the <u>orbital elements</u> takes place due to the gravitational pull of bodies other than the primary, the nonsphericity of the primary, atmospheric drag, relativistic effects, radiation pressure, electromagnetic forces, and so on."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_elements">HERE</a>.) It's that <i>"and so on"</i> that has Kerry worried.</b></div><div><b>- "do something, do anything, to <i>shift that infernal bit of rock</i> away":</b></div><div><b> Moving space mountains around can have dire consequences. (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_impact_avoidance">HERE </a>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_impact_prediction">HERE</a>; see especially <i>"Deflection technology concerns."</i>)</b></div><div><b>- About the significance of <i>Simeon Kenton's</i> first name, see (<a href="https://www.gotquestions.org/Simeon-in-the-Bible.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><b>- "I got me <i>a fine</i>, too":</b></div><div><b> In some jurisdictions it's common practice. (<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_enforcement_camera">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- The premise of possibly getting hit by a big space rock became the story starter for two 1960s TV series episodes: (WARNING! SPOILERS! <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradise_Syndrome">HERE</a>) and (WARNING! SPOILERS! <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_World_Is_Hollow_and_I_Have_Touched_the_Sky">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71SG6foVXIW-6S2ALxPDCCMAyS0tDmqeDVMvJdtGBoLjSqXVFAsoB-9TFy0-8qhrQ8Gl84H5gKGe-_iA72zA-FTo7f6wjzgB2M_tF6Pt3nJaO7daL-J1lYxpMIRg1ezrnXSYGrHEjrZyJpyKx0sziey_awV447Z7RQjbJ0W6O5QPdM1bykR4qRPnx0-dG/s700/'Star%20Trek'%20-%20'The%20Paradise%20Syndrome'%20-%20Enterprise%20and%20asteroid.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="700" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71SG6foVXIW-6S2ALxPDCCMAyS0tDmqeDVMvJdtGBoLjSqXVFAsoB-9TFy0-8qhrQ8Gl84H5gKGe-_iA72zA-FTo7f6wjzgB2M_tF6Pt3nJaO7daL-J1lYxpMIRg1ezrnXSYGrHEjrZyJpyKx0sziey_awV447Z7RQjbJ0W6O5QPdM1bykR4qRPnx0-dG/w400-h303/'Star%20Trek'%20-%20'The%20Paradise%20Syndrome'%20-%20Enterprise%20and%20asteroid.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Previous story:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- There were only two novelettes in this series: No. 1, <i>"Old Fireball"</i> (<i>above</i>) and No. 2, <i>"Jurisdiction"</i> (<i>ONTOS </i><a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-perry-mason-of-final-frontier.html">HERE</a>), later combined in a fix-up novel. Since <i>"Jurisdiction"</i> </b></div><div><b>heavily references events in <i>"Old Fireball,"</i> we recommend that you read <i>"Old Fireball</i>" </b></div><div><b>first.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</b></span></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-64782823995914551322024-03-11T10:44:00.000-07:002024-03-11T10:44:01.123-07:00"You Value Your Job, Boy, Don't You Do Any Detecting"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>THE other day we featured a story by a prolific but relatively obscure pulpster. Today we're highlighting what looks like his last published story, this one entitled . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Manners with Murder."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Richard Howells Watkins (1895-1980; <i>FictionMags</i>, 2 pages <a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/a/a08.htm">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Bestseller Mystery Magazine</i>, May 1959.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibqYzbEP4LSqrRhM59uhAI-STUr7it1zkiAMt0UoClkI-5DWxgK3kLuV1DfEdRkEf8Qzgj54I0nkRdUtYa3gRcDzlO0qX_sI0pUiBhjIjWusTZ0PCqjmB1M3TIWfsH8gIr1QT5KjRXoZiL5NrgjjklhdVRRnk0akMbWASOfJkmlGLAoU6ESKVrXV8KTi1S/s572/'Bestseller%20Mystery%20Magazine'%20cover,%20May%201959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibqYzbEP4LSqrRhM59uhAI-STUr7it1zkiAMt0UoClkI-5DWxgK3kLuV1DfEdRkEf8Qzgj54I0nkRdUtYa3gRcDzlO0qX_sI0pUiBhjIjWusTZ0PCqjmB1M3TIWfsH8gIr1QT5KjRXoZiL5NrgjjklhdVRRnk0akMbWASOfJkmlGLAoU6ESKVrXV8KTi1S/s16000/'Bestseller%20Mystery%20Magazine'%20cover,%20May%201959.jpg" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Short story (9 pages).</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online at <i>The Luminist Archives</i> (<a href="https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/PU/BSM_1959_05.pdf">HERE</a>; go to text page 100.)</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> "Sam looked down. It was the first time he had been introduced to a corpse."</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>She killed him. All the evidence says she did it. Even <i>she </i>says she did it. Case closed. But a smart sheriff's deputy isn't convinced; against his boss's orders he'll have to do some fancy <i>"detecting"</i> to prove otherwise . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Principal characters:</i></span></b></div><div><b><i>~ Cliff Raven:</i></b></div><div><b> "His lean, courtly features made him look as if he belonged in these elegant surroundings, though the front of his head struck a sour note."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Clare Barrett:</i></b></div><div><b> "I did kill him, of course."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Deputy Sheriff Sam Robbins:</i></b></div><div><b> "What I mean, ma'am—<i>don't </i>talk. You need a lawyer, right fast."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Sheriff Ben Dunn:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . uttered a moan. With Ben, a bird in his cage was always worth two in the bush."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Hector Friend:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . a shrivelled, clever little man with large hands . . ."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Gabby Gelch:</i></b></div><div><b> "You'll never get away with this!"</b></div><div><b><i>~ Ginny Wilding:</i></b></div><div><b> "Ginny's alibi wouldn't crack."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>References and resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- "<i>Cape Canaveral</i>, far up there to northward":</b></div><div><b> At the time of our story, the Space Race was getting started, and that part of Florida was just beginning to swarm with Yankees; see <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><b>- "plainly was no <i>Sarah Bernhardt</i>":</b></div><div><b> Her name became synonymous with the acting profession; see <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Bernhardt">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmged0t1QOZA-pApDhWNiQqz5WGWv5zx4A4vEuv5kUXOiF4wf4J_EJjseZqIwJaBjbt_69cKl1Ltajd7MsuWVX4DZATPs5SREmxhTQCeflHZCzPbruvOPU8clKDIxpBG3ylu_-UbZj1zKeFySnp0ozjJ4aO_pd26MbYL25XxcFvapy_vaRJa8kUjwYJYSG/s1200/Painting%20-%20Sarah%20Bernhardt%20as%20Mary%20Magdalene,%20painting%20by%20Alfred%20Stevens%20(1887).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmged0t1QOZA-pApDhWNiQqz5WGWv5zx4A4vEuv5kUXOiF4wf4J_EJjseZqIwJaBjbt_69cKl1Ltajd7MsuWVX4DZATPs5SREmxhTQCeflHZCzPbruvOPU8clKDIxpBG3ylu_-UbZj1zKeFySnp0ozjJ4aO_pd26MbYL25XxcFvapy_vaRJa8kUjwYJYSG/w427-h640/Painting%20-%20Sarah%20Bernhardt%20as%20Mary%20Magdalene,%20painting%20by%20Alfred%20Stevens%20(1887).JPG" width="427" /></a></div><div><b>- Our previous meeting with <i>Deputy</i> <i>Sam Robbins</i> and <i>Sheriff Ben Dunn</i> was (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2024/03/we-got-open-shut-case-against-him.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</b></span></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-12319402664567927252024-03-09T10:15:00.000-08:002024-03-10T13:48:23.592-07:00"We Got an Open an' Shut Case Against Him"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"The Monkey Wrench Murder."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Richard Howells Watkins (1895-1980; <i>FictionMags</i>, 2 pages <a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/a/a08.htm">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgDeNB305nNfiTLz2f5PhXszoNRmm0yH1CxZRHmm-spSznPaNJfoezLcZue54GnayVUnU9ZQBiHQpUSEsNHalyhsZPb1uLbOIrTIPOk0YDx-92nD2yhUeguFbI7Y_aheK81F29KNdBgrBGHqqsQTllitorstcNglTeNpuZvYRE0Nc5yzx0cqH92aYdMei/s880/'The%20Monkey%20Wrench%20Murder'%20headnote.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="880" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgDeNB305nNfiTLz2f5PhXszoNRmm0yH1CxZRHmm-spSznPaNJfoezLcZue54GnayVUnU9ZQBiHQpUSEsNHalyhsZPb1uLbOIrTIPOk0YDx-92nD2yhUeguFbI7Y_aheK81F29KNdBgrBGHqqsQTllitorstcNglTeNpuZvYRE0Nc5yzx0cqH92aYdMei/w400-h134/'The%20Monkey%20Wrench%20Murder'%20headnote.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Esquire</i>, August 1944.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubf8L2Ur6_uyOYwcadCbINjNb8KClJNdvMeevdaMhwrTSLoYUhfBQdFOuvwtfEM9Qu9pZa6MIfAugCmxNWeTAt79L2uPwP2sMucBzdb9yavd72Zmoxy0NgVTh3-E14_w9nU9P18JPYMxZ7cLiw1A34ClDUxJm5ftVvs7H5IUFWNNxSQ8ApmpIVxql5MuD/s669/'Esquire'%20magazine%20cover,%20August%201944.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubf8L2Ur6_uyOYwcadCbINjNb8KClJNdvMeevdaMhwrTSLoYUhfBQdFOuvwtfEM9Qu9pZa6MIfAugCmxNWeTAt79L2uPwP2sMucBzdb9yavd72Zmoxy0NgVTh3-E14_w9nU9P18JPYMxZ7cLiw1A34ClDUxJm5ftVvs7H5IUFWNNxSQ8ApmpIVxql5MuD/s16000/'Esquire'%20magazine%20cover,%20August%201944.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short short short story (5 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>Archive.org</i> starting (<a href="https://archive.org/details/Esquire-Magazine-1944-08/page/n13/mode/2up?view=theater">HERE</a>; text pages 28-29) and finishing (<a href="https://archive.org/details/Esquire-Magazine-1944-08/page/n63/mode/2up?view=theater">HERE</a>; text pages 134-136).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> "The wrench had Chris's name burned on the handle."</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>For a chubby guy, our prime suspect in the murder of a sightseeing boat owner can be </b></div><div><b>very slippery indeed. An ill-advised phone call, though, could signal the end of his few </b></div><div><b>brief moments of freedom—<i>and </i>his life . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Main characters:</span></i></b></div><div><b><i>~ Fred Pieta:</i></b></div><div><b> "Paul Novack's body had been found by Fred Pieta, Cuban deck hand and helmsman for Novack."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Matt Bond:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . the boatyard owner, had helped Sheriff Ben Dunn in dragging around the Seminole for clues."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Deputy Sam Robbins:</i></b></div><div><b> "I was hoping Ben Dunn might take me on again."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Mary Tucker:</i></b></div><div><b> <i>"'There's been a murder.'</i> Her words poured out. <i>'How can they think </i><u>Chris </u><i>killed a man, Sam?'"</i></b></div><div><i><b>~ Sheriff Ben Dunn:</b></i></div><div><b> "Don't start that on me. Let the judge worry. You go get him. No funny business."</b></div><div><i><b>~ Deputy Tom Chester:</b></i></div><div><b> ". . . frowned. <i>'I'd take escaping right unkindly,'</i> he warned and touched his .38."</b></div><div><i><b>~ Chris Aeland:</b></i></div><div><b> ". . . didn't look poured into his pants and shirt; he looked as if his clothes had been shrunk onto him by some new process."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- <i>FictionMags's </i>thumbnail about <i>Richard Howells Watkins</i>: <i>"Journalist, originally from New York; also wrote mystery novels. Lived in Riverside, Connecticut."</i> Howells's short story writing career started in a 1919 issue of <i>Detective Story Magazine </i>and ran all the way to 1959. In addition to Sam Robbins and the sheriff's department of Colusa County, his other series characters were Outrageous O'Smith (<i>Argosy</i>, 1933-34), Silver Skull (<i>DFW</i>, 1933-34), and Patrolman Pete Slocum (<i>DFW</i>, 1934).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsdOdg7DMUslSww5jl-NWrFWKtvmbe6BnTvjxFSmwj6zvZqnOej77TgYzNMWkzpLJaOUO2g1xUNsMl88y4p8-E5IAvpBlS_013_dj-K55GLpxCLxn4azVyy_komwGt7KUVFIaOzHARn4jD499ZhzIYdrfqDWc-g1o10dXmw_bEiM3xe1-GIEdWJWFJ-og/s400/'The%20Air%20Murders'%20(1929)%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="274" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsdOdg7DMUslSww5jl-NWrFWKtvmbe6BnTvjxFSmwj6zvZqnOej77TgYzNMWkzpLJaOUO2g1xUNsMl88y4p8-E5IAvpBlS_013_dj-K55GLpxCLxn4azVyy_komwGt7KUVFIaOzHARn4jD499ZhzIYdrfqDWc-g1o10dXmw_bEiM3xe1-GIEdWJWFJ-og/w438-h640/'The%20Air%20Murders'%20(1929)%20cover.jpg" width="438" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7CoKT2L25LJ5vzkJyUd6n2XgenH-CaPHIkoqUNwq9muSeS28lQ_kupOFfwgUhfq_pd1YWp1252TfwwBjsIhvDA1rkaBuihAWVa5mLmU88HhbES6I62-B-StVLZ1G9rygslIfjs6jKgu_1-hhqU_MQjnLi7gG_5ppaaePwVwUMJ7GNByMnWF_ibIpYFfL/s569/'Half%20a%20Clue'%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="393" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7CoKT2L25LJ5vzkJyUd6n2XgenH-CaPHIkoqUNwq9muSeS28lQ_kupOFfwgUhfq_pd1YWp1252TfwwBjsIhvDA1rkaBuihAWVa5mLmU88HhbES6I62-B-StVLZ1G9rygslIfjs6jKgu_1-hhqU_MQjnLi7gG_5ppaaePwVwUMJ7GNByMnWF_ibIpYFfL/w442-h640/'Half%20a%20Clue'%20cover.jpg" width="442" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4D6UPI9qkLWUIgWv8hRvySnlYOwgxW1x0fLGbK5Brftpd14Ra4qCrtkLLdCLAuG3g_toBi5i_jhqjDxn6gWkXWgxvKZJ8I6EVzLkXN0KeExv0Evt0sreVkZUkuRjgFeaqmXhUqaTR9n3Bv3byo5rC47bDuq0ZjP_fisSqXZThUpXDW7bsdkGMaKNcKctC/s1894/'The%20Master%20of%20Revels'%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1894" data-original-width="1316" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4D6UPI9qkLWUIgWv8hRvySnlYOwgxW1x0fLGbK5Brftpd14Ra4qCrtkLLdCLAuG3g_toBi5i_jhqjDxn6gWkXWgxvKZJ8I6EVzLkXN0KeExv0Evt0sreVkZUkuRjgFeaqmXhUqaTR9n3Bv3byo5rC47bDuq0ZjP_fisSqXZThUpXDW7bsdkGMaKNcKctC/w445-h640/'The%20Master%20of%20Revels'%20cover.jpg" width="445" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm"><i>The FictionMags Index</i> </a>created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</b></span></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-36682136935418087962024-03-07T09:53:00.000-08:002024-03-07T09:53:54.615-08:00UPDATE: Joe Haldeman's THE FOREVER WAR<div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Added <i>The Luminist Archives Analog</i> and <i>Amazing Stories</i> links (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2015/06/reprogrammed-to-be-killing-machine.html">HERE</a>) to these segments of the story:</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> - "Hero"</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> - "We Are Very Happy Here"</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> - "The Best of All Possible Worlds"</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> - "End Game"</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> - "You Can Never Go Back."</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjq07xW8f0BpkKkjJHbKX6DtCnukk_MFyhX-3tKAP32y5_PSyhizy_j63uOlsvCUcCpBdUQUzw5MInthTYFl1Yp3NoIbRkpNI9SeMdwVP60SELOcEkKiV7AV79KWIAQAbCzHQ_m_FeFuTrds8g3RRIsFemzIURNduVlJE3ffCvYlgemmjM7zkh3u1tIQySI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjq07xW8f0BpkKkjJHbKX6DtCnukk_MFyhX-3tKAP32y5_PSyhizy_j63uOlsvCUcCpBdUQUzw5MInthTYFl1Yp3NoIbRkpNI9SeMdwVP60SELOcEkKiV7AV79KWIAQAbCzHQ_m_FeFuTrds8g3RRIsFemzIURNduVlJE3ffCvYlgemmjM7zkh3u1tIQySI=s16000" /></a></div></b></span></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-90880196910709116702024-03-06T10:58:00.000-08:002024-03-06T12:51:54.680-08:00"This Was the Most Thorough Search in the Long and Honorable History of Spy-Catching"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>AS AMAZING as it may seem, there actually <i>is </i>a solution to the problem of . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"The Little Spy."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Puzzle Club No. 1.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Ellery Queen (1905-71 and 1905-82; <i>FictionMags</i>, 4 pages <a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/a/a08.htm">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Cavalier</i>, January 1965.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGOt3T25_S2LFVg-VMtg5pexnKxqrrhLIXHWy-wo94nv4cNRHpBdReKk7cP1RDjFTOe-38QlD5fN6i1dyODCJp0SpY-027R-DIsEln4IPQDJv1h031S169ClXbNslzP2N7aTMf7dzqBhlQ9lkWEFEJGH5_iiiUJ2wYOe5382JsW9td9j4iCvxZhnQP9Hc/s522/'Cavalier'%20cover,%20January%201965.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGOt3T25_S2LFVg-VMtg5pexnKxqrrhLIXHWy-wo94nv4cNRHpBdReKk7cP1RDjFTOe-38QlD5fN6i1dyODCJp0SpY-027R-DIsEln4IPQDJv1h031S169ClXbNslzP2N7aTMf7dzqBhlQ9lkWEFEJGH5_iiiUJ2wYOe5382JsW9td9j4iCvxZhnQP9Hc/s16000/'Cavalier'%20cover,%20January%201965.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Reprinted in <i>Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine</i> <i>(EQMM)</i>, September 1966; <i>Ellery Queen’s Anthology #33</i>, Spring/Summer 1977; and <i>Murder in Mind </i>(1967).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBeBlgthEKn4yJDP9sK0USzh1vRARKWodCtbO1v0yGPuJybiAI6Bf3zUK9AlPkldMuaTtrnuQjrCpGRCR2DoIhIEduaub7IaeyzhVnUUNPnGGnXuR0P_tQs5KEGt5N0E_iDN60HnpveRPyYXVqyjINf7RJgyJ6rDkuEelsbE6Zi3x-5nVJjCBQoWL34Ib4/s566/'EQMM'%20cover,%20September%201966.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBeBlgthEKn4yJDP9sK0USzh1vRARKWodCtbO1v0yGPuJybiAI6Bf3zUK9AlPkldMuaTtrnuQjrCpGRCR2DoIhIEduaub7IaeyzhVnUUNPnGGnXuR0P_tQs5KEGt5N0E_iDN60HnpveRPyYXVqyjINf7RJgyJ6rDkuEelsbE6Zi3x-5nVJjCBQoWL34Ib4/s16000/'EQMM'%20cover,%20September%201966.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSzrAhcr993TnkUhoW6duTTby4mPOSayhNGfkMKOJB8dzx_ll8no5EoljI5_uhzcMO-A43kXfjcuZdM55zN2cMQqGjNPrlt3oNnfE0hSDjwMBGIU9TWV6TNJfm_BwNcz6pV5nIPOgoDFc011xCSossonkhqrGOLpujTHj91Xap4C6MQcZlTnMEnE_km36P/s567/'Ellery%20Queen's%20Anthology%20%2333'%20cover,%20Spring-Summer%201977.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSzrAhcr993TnkUhoW6duTTby4mPOSayhNGfkMKOJB8dzx_ll8no5EoljI5_uhzcMO-A43kXfjcuZdM55zN2cMQqGjNPrlt3oNnfE0hSDjwMBGIU9TWV6TNJfm_BwNcz6pV5nIPOgoDFc011xCSossonkhqrGOLpujTHj91Xap4C6MQcZlTnMEnE_km36P/s16000/'Ellery%20Queen's%20Anthology%20%2333'%20cover,%20Spring-Summer%201977.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short short story (8 pages in text).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__Sm4hGhO6CuWIW3AgCJJkgi1d4myzc7niB_OGmu09bz1JcoRa63LizNMom0gOKME5AT84UeWPRra61WNjyjI2lHypKVSR1nlGyeIp4s_BCLgwA9FS0TDfZitDnDfuIMPUIsuwR-zGxXF__U03qzODujlFbMaSeXlN2F8YF-wQfr5kMW17Xd9WZlSRkhr/s1500/'Murder%20in%20Mind'%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1004" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__Sm4hGhO6CuWIW3AgCJJkgi1d4myzc7niB_OGmu09bz1JcoRa63LizNMom0gOKME5AT84UeWPRra61WNjyjI2lHypKVSR1nlGyeIp4s_BCLgwA9FS0TDfZitDnDfuIMPUIsuwR-zGxXF__U03qzODujlFbMaSeXlN2F8YF-wQfr5kMW17Xd9WZlSRkhr/w428-h640/'Murder%20in%20Mind'%20cover.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>The Luminist Archives</i> (<a href="https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/EB/T/Treat_ed%20-%20Murder%20in%20Mind.pdf">HERE</a>; go to text page 213).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i> "Ellery was pulling on his nose, a sure sign of deep cerebration."</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Usually <i>Ellery Queen</i> (the editor) throws a "CHALLENGE TO THE READER" with an expectation that the solution won't be easy, assuming you even arrive at one. In </b><b>today's </b></div><div><b>story, though, the <i>sabot </i>is on the other <i>pied</i> as <i>Ellery Queen</i> (the detective) </b><b>is himself </b></div><div><b>challenged to solve the problem of how a spy under the greatest scrutiny imaginable </b></div><div><b>could ever hope to smuggle secret war plans to the enemy . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Principal characters:</b></span></i></div><div><i><b>~ Ellery Queen (the detective):</b></i></div><div><b> ". . . Wednesday evening found him, at 7:30 to the tick, pushing the bell of a penthouse foyer in the nobbiest reaches of Park Avenue."</b></div><div><i><b>~ Syres:</b></i></div><div><b> ". . . one of the ten wealthiest men in the United States."</b></div><div><i><b>~ Darnell:</b></i></div><div><b> ". . . who was being mentioned frequently these days for the next opening on the Supreme Court."</b></div><div><i><b>~ Dr. Vreeland:</b></i></div><div><b> "Other people meet regularly to play bridge. We meet to mystify each other . . ."</b></div><div><i><b>~ Emmy Wandermere:</b></i></div><div><b> ". . . a wisp of a woman with shocking blue eyes and the handclasp of a man."</b></div><div><i><b>~ Dr. Arkavy:</b></i></div><div><b> ". . . the Nobel Prize winning biochemist . . ."</b></div><div><i><b>~ J. Aubrey Tarleton:</b></i></div><div><b> "A spic-and-span, courtly old gentleman out of a long-dead age."</b></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>References and resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- "a living room vast enough for a <i>hidalgo's </i>rancho":</b></div><div><b><i> "In literature the <u>hidalgo </u>is usually portrayed as a noble who has lost nearly all of his family's wealth but still held on to the privileges and honours of the nobility. The prototypical fictional hidalgo is Don Quixote, who was given the sobriquet 'the Ingenious Hidalgo' by his creator, Miguel de Cervantes."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidalgo_(nobility)">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBGjNtQyR6dv_9BmQK1GAvths6RW4U_mPb9fdRR4XtAxF7lE25X0yng5X7aZEb_Vra88xmSs1yHrMG-fhZ4mj7ZlJjnNMSeohHjvANXhbGvcfxTo_E6qZ3J4b7KPbRYvH6tVAv3NUnGF6hxlHHPy-TA2P8645XIWndydoRg92UmUYxjOUDzlUJ4957mBBO/s1280/Hidalgo's%20rancho.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBGjNtQyR6dv_9BmQK1GAvths6RW4U_mPb9fdRR4XtAxF7lE25X0yng5X7aZEb_Vra88xmSs1yHrMG-fhZ4mj7ZlJjnNMSeohHjvANXhbGvcfxTo_E6qZ3J4b7KPbRYvH6tVAv3NUnGF6hxlHHPy-TA2P8645XIWndydoRg92UmUYxjOUDzlUJ4957mBBO/w400-h225/Hidalgo's%20rancho.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "any other association in <i>gamesmanship</i>":</b></div><div><b><i> "<u>Gamesmanship </u>is the use of dubious (although not technically illegal) methods to win or gain a serious advantage in a game or sport. It has been described as 'Pushing the rules to the limit without getting caught, using whatever dubious methods possible to achieve the desired end'. It may be inferred that the term derives from the idea of playing for the game (i.e., to win at any cost) as opposed to sportsmanship, which derives from the idea of playing for sport."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamesmanship">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYsg9oqr5R9ryBVlduy9BtEzc1khT2epVmBdCG1IROyje6cwBOi9QieN3impppN-leLvUpSoOeYpRhyMXNDa48J3W9_emH305_TYHwI2JMqcHKQJaarHmyuBQIhvWIUOCHAogMgZv7V2zDmazWiL8smHe6UHZD1W3i8zp1jx-1ayQj5m4Wn4aMTiTXCkV/s1181/Gamesmanship%20poster.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="1181" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYsg9oqr5R9ryBVlduy9BtEzc1khT2epVmBdCG1IROyje6cwBOi9QieN3impppN-leLvUpSoOeYpRhyMXNDa48J3W9_emH305_TYHwI2JMqcHKQJaarHmyuBQIhvWIUOCHAogMgZv7V2zDmazWiL8smHe6UHZD1W3i8zp1jx-1ayQj5m4Wn4aMTiTXCkV/w400-h148/Gamesmanship%20poster.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "to do his bit for <i>Uncle Sam</i>":</b></div><div><b><i> "<u>Uncle Sam</u> (which has the same initials as <u>U</u>nited <u>S</u>tates) is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of the U.S. government in American culture and a manifestation of patriotic emotion."</i> (<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Sam">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "an ex-<i>civil servant</i>":</b></div><div><b><i> "In the United States, the federal <u>civil service</u> was established in 1871. The Civil Service is defined as 'all appointive positions in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the Government of the United States, except positions in the uniformed services.' (5 U.S.C. § 2101). In the early 19th century, government jobs were held at the pleasure of the president—a person could be fired at any time. The spoils system meant that jobs were used to support the political parties. This was changed in slow stages by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 and subsequent laws. By 1909, almost two-thirds of the U.S. federal work force was appointed based on merit, that is, qualifications measured by tests."</i> (<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_service">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3ZUr0PAVBwD2x0ZPeZNFaaknDKfJ5ct8OUQg-StM6p8FIAu6v5yURlnb3oo7OlrxCE4MHDKcYpWMEBVZjT3tSk3FaCGZSAUtv01Q0wfugUqQqnwpbLAvWNFh4RlZIkHR9HDlMJL5_j3uhAVoFDNWX1g-i3oGMjYAsJSuq_CtoifxuHb01hThrzR1kg43/s1024/'Yes,%20Prime%20Minister'%20posed%20cast%20shot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3ZUr0PAVBwD2x0ZPeZNFaaknDKfJ5ct8OUQg-StM6p8FIAu6v5yURlnb3oo7OlrxCE4MHDKcYpWMEBVZjT3tSk3FaCGZSAUtv01Q0wfugUqQqnwpbLAvWNFh4RlZIkHR9HDlMJL5_j3uhAVoFDNWX1g-i3oGMjYAsJSuq_CtoifxuHb01hThrzR1kg43/w400-h240/'Yes,%20Prime%20Minister'%20posed%20cast%20shot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "a <i>Colonel Blimp</i> mustache":</b></div><div><b><i> "<u>Colonel Blimp</u> is a British cartoon character by cartoonist David Low, first drawn for Lord Beaverbrook's London Evening Standard in April 1934. Blimp is pompous, irascible, jingoistic, and stereotypically British, identifiable by his walrus moustache and the interjection 'Gad, Sir!'."</i> (<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Blimp">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1AHgEhyphenhyphenGJu5LJlDtelqElRDVJbfCNd_yXmJbYRkuViXP4QgRpazHTSAYQNhe1PouFDqsipydvsmV9WoVGESuv33esviNDQHaZQFUqfXrTuv6UpEB-vtDFEdznkdWEU840U_1KRBZ8xeLAreJPRVWrXBJUPy2XIWukGveFjH26xTEweIjakEVg32wPF2hN/s1477/'Colonel%20Blimp'%20screenshot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1477" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1AHgEhyphenhyphenGJu5LJlDtelqElRDVJbfCNd_yXmJbYRkuViXP4QgRpazHTSAYQNhe1PouFDqsipydvsmV9WoVGESuv33esviNDQHaZQFUqfXrTuv6UpEB-vtDFEdznkdWEU840U_1KRBZ8xeLAreJPRVWrXBJUPy2XIWukGveFjH26xTEweIjakEVg32wPF2hN/w400-h293/'Colonel%20Blimp'%20screenshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "his collection of eighteenth century <i>miniatures </i>by <i>Richard Cosway</i> and <i>Ozias Humphry</i>":</b></div><div><i><b> "<u>Miniature art</u> includes paintings, engravings and sculptures that are very small; it has a long history that dates back to prehistory. The portrait miniature is the most common form in recent centuries, and from ancient times, engraved gems, often used as impression seals, and cylinder seals in various materials were very important."</b></i> <b>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_art">HERE</a>.) </b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyq-kx4cA8tCqwX0V6SlChqFXz5eTFR1Ual8-uXZrK5CE3l8PMT_-0kfui7rWZ484kOJ0_oTjoCnA_issuOw-RQOEj2m-YelshE-lSeP0T6xmpWP01PD3IUuS2C8tt7zwnw4TakQ7BNwpKKzjFBkvjze7FQPpnpLgIsXKYqmNwWLdN_3y4xjmEfiBnmQp/s1024/Miniature%20art.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="799" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyq-kx4cA8tCqwX0V6SlChqFXz5eTFR1Ual8-uXZrK5CE3l8PMT_-0kfui7rWZ484kOJ0_oTjoCnA_issuOw-RQOEj2m-YelshE-lSeP0T6xmpWP01PD3IUuS2C8tt7zwnw4TakQ7BNwpKKzjFBkvjze7FQPpnpLgIsXKYqmNwWLdN_3y4xjmEfiBnmQp/w312-h400/Miniature%20art.jpg" width="312" /></a></div></div><div><i><b> "<u>Richard Cosway</u> RA (1742–1821) was a leading English portrait painter of the Georgian and Regency era, noted for his miniatures."</b></i> <b>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Cosway">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eQ1X0hSA8ohiqBLFY_RP1hXmEnBLLQHPPfZMusHp0dC6LOLwZERyhlZgd7mOhHDAKU7_z-liN_NwNXwGw9qsVsYUZZvJVv1HhYt0w4RK9w_wCcTU4bJYnesBFzbUqdmKlVoj3_X8ztNlMI7-YcWT-1JMJZfWrn1sv2yw_LI7wnRP7i3CWnPraPdnW3Kg/s833/Richard%20Cosway%20-%20Self-portrait.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eQ1X0hSA8ohiqBLFY_RP1hXmEnBLLQHPPfZMusHp0dC6LOLwZERyhlZgd7mOhHDAKU7_z-liN_NwNXwGw9qsVsYUZZvJVv1HhYt0w4RK9w_wCcTU4bJYnesBFzbUqdmKlVoj3_X8ztNlMI7-YcWT-1JMJZfWrn1sv2yw_LI7wnRP7i3CWnPraPdnW3Kg/w384-h400/Richard%20Cosway%20-%20Self-portrait.jpg" width="384" /></a></div><div><i><b> "<u>Ozias Humphry</u> (or Humphrey) RA (1742–1810) was a leading English painter of portrait miniatures, later oils and pastels, of the 18th century."</b></i> <b>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozias_Humphry">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctYphDGihroC_eieU76RnniXO2vrWZfHZtTo5QxFVxPg0sPQTMNrvLUGB1Btq2LVRoBshM46w9FHPpl8anhmnz6utVucR2L4ERQCfwuY0M8pjx806xLhvmESoR7PDOxf7VcFp23cJsIAtw5eMXdJu1_fQPzD_jJ7AMQZKCmXQIImM8CoRNBTbn_NkM_wN/s939/Ozias%20Humphry%20-%20Portrait%20by%20Gilbert%20Stuart.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctYphDGihroC_eieU76RnniXO2vrWZfHZtTo5QxFVxPg0sPQTMNrvLUGB1Btq2LVRoBshM46w9FHPpl8anhmnz6utVucR2L4ERQCfwuY0M8pjx806xLhvmESoR7PDOxf7VcFp23cJsIAtw5eMXdJu1_fQPzD_jJ7AMQZKCmXQIImM8CoRNBTbn_NkM_wN/w341-h400/Ozias%20Humphry%20-%20Portrait%20by%20Gilbert%20Stuart.jpg" width="341" /></a></div><div><b>- "shortly before <i>D-Day</i>":</b></div><div><b> About twenty years before our story:<i> "The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as <u>D-Day</u>, it is the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France, and the rest of Western Europe, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileR5YDNbCj9kyuO7xrCvRgYCkttSvlej7vDyaeaQjlAx21MMvDLPoyRzs5ZgbAwHcOcH6oW29iWTMpH2j5yjECvtAGzxReHNsHvyivXBvxdvKrDCcfqM0wTanExfcw0YTg-vufh9V0VeRiHWrz5YUAUZGJyrn4p4Rgq9VH9EottwDBWJjiXoj73YgsPRt/s800/World%20War%20II%20-%20D-Day%20invasion%20of%20Omaha%20Beach.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="800" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileR5YDNbCj9kyuO7xrCvRgYCkttSvlej7vDyaeaQjlAx21MMvDLPoyRzs5ZgbAwHcOcH6oW29iWTMpH2j5yjECvtAGzxReHNsHvyivXBvxdvKrDCcfqM0wTanExfcw0YTg-vufh9V0VeRiHWrz5YUAUZGJyrn4p4Rgq9VH9EottwDBWJjiXoj73YgsPRt/w400-h322/World%20War%20II%20-%20D-Day%20invasion%20of%20Omaha%20Beach.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- <i>The Puzzle Club</i> stories have passed through several hands (<i>FictionMags </i>data):</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>Frederic Dannay & Manfred B. Lee:</i></b></div><div><b> (1) "The Little Spy," (ss) <i>Cavalier</i> #139, January 1965, as by Ellery Queen (<i>above</i>)</b></div><div><b> (2) "The President Regrets," (ss) <i>The Diners Club Magazine</i>, September 1965, as by Ellery Queen</b></div><div><b> (3) "The Three Students," (ss) <i>Playboy</i>, March 1971, as by Ellery Queen</b></div><div><b> (4) "The Honest Swindler," (ss) <i>The Saturday Evening Post</i>, Summer 1971, as by Ellery Queen</b></div><div><b> (5) "The Odd Man," (ss) <i>Playboy</i>, June 1971, as by Ellery Queen.</b></div><div><i><b>Josh Pachter:</b></i></div><div><b> (6) "The Adventure of the Red Circles," (ss) <i>Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine</i>, January/February 2020</b></div><div><b> (7) "Their Last Bow," (ss) <i>Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine</i>, January/February 2022.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><b>- Our most recent <i>EQ</i> story was <i>"Terror in a Penthouse"</i> (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2023/11/if-she-dies-he-was-thinking-those.html">HERE</a>).</b></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</span></b></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-90211738674131557272024-03-05T10:20:00.000-08:002024-03-05T10:20:57.623-08:00UPDATE: Posting for "The Scientist and the Bagful of Water"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>In <i>"Resources"</i> added <i>The Luminist Archives AHMM</i> links (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-easiest-way-to-kill-anybody-as.html">HERE</a>) to the following Arthur Porges stories:</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> (1) "The Scientist and the Two Thieves"</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> (2) "The Scientist and the Time Bomb"</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> (3) "The Scientist and the Platinum Chain"</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> (4) "The Scientist and the Exterminator"</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> (5) "The Scientist and the Stolen Rembrandt."</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiihfHxzX8dhcfSprPkgJdwBc2DXNmc8_43KRy4AdTojeTnzWFAw-4hFUda_7sa7TpSLZvrAe1lVx9Ey3rV6YKDgGkFmu_TGLBPJpZ-mPimQIANvel33siseNshmJ6lZNzSkj_7KTKr55w_dDNlRmnDKYxdPUTUWIKOxAiZb0fw8vtYXZ_HCqKzxdhlAjTL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiihfHxzX8dhcfSprPkgJdwBc2DXNmc8_43KRy4AdTojeTnzWFAw-4hFUda_7sa7TpSLZvrAe1lVx9Ey3rV6YKDgGkFmu_TGLBPJpZ-mPimQIANvel33siseNshmJ6lZNzSkj_7KTKr55w_dDNlRmnDKYxdPUTUWIKOxAiZb0fw8vtYXZ_HCqKzxdhlAjTL=s16000" /></a></div></div></b></span></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-41554447735424374762024-03-04T10:46:00.000-08:002024-03-04T10:46:14.975-08:00"The Dead Man I Can Understand. The Dead Parakeet Is What Bothers Me."<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Birds of One Feather."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Dr. Joel Hoffman No. 3.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Arthur Porges (1915-2006; <i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Porges">HERE</a>; <i>ISFDb </i><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1255">HERE</a>; <i>Fan Site</i> <a href="http://arthurporges.atwebpages.com/">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>AHMM</i>, January 1963.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJj9Q1RrMlcgOFfd1aK8KFDF41v9GRMv4oKGcwm2GUisSYw6gbvswZvZJpvDlKwXO1qAs8IcWpKbgpssUeGV8N09sttco8o4UJ6Kb2e8xfzjH_d0XCs3dd4r6tXBdDchJ3h3NNRdzmaEU5f7LWC_jFZKwuaIDuu_KwZkAptcXTGKoBgc5Ez-V0unRCGLv/s695/'AHMM'%20cover,%20January%201963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJj9Q1RrMlcgOFfd1aK8KFDF41v9GRMv4oKGcwm2GUisSYw6gbvswZvZJpvDlKwXO1qAs8IcWpKbgpssUeGV8N09sttco8o4UJ6Kb2e8xfzjH_d0XCs3dd4r6tXBdDchJ3h3NNRdzmaEU5f7LWC_jFZKwuaIDuu_KwZkAptcXTGKoBgc5Ez-V0unRCGLv/w460-h640/'AHMM'%20cover,%20January%201963.jpg" width="460" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Reprinted in <i>No Killer Has Wings: The Casebook of Dr. Joel Hoffman</i> (2017).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Nz8oCPcaTDAFSJAzy8UOlNNWQzldX4M0Xu-lqacdZbYbvxwhIkvNE_xSHkHtWTrXQTsIiS3VImxe0oZ3xihEbSrqBJ_5ChA9tZCaRdxwwtVIIDCcNQhnlEBL34OjcGMEOVdjPcwMpwVtGoj4JULmCRX7bwUCYTkL7M9cETFLcaNHoNhNcC9vM9k-SobF/s500/'No%20Killer%20Has%20Wings%20-%20The%20Casebook%20of%20Dr.%20Joel%20Hoffman'%20cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Nz8oCPcaTDAFSJAzy8UOlNNWQzldX4M0Xu-lqacdZbYbvxwhIkvNE_xSHkHtWTrXQTsIiS3VImxe0oZ3xihEbSrqBJ_5ChA9tZCaRdxwwtVIIDCcNQhnlEBL34OjcGMEOVdjPcwMpwVtGoj4JULmCRX7bwUCYTkL7M9cETFLcaNHoNhNcC9vM9k-SobF/s16000/'No%20Killer%20Has%20Wings%20-%20The%20Casebook%20of%20Dr.%20Joel%20Hoffman'%20cover.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short short story (8 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>The Luminist Archives</i> (<a href="https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/PU/AHMM_1963_01.pdf">HERE</a>; go to text page 53).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i> "It had to be right. And if so, there was still danger for innocent people; right now somebody could be near his death. I got on the phone fast."</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b>A double murder, perhaps? But if we assume our killer doesn't generally have it in for parakeets, then why does he also eliminate such a harmless-looking individual, <i>"a chubby fellow who might have been somebody's benevolent uncle by the look of him"?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Main characters:</i></b></span></div><div><b><i>~ Horton:</i></b></div><div><b> "Beside him was a pathetic bit of fluff that was his parakeet."</b></div><div>~<b><i> Dr. Joel Hoffman:</i></b></div><div><b> "Perhaps I should have given him a hint over the phone, but I had a sudden urge to spring it all at once, dramatically. Too much TV, maybe."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Lieutenant Ader:</i></b></div><div><b> "On his own ground, Ader is unbeatable . . ."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Dr. Kurzin:</i></b></div><div><b> "In my book he should be cutting meat for some supermarket."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>The light dawns:</i></b></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> "And at that moment, it was as if a flashbulb went off in my brain. The pieces fell together, and I knew the solution was very close."</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>References and resources:</i></span></b></div><div><b>- "not exactly a <i>Spilsbury</i>":</b></div><div> <i><b>"<u>Sir Bernard Henry Spilsbury</u> (1877–1947) was a British pathologist." . . . "The case that brought Spilsbury to public attention was that of Hawley Harvey Crippen in 1910, where he gave forensic evidence as to the likely identity of the human remains found in Crippen's house. Spilsbury concluded that a scar on a small piece of skin from the remains pointed to Mrs. Crippen as the victim."</b></i> <b>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Spilsbury">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXAztw4WkQwGyGnTw9bapv_d0cYkNdiRixqBdqSqbsvc7cNYRY5seHN8AlxFygmqXzCCub8czEa0Uku2fZSzKD_qoeVxnPS_n4y-sVGY6s0gQUqLYDCKt63EPeGQAZ42NRIjk8T_N1GgV4rYs1cc6vSLBEvY5oBYoZW3pfOi4954V01UMHaPiF4lDWYLf/s640/Bernard%20Spilsbury.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="640" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXAztw4WkQwGyGnTw9bapv_d0cYkNdiRixqBdqSqbsvc7cNYRY5seHN8AlxFygmqXzCCub8czEa0Uku2fZSzKD_qoeVxnPS_n4y-sVGY6s0gQUqLYDCKt63EPeGQAZ42NRIjk8T_N1GgV4rYs1cc6vSLBEvY5oBYoZW3pfOi4954V01UMHaPiF4lDWYLf/w400-h261/Bernard%20Spilsbury.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "if I found <i>Albert Schweitzer</i> dead":</b></div><div><b> Schweitzer, alive at the time, was <i>"an Alsatian polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Schweitzer">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfWMcerhALZFL4PThFrdr4OhVCPcCrKV9XGt3EHzPOSnX7yI8yO3-1xso_bdeK2-xpdapZUzjMUvT05VJ5Qp0g07sv2b1T2ELMYfLZkdFXPhzf-OGSJ-rjUmyQorCMMKAWggws5NtF79jdgSvri6HnLQ1u9nq-7TMk7rFsP73poXcFTudO72yxsYqc0RV/s538/Albert%20Schweitzer%20in%201955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfWMcerhALZFL4PThFrdr4OhVCPcCrKV9XGt3EHzPOSnX7yI8yO3-1xso_bdeK2-xpdapZUzjMUvT05VJ5Qp0g07sv2b1T2ELMYfLZkdFXPhzf-OGSJ-rjUmyQorCMMKAWggws5NtF79jdgSvri6HnLQ1u9nq-7TMk7rFsP73poXcFTudO72yxsYqc0RV/s16000/Albert%20Schweitzer%20in%201955.jpg" /></a></div><div><b>- "as <i>Pogo </i>might say":</b></div><div><i><b> "<u>Pogo</u> was a daily comic strip that was created by cartoonist Walt Kelly and syndicated to American newspapers from 1948 until 1975."</b></i><b> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogo_(comic_strip)">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNXiiwm6YcfEJX3KlBpZW5ngCChqoUgZ5QNFTrtthbaCodZJTgvhQUMbeUp6USfmy8I1f_k_CHESD_QIrJ-uK9YwqZ4K_o4qvya6T-infiR74GKxCfSK97yJ5-HSxl90g4VJ4vXsVAXizbLzqMlDzKe91BJDCMPUvQVhKTZcjzWvqoSrhC0xM50KuThTg/s1094/'Pogo'%20-%20Dell%20Comics%20collection.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="823" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNXiiwm6YcfEJX3KlBpZW5ngCChqoUgZ5QNFTrtthbaCodZJTgvhQUMbeUp6USfmy8I1f_k_CHESD_QIrJ-uK9YwqZ4K_o4qvya6T-infiR74GKxCfSK97yJ5-HSxl90g4VJ4vXsVAXizbLzqMlDzKe91BJDCMPUvQVhKTZcjzWvqoSrhC0xM50KuThTg/w481-h640/'Pogo'%20-%20Dell%20Comics%20collection.webp" width="481" /></a></div><div><b>- "<i>Canaries</i> are highly sensitive to dangerous fumes; in mines they are used—or were—to detect fire damp and similar deadly gases":</b></div><div><i><b> ". . . <u>canaries</u>, it turns out, are much more sensitive to carbon monoxide and other poisonous gases than humans. Around 1911, miners started carrying canaries into the mines with them, and they quickly became a metaphor for warning signs – when the canary keels over, it’s time to evacuate the mine before you become the next victim."</b></i><b> (<i>Forbes.com</i> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2019/12/31/the-canary-in-the-coal-mine-isnt-ancient-history/?sh=468233164393">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUX8PYplYg6g2voIDsSr2K3YDJN7HB2i9cJKVVzheOBCcjnUC5ptzJHXApFfnKHW9IoEEXy-fTnPMO1TMCVDSlAoVxTH8dy-LheAf95gWXoOYjv11Yr1rkSByw6KbpeMmprVsD7ncjwAVXHVCKb_yIh40dTOO8KdKzCP2CdscZV3xIgO0BG8Ll7Ld8dLH/s1024/'The%20Coal%20Miner's%20Canary'%20statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUX8PYplYg6g2voIDsSr2K3YDJN7HB2i9cJKVVzheOBCcjnUC5ptzJHXApFfnKHW9IoEEXy-fTnPMO1TMCVDSlAoVxTH8dy-LheAf95gWXoOYjv11Yr1rkSByw6KbpeMmprVsD7ncjwAVXHVCKb_yIh40dTOO8KdKzCP2CdscZV3xIgO0BG8Ll7Ld8dLH/w480-h640/'The%20Coal%20Miner's%20Canary'%20statue.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div><b>- Porges used <i>Dr. Joel Hoffman</i> in three stories:</b></div><div><b> (1) "Horse-Collar Homicide," (ss) <i>Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine,</i> January 1960</b></div><div><b> (2) "No Killer Has Wings," (ss) <i>Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine,</i> January 1961 (<i>featured</i> <a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-manifold-moods-of-arthur-porges.html">HERE</a>)</b></div><div><b> (3) "Birds of One Feather," (ss) <i>Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine,</i> January 1963 (<i>above</i>).</b></div><div><b>- Most recently we featured Porges's <i>"The Cunning Cashier"</i> (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2023/11/your-rabbits-genius.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</b></span></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-89684108336425423082024-02-29T11:09:00.000-08:002024-02-29T11:13:34.143-08:00"With That Sort of Power, You Can Control Destiny"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>IF YOU don't regard <a href="https://mikegrost.com/hoch.htm#SimonArk">Simon Ark</a> as a pure fantasy figure (it's arguable), then <i>Ed Hoch's</i> first genuinely SFF (science fiction-fantasy) story would be . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Co-incidence."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Irwin Booth (Edward D. Hoch, 1930-2008; <i>ISFDb </i><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1752">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozbj7JBHrwZdH5nYSqRh0bpDSE6VgWgr1j5ZTIfHjQLSvs7xM0TD7gzlN3WVmqj6Rf4QxoF1pMRZmzQrnL3qTD9NMyRx9BKgrt58hVN4skjOKR381elQXFQklHODEV5zkv5xtGPAL9Ba0A_YkXsT4tSK0HhEsPTii0ZwUWg-R2RDwozDhiXE3SulAaGXW/s645/'Co-incidence'%20headnote.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="645" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozbj7JBHrwZdH5nYSqRh0bpDSE6VgWgr1j5ZTIfHjQLSvs7xM0TD7gzlN3WVmqj6Rf4QxoF1pMRZmzQrnL3qTD9NMyRx9BKgrt58hVN4skjOKR381elQXFQklHODEV5zkv5xtGPAL9Ba0A_YkXsT4tSK0HhEsPTii0ZwUWg-R2RDwozDhiXE3SulAaGXW/w400-h259/'Co-incidence'%20headnote.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Science Fiction Stories,</i> September 1956.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NFJQs05ADGKp8OilPl4dJUTeKrw8JEp46q5x5Z8xHZytGlkXqsXyNAQH9dhJQx5Kmvh3JCsGWM-DDClBFOZOtJ6Ah-gh68hcq_1nWWEFoEQ6qgrWCl6fSSD191_-ou9t2ngwG547EQ3ubiO427JY-pkvzl3VkPue433YGp-zoBtJi5mqy_DxhxuiLikN/s540/'Science%20Fiction%20Stories'%20cover,%20September%201956.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NFJQs05ADGKp8OilPl4dJUTeKrw8JEp46q5x5Z8xHZytGlkXqsXyNAQH9dhJQx5Kmvh3JCsGWM-DDClBFOZOtJ6Ah-gh68hcq_1nWWEFoEQ6qgrWCl6fSSD191_-ou9t2ngwG547EQ3ubiO427JY-pkvzl3VkPue433YGp-zoBtJi5mqy_DxhxuiLikN/s16000/'Science%20Fiction%20Stories'%20cover,%20September%201956.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Illustration by Orban (1896-1974; <i>ISFDb </i><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?26385">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Reprints page (<a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?579721">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Collected in <i>The Future Is Ours</i> (2015; <a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?486493">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxaSeWfQG2NxjAGX1jT9AYejYg-HdEYBLEW96uE6EOWp5cB-HCOTTsDwmY3Eqhx9MeYk2FpSTwO2hgDQu_yz4iUMMqgGLpGb97qw-PB8GW67EPPHwqtZMDApXqJ-uAPAOyLlHo1Z2DNLGhyphenhyphenaUHbRKmpbVVOXUG-0PODZ0LxXptvuM70J0h9EUkGpJU_Kj/s500/'The%20Future%20Is%20Ours'%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxaSeWfQG2NxjAGX1jT9AYejYg-HdEYBLEW96uE6EOWp5cB-HCOTTsDwmY3Eqhx9MeYk2FpSTwO2hgDQu_yz4iUMMqgGLpGb97qw-PB8GW67EPPHwqtZMDApXqJ-uAPAOyLlHo1Z2DNLGhyphenhyphenaUHbRKmpbVVOXUG-0PODZ0LxXptvuM70J0h9EUkGpJU_Kj/s16000/'The%20Future%20Is%20Ours'%20cover.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short short story (6 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>The Luminist Archives</i> (<a href="https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/SF/SFS_1956_09.pdf">HERE</a>; go to text page 121).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> "I wanted to shout out to Mason, to warn him — but I remained numb. What would I be trying to save him from?"</i></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Think about how much you can get done in fifty-five minutes: consecutively soft-boil eleven eggs, drive seventy miles, get married, get divorced, lose your shirt in Vegas (or the stock market—your option), <i>but</i>—very rarely, we hope—you <i>could </i>stage-manage somebody's murder . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>P</i></b><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>rincipal characters:</i></b></span></div><div><i><b>~ Rosemary:</b></i></div><div><b> "At twenty-eight, she is already the brains behind Neptune’s smile. The simple fact is that she is a mathematical genius, not just in the usual sense, but in a very unusual sense."</b></div><div><i><b>~ Narrator (unnamed):</b></i></div><div><b> "I glanced at the big wall clock as they talked, and I was aware that Rosemary was watching it, too."</b></div><div><i><b>~ Mason:</b></i></div><div><b> "He always left the office at three minutes to five. He was the kind of punctual man you could set your watch by; he always walked down the two flights of stairs, rather than wait for the elevator."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>It would seem that the problem of book sales as explained by Rosemary (<i>just below</i>) has been somewhat alleviated since the '50s with electronic publishing, but it hasn't been entirely eliminated yet:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><i> "I knew it was the best way for me to get to the top fast. The big drawback in publishing has always been, it seems to me, that the books aren’t around at the exact instant that most people want to buy them. By the time they see the book they wanted, the purchasing desire has decreased. Put the books into their hands when their purchasing desire is at its peak, and you’ve got sales."</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>References and resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- "a sort of <i>slide-rule</i> mathematical equation":</b></div><div><b><i> "A <u>slide rule</u> is a hand-operated mechanical calculator consisting of slidable rulers for evaluating mathematical operations such as multiplication, division, exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is one of the simplest analog computers."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVE1lMlb8cJTQ3rUAXbSCFU0PYzABNNuD09Km8Xj6pHPH9xiCOrsBQY4vazGOavKzgV-Ut4EdYGx_BL1CNM4J3fbmlSVGD5zO7mbLyNta0TNqUBnMb-pdt9f40M6XZAZsmHfREr755nyqTQ5_LfvH_3OxxruI0ZsBYIl1bYke0ahcjWmgRhsOde-ZRfjlW/s1566/Slide%20rule%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="1566" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVE1lMlb8cJTQ3rUAXbSCFU0PYzABNNuD09Km8Xj6pHPH9xiCOrsBQY4vazGOavKzgV-Ut4EdYGx_BL1CNM4J3fbmlSVGD5zO7mbLyNta0TNqUBnMb-pdt9f40M6XZAZsmHfREr755nyqTQ5_LfvH_3OxxruI0ZsBYIl1bYke0ahcjWmgRhsOde-ZRfjlW/w400-h225/Slide%20rule%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "I aim one <i>angle of incidence</i> to meet<i> another angle of incidence.</i> Result? Co-incidence!":</b></div><div><b> We're not sure how sound Rosemary's logic is; in any event, see <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_incidence_(optics)">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><b>- "on the corner of <i>Fifth Avenue and Forty-seventh Street</i>":</b></div><div><b> A real place; see <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/47th_Street_(Manhattan)">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><b>- "on his way to <i>Grand Central Terminal</i>":</b></div><div><b> Another real place; see <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Terminal">HERE</a>) and (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Terminal_in_popular_culture">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7hoNQhiYbKQ0h_5dWnxp6bteTrNk5-7m-rGlz54wsURdEZnewTwmozQ95vtwzjxcl60Rfo4gfnwaqJZ2QxrtmiTjmCeIT1_neDBebd8hHOEdJBRxePr934IrL1twu-83DpEU0Qc30HiK7PRwdVvW82aYpI4lw7xqYVOf27LGJmLyMAfLaEJiHUCaIiIw/s800/Train%20-%20The%2020th%20Century%20Limited%20at%20Grand%20Central%20Terminal,%20c.%201952.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="800" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7hoNQhiYbKQ0h_5dWnxp6bteTrNk5-7m-rGlz54wsURdEZnewTwmozQ95vtwzjxcl60Rfo4gfnwaqJZ2QxrtmiTjmCeIT1_neDBebd8hHOEdJBRxePr934IrL1twu-83DpEU0Qc30HiK7PRwdVvW82aYpI4lw7xqYVOf27LGJmLyMAfLaEJiHUCaIiIw/w400-h327/Train%20-%20The%2020th%20Century%20Limited%20at%20Grand%20Central%20Terminal,%20c.%201952.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- Could Hoch have been influenced by <i>Fritz Leiber's</i> novel <i>Conjure Wife</i> (1952)? (WARNING! SPOILERS! <i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjure_Wife">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGA_BiE8U2wQZPFD6nyqY8-_YC_xd1-E_h3F2QiSSjrERS7Nu3Ja9RnIXi7m48jRkqMPXQpYgLkW1zyxme2S2P7tIBKO2Zy6WZLJZ9aGN_55p__yHc_4rYaWKabHNLrf0ojnyujSkCntpFKIyqWKYxD4oqk_V09EhMq3nYMUX4V3-UnUr7VZ2vQ3Oaqy2d/s558/'Conjure%20Wife'%20cover%20(1984).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGA_BiE8U2wQZPFD6nyqY8-_YC_xd1-E_h3F2QiSSjrERS7Nu3Ja9RnIXi7m48jRkqMPXQpYgLkW1zyxme2S2P7tIBKO2Zy6WZLJZ9aGN_55p__yHc_4rYaWKabHNLrf0ojnyujSkCntpFKIyqWKYxD4oqk_V09EhMq3nYMUX4V3-UnUr7VZ2vQ3Oaqy2d/s16000/'Conjure%20Wife'%20cover%20(1984).jpg" /></a></div><div><b>- Hoch used the <i>Irwin Booth</i> byline only three times:</b></div><div><b> (1) "Co-incidence," (ss) <i>Science Fiction Stories</i>, September 1956 (<i>above</i>)</b></div><div><b> (2) "The Chippy," (ss) <i>Guilty Detective Story Magazine, </i>November 1956</b></div><div><b> (3) "Killer Cop," (nv) <i>Terror Detective Story Magazine #4,</i> April 1957.</b></div><div><b>- A couple of movies that have mathematical whizzes as characters include <i>Good Will Hunting</i> (1997; WARNING! SPOILERS! <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Will_Hunting">HERE</a>) and <i>The Oxford Murders</i> (2008; WARNING! SPOILERS! <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oxford_Murders_(film)">HERE</a>). A more complete list is (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_about_mathematicians">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvQurYf2BVEsVwsPNR983ejOmCigj5RZftv73WJ6SdB8LGeb5Amcwht3UQ0naZ-_rz2jJSMZe9r05X6HlQLTjuey3CwIEgXs8Iuwb-nqumZ7c9gfDq82oKMBqrFFW7FttRutfXf3f0-CN-z4IRb17OITR-CsT34TsPY20FxMXHdM_5tFa55fHBjwF92Ja/s1800/'The%20Oxford%20Murders'%20poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvQurYf2BVEsVwsPNR983ejOmCigj5RZftv73WJ6SdB8LGeb5Amcwht3UQ0naZ-_rz2jJSMZe9r05X6HlQLTjuey3CwIEgXs8Iuwb-nqumZ7c9gfDq82oKMBqrFFW7FttRutfXf3f0-CN-z4IRb17OITR-CsT34TsPY20FxMXHdM_5tFa55fHBjwF92Ja/w427-h640/'The%20Oxford%20Murders'%20poster.jpg" width="427" /></a></div></div><div><b>- Our latest contact with Edward D. Hoch's fiction was also SFF, <i>"The Last Paradox"</i> (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2023/12/time-travel-as-portrayed-in-fiction.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</b></span></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-45306254197959935412024-02-27T11:32:00.000-08:002024-02-27T11:43:18.009-08:00"It Means That He Didn’t Kill These Four People at Random"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>HERE IS <i>Ed Hoch</i> two years after the start of his writing career, his 13th published story being . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Inspector Fleming's Last Case."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Edward D. Hoch (1930-2008; <i>FictionMags</i>, 6 pages <a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/a/a08.htm">HERE</a>; <i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_D._Hoch">HERE</a>; <i>Michael Grost's megasite</i> <a href="https://mikegrost.com/hoch.htm">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDUqrLDvkwBs7RgwtYPrL8Diji8RcH06KWD8pOFatONgAhPjjA3boMDPVaNXmYGJcfqNUdIoAvw5MsHE3DXJIZSXr8JZDYwBp5zLoQsfDfGmwV8XUPYC2raSRMVzrMdy5FyZDhEgMbv8pHqGpJG9N2LaXI2-r7XfvxN6n3v2xzpHJHSuVPnP2SnPkoOkG/s932/'Inspector%20Fleming's%20Last%20Case'%20heading.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="780" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDUqrLDvkwBs7RgwtYPrL8Diji8RcH06KWD8pOFatONgAhPjjA3boMDPVaNXmYGJcfqNUdIoAvw5MsHE3DXJIZSXr8JZDYwBp5zLoQsfDfGmwV8XUPYC2raSRMVzrMdy5FyZDhEgMbv8pHqGpJG9N2LaXI2-r7XfvxN6n3v2xzpHJHSuVPnP2SnPkoOkG/w536-h640/'Inspector%20Fleming's%20Last%20Case'%20heading.jpg" width="536" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Crime and Justice Detective Story Magazine,</i> January 1957.</span></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpByp2t3ZyKPb4G-jcxVJSpGQUb4Uil_9HqGong8WSyM6uIn3Gu_RLjkeQq7zU-ag1nnbxZYkSdXsgYQXtlDY3GvCYWeqUEXEXFJZxvdYJRXyGkzwIPcmQGS2WjDbrUz69nN56NpeV4g5W586GpPX8C9wEB71gCtyV6LFralLjeDj4TEuZ3ph1npFCYmey/s1087/'Crime%20and%20Justice%20Detective%20Story%20Magazine'%20cover,%20January%201957.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1087" data-original-width="793" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpByp2t3ZyKPb4G-jcxVJSpGQUb4Uil_9HqGong8WSyM6uIn3Gu_RLjkeQq7zU-ag1nnbxZYkSdXsgYQXtlDY3GvCYWeqUEXEXFJZxvdYJRXyGkzwIPcmQGS2WjDbrUz69nN56NpeV4g5W586GpPX8C9wEB71gCtyV6LFralLjeDj4TEuZ3ph1npFCYmey/w467-h640/'Crime%20and%20Justice%20Detective%20Story%20Magazine'%20cover,%20January%201957.jpg" width="467" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>It wasn't long before Edward D. Hoch's name would start making the covers on a regular basis.</i></span></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Apparently never reprinted.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Novelette (16 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>Archive.org</i> (<a href="https://archive.org/details/crime-and-justice-n-03-1957-01.-arnold-darwin-ia/page/69/mode/1up?view=theater">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i> "I’m staying on this case till the end—till we capture this madman, or till I drop over from trying."</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Mandatory retirement often hits people hard. In today's story, for a policeman being forced to give up his job, <i>"hard"</i> doesn't even begin to cover it . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Typo:</span></i></b> <b>"Mr. <i>Wager</i>".</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Main characters:</i></span></b></div><div><b><i>~ James Mitchell:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . saw the axe, and he knew what the man wanted. He saw it go up and then start its downward swing. There was just time for him to throw his hands in front of his face. The</b></div><div><b>first blow of the axe tore at his fingers. He never really felt the second blow . . . ."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Inspector Arnold Fleming:</i></b></div><div><b> "The Police Department had been his whole life, and now they were taking it away. Just one more case, and it would be all over."</b></div><div><b><i>~ The Police Commissioner:</i></b></div><div><b> "He listened in silence for a moment and then hung up. Tiny beads of sweat were beginning to appear on his forehead, and Fleming wondered if it was warm in the room despite his occasional chills."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Carter:</i></b></div><div><b> "What’s there to connect an old woman, a married businessman and a cheap hoodlum, even in the mind of a crazy man?"</b></div><div><b><i>~ Mr. Wagner:</i></b></div><div><b> <i>"'Poor Sadie,'</i> Mr. Wagner said and shook his head sadly. <i>'Poor old Sadie' . . . ."</i></b></div><div><b><i>~ Mrs. Mitchell:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . a young, good-looking woman, who seemed somehow very small and helpless in the black dress she wore."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Ralph:</i></b></div><div><b> "I killed them, I tell you. I killed them all."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Rhonda Roberts:</i></b></div><div><b> "With a hatchet? Are you kidding? What do you think I am, a damn Indian or something? I’d have shot him. Right between the eyes."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Doc Adams:</i></b></div><div><b> "Well, I suppose that one on First Street wasn’t really natural."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>References:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- "<i>the Ripper</i> or <i>the Cleveland Butcher</i>":</b></div><div><b> One psycho from the 1880s (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper">HERE</a>) and another one from the 1930s (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Torso_Murderer">HERE</a>) who were never identified, much less captured, but they weren't the only ones never brought to account; see also <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fugitives_from_justice_who_disappeared">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmLjeiVVa7aTs7OnhAjEWqpDp6RFCLc9mPNWbEwHSY3kTDqeahaOd7-LaCw7QFpz92dDcRd6ks_-tsByuAC3BXK3-lQE_CjAaunR7mj_XmudakbIDn9BRsoHniy5bpB_ZwWbIZt9b22qDQk3H4IPmZkw5DKfYFwE9eZNXycZ2xFZqsRL62RbDaTQ45jqk/s530/Jack%20the%20Ripper.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmLjeiVVa7aTs7OnhAjEWqpDp6RFCLc9mPNWbEwHSY3kTDqeahaOd7-LaCw7QFpz92dDcRd6ks_-tsByuAC3BXK3-lQE_CjAaunR7mj_XmudakbIDn9BRsoHniy5bpB_ZwWbIZt9b22qDQk3H4IPmZkw5DKfYFwE9eZNXycZ2xFZqsRL62RbDaTQ45jqk/s16000/Jack%20the%20Ripper.jpg" /></a></div><div><b>- "The <i>teletype </i>came to life then":</b></div><div><i><b> "<u>Teletype </u>machines were gradually replaced in new installations by dot-matrix printers and CRT-based terminals in the mid to late 1970s. Basic CRT-based terminals which could only print lines and scroll them are often called glass teletypes to distinguish them from more sophisticated devices."</b></i> <b>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletype_Model_28">HERE</a>.)</b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7TQ6QclqTI204BgU_b-Fp72UfXFOgkgqQ9usa6LK94XeHWo7SjNEQ6jw26e-i7SNkZZo0itj1G00DhT7EvfEnpAbBmrqL92yVTtYIYnHUd6LMZxAZUHBBlkwAb7n6uJ7S1ShxCmT81FWMxJQ5UYdD06gL7AWM8S11wgtAYtXsHtPHBL2INXi2Eifj_DQ/s1024/Teletype%20Model%2028.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="1024" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7TQ6QclqTI204BgU_b-Fp72UfXFOgkgqQ9usa6LK94XeHWo7SjNEQ6jw26e-i7SNkZZo0itj1G00DhT7EvfEnpAbBmrqL92yVTtYIYnHUd6LMZxAZUHBBlkwAb7n6uJ7S1ShxCmT81FWMxJQ5UYdD06gL7AWM8S11wgtAYtXsHtPHBL2INXi2Eifj_DQ/w400-h259/Teletype%20Model%2028.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Click on image to enlarge.)</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><div><b>- "<i>morphine </i>instead of the milder <i>codeine</i>":</b></div><div> <b><i>"<u>Morphine </u>is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (<u>Papaver somniferum</u>). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication)."</i></b> <b>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine">HERE</a>.) <i>"<u>Codeine </u>is used to relieve coughing. Evidence does not support its use for acute cough suppression in children. In Europe, it is not recommend-ed as a cough medicine in those under 12 years of age. Some tentative evidence shows it can reduce a chronic cough in adults."</i></b> <b>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codeine">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- Although subject to certain laws, mandatory retirement is still practiced in developed nations; see <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_retirement">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm"><i>The FictionMags Index</i> </a>created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</b></span></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-15075021629373735282024-02-25T08:54:00.000-08:002024-02-25T08:54:07.030-08:00"Chicago Gangsters Ain’t Got No Business Out Here Nohow"<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">"The Bush Rat."<br />By Daniel J. Colich (?-?; <i>FictionMags </i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/a/a08.htm">HERE</a>).</span></b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9v_plhG0axTUdlWhkECyXppaR2b5A8dmb9omlffMeJlDlO6cPNIRBeJtsLqL_YNrl8QZWw4iChxN2IU_v9mRGC1TbGx5VLhp7c-Pl5vIZPZWgtQZhzJZ7IAndwgkL0c1uSvVXXbLTH7qUEVTrNrC89E6HbZgSXWL3kaM86m0S0jP1QL6kZfPSd67uadZ/s766/'The%20Bush%20Rat'%20illo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="766" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9v_plhG0axTUdlWhkECyXppaR2b5A8dmb9omlffMeJlDlO6cPNIRBeJtsLqL_YNrl8QZWw4iChxN2IU_v9mRGC1TbGx5VLhp7c-Pl5vIZPZWgtQZhzJZ7IAndwgkL0c1uSvVXXbLTH7qUEVTrNrC89E6HbZgSXWL3kaM86m0S0jP1QL6kZfPSd67uadZ/w400-h210/'The%20Bush%20Rat'%20illo.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Top-Notch Magazine,</i> May 1934.</span></b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6o26-9tupjv67NNJ3dwP0gP81SefVTfBFrxfCZhDyAVDQCG9sd0WqYo8El2Jrm-1CreU6AdsGkDJqfKzJZAQF2aFkcuW39KRpDrAPmk2RqmfviALqWCTecibJZOEX5tuTTEIqr8PNZ-wir_kRh1l_HrwLp0toO-yZTunEQN6ljaPVqL8os-3_YgwNavF/s1363/'Top-Notch%20Magazine'%20cover,%20May%201934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6o26-9tupjv67NNJ3dwP0gP81SefVTfBFrxfCZhDyAVDQCG9sd0WqYo8El2Jrm-1CreU6AdsGkDJqfKzJZAQF2aFkcuW39KRpDrAPmk2RqmfviALqWCTecibJZOEX5tuTTEIqr8PNZ-wir_kRh1l_HrwLp0toO-yZTunEQN6ljaPVqL8os-3_YgwNavF/w451-h640/'Top-Notch%20Magazine'%20cover,%20May%201934.jpg" width="451" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short short short story (4 pages).<br />Online at <i>Archive.org</i> (<a href="https://archive.org/details/top-notch-v-094-n-05-1934-05/page/131/mode/1up?view=theater">HERE</a>).</span></b><br /><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">(Parental caution: Strong language.)</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> "The gun slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor."</i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><i>"You dirty rat"</i> used to be the ultimate put-down, but in today's story a rat, dirty or not, proves to be a life-saver . . .</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Principal characters:</span><br />~ Jim Proctor:</i><br /> ". . . wondered what might be passing through that thick, slow mind."</b><br /><b><i>~ Bill Haag:</i></b><br /><b> ". . . whirled suddenly about. He stopped short as he looked into the blue-black revolver."</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Resources:</i></span></b><br /><b>- Our story seems to fit nicely into that sub-sub-genre of fiction set in the wild and woolly areas of the North American continent most profitably exploited by Jack London (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_London">HERE</a>) and his imitators. Great White North stories enjoyed quite a vogue in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, appearing in the pulps as well as the slicks on a regular basis.</b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvrkP2uzrxVZwqpL6s78xhNfsdihGQrDddZzDrSetsS-8SpvF4PsOn5K-2z3Q-dXH9IuV0xGJ_3qwpLq0Jid5qnGeYg4FIBDnrlGtXwMCK8AV_i92seL_L8DRRxRhVty6iq7bq2xKHf28xuXlgHpgDQv50X-ge4Ke9DxWZLSsCSYSD_OhRceeh1mRjp9o/s960/Cabin%20in%20the%20snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvrkP2uzrxVZwqpL6s78xhNfsdihGQrDddZzDrSetsS-8SpvF4PsOn5K-2z3Q-dXH9IuV0xGJ_3qwpLq0Jid5qnGeYg4FIBDnrlGtXwMCK8AV_i92seL_L8DRRxRhVty6iq7bq2xKHf28xuXlgHpgDQv50X-ge4Ke9DxWZLSsCSYSD_OhRceeh1mRjp9o/w400-h267/Cabin%20in%20the%20snow.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>- <i>FictionMags </i>credits <i>Daniel Colich</i> with only two short stories:<br /> (1) "The Bush Rat," (vi) <i>Top-Notch</i>, May 1934 (<i>above</i>)<br /> (2) "Wolf Bait," (vi) <i>Top-Notch,</i> May 1935.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</span><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-35646758944776086422024-02-22T10:50:00.000-08:002024-02-22T10:50:46.900-08:00"Because of You, Their Choice Is Doomed"<div style="text-align: left;"><b>THERE'S something very wrong on the . . .</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Night Train to Babylon."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Ray Bradbury (1920-2012; <i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury">HERE</a>; <i>FictionMags</i>, 8 page list <a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/a/a08.htm">HERE</a>; <i>ISFDb </i><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?194">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LasjVAlvWPq-LIyyLccRxurAjuHnP9ikbY6Sbo6Rjiy9lg8BGNnTTLIknIzGBVT0RBff8-538UsrPqopGkLlDOCaNOqhO_9qm7WMZOps2Ct4DMidab0p5wx1YFks7Rl56jZN6ej_QmrEGPe4pNh6k4wPP1cIMXViJ30dsmG0y7mIy81PYv7T8QZnXFVY/s670/Ray%20Bradbury%20with%20cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LasjVAlvWPq-LIyyLccRxurAjuHnP9ikbY6Sbo6Rjiy9lg8BGNnTTLIknIzGBVT0RBff8-538UsrPqopGkLlDOCaNOqhO_9qm7WMZOps2Ct4DMidab0p5wx1YFks7Rl56jZN6ej_QmrEGPe4pNh6k4wPP1cIMXViJ30dsmG0y7mIy81PYv7T8QZnXFVY/w358-h400/Ray%20Bradbury%20with%20cat.jpg" width="358" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>First appearance: <i>EQMM</i>, December 1997.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5mfj9FPzk_80JXD0cQD55vZN7Wn_FztDmmsG2BTqw2QdmN6CXPPi_5Bb3TWLtx87aiby77RRG8iSBqyH9A5ekjeODrCQmReMDI9cPlenhbBDkLIh0b85g-5wHdjH2SgaFJXs_AwnMe_R41oAsEADUfO7wwcW2zM6oGiZflWFyP8Mb-c-JEkkJ5Qn4QCZ/s558/'EQMM'%20cover,%20December%201997.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5mfj9FPzk_80JXD0cQD55vZN7Wn_FztDmmsG2BTqw2QdmN6CXPPi_5Bb3TWLtx87aiby77RRG8iSBqyH9A5ekjeODrCQmReMDI9cPlenhbBDkLIh0b85g-5wHdjH2SgaFJXs_AwnMe_R41oAsEADUfO7wwcW2zM6oGiZflWFyP8Mb-c-JEkkJ5Qn4QCZ/s16000/'EQMM'%20cover,%20December%201997.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Collected in <i>Driving Blind</i> (1997; <i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_Blind">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzQZy2Phj5nhcZIQnv6hZnsXojqiGXQGdaMzwquX782eKGNrtynM65s2idZgJTdVpBJ_cbTW9okU6YRpUX9j_1dTWWqaLoq1DkkQgDKJJicrT-H5yWBKe20WtdgCPTmXS-JGIzbbEjVu3y5Y7L8BywrKKojs6fbC4tUZgG4McscO19xdfbgSjThthkAdJ/s500/'Driving%20Blind'%20cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzQZy2Phj5nhcZIQnv6hZnsXojqiGXQGdaMzwquX782eKGNrtynM65s2idZgJTdVpBJ_cbTW9okU6YRpUX9j_1dTWWqaLoq1DkkQgDKJJicrT-H5yWBKe20WtdgCPTmXS-JGIzbbEjVu3y5Y7L8BywrKKojs6fbC4tUZgG4McscO19xdfbgSjThthkAdJ/s16000/'Driving%20Blind'%20cover.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Reprints page (<a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?542033">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short story (11 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>The Luminist Archives</i> (<a href="https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/EB/B/Bradbury%20-%20Driving%20Blind.pdf">HERE</a>; go to text page 1).</span></b></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">(Parental caution: Strong language.)</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i> "The club car rattle-banged by, a dozen volcanic faces with fiery eyes crushed close to the windows, fists hammering the glass."</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b>We're told that <a href="https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/honesty-is-the-best-policy.html">a 16th century colonial official </a>recommended that everyone should <i>"think honestie the best policie." </i>Of course, <i>"the best policie" </i>works just fine as long as everybody goes along with it. It's unfortunate, therefore, when James finds himself in a situation where everybody is strongly motivated <i>not </i>to go along with <i>"the best policie" </i>but instead finds it profitable to do the exact opposite . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Main characters:</span></i></b></div><div><b><i>~ James Cruesoe:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . shook his head. <i>'That's not how the trick works. It's how you <u>lay down</u> and <u>pick up</u> the cards. Any deck would do'."</i></b></div><div><b><i>~ The Straight-Arrow gambler:</i></b></div><div><b> "His fingernails were clean but unmanicured. Stunning! An ordinary citizen, with the serene look of a chap about to lose at cribbage."</b></div><div><b><i>~ The conductor:</i></b></div><div><b> "He took out a little black book, licked his fingers, turned pages. <i>'Uh-huh,'</i> he said. <i>'Lookit all the biblical/Egyptian names. <u>Memphis</u>, Tennessee. <u>Cairo</u>, Illinois? Yep! And here's one just ahead. <u>Babylon</u>'."</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>References and resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- "<i>the three-card monte</i> laid out":</b></div><div><b><i> "<u>Three-card monte</u> – also known as find the lady and three-card trick – is a confidence game in which the victims, or 'marks', are tricked into betting a sum of money, on the assumption that they can find the 'money card' among three face-down playing cards. It is very similar to the shell game except that cards are used instead of shells."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-card_monte">HERE</a>.) Also see <i>"Card sharp"</i> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_sharp">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmV8LNd3Qmn9h4IiZ6wUnzMw_LQWsVDiK5vQR_s3xySlFFX_250E5QIsSawV7-NiBMqoEFpgWgw7fI2gaganDQc-U8f-qcWOdBbaZefdDFgvFGIts7wUjjmYfRUDcIaAY_9-oloTikUkMwUJtgBdcZ0oz2HeiOOQKFmt8JveoVjMWkcajbuDKgf5kyXfuA/s1024/Card%20game%20-%20Three-card%20monte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmV8LNd3Qmn9h4IiZ6wUnzMw_LQWsVDiK5vQR_s3xySlFFX_250E5QIsSawV7-NiBMqoEFpgWgw7fI2gaganDQc-U8f-qcWOdBbaZefdDFgvFGIts7wUjjmYfRUDcIaAY_9-oloTikUkMwUJtgBdcZ0oz2HeiOOQKFmt8JveoVjMWkcajbuDKgf5kyXfuA/w400-h300/Card%20game%20-%20Three-card%20monte.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "another from <i>Mandela </i>in South Africa":</b></div><div><b> Probably referring to the late President of South Africa, <i>Nelson Mandela.</i> (<i>Wikipedia</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMhxJhBd35O5QUNuK7Hx6becVpMC83R0rYKsmjzVVPZs8N7Y_gb_hSz5MhJXJjQFumeX2G7hyphenhyphenYaGqb7MVuuYpYPMsqTHLAO-SI2_44kAnBHhf5n709WFTWmY8lPRzviRdOnzk_egsqRo252hcB54FZcEg3NacZef0aoKjs4_Zx0L3u3uBADu9j4mvlfOt/s800/Nelson%20Mandela%20casting%20a%20vote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="538" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMhxJhBd35O5QUNuK7Hx6becVpMC83R0rYKsmjzVVPZs8N7Y_gb_hSz5MhJXJjQFumeX2G7hyphenhyphenYaGqb7MVuuYpYPMsqTHLAO-SI2_44kAnBHhf5n709WFTWmY8lPRzviRdOnzk_egsqRo252hcB54FZcEg3NacZef0aoKjs4_Zx0L3u3uBADu9j4mvlfOt/w430-h640/Nelson%20Mandela%20casting%20a%20vote.jpg" width="430" /></a></div><div><b>- Hollywood loves gambling in all of its forms. A couple of movies featuring skullduggery in card games: <i>The Cincinnati Kid</i> (1965; WARNING! SPOILERS! <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cincinnati_Kid">HERE</a>) and <i>A Big Hand for the Little Lady</i> (1966; WARNING! SPOILERS! <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Big_Hand_for_the_Little_Lady">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSvFBVKwPcDlXG3igaIeUSvjbRTMhNP61_pX5ip5WzHa2PXabnrgIhSqdmz2a1zTD7y6r1YA_fBvijEJ7Y7VNeAI2mynBqo_7X6gPDrUtJnnF2LpvVhOJTycl2mTiaySDua175H9QFIimMQm2ahRTFBvDnKb3zMfVjrc_LcCw1Vzu-KYn2oeXIgYcR8qDQ/s3646/'The%20Cincinatti%20Kid'%20poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2731" data-original-width="3646" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSvFBVKwPcDlXG3igaIeUSvjbRTMhNP61_pX5ip5WzHa2PXabnrgIhSqdmz2a1zTD7y6r1YA_fBvijEJ7Y7VNeAI2mynBqo_7X6gPDrUtJnnF2LpvVhOJTycl2mTiaySDua175H9QFIimMQm2ahRTFBvDnKb3zMfVjrc_LcCw1Vzu-KYn2oeXIgYcR8qDQ/w400-h300/'The%20Cincinatti%20Kid'%20poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- We've already considered some of <i>Ray Bradbury's</i> fiction: <i>"The Pedestrian"</i> (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2016/01/your-name-said-police-car-in-metallic.html">HERE</a>) and <i>"Morgue Ship"</i> (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2020/09/there-was-another-dead-man-aboard.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</span></b></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-38516542057435285192024-02-20T10:49:00.000-08:002024-02-20T10:49:15.070-08:00"You Haven't Got an Egg, Have You?"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Sleight-of-Hand."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Dale Clark (Ronal Kayser, 1905-88; <i>FictionMags </i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/a/a08.htm">HERE</a>; <i>ISFDb </i><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?18446">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0xRP7Ypo9gWaxvEsF9axaBHRwbV4bHvgmkexpbKishHjtSN4e3zgWWSF0SnkPkXswaVdZzvGtro9eER4UuziKMZ-Aee85sSEC6IayIf9xHoyP7v2QQ1jzKExq6WI2GPvz8h2vRsBUF1-leYBpS_eikotRIPWzIbUx4z41eBhm1fsj5fKNBX7Fu3Gz7V9/s557/'Sleight-of-Hand'%20illo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="557" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0xRP7Ypo9gWaxvEsF9axaBHRwbV4bHvgmkexpbKishHjtSN4e3zgWWSF0SnkPkXswaVdZzvGtro9eER4UuziKMZ-Aee85sSEC6IayIf9xHoyP7v2QQ1jzKExq6WI2GPvz8h2vRsBUF1-leYBpS_eikotRIPWzIbUx4z41eBhm1fsj5fKNBX7Fu3Gz7V9/s16000/'Sleight-of-Hand'%20illo.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Blade and Ledger,</i> August 1929.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFs-T5OWmGPFOSBsMbn4BagfSeNZp9bOOAF2XI046pP_2yJE9WfvR6qjQ29lrg7j1WJoxaHEl8bYLQa2eJBQVyh8aSbxZaIyulMV0O0V7r8k3c87CTjz2-XKtbTG2GUyLqD9D50iJ8PEeLtYcX0qsTsyHnpPqop9RQxMIKG8V0hJIa5m0SjZunf7d3iseN/s1243/'Blade%20and%20Ledger'%20cover,%20August%201929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1243" data-original-width="833" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFs-T5OWmGPFOSBsMbn4BagfSeNZp9bOOAF2XI046pP_2yJE9WfvR6qjQ29lrg7j1WJoxaHEl8bYLQa2eJBQVyh8aSbxZaIyulMV0O0V7r8k3c87CTjz2-XKtbTG2GUyLqD9D50iJ8PEeLtYcX0qsTsyHnpPqop9RQxMIKG8V0hJIa5m0SjZunf7d3iseN/w429-h640/'Blade%20and%20Ledger'%20cover,%20August%201929.jpg" width="429" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short short short story (2 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>Archive.org</i> (<a href="https://archive.org/details/BladeAndLedgerV42n02192908pg1112Damaged/page/n7/mode/2up?view=theater">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> "There are crooks, and other crooks."</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Sometimes the biter bites but other times <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/the-biter-gets-bit">gets bit</a> . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Principal characters:</span></i></b></div><div><b><i>~ "Duke" Harvey:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . looked at him with the dazed expression that plainly says, <i>'Lunatic!'"</i></b></div><div><b><i>~ Mrs. Donald Harvey:</i></b></div><div><b> "They were discussing your phenomenal luck at cards."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Huntingdon:</i></b></div><div><b> "I know quite a lot of tricks."</b></div><div><b><i>~ The customs inspector:</i></b></div><div><b> "I see you prefer a pipe to cigars or cigarettes."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>References and resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- "<i>Thurston</i> could do it":</b></div><div><b> In the early 20th century <i>Howard Thurston</i> (1869-1936) was very popular:</b></div><div><b> <i>"He eventually became the most famous magician of his time. Thurston's traveling magic show was the biggest one of all; it was so large that it needed eight train cars to transport his road show."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Thurston">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwoqEhTTBXUV-9JLsHZSSknu3W9-xLVYBdW1yDwtIfKuCDNjp66jrLF3xEMX5wW8ohHQWcKknAjIvuhRJyBcGnXCSNykBK29-5rvvOAKv7lhGW1pzj374emXfMUlN_nPpadE2GHwInVBKTrSBcX_MKyc-b9lot0j74ASgKsbJ6D07HEtxLyOchY1Wu8Mw/s1101/Magic%20-%20Thurston%20the%20Great%20Magician%20poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1101" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwoqEhTTBXUV-9JLsHZSSknu3W9-xLVYBdW1yDwtIfKuCDNjp66jrLF3xEMX5wW8ohHQWcKknAjIvuhRJyBcGnXCSNykBK29-5rvvOAKv7lhGW1pzj374emXfMUlN_nPpadE2GHwInVBKTrSBcX_MKyc-b9lot0j74ASgKsbJ6D07HEtxLyOchY1Wu8Mw/w465-h640/Magic%20-%20Thurston%20the%20Great%20Magician%20poster.jpg" width="465" /></a></div><div><b>- "<i>Trewey</i>, his name":</b></div><div><b> More than a magician; see <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9licien_Trewey">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FE0HqWHUlj-knqagSTlMiJFyyl6bMCJKQjoD1eNN3FD0Bs4jtQP7ov2jGrUgrKVE9aMfszneiDaE2_fNRPnVzRLx4Y01MtXzyZtFf1l9XAEnVQxXC-EMd6UAL8FoUDCg5-M8ImxmDgsBoh-__QHtGFe86DYUpmZyRXP8KVmSg2jeltbZtsVP8daHORW1/s1130/Magic%20-%20F%C3%A9licien%20Trewey%20poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1130" data-original-width="790" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FE0HqWHUlj-knqagSTlMiJFyyl6bMCJKQjoD1eNN3FD0Bs4jtQP7ov2jGrUgrKVE9aMfszneiDaE2_fNRPnVzRLx4Y01MtXzyZtFf1l9XAEnVQxXC-EMd6UAL8FoUDCg5-M8ImxmDgsBoh-__QHtGFe86DYUpmZyRXP8KVmSg2jeltbZtsVP8daHORW1/w447-h640/Magic%20-%20F%C3%A9licien%20Trewey%20poster.jpg" width="447" /></a></div><div><b>- <i>"Dale Clark"</i> qualifies for <i>uberpulpster </i>status, producing loads of multi-genre pulp fiction from the early '30s to the early '60s. Clark had several series characters: Walter Judson in <i>Double Detective</i>, 1938-41; Highland Park (High Price) Price in <i>Dime Detective, </i>1944-46; "Plates" O'Rion in <i>Dime Detective</i>, 1942-44; Skipper Bond in <i>Detection Fiction Weekly</i> (<i>DFW</i>), 1940; his longest lived character, Mike O'Hanna, in <i>Black Mask,</i> 1940-47; Socrates Bean in <i>Dime Mystery,</i> 1946-47; J. Edwin Bell in <i>Argosy</i>, 1938-39; and Munro in <i>EQMM</i>, 1948-49. (Data from <i>FictionMags</i>.)</b></div><div><b>- For more about <i>Clark/Kayser</i> see <i>Michael Grost's</i> megasite (<a href="https://mikegrost.com/pulpadv.htm#Clark">HERE</a>) and <i>Tellers of Weird Tales</i> (<a href="https://tellersofweirdtales.blogspot.com/2011/05/ronal-kayser-1905-1988.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><b>- <i>"Magic"</i> as a background has always been popular with detective fiction writers; see for examples <i>ONTOS </i>(<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-world-becomes-wonderland-its-magic.html">HERE</a>), (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-well-paced-story-thats-loaded-with.html">HERE</a>), (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2015/10/something-had-obviously-gone-wrong.html">HERE</a>), (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2015/12/i-dont-wish-to-appear-rude-lieutenant.html">HERE</a>), and (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2022/03/i-came-in-here-and-found-dead-man-and.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a> </i>created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</span></b></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-92205219361092044592024-02-16T12:00:00.000-08:002024-02-16T15:00:15.598-08:00"The Detective Story Is, in Fact, a Kind of Science"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">WHENEVER you contemplate detective fiction authors and their productions, you probably wouldn't think of . . .</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">"Henry James: Master Detective."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">By V. J. McGill (1897-1997; <i>JSTOR </i><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2107182">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>The Bookman</i>, November 1930.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Article (6 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Online at <i>UNZ</i> (<a href="https://www.unz.com/PDF/PERIODICAL/Bookman-1930nov/23-29/">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">THIS article appeared at a time when <i>S.S. Van Dine's Philo Vance</i> was at the apex of his popularity, which should explain the author's references to him. Whether or not McGill successfully proves his thesis, his perceptions of the detective story of the time might </span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">still </span></b><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">be of interest. Here is how he begins:</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b> "THE CHARM of the detective story is unlike that of any other literature. The spell of mystery and the gradual unwinding of the fatal solution binds us as does no other form. It humors innocently our morbid curiosity about corpses and secret crimes. It appeals uniquely to our love of an intellectual game. It enforces a feverish attention, and there are few who can resist it. We are like those who linger horribly about the morgue or a scene of crime to probe the pale and startling secrets of the dead. We are also like weird chess players, who, with suspects and evidence for pieces, play pawn against pawn to save knights, and knights against bishops to save queens. It is a game, but there is nothing so real.</b></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> "The style of the detective story also accounts for much of its popularity. It is natural and convincing, blending the matter-of-fact with the mysteriously horrible, the solidity of reality with the charm of romance, and thus attracts many readers for whom other kinds of fiction have little appeal. It was one of our leading physiologists who first suggested to me the real reason for this uncommon popularity. <i>"Other forms of literature,"</i> he complained, <i>"are hard for me to believe and fail to hold my interest when I do believe them. The heroes of most plays,"</i> he didn't mind saying, <i>"are simply stupid. The perplexities in which they find themselves are not dilemmas except for ignorant persons, and could be easily solved by a little enlightenment or scientific ingenuity."</i> Why Oedipus should have thought that blinding himself was the best solution of his difficulties, or Werther, suicide, the eminent scientist I speak of could not see. There were other alternatives, he maintained, and more helpful ones. To believe in such characters was to take a view of the intelligence of mankind which was very painful to him. In detective stories, on the other hand, he found much of the common sense and resourcefulness to which he was accustomed in his own laboratory. At this point, he waved his hand at his thousand rats and his elaborate apparatus. It was natural that he should feel drawn to the baffling realities and clear-cut solutions of this scientific type of fiction.</span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"> "The scientific procedure of the usual detective story is what J. S. Mill has called The Method of</span></b> <b><span style="font-family: times;">Residues—a very famous method employed in notable cases such as the discovery of Neptune, and always involved in any extensive work in science. Take a typical case. A murder is committed while only six persons are in the house. One after another is exculpated, and so removed, leaving the remaining man as the likely murderer. Having fixed upon him as the only one who could be guilty, it is usually quite easy to prove the case against him. The distinctive feature of the detective story is seen precisely here. As the hero investigates the crime and reconstructs the conduct or motivation of the criminal, every reasonable alternative must be considered. On the assumption that Mr. X. committed murder, what were his possible motives? Assuming that these were his motives, given the scene of the murder, the habits of the murdered man, what were the inevitable steps of Mr. X.? The detective must face the complicated facts and show that, everything considered, Mr. X. could only have acted in one particular way and that no one else could possibly have acted this way. In a perfect detective story the conduct of the subtle criminal could be deduced by the even subtler detective with the greatest rigor, and every act would follow inevitably from the premises.</span></b></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> "It is obvious, of course, that this deductive precision is never reached, and seldom even approached, by other types of literature. In <i>Madame Bovary</i>, to take fictional explanation at its highest point, a great deal is accounted for. But when the poor woman ends a suicide, it is clear that there were other alternatives; nor could this event be deduced from the previous facts. In view of these other alternatives, the suicide was simply an accident. Such accidents occur frequently in the finest literature and are permitted. They are scarcely a defect in drama or the novel, but they mar the detective story. This follows, indeed, from its very nature. If, according to the detective's final theory, Mr. X. may have left his fingerprints on the gun after, just as easily as before, the murder, then the theory is a bad one. Not only that; it is a serious offence to leave loopholes in the argument or implicate a man on faulty evidence. The detective-story writer cannot afford, any more than a jury, to hang the wrong man. His audience is quick to take offence. An oversight in such a story is almost a hanging matter. Thus, the detective story, through its affiliation with actual criminal procedure, is held to a much higher standard of scientific rigor in explanation than is required of any other literature. Not even the naturalistic novel, with all its deterministic laws, proposes or carries out such finished explanations.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> "The detective story is, in fact, a kind of science. The author requires a knowledge of human nature and circumstance sufficient for the detection of the criminal. On the basis of certain deductions he must persuade us that Mr. X. is guilty and, like the court, he must take responsibility for the hanging. For this reason, he is obliged to employ every bit of knowledge which might bear upon the case, whether drawn from history, law, medicine, or psychology; nor can he afford to neglect such sciences as archeology and linguistics. There is no science nor circumstance which might not be relevant. Thus, as science advances, the detective-story writer must follow closely, and make learned researches, it may be, to prove his point. Numbers of modern writers in this field, it will be noted, are men of scientific training. Yet, in the very neatness of the detective story, there is a hint of mechanism and broken bells. Fingerprints, telltale dust, a picture ajar, a deep-niched pipe, may serve as evidence and convict the criminal. They do not satisfy our curiosity. In a court room, a man's false teeth or the dust on the shoes he borrowed from a friend may have a startling effect, may serve as links in the detective's proof. They do not answer to our deeper interest. What went on in the mind of the criminal? What were his secret thoughts in those illicit hours of strange excitement? This is our real curiosity, which neither legal proof, nor the circumstantial evidence of detective stories, can ever satisfy.</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> <b> "Of all detective-story writers, it is Van Dine who has done most to gratify our psychological interest. Yet even here we are largely disappointed. Too often the psychological theories are introduced with only a general relevance and no specific application. Certain general principles of human nature may give Philo Vance the clues which point the way to a solution. For the proof itself he must depend upon circumstantial evidence, upon a piece of string or a phonograph record. Of the inner life of the criminal and his victim we gather meanwhile only a skeleton, and only an inkling of their weird rich moments.</b></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> "These psychological detective stories are fine enough in a nervous, superficial way. For the real thing we must turn to an author who is never mentioned in this connection—to Henry James. In his tales and novels we shall find our fill of subtle mysteries and fine-spun solutions, all enacted intricately in the minds of incredibly clever people. The detective here will simply burn with curiosity."</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>A couple of years earlier, however, <i>Van Dine</i>, of course, had already laid out the <i>"rules"</i> (in 1928), the 16th of which is:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> "A detective novel should contain no long descriptive passages, no literary dallying with side-issues, <u><i>no subtly worked-out character analyses</i></u>, no 'atmospheric' preoccupations. Such matters have no vital place in a record of crime and deduction. They hold up the action and introduce issues irrelevant to the main purpose, which is to state a problem, analyze it, and bring it to a successful conclusion. <i><u>To be sure, there must be a sufficient descriptiveness and character delineation to give the novel verisimilitude</u>.</i>"</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (See <i>Open Culture</i> <a href="https://www.openculture.com/2016/02/20-rules-for-writing-detective-stories.html#google_vignette">HERE</a>.)</span></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>From this point McGill launches into a detailed analysis of his thesis: that Henry James's writings correspond to detective fiction in their quest to probe and ultimately explain the mysteries of human behavior in all its permutations, to illuminate the characters' <i>"inner lives"</i> far more deeply. Since it's obvious that McGill is a behavioral scientist, he naturally assumes that human actions are the product of purely physical forces and not metaphysical ones and are therefore explicable in purely materialistic terms; in other words, <i>"the devil made me do it"</i> or original sin are automatically ruled out. As a result, it's no surprise when he reiterates the common complaint of many critics that detective story writers don't go far enough with characterization. It's here that we'll leave it to you to decide whether he succeeds with his thesis.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Referenced above and resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- <i>"Oedipus"</i>: <i>Wikipedia</i> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_Rex">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFjIqsB_qy7wqiFZi2K4_Dlrd_p7bVHn0gFlSLhyBDfjBk9KSIDJ9ByQVgYobeOVrhgPGqVlp57Uw6duJUuCXTUbRlYdd7uvUyjtmIBLvflDCY5kxGBc5yRMQkwBY7d7bCpM_45Cky6I9jJk0NciW2eFsaNlpeaMJFcyIvga3TLgRieIsfUujwvlltCBlE/s632/Oedipus%20(actor%20from%20play).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="632" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFjIqsB_qy7wqiFZi2K4_Dlrd_p7bVHn0gFlSLhyBDfjBk9KSIDJ9ByQVgYobeOVrhgPGqVlp57Uw6duJUuCXTUbRlYdd7uvUyjtmIBLvflDCY5kxGBc5yRMQkwBY7d7bCpM_45Cky6I9jJk0NciW2eFsaNlpeaMJFcyIvga3TLgRieIsfUujwvlltCBlE/w400-h263/Oedipus%20(actor%20from%20play).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "or <i>Werther"</i>: <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrows_of_Young_Werther">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><b>- <i>"J. S. Mill"</i> and <i>"The Method of Residues"</i>: Mill: <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill">HERE</a>). Residues: <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill%27s_Methods#Method_of_residue">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHYT15hVZBxdsYn5w_jUSldqhIAxH7t8yL0EpEUUNgs0eRXIVMjb-6GoVxZ52Hc-OvxtlviRZ0LYqavA0P_RpHkI5IcmQSOuTaXETgWsM8vyIDRqCI0AcU5kt8lBHL-kcGI2ItnBo4muqHeJ-a37oX0ILPyDDDrLWHbv6wgFfVhRJ12BU9QoC_68TkkJMm/s1000/John%20Stuart%20Mill%20color%20painting.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="737" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHYT15hVZBxdsYn5w_jUSldqhIAxH7t8yL0EpEUUNgs0eRXIVMjb-6GoVxZ52Hc-OvxtlviRZ0LYqavA0P_RpHkI5IcmQSOuTaXETgWsM8vyIDRqCI0AcU5kt8lBHL-kcGI2ItnBo4muqHeJ-a37oX0ILPyDDDrLWHbv6wgFfVhRJ12BU9QoC_68TkkJMm/w472-h640/John%20Stuart%20Mill%20color%20painting.jpeg" width="472" /></a></div><div><b>- <i>"the discovery of Neptune"</i>: <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_of_Neptune">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiio3rBES-tgwfLsDYXKA9R2YyIjlqFfp7ov8R3cBWKZptAcP42TRU4jwe3ZcbB7tfxv4MA9sVYwlCSCkLxrRl4BnRMnuA5lUCZ5rAR19eIKNqHyuUO_i_84UC4p874zisefVhiRUp36S_hZBKtpax-GPYazTrvrUKcCka7f2zgkSCmNlX351a2jOqIS-iP/s800/Space%20-%20Planet%20-%20Neptune%20from%20Voyager%202%20in%201989.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiio3rBES-tgwfLsDYXKA9R2YyIjlqFfp7ov8R3cBWKZptAcP42TRU4jwe3ZcbB7tfxv4MA9sVYwlCSCkLxrRl4BnRMnuA5lUCZ5rAR19eIKNqHyuUO_i_84UC4p874zisefVhiRUp36S_hZBKtpax-GPYazTrvrUKcCka7f2zgkSCmNlX351a2jOqIS-iP/w400-h400/Space%20-%20Planet%20-%20Neptune%20from%20Voyager%202%20in%201989.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- <i>Madame Bovary</i>: <i>Wikipedia</i> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Bovary">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtoyNliEwbN92_qtyykrdjsAsxIexwjDmm3o8NnePWk0XaLHOqYFZt8BixjtnAcSgVsFo6RUzUIcRNZwmXW3HaK90txCylk3y-w8yhyphenhyphenFm8gvopZyLZb6kph1TAexGl8r6PCootvmIlnOCMRxyLshy8SGx_7FHVAScYM_khUV9KmTRrXbQcDpIaZahqISAf/s1057/'Madame%20Bovary'%20(1949)%20DVD%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="762" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtoyNliEwbN92_qtyykrdjsAsxIexwjDmm3o8NnePWk0XaLHOqYFZt8BixjtnAcSgVsFo6RUzUIcRNZwmXW3HaK90txCylk3y-w8yhyphenhyphenFm8gvopZyLZb6kph1TAexGl8r6PCootvmIlnOCMRxyLshy8SGx_7FHVAScYM_khUV9KmTRrXbQcDpIaZahqISAf/w461-h640/'Madame%20Bovary'%20(1949)%20DVD%20cover.jpg" width="461" /></a></div><div><b>- <i>"the naturalistic novel"</i>: <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalism_(literature)">HERE</a>).</b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSe_bwOT0lH75hWSqEjYMTWn7R8W-g5CD0ZPjPSBM5n-7sUkWo4u-JplZUhL0HpLeh75I5ea5YXsIiA4yPIelyULsmNgctgiF-e7WVgtycCJChSfYywtQgF2OwZ6_aL1xT20QzMcu0_iYNkO1oeqm-bvkIVbKO8X3RHLD_x_wynUfYRMUkF_4DUY86Rh_v/s1108/%C3%89mile%20Zola%20in%201902%20(self-portrait).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSe_bwOT0lH75hWSqEjYMTWn7R8W-g5CD0ZPjPSBM5n-7sUkWo4u-JplZUhL0HpLeh75I5ea5YXsIiA4yPIelyULsmNgctgiF-e7WVgtycCJChSfYywtQgF2OwZ6_aL1xT20QzMcu0_iYNkO1oeqm-bvkIVbKO8X3RHLD_x_wynUfYRMUkF_4DUY86Rh_v/w462-h640/%C3%89mile%20Zola%20in%201902%20(self-portrait).jpg" width="462" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Mr. Naturalistic Novel himself, Émile Zola</i></span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><div><b>- "it is <i>Van Dine"</i>: <i>Wikipedia</i> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._S._Van_Dine">HERE</a>). <i>ONTOS </i>(<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2017/10/miscellaneous-mondaynumber-nineteen.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMmGJppE6oCc5u5562Jz-Uk4SGYP-TqANJTPhqWbl9jmBNDHfJJDEAxEKxKCcEGMpSHwqZPZmapg78j02ceUDt7EfPtBA1i812jvBPQlNWPOVXlqOMoIVeS69UzxqxGeKP4WoijzFUyNDlV2mhtROOd8qaGLSiFZFrLhhqs4hVFWap0ahpPmgDmjlJ3h-/s940/S.%20S.%20Van%20Dine%20and%20William%20Powell.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="940" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMmGJppE6oCc5u5562Jz-Uk4SGYP-TqANJTPhqWbl9jmBNDHfJJDEAxEKxKCcEGMpSHwqZPZmapg78j02ceUDt7EfPtBA1i812jvBPQlNWPOVXlqOMoIVeS69UzxqxGeKP4WoijzFUyNDlV2mhtROOd8qaGLSiFZFrLhhqs4hVFWap0ahpPmgDmjlJ3h-/w400-h311/S.%20S.%20Van%20Dine%20and%20William%20Powell.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- A substantial <i>Wikipedia </i>page about <i>Henry James</i> (1843-1916) is (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_James">HERE</a>). Hollywood has been adapting his work for years, starting in 1933, with no fewer than 159 credits on <i>IMDb </i>(<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416556/">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</span></b></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-15676404546007932792024-02-10T13:38:00.000-08:002024-02-10T13:38:20.041-08:00"There Was Something in the Corner of It Which Knocked Awkwardly Against My Legs"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>WHAT do <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huckleberry_Finn">Huck Finn</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Caulfield">Holden Caulfield</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_It_Was,_Was_Football">Andy Griffith</a></i>, and <i>Charles Sandeson</i> have in common? That should become clear when Charles encounters . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"The Mysterious Kit-Bag."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Arthur Franks (?-?; <i>FictionMags </i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/a/a08.htm">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Illustration by John E. Sutcliffe (1876-1922; <i>FictionMags </i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/a/a08.htm">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0fYmQTF08WWs26aLPQ09IpLMPV3nBaURLWJ8cAXYdVj1vTzaS2tmBPK5nCNTRqeXI0Dola8jzLoCNrc9lcATrTkeDAr_yfG0pSc78z67OtyrA2IpG-WO7p_MSgHTZSP8fLtRyaHeT9RvT4VizWP9aK0F7-6JShOCxNjCnxnyOT6owH23Iw4Ud9nZhgWX/s1189/'The%20Mysterious%20Kit-Bag'%20illo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1189" data-original-width="835" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0fYmQTF08WWs26aLPQ09IpLMPV3nBaURLWJ8cAXYdVj1vTzaS2tmBPK5nCNTRqeXI0Dola8jzLoCNrc9lcATrTkeDAr_yfG0pSc78z67OtyrA2IpG-WO7p_MSgHTZSP8fLtRyaHeT9RvT4VizWP9aK0F7-6JShOCxNjCnxnyOT6owH23Iw4Ud9nZhgWX/w449-h640/'The%20Mysterious%20Kit-Bag'%20illo.png" width="449" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Cassell's Magazine,</i> November 1907.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short short story (8 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>Hathi Trust</i> (<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015086852871&view=1up&seq=628&skin=2021&q1=detective">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> "I can no longer keep silence."</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>A fourth-century theologian whose works are still taught in universities issued this warning: <i>"Woman is the gate of the devil, the road to iniquity, the sting of the scorpion, in a word, a dangerous species."</i> We're pretty sure that Charles slept through that lecture . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Principal characters:</span></i></b></div><div><b><i>~ Charles Sandeson:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . stranded in a foreign city, with no pyjamas, and a mysterious bag, probably full of a lady's apparel."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Irma d'Armentiéres:</i></b></div><div><b> "Even in the semi-darkness it was easy to see how nice-looking she was."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Monsieur Truffaut:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . said that it was obvious from her name that the lady was noble . . ."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Mr. Jefferson:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . said it was wonderful what attraction some men had over women . . ."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Brown:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . jumped up and began to call me most objectionable names . . ."</b></div><div><b><i>~ The Countess of Exshire:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . since that time her nickname for me is Sherlock Holmes."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>References and resource:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- "waiting for <i>the boat-train</i>":</b></div><div><b> <i>Boat-trains</i> seem to figure heavily in Golden Age detective fiction. (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat_train">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-BUJM1nkvRvcsn0OpOA-R6cLY830tVZ54icFEeDCh1YVrlf2UDfRuIGuOpF5o71YkIJ81qUrglsESOqf5rptEW6Ru_UOSixPhz4y-fmlM8eJ9st6VwIxh7Ni3z-hgs3zQpodSjZQP3VzPgO9fKz887xmfAOlp4FxEyewZ4VwYHyTmEw0HUd5HYEVoNSr/s582/'Boat%20Trains%20-%20The%20English%20Channel%20&%20Ocean%20Liner%20Specials'%20cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-BUJM1nkvRvcsn0OpOA-R6cLY830tVZ54icFEeDCh1YVrlf2UDfRuIGuOpF5o71YkIJ81qUrglsESOqf5rptEW6Ru_UOSixPhz4y-fmlM8eJ9st6VwIxh7Ni3z-hgs3zQpodSjZQP3VzPgO9fKz887xmfAOlp4FxEyewZ4VwYHyTmEw0HUd5HYEVoNSr/s16000/'Boat%20Trains%20-%20The%20English%20Channel%20&%20Ocean%20Liner%20Specials'%20cover.jpg" /></a></div><div><b>- "the worry of preparing for the second time for my <i>Pass Mods.</i>"</b></div><div><b> <i>Wikipedia </i>has the gruesome details (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honour_Moderations">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxE-QgItCfPE4CgDNwfLeypu2t9MmPmhhVFRpMpY8Mwf4n1nA2f68dBumGk-8dH9QbVVz81Sr-uuYypBRxuDNveOsvsMSIRJOOfakJuOHMLhuLQzr4wg2fl-0RoJhVjMvYqhyphenhyphenFdYM8QUXGA8qP4nlFcwWX4PIbWDTl3QIDp88ffvseTr07MbxIcU_sirFD/s3200/Education%20-%20Oxford%20students%20in%20a%20line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1790" data-original-width="3200" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxE-QgItCfPE4CgDNwfLeypu2t9MmPmhhVFRpMpY8Mwf4n1nA2f68dBumGk-8dH9QbVVz81Sr-uuYypBRxuDNveOsvsMSIRJOOfakJuOHMLhuLQzr4wg2fl-0RoJhVjMvYqhyphenhyphenFdYM8QUXGA8qP4nlFcwWX4PIbWDTl3QIDp88ffvseTr07MbxIcU_sirFD/w400-h224/Education%20-%20Oxford%20students%20in%20a%20line.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- Charles belongs to a sub-species of that old standby of fiction, <i>the Unreliable Narrator</i>. (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreliable_narrator">HERE</a>; see especially <i>"The Naif."</i>)</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Bottom line:</span></i></b></div><div><b> "It is worse still to be ignorant of your ignorance."</b></div><div><b> - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome">St. Jerome</a></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</b></span></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-61476052765131861192024-02-10T12:40:00.000-08:002024-02-11T10:14:50.610-08:00The Thinking Machine Crosses the Pond<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>WE found this notice in the <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015086852871&seq=636">November 1907</a> <i>Cassell's Magazine</i>, announcing the introduction of an American detective writer and his series character to English readership:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpG9835gpylZhGMHfcBjnxx-SVP48rrFnVoezkHGLLr8DlcotXgxVUkd0aGQl6BxbXivAwxcX8Uao41oOD9lbAyWp0RoHDzl8DFW8lQLtujngZfIUJxKrSqhBgghVTFsE2Klwc7pKDf-CmlMBM27BOlMSVLqEsUfngrxoVbNzJQFdDlntp7dfIxUmlNeHi/s446/'Cassell's'%20announcement%20of%20Jacques%20Futrelle%20story.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpG9835gpylZhGMHfcBjnxx-SVP48rrFnVoezkHGLLr8DlcotXgxVUkd0aGQl6BxbXivAwxcX8Uao41oOD9lbAyWp0RoHDzl8DFW8lQLtujngZfIUJxKrSqhBgghVTFsE2Klwc7pKDf-CmlMBM27BOlMSVLqEsUfngrxoVbNzJQFdDlntp7dfIxUmlNeHi/s16000/'Cassell's'%20announcement%20of%20Jacques%20Futrelle%20story.png" /></a></div><div><b>The story in question is <i>"[The] Problem of Dressing Room A,"</i> the 12th published adventure of <i>Prof. Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen,</i> the previous 11 stories having already seen publication in a Boston, Mass. newspaper. <i>"Dressing Room A"</i> originally included in its title <i>"The Thinking Machine's First Problem"</i>:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i> "THAT strange, seemingly inexplicable chain of circumstances which had to do with the mysterious disappearance of a famous actress, Irene Wallack, from her dressing room in a Springfield theater in the course of a performance, while the echo of tumultuous appreciation still rang in her ears, was perhaps the first problem which was not purely scientific that The Thinking Machine was ever asked to solve."</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoo-1pBngzENULfaLbRiF6qkEBN-lW3oLn079yb2Kj5UdWioQfWvImyFLqnvsngRfsdOwOzlo86-XACQ_KuxJmeQlb5cJ5nQnoemURbGBhW_4qo7bYkpYRU_mWi-HSC6-nN0uesw_saj_4A4kWfyEcISwottur1sUa5N5Zs18C4iE6TeIwlBGk4Hssdpb/s234/Jacques%20Futrelle%20cameo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoo-1pBngzENULfaLbRiF6qkEBN-lW3oLn079yb2Kj5UdWioQfWvImyFLqnvsngRfsdOwOzlo86-XACQ_KuxJmeQlb5cJ5nQnoemURbGBhW_4qo7bYkpYRU_mWi-HSC6-nN0uesw_saj_4A4kWfyEcISwottur1sUa5N5Zs18C4iE6TeIwlBGk4Hssdpb/s16000/Jacques%20Futrelle%20cameo.png" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- <i>"[The] Problem of Dressing Room A"</i> is online at <i>Roy Glashan's Library</i> (<a href="https://freeread.com.au/@RGLibrary/JacquesFutrelle/VanDusen/PVD-02-DressingRoomA.html">HERE</a>; HTML).</b></div><div><b>- The Jacques Futrelle entry at <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Futrelle">HERE</a>), the one for Prof. Van Dusen (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_S._F._X._Van_Dusen">HERE</a>),<i> the Library of Congress Blog</i> (<a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2023/07/crime-classics-returns-the-thinking-machine/">HERE</a>), and The Thinking Machine's posthumous comeback (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-thinking-machine-makes-comeback.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</span></b></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-61874624617026211822024-02-07T11:39:00.000-08:002024-02-08T10:18:19.365-08:00"Signing Your Will Was Like Signing Your Death Warrant"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"A Literary Detective."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Richard Ashe-King (1839-1932;<i> Oxford Reference</i> <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100037598">HERE</a>; <i>Dictionary of Irish Biography</i> <a href="https://www.dib.ie/biography/king-richard-ashe-a4566">HERE</a>; <i>Archive.org</i> <a href="https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22King%2C+Richard+Ashe%2C+1839-1932%22">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>T.P.'s Weekly,</i> November 6, 1903.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dVsHQnQKSPt3oZV1TkYyOaHSDqFskN9RbOfEEj5InshhiPxcBS-0MuZViLtmH0LTwGwFwE7isBVuCql_YCaHKHjOYPAOFcliilPcd9_tkERLiIKMflk6cdKve_Vbqa6cRWPpGaUk5dAfGfG6jx6OWovqlcbwX70Tc7k_b2hNBv_uLmnlryr_FconI3KV/s1168/'T.P.'s%20Weekly'%20masthead,%20November%206,%201903.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="1168" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dVsHQnQKSPt3oZV1TkYyOaHSDqFskN9RbOfEEj5InshhiPxcBS-0MuZViLtmH0LTwGwFwE7isBVuCql_YCaHKHjOYPAOFcliilPcd9_tkERLiIKMflk6cdKve_Vbqa6cRWPpGaUk5dAfGfG6jx6OWovqlcbwX70Tc7k_b2hNBv_uLmnlryr_FconI3KV/w400-h108/'T.P.'s%20Weekly'%20masthead,%20November%206,%201903.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short short short story (4 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>Hathi Trust</i> (<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924069714248&view=1up&seq=724&skin=2021">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> "I'm morally certain it was murder, but how it was managed I can't for the life of me make out."</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>What could possibly connect an unjustly accused young lady, an extremely overwrought widow, a distraught vicar, a recently dismissed stable groom, a suspicious coroner, and a sensationalist story writer who's exhibiting an uncommon interest in footprints? A double murder, of course, but not just any double murder. This one seems beyond any rational explanation, an impossible crime irrupting right there in rural Edwardian England . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Main characters:</span></i></b></div><div><b><i>~ Mr. Metcalf:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . had now no doubt at all that her real reason for sending for him was to throw him off the scent of this murder mystery."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Harry Metcalf:</i></b></div><div><b> "He was a journalist generally, and specially a writer of short stories, chiefly sensational . . ."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Mary Horsham:</i></b></div><div><b> "Harry, I cannot understand father's making this will, even to please her."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Dr. de Lisle:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . an utterly odious man, a Dr. de Lisle, always in the house on one pretext or another."</b></div><div><b><i>~ The vicar:</i></b></div><div><b> "No, no. Not killed. There was no foul play. It—it might have been an accident."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Isabel Horsham:</i></b></div><div><b> "She had all the men at her feet, from the vicar down."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Baines:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . the groom comes in after all as the favoured lover!"</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>References and resource:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- "strapped <i>pick-a-back</i>":</b></div><div><b><i> "Piggyback is a corruption of <u>pickaback</u>, which is likely to be a folk etymology alteration of pick pack (1560s), which perhaps is from pick, a dialectal variant of the verb pitch."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggyback_(transportation)">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEo58g2Zq-rbKR-nI34I9wSVdNqEmzoq6xrxZw_BXsRsrY2HADhLY-q97hV5A361yQaRN8N2BoAhdqSaxWRlKfs6qdBXRkaDtf_2BdQqxhT9AB67vT1gkThWSsi5rVGZ_c-EystUCwnFldLjmrhwyvSeiX5LbHtpE1DWapK8zAmHVT7knb2ok4s9weGNR/s1024/Piggyback%20carry.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEo58g2Zq-rbKR-nI34I9wSVdNqEmzoq6xrxZw_BXsRsrY2HADhLY-q97hV5A361yQaRN8N2BoAhdqSaxWRlKfs6qdBXRkaDtf_2BdQqxhT9AB67vT1gkThWSsi5rVGZ_c-EystUCwnFldLjmrhwyvSeiX5LbHtpE1DWapK8zAmHVT7knb2ok4s9weGNR/w400-h266/Piggyback%20carry.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "a scorn of <i>Dogberry</i>":</b></div><div> <i><b>"<u>Dogberry </u>is a character created by William Shakespeare for his play <u>Much Ado About Nothing</u>. <u>The Nuttall Encyclopædia</u> describes him as a 'self-satisfied night constable' with an inflated view of his own importance as the leader of a group of comically bumbling watchmen."</b></i> <b>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogberry">HERE</a>; see especially <i>"Elizabethan law enforcement."</i>)</b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLelFVdewOyiBtKVjyInZKwKAH5zb5lGKTiqkQUhnPupZYLaFgjicgN0DRIHfyafWXgrIw1Imp2dq03aPiYLSygNAHMmi5qyGiIa7SJxpkDohFwoPA9XzGFMcWo040ZHeNkRP5IpoIGdCwy3mQUuXLJ6_xTQmZ4FqW4TgGXeSv-_h6bLLo0m3tmP1ApX_/s588/Michael%20Keaton%20as%20Dogberry%20in%20'Much%20Ado%20About%20Nothing'%20(1993).jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="588" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLelFVdewOyiBtKVjyInZKwKAH5zb5lGKTiqkQUhnPupZYLaFgjicgN0DRIHfyafWXgrIw1Imp2dq03aPiYLSygNAHMmi5qyGiIa7SJxpkDohFwoPA9XzGFMcWo040ZHeNkRP5IpoIGdCwy3mQUuXLJ6_xTQmZ4FqW4TgGXeSv-_h6bLLo0m3tmP1ApX_/w400-h326/Michael%20Keaton%20as%20Dogberry%20in%20'Much%20Ado%20About%20Nothing'%20(1993).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Michael Keaton as Dogberry in <u>Much Ado About Nothing</u> (1993)</b></span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><b>- "you're a born <i>Fouché!"</i>:</b></div><div> <i><b>"<u>Joseph Fouché</u>, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché (1759 – 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. He was particularly known for the ferocity with which he suppressed the Lyon insurrection during the Revolution in 1793 and for being minister of police under the Directory, the Consulate, and the Empire."</b></i> <b>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Fouch%C3%A9">HERE</a>.)</b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WeHE0gDwEpcXYoSc_26k933E3ZU4HWkv1UOlYORS4bTBGBnduv0yVNQFCr2dVpGEXlT0gxdRZEDTBC9NU4aMoEO56BKS1CHAW6nhN2FQpPpR41orVtr97hjfa4G_YuZ1vG2_SJAf_mOI8mQV7h6BAnVdScu5KvFLcmsOsp0aFmBMmMqJhpcw_3ogjr7G/s1084/Joseph%20Fouch%C3%A9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1084" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WeHE0gDwEpcXYoSc_26k933E3ZU4HWkv1UOlYORS4bTBGBnduv0yVNQFCr2dVpGEXlT0gxdRZEDTBC9NU4aMoEO56BKS1CHAW6nhN2FQpPpR41orVtr97hjfa4G_YuZ1vG2_SJAf_mOI8mQV7h6BAnVdScu5KvFLcmsOsp0aFmBMmMqJhpcw_3ogjr7G/w295-h400/Joseph%20Fouch%C3%A9.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Not a nice man</i></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><b>- Harry's forensic skills with footprints prefigure what came later; see <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forensic_footwear_evidence">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdIURK1PTHVnnp60N3xnHeYJMRoiuIG-U4Xq-QK_n_yG0dkmAWWP1jf2JNHn_XO8y-LrGFU7hdA3gQmUFtaXYD6dzp67Ew89c_iAVVICyk5BhNNEsVq5eyL2nAolYm7-26nTNIPpNn6Q7pEfooubmJk3ZqC6XhExawp_S7RnG4QIuSCVASTiSxXBEaWlz/s1024/Crime%20scene%20-%20Footprint%20evidence.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdIURK1PTHVnnp60N3xnHeYJMRoiuIG-U4Xq-QK_n_yG0dkmAWWP1jf2JNHn_XO8y-LrGFU7hdA3gQmUFtaXYD6dzp67Ew89c_iAVVICyk5BhNNEsVq5eyL2nAolYm7-26nTNIPpNn6Q7pEfooubmJk3ZqC6XhExawp_S7RnG4QIuSCVASTiSxXBEaWlz/w400-h300/Crime%20scene%20-%20Footprint%20evidence.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</i></b></span></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-59565923881378612942024-02-04T10:34:00.000-08:002024-02-05T10:19:26.369-08:00"We Specialize, After All, in the Sort of Investigations That Few Others, Even Crackajack Government Agencies, Can Handle"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>NO MATTER how you look at it, it's going to take an awful lot of explaining when it's discovered that . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"The President's Brain Is Missing."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Ron Goulart (1933-2022) (<i>ISFDb </i><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?824">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Illustrated by Mike Kuchar.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywItJi6L3W09eZHFIRTlCE0iubBrLM86gKn5iRzlftn9Byiyc81F8owRKU81DWLqnEkEKh23lv82jkJsGALn6Xw9DQjYhyphenhyphenT8PfzRInR3queBcnukKUWYPCLb2r0-RMm4DdCdLLi69zsMGBnxx81kF4z-NEj1YwtQZM2McD3QX-ROs-f1Hdis1-cHSW5V2/s1180/'The%20President's%20Brain%20Is%20Missing'%20illo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1180" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywItJi6L3W09eZHFIRTlCE0iubBrLM86gKn5iRzlftn9Byiyc81F8owRKU81DWLqnEkEKh23lv82jkJsGALn6Xw9DQjYhyphenhyphenT8PfzRInR3queBcnukKUWYPCLb2r0-RMm4DdCdLLi69zsMGBnxx81kF4z-NEj1YwtQZM2McD3QX-ROs-f1Hdis1-cHSW5V2/w434-h640/'The%20President's%20Brain%20Is%20Missing'%20illo.jpg" width="434" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Espionage Magazine,</i> December 1984.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMkcQg9K-5LMhwOTyz1V0T23TA2FRTTa6O_P69S9Wju4-TxvQvdwWSjd12pAsNreIaC6xl8RopKlQgVPUlYBHmgBXQtyb_c8yfUe0LKanJD-QTE4B7OjFyWPNqgphJB0Z75xaXai_Qf7K4IeGdiuiUVZdI1ghiYnePVREmYBND7ioBv1i9C5s-ikXt8t2/s1178/'Espionage%20Magazine'%20cover,%20December%201984.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1178" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMkcQg9K-5LMhwOTyz1V0T23TA2FRTTa6O_P69S9Wju4-TxvQvdwWSjd12pAsNreIaC6xl8RopKlQgVPUlYBHmgBXQtyb_c8yfUe0LKanJD-QTE4B7OjFyWPNqgphJB0Z75xaXai_Qf7K4IeGdiuiUVZdI1ghiYnePVREmYBND7ioBv1i9C5s-ikXt8t2/w435-h640/'Espionage%20Magazine'%20cover,%20December%201984.jpg" width="435" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short story (14 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>Archive.org</i> (<a href="https://archive.org/details/Espionage198412LPMAT/page/n23/mode/2up?view=theater">HERE</a>; go to text page 24).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> "Unless somebody gives it a countermanding order by noon Thursday, every darned one of them will explode."</i></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>THINGS go missing all the time, stuff like socks and TV remotes. The same can be said for people, such as <i><a href="http://tinyurl.com/45c8tfjj">Judge Crater</a></i> and <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart">Amelia Earhart</a></i>. In this instance, however, what's missing is a vital part of the Chief Executive, and unless it's found soon, as our protagonist puts it, <i>"you’ll all be in considerable trouble"</i>—an understatement, that's for sure . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Principal characters:</span></i></b></div><div><b><i>~ Jake Pace:</i></b></div><div><b> "I happen to play a little piano."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Hildy Pace:</i></b></div><div><b> <i>"'The United States government,'</i> reminded Hildy, <i>'never calls in a private inquiry agency like ours unless they’re desperate, Russ'."</i></b></div><div><b><i>~ The hospital robot:</i></b></div><div><b> "Oh, surely, yes. I imagine you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Leave me with a blownup assassin on my . . . Awk! Ooops!"</b></div><div><b><i>~ United States Troubleshooter General Russell Toilet:</i></b></div><div><b> "The alarm system was deftly made inoperative, the formidable duo of robot guards rendered defunct and the storage cabinet opened with ease."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Susie Miller:</i></b></div><div><b> "I’m the manager of the place and the bebopper I hired ran off to Yucatan with his wife’s best friend only moments ago and if I don’t find a substitute at once I’ll be up the creek and out on my ear."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Preston Ives, Jr.:</i></b></div><div><b> <i>"'Um . . . did I get the message right?'</i> asked Ives. <i>'You want to buy a whole circus?'"</i></b></div><div><b><i>~ Rowland Pond:</i></b></div><div><b> "You’re not such a bad detective at that."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>References and resource:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- "<i>Bud Powell, Thelonius Monk</i> and <i>Red Garland</i>. Maybe throw in a little <i>Horace Silver.</i>"</b></div><div><b> <i>Wikipedia</i>: Bud Powell (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Powell">HERE</a>), Thelonius Monk (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelonious_Monk">HERE</a>), Red Garland (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Garland">HERE</a>), and Horace Silver (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Silver">HERE</a>).</b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobMSfjMoSUez7eJXgLGUo7obE2qGnxPwoZzPfrtz0g0GNvhdopEH9qPynBfAxnBhwkAZj8V6-hnFTOuztNShwaz9vlC6bko1NgVXi9l-qmYTEu6dsG2nisfK8GM_74U2TbIaEC66mYMEWpbZP1fvRcavHtLZiTsNhZqBZ4zVyoe8NXZrMu8FbVVFbLkhR/s1280/Bud%20Powell%20at%20the%20piano.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1280" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobMSfjMoSUez7eJXgLGUo7obE2qGnxPwoZzPfrtz0g0GNvhdopEH9qPynBfAxnBhwkAZj8V6-hnFTOuztNShwaz9vlC6bko1NgVXi9l-qmYTEu6dsG2nisfK8GM_74U2TbIaEC66mYMEWpbZP1fvRcavHtLZiTsNhZqBZ4zVyoe8NXZrMu8FbVVFbLkhR/w400-h280/Bud%20Powell%20at%20the%20piano.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bud Powell at the piano</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><div><b>- "a chunky fellow in beret, darkglasses and <i>zootsuit</i>":</b></div><div><b> It's fairly rare when a style of clothing sparks a riot but the<i> zoot suit</i> did just that; see <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoot_suit">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiaN4lZy72H4u6nGM-TesZ2u6JfsLB48IlY6UhOUvPEGa-l16C80yFCdwLg2CtHJYffzVi-PqT5Va8akMfqxyg9SCLPXvml96q2YYHYYG-LzsNMawqmn-vhH9om9uhkwY1OJJJQnvUwY8HIrBy4_3GNljIRm7QvIPQRqr5kkkKrj8DoYgrTMVAAyctFMtw/s766/'Stormy%20Weather'%20(1943)%20lobby%20card.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="766" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiaN4lZy72H4u6nGM-TesZ2u6JfsLB48IlY6UhOUvPEGa-l16C80yFCdwLg2CtHJYffzVi-PqT5Va8akMfqxyg9SCLPXvml96q2YYHYYG-LzsNMawqmn-vhH9om9uhkwY1OJJJQnvUwY8HIrBy4_3GNljIRm7QvIPQRqr5kkkKrj8DoYgrTMVAAyctFMtw/w400-h316/'Stormy%20Weather'%20(1943)%20lobby%20card.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "my <i>bop </i>medley":</b></div><div><b> <i> "<u>Bebop </u>developed as the younger generation of jazz musicians expanded the creative possibilities of jazz beyond the popular, dance-oriented swing music-style with a new 'musician's music' that was not as danceable and demanded close listening. As bebop was not intended for dancing, it enabled the musicians to play at faster tempos."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bebop">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "a few notes into <i>Un Poco Loco</i>":</b></div><div><b><i> "<u>Un Poco Loco</u> is an Afro-Cuban jazz standard composed by American jazz pianist Bud Powell."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_Poco_Loco">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- It has been quite a while since we last visited <i>Ron Goulart's</i> fiction, the story at the time being <i>"Into the Shop"</i> (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2019/10/up-above-blaster-sizzled-and-rock.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</b></span></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-65177078326856605222024-02-01T11:19:00.000-08:002024-02-02T10:12:10.776-08:00"My Motive Is Nobody’s Concern but My Own"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Mr. Mouthpiece."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Julius Long (1907-55).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkz4onJ05e3IbferTUrcGcS_I8P6hAdp5RQESsquw16_T_x0fVQkttCNNn0wO8RuGUePkmYWFMxXc4Tb20Ptg_HGFPlroEzpLly-_bMnS_1_LgGUjLvfSZzBoCCuX5jQb5ui4W_PR0In1Y-DLCV6AcJewsffyd_8_XmGKiZQU24IIgAEnhuLngMLaEeq2/s560/'Mr.%20Mouthpiece'%20illo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkz4onJ05e3IbferTUrcGcS_I8P6hAdp5RQESsquw16_T_x0fVQkttCNNn0wO8RuGUePkmYWFMxXc4Tb20Ptg_HGFPlroEzpLly-_bMnS_1_LgGUjLvfSZzBoCCuX5jQb5ui4W_PR0In1Y-DLCV6AcJewsffyd_8_XmGKiZQU24IIgAEnhuLngMLaEeq2/s16000/'Mr.%20Mouthpiece'%20illo.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Dime Detective,</i> October 1952.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Reprinted in <i>Black Mask Detective (U.K.),</i> January 1953.</span></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOe6jMyfiZ9rqX_VPT5AJGE4uVsRjI4VXmM0WsH9J8fZkWGgTU572DR5kO-F0f_bjCpSKyb-6m7bYSRr9xnjJzQePAKhyphenhyphenxtBKy7x-0uLpKL02LQ4vGwgzssXV1L-bgyNpCmb28T493lDso-BoVZU9L1gCz7xDYwKW2rzu1JZb45em1YUaRUOqszZ9mVD0/s493/'Black%20Mask%20Detective%20(U.K.)'%20cover,%20January%201953.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOe6jMyfiZ9rqX_VPT5AJGE4uVsRjI4VXmM0WsH9J8fZkWGgTU572DR5kO-F0f_bjCpSKyb-6m7bYSRr9xnjJzQePAKhyphenhyphenxtBKy7x-0uLpKL02LQ4vGwgzssXV1L-bgyNpCmb28T493lDso-BoVZU9L1gCz7xDYwKW2rzu1JZb45em1YUaRUOqszZ9mVD0/s16000/'Black%20Mask%20Detective%20(U.K.)'%20cover,%20January%201953.jpg" /></a></div></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Short story (15 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>Archive.org</i> starting (<a href="https://archive.org/details/dimedetectivev67n04195210/page/n81/mode/1up?view=theater">HERE</a>) and concluding (<a href="https://archive.org/details/dimedetectivev67n04195210/page/n110/mode/1up?view=theater">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">(Note: Text fuzzy in places but readable.)</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> "I told you once, and I’ll tell you again—he’s going to die in the electric chair."</i></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Anxiety</i>. That chronic feeling of dread that something bad is sure to happen. Many people seem to experience anxiety, enough of them to make the practice of psychiatry a lucrative profession. Today's protagonist, a defense lawyer, is also suffering from it, but how he deals with <i>his </i>anxiety is radically different from the norm—in fact, you could say it's <i>unique </i>. . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Main characters (in order of appearance):</i></span></b></div><div><b><i>~ Barry Bodine:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . had tried one hundred and twelve murder cases—and secured hung juries or acquittals in every one."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Pat O’Neill:</i></b></div><div><b> "He had a mistaken idea that you had a weakness for me and that I could worm out of you what evidence you'd dug up in the case."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Judge Cost:</i></b></div><div><b> "You’ve always been popular with the cops. If you defend Kuntzman’s killer, they'll never forgive you—especially when you ask for the case at a fee that’s practically nothing."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Pete Novick:</i></b></div><div><b> "What’s your angle on the cop-killer case?"</b></div><div><b><i>~ Paul Sugrue:</i></b></div><div><b> "Who's putting up the side dough?"</b></div><div><b><i>~ The elevator operator:</i></b></div><div><b> "Hear you’ve taken the cop-killer’s case, Mr. Bodine. Boy, that’s sure gonna be a toughie!"</b></div><div><b><i>~ Eva Martin:</i></b></div><div><b> "Have you gone nuts?"</b></div><div><b><i>~ Joan Wolf:</i></b></div><div><b> "He hit me when I wasn't looking."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Karl Kuntzman:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . was so stunned he couldn’t shoot first, even though he had the drop on the guy."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Charlie Wolf:</i></b></div><div><b> "But you’re not telling all that was in the papers <i>[Joan said]</i>. My brother told the police his own version of what had happened."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Mike Umanski:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . moved in on Atwood before he could dodge away."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Louis Varga:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . turned white. Little beads of perspiration formed about his lips. He called Atwood a name. It was quite a name."</b></div><div><b><i>~ J. Herbert Atwood:</i></b></div><div><b> "The tall, thin man, trembling hysterically, stood close by the girl."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Fred Morrow:</i></b></div><div><b> "You got something up your sleeve, Bodine, and it’s not good for that pay increase bill before the council."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Typos: </i></b></span><b>"<i>Jean</i> Wolf"; "as if in a <i>vice</i>".</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Resources and references:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- "removed his <i>Borsalino hat</i>":</b></div><div><b> Bogie impressed Ingrid with it in one of his movies; see <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borsalino">HERE</a>) about the company history and its impact on popular culture.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPpuFSB9DmjhrvS5iX1LoGI1gwsHhlaN1h7xtag-EkBGB10L1wFSoBFWnXj5X1UiyzBmLeLXSbjDrKLukNMzTDmiMKxfAqLkGX4befrYXvut4lVmvKydmcajhz5AQ1kAapYYXV1Nt1NkK32dE5CrCdm1Ct0X4aTJS_NEIHQh808r18Wc1XrSRJuIqYaqEw/s1377/Borsalino%20hat%20-%20Alain%20Delon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1377" data-original-width="1028" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPpuFSB9DmjhrvS5iX1LoGI1gwsHhlaN1h7xtag-EkBGB10L1wFSoBFWnXj5X1UiyzBmLeLXSbjDrKLukNMzTDmiMKxfAqLkGX4befrYXvut4lVmvKydmcajhz5AQ1kAapYYXV1Nt1NkK32dE5CrCdm1Ct0X4aTJS_NEIHQh808r18Wc1XrSRJuIqYaqEw/w299-h400/Borsalino%20hat%20-%20Alain%20Delon.jpg" width="299" /></a></div><div><b>- <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">FictionMags's</a></i> thumbnail about <i>Julius W. Long</i>: <i>"Magazine writer. Born in Ohio; studied law; admitted to the Ohio bar and practiced law in that state"</i>—which explains the theme of our story.</b></div><div><b>- As one of the <i>"Black Mask boys," </i>Long's bibliography is understandably impressive. His series characters were <i>Ben Corbett,</i> who starred in 17 <i>Black Mask</i> stories (1944-47) and one in <i>Detective Tales</i> (1948), and <i>Clarence Darrow (Corpus Delicti) Mort</i> in 11 <i>Dime Detective</i> tales (1944-47).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a> </i>created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</span></b></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-4983047530097797792024-01-29T09:56:00.000-08:002024-01-29T10:08:07.872-08:00UPDATE: Two Impossibilities from William Brittain<div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Added <i>Luminist Archives</i> link to William Brittain's <i>"The Impossible Footprint"</i> (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2016/05/two-impossibilities-from-william.html">HERE</a>) and removed a dead link.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgD5pvmT5vry-S834uhphcN-ZVle4yyP4deyyjpaeU1piRC14MgE7srW6BBvk_D2yz5jubOhIwX6amigAIPFz2LJtsX7OPF5-JTaZRjYLuToxluHtIN4u_HOCpEDcX4SJSy1PS308067M42SWOzdvA3AEimhIY82ItVIWqjsahiYvcQfW76E5Kpqxo1KX1-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgD5pvmT5vry-S834uhphcN-ZVle4yyP4deyyjpaeU1piRC14MgE7srW6BBvk_D2yz5jubOhIwX6amigAIPFz2LJtsX7OPF5-JTaZRjYLuToxluHtIN4u_HOCpEDcX4SJSy1PS308067M42SWOzdvA3AEimhIY82ItVIWqjsahiYvcQfW76E5Kpqxo1KX1-=s16000" /></a></div></span></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-18929654391994005992024-01-27T11:13:00.000-08:002024-01-27T11:14:39.957-08:00The First Seven Dr. Thorndykes<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>IF you're one of those weird people (like us) who enjoy reading the first-time publications of favorite stories even more than later reprints, then this posting might prove useful. Our subject today is <i>R. Austin Freeman's Dr. John Evelyn Thorndyke, barrister-at-law of Inner Temple and Professor of Medical Jurisprudence at St. Margaret's Hospital, </i>one of the sharpest tools in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VII">His Majesty's</a> box of detectives—sharper, in our humble opinion, than the great Sherlock Holmes himself.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>First comes <i>Pearson's</i> editorial announcement of Thorndyke's impending arrival:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Pearson's Magazine,</i> November 1908.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>"Sparks from Our Anvil."</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Article (2 pages; 2 illos).</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online at <i>Hathi Trust</i> (<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435026218222&view=1up&seq=542&skin=2021&q1=John%20Thorndyke">HERE</a> and <i>below</i>).</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNha_zaA99VNaYMQpXfKX4Y55urcUKrrASJuNSYDKVvK-2DxTfemZcpHSNtwvkSwjrLUue6x6nXy1RO5HLkz4cx7NN73KvGe3u3xTWUYUB72FpdhYkIBnJDzcT60NfXZhZXaNsGplaOg21lv_G02E9ofdp6Z3sPVfUnJRfBHcagosF2Trr89TI14s_3Ke/s847/Dr.%20Thorndyke%20article%201.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="847" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNha_zaA99VNaYMQpXfKX4Y55urcUKrrASJuNSYDKVvK-2DxTfemZcpHSNtwvkSwjrLUue6x6nXy1RO5HLkz4cx7NN73KvGe3u3xTWUYUB72FpdhYkIBnJDzcT60NfXZhZXaNsGplaOg21lv_G02E9ofdp6Z3sPVfUnJRfBHcagosF2Trr89TI14s_3Ke/w400-h152/Dr.%20Thorndyke%20article%201.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuQ6JZUZRkKWC42eSDiH68GoQIRTwsS0RtEl45COpscScrf8UpCYEEPTxwLgcTraDDFz62p2RgLqVCN-KDlRM_d9D7oVfmNMBGW2CL_mSwqI_g3sm_lH-iwlsFOclJ5Jjzwp6xeMvo4ZctuTs30B-qvzYZ_QYRs1vlESZArGpHyV-SQl4zZoTugmg5nzB/s497/Dr.%20Thorndyke%20article%202.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="454" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuQ6JZUZRkKWC42eSDiH68GoQIRTwsS0RtEl45COpscScrf8UpCYEEPTxwLgcTraDDFz62p2RgLqVCN-KDlRM_d9D7oVfmNMBGW2CL_mSwqI_g3sm_lH-iwlsFOclJ5Jjzwp6xeMvo4ZctuTs30B-qvzYZ_QYRs1vlESZArGpHyV-SQl4zZoTugmg5nzB/w584-h640/Dr.%20Thorndyke%20article%202.png" width="584" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVlJmKHkxMT7j3c3TFSShPJMDwO7abBl9kysHjA_RYvVDwHX-MLq_Dr9XAuS7MvjnNIZIE9v3Vg07987alRSfZgOot3mu-nxuo2aXrSoSprU2wklZsRspbdi4wpmsMIw4mX9weXOhj6sT7ZOreUNvDbOX15zhx78p4xLuA-o-bxN82-eXo1s3Tr6mP03o/s929/Dr.%20Thorndyke%20article%203.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="431" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVlJmKHkxMT7j3c3TFSShPJMDwO7abBl9kysHjA_RYvVDwHX-MLq_Dr9XAuS7MvjnNIZIE9v3Vg07987alRSfZgOot3mu-nxuo2aXrSoSprU2wklZsRspbdi4wpmsMIw4mX9weXOhj6sT7ZOreUNvDbOX15zhx78p4xLuA-o-bxN82-eXo1s3Tr6mP03o/s16000/Dr.%20Thorndyke%20article%203.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcsb5V8a8azsNkp385kTR8tGQd2tltj-cO4Si291IZhS35qr7F1_4XYkm_mCZ5B8t3RxYKbHYKxcl9aQi1q3t5Oj0b6wFruax4K6GXZ-a4SeIQzeKGzAiUOqdrDm82X9y7tJSru6BXWaNqiJxXuzRTvlKTIXvs30tnc4pvZZZB8W638WbAeibvaI1bgXm/s421/Dr.%20Thorndyke%20article%204.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcsb5V8a8azsNkp385kTR8tGQd2tltj-cO4Si291IZhS35qr7F1_4XYkm_mCZ5B8t3RxYKbHYKxcl9aQi1q3t5Oj0b6wFruax4K6GXZ-a4SeIQzeKGzAiUOqdrDm82X9y7tJSru6BXWaNqiJxXuzRTvlKTIXvs30tnc4pvZZZB8W638WbAeibvaI1bgXm/s16000/Dr.%20Thorndyke%20article%204.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCws2UDqKCOHHcVZu7noBwGVhqafZowbT_8UAOlapSA2KqEffblIxK_yI31tcruXX9C3Ld_reC2A_osN3ZxCuMhMn0zK942gqivMFJzwNkOOAvwkfrwSLqL6BZStMaxtO2U18_f-_0s0P7QciI2QWtnxcZzxg7Wie1ZuQNMz3aBFHm4eOcjsG2B8gYYNVf/s519/Dr.%20Thorndyke%20article%205.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="519" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCws2UDqKCOHHcVZu7noBwGVhqafZowbT_8UAOlapSA2KqEffblIxK_yI31tcruXX9C3Ld_reC2A_osN3ZxCuMhMn0zK942gqivMFJzwNkOOAvwkfrwSLqL6BZStMaxtO2U18_f-_0s0P7QciI2QWtnxcZzxg7Wie1ZuQNMz3aBFHm4eOcjsG2B8gYYNVf/s16000/Dr.%20Thorndyke%20article%205.png" /></a></div><div><b>Sure enough, the December issue held the first Thorndyke adventure. We have reproduced the heading for each story. You may notice that sometimes <i>Pearson's</i> favored the author with an illustration to go with it, but not always.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>I. "The Blue Sequin."</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>By R. Austin Freeman (1862-1943).</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXNDuDNnq1fNf_Rb4a4eaxJORWMYZOjeQrG7u_HDqNZ7j66AaDcqePLdSfrgunXtr1iDRlmuX8bcmJOhjrtAKfVawjBu1aW32isG2vXNYlDgE1mDCBROBD7glNaxf4Y92J7nK_4m8jfE4uyxn8emkIsveK_LvpVplI5qiT08vfBcdQ8yzficIv8mtUu2E/s893/'The%20Blue%20Sequin'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="828" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXNDuDNnq1fNf_Rb4a4eaxJORWMYZOjeQrG7u_HDqNZ7j66AaDcqePLdSfrgunXtr1iDRlmuX8bcmJOhjrtAKfVawjBu1aW32isG2vXNYlDgE1mDCBROBD7glNaxf4Y92J7nK_4m8jfE4uyxn8emkIsveK_LvpVplI5qiT08vfBcdQ8yzficIv8mtUu2E/w371-h400/'The%20Blue%20Sequin'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" width="371" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>First appearance: <i>Pearson's Magazine, </i>December 1908.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Short story (12 pages).</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online at <i>Hathi Trust</i> (<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435026218222&view=1up&seq=608&skin=2021">HERE</a>).</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>II. "The Stranger's Latchkey."</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>By R. Austin Freeman (1862-1943).</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBTditbbT68Y4gH4mPFePgFuNZ0-M6wP-9qom-t0jeFzN4Pii0iH81I_VZyXgIgegf0dKaTrmHB8qFqkoh11NxDA_VRP_TZ0K4QrT0I7Lpjerw7WZwN6HxI3rTrZH_craq6nP5I1AhnXEOkb_6Nw9zFRWLfOUOkrBuG4ENYpMu0gaJPXFKLKvLU7M9w8F/s1050/'The%20Stranger's%20Latchkey'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="888" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBTditbbT68Y4gH4mPFePgFuNZ0-M6wP-9qom-t0jeFzN4Pii0iH81I_VZyXgIgegf0dKaTrmHB8qFqkoh11NxDA_VRP_TZ0K4QrT0I7Lpjerw7WZwN6HxI3rTrZH_craq6nP5I1AhnXEOkb_6Nw9zFRWLfOUOkrBuG4ENYpMu0gaJPXFKLKvLU7M9w8F/w541-h640/'The%20Stranger's%20Latchkey'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" width="541" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>First appearance: <i>Pearson's Magazine,</i> January 1909.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Short story (14 pages).</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online at <i>Hathi Trust</i> (<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858046223867&view=1up&seq=25&skin=2021">HERE</a>).</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>III. "The Anthropologist At Large."</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>By R. Austin Freeman (1862-1943).</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdqitO0O1-7Gl5iE5RIAzL3wXLg-QlTsRZ1xxJv6FmLTe916ljBniHajKbQPcw-IOIaBM9u_ZEW-wbQgjAt14-soKNMNgYvT2egNftIOo6wZK7dlFQ5k-dI_NWfiesTk51IOfHRqiUB0FWJscY_bjGafGlROUcIsDBdyeO8UFgVKNyq2-ZjTRv1NpNWwg/s819/'The%20Anthropologist%20At%20Large'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="819" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdqitO0O1-7Gl5iE5RIAzL3wXLg-QlTsRZ1xxJv6FmLTe916ljBniHajKbQPcw-IOIaBM9u_ZEW-wbQgjAt14-soKNMNgYvT2egNftIOo6wZK7dlFQ5k-dI_NWfiesTk51IOfHRqiUB0FWJscY_bjGafGlROUcIsDBdyeO8UFgVKNyq2-ZjTRv1NpNWwg/w400-h130/'The%20Anthropologist%20At%20Large'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>First appearance: <i>Pearson's Magazine,</i> February 1909.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Novelette (12 pages).</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online at <i>Hathi Trust </i>(<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858046223867&view=1up&seq=174&skin=2021">HERE</a>).</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>IV. "The Aluminium Dagger."</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>By R. Austin Freeman (1862-1943).</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LVbhNcKBLALcCxWrytykrtPzFWbDq7pDkqY9bYkbQjm8YCSZ8lzEAlrYwVTHHNgsrrw4SfCxftAHn7huBlaNyWMXbcS8WDF_ZyOevTusvL-yREnFMPQcEm9hEtuiT9E5j6JbIZAr7EknrjkOn2KXSt2zq13tf0X55MVqU9Qrs3hmhcbtZyouRTy5Q7lv/s767/'The%20Aluminium%20Dagger'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="767" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LVbhNcKBLALcCxWrytykrtPzFWbDq7pDkqY9bYkbQjm8YCSZ8lzEAlrYwVTHHNgsrrw4SfCxftAHn7huBlaNyWMXbcS8WDF_ZyOevTusvL-yREnFMPQcEm9hEtuiT9E5j6JbIZAr7EknrjkOn2KXSt2zq13tf0X55MVqU9Qrs3hmhcbtZyouRTy5Q7lv/w400-h122/'The%20Aluminium%20Dagger'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>First appearance: <i>Pearson's Magazine,</i> March 1909.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Short story (12 pages).</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online at <i>Hathi Trust</i> (<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858046223867&view=1up&seq=258&skin=2021">HERE</a>).</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">V. "The Scarred Finger."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By R. Austin Freeman (1862-1943).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-YnKN6qQMcqHibIgwZv7LZwCWOmAUNMEMFOlzGk3Svs6szCIhhpZC4agWfAoBXb-D1ewcmyXK4bblAstzYtEk1TEy0m4OSA78KRaGq7QoV1MVNPa52TUt1rIoPBAy7mGOk6lBzQLssLtS26p0mTosLIfHpZ6EQrEnrXhVpRIA0Mt3RD6KImNtdCFfUWF/s866/'The%20Scarred%20Finger'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="866" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-YnKN6qQMcqHibIgwZv7LZwCWOmAUNMEMFOlzGk3Svs6szCIhhpZC4agWfAoBXb-D1ewcmyXK4bblAstzYtEk1TEy0m4OSA78KRaGq7QoV1MVNPa52TUt1rIoPBAy7mGOk6lBzQLssLtS26p0mTosLIfHpZ6EQrEnrXhVpRIA0Mt3RD6KImNtdCFfUWF/w400-h285/'The%20Scarred%20Finger'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>First appearance: <i>Pearson's Magazine,</i> April 1909.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Novelette (17 pages).</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online at <i>Hathi Trust</i> (<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858046223867&view=1up&seq=364&skin=2021">HERE</a>).</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>VI. "The Moabite Cipher."</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>By R. Austin Freeman (1862-1943).</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6FhxZbh8zvE5SfDpHwmrHcqsfzJ0f9D7twyEve9Ms2CWGaBGXqwV-O2naLtiKzRXJGzENrX7gVXgFlQbhdbWn_bmGoNJwn7lOuuX1RWrskyLXcgTmNx5bEWDHcF9hZd3qLHFPLxd_BaN1ozu21gPA_jecSB_FfXSfTO4Cw4N-o-n-Vph5-meUJLp684A/s739/'The%20Moabite%20Cipher'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="739" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6FhxZbh8zvE5SfDpHwmrHcqsfzJ0f9D7twyEve9Ms2CWGaBGXqwV-O2naLtiKzRXJGzENrX7gVXgFlQbhdbWn_bmGoNJwn7lOuuX1RWrskyLXcgTmNx5bEWDHcF9hZd3qLHFPLxd_BaN1ozu21gPA_jecSB_FfXSfTO4Cw4N-o-n-Vph5-meUJLp684A/w400-h124/'The%20Moabite%20Cipher'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>First appearance: <i>Pearson's Magazine,</i> May 1909.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Novelette (15 pages).</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online at <i>Hathi Trust</i> (<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858046223867&view=1up&seq=486&skin=2021">HERE</a>).</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">VII. "The Mandarin's Pearl."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By R. Austin Freeman (1862-1943).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaLlQDSlGSOvy2GB8s72rShp6KhJfdkLbVf6N5i6omZ_YC2NPujoymZIi9xRjU4zYaCdd9BuvyN9NqTYd2usO1ftXTr2xh0MBit2WTH1dcdtoCw_lxTtvmvOSzLAlktpCuxLg_utWAU5L5vIU4lpt7yoP_7Z88HHc7wTpnkczhh0Hl4R0dapvHQlh-f5v/s850/'The%20Mandarin's%20Pearl'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="850" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaLlQDSlGSOvy2GB8s72rShp6KhJfdkLbVf6N5i6omZ_YC2NPujoymZIi9xRjU4zYaCdd9BuvyN9NqTYd2usO1ftXTr2xh0MBit2WTH1dcdtoCw_lxTtvmvOSzLAlktpCuxLg_utWAU5L5vIU4lpt7yoP_7Z88HHc7wTpnkczhh0Hl4R0dapvHQlh-f5v/w400-h236/'The%20Mandarin's%20Pearl'%20headnote%20in%20Pearson's.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Pearson's Magazine,</i> June 1909.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Novelette (17 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>Hathi Trust</i> (<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858046223867&view=1up&seq=676&skin=2021">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- <i>ONTOS</i> has considered <i>Freeman's Dr. Thorndyke</i> on several occasions: (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2013/11/casting-call.html">HERE</a>), (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2013/11/monkey-business.html">HERE</a>), (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2014/05/dr-thorndyke-times-three.html">HERE</a>), (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-three-dr-thorndykes.html">HERE</a>), (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2018/10/make-it-medico-legal-case.html">HERE</a>), (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2018/12/and-yet-matter-is-quite-simple-even.html">HERE</a>), plus a non-Thorndyke story (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2021/08/you-didnt-expect-to-see-me.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><b>- At <i>Roy Glashan's Library</i> you can find splendid reprints of <i>Dr. Thorndyke</i> short stories (<a href="https://freeread.com.au/@RGLibrary/RAustinFreeman/ThorndykeStories/@Stories.html">HERE</a>) and novels (<a href="https://freeread.com.au/@RGLibrary/RAustinFreeman/ThorndykeNovels/@Novels.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</span></b></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-7693690555631953452024-01-25T12:09:00.000-08:002024-01-25T12:09:10.103-08:00"And Of Course Detective Stories"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>READING HABITS in wartime seem to defy expectations. You'd think with all that carnage that the average Joe or Jane would shy away from crime fiction, but experience says otherwise:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"What Our Soldiers Read."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Beatrice Harraden (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Harraden">HERE</a>) with Elizabeth Robins (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Robins">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Cornhill Magazine, </i>November 1916.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbiYhMGbu09Y0OY99eD1G84JbAAkNNV6A-o6PJOKsdxxpi79Q3_PsYnRpzqFqf1zAkD5d5zV_tAX99AtsAVyyXb53Ndd270iwl0RCaO4HcMujcB6HXb3l2-sTFUDx_ciQjdIAGcDfmH5m2B2tQO60EoHhJ31tfYxzDmRyazPz-4HfNmYM6eq0DivKE6sTW/s2560/'The%20Cornhill%20Magazine'%20cover,%20November%201916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbiYhMGbu09Y0OY99eD1G84JbAAkNNV6A-o6PJOKsdxxpi79Q3_PsYnRpzqFqf1zAkD5d5zV_tAX99AtsAVyyXb53Ndd270iwl0RCaO4HcMujcB6HXb3l2-sTFUDx_ciQjdIAGcDfmH5m2B2tQO60EoHhJ31tfYxzDmRyazPz-4HfNmYM6eq0DivKE6sTW/w400-h640/'The%20Cornhill%20Magazine'%20cover,%20November%201916.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>Project Gutenberg</i> (<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/72767/pg72767-images.html">HERE</a>; scroll to text page 607).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Excerpts (we've added the <u>emphasis</u>):</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div> <b> "About eighteen months ago Miss Elizabeth Robins and myself entered on our duties as Honorary Librarians to the Military Hospital, Endell Street, the only Military Hospital in England officered entirely by women.</b></div><div><b> "We were asked to collect a number of suitable books and magazines, and by personal intercourse with the soldiers, to encourage reading amongst the men, and to do our best to help them through the long hours of illness and inaction by offering them books which would amuse and interest them.</b></div><div><b> "We soon learnt that we had to invest in <u>a large number of detective books</u>, and any amount of Nat Gould’s sporting stories.</b></div><div><b> "It was quite possible that one man in a ward would be reading, say, Nat Gould’s ‘Jockey Jack’—a great favourite—and the man in the next bed would be reading Shakespeare, or ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress,’ or Shelley, or Meredith, Conrad, or the <i>Encyclopædia</i>. We found, in fact, so many different kinds of minds and upbringings, that we could never have remembered without the aid of a note-book what each man wanted.</b></div><div><b> "The following are items from two or three of our order books. The order books have been chosen at random, but the items are consecutive; and the list will give some idea of the nature of our pilgrimages from one bedside to another bedside, and from one ward to another:</b></div><div><b> "One of Nat Gould’s novels; <i>Regiments at the Front</i>; Burns’s <i>Poems</i>; A book on bird life; ‘The Last Days of Pompeii’;<i> Strand Magazine</i>; <i>Strand Magazine</i>; <i>Wide World Magazine</i>; <i>The Spectator</i>; A scientific book; <i>Review of Reviews</i>; ‘By the Wish of a Woman’ (Marchmont); one of Rider Haggard’s; Marie Corelli; Nat Gould; Rider Haggard; Nat Gould; Nat Gould; Nat Gould; <u>Good detective story</u>; Something to make you laugh; <i>Strand Magazine</i>; Adventure story; ‘Tale of Two Cities’; ‘Gil Blas’; Browning’s <i>Poems</i>; Tolstoy’s ‘Resurrection’; <u>Sexton Blake</u>; ‘Scarlet Pimpernel’; Nat Gould; <i>Wide World Magazine</i>; <i>Pearson’s Magazine</i>; ‘Arabian Nights’; Jack London; Shakespeare; Nat Gould; ‘The <i>Encyclopædia</i>’; Rex Beach; <u>Wm. Le Queux</u>; <i>Strand Magazine</i>; Nat Gould; <u>Something in the murder line</u>; <i>Country Life</i>; <i>The Story Teller</i> Magazine;<u> one of Oppenheim’s novels</u>; ‘The Crown of Wild Olive’; ‘Kidnapped’; Nat Gould; Shakespeare; Nat Gould; Silas Hocking; <u>Oppenheim</u>; <u>Le Queux</u>; Nat Gould; Nat Gould; Jack London; ‘Handy Andy’; ‘Kidnapped’; ‘Treasure Island’; Book about rose growing; ‘Montezuma’s Daughter’ (Rider Haggard); ‘Prisoner of Zenda’; Macaulay’s <i>Essays</i>; ‘The Magnetic North’ (Elizabeth Robins); Nat Gould; <u>Sexton Blake</u>; Modern High Explosives; ‘Dawn’ (Rider Haggard); ‘Wild Animals’; Book on horse-breaking; ‘Radiography’; ‘Freckles’ (by Gene Stratton-Porter); ‘The Blue Lagoon’; ‘Caged Birds’; ‘The Corsican Brothers’; <u>‘Sherlock Holmes’</u>; French Dictionary; Kipling; ‘Mysticism’; Nat Gould; ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’; <u>‘Mystery of Cloomber’</u> (<u>Conan Doyle</u>); and so on.</b></div><div><b> "These are, of course, only a few items. I should say that on the whole, and leaving out entirely books on technical and special subjects, the authors most frequently asked for by the average soldier are: Nat Gould, Charles Garvice, <u>Wm. Le Queux</u>, Rider Haggard, <u>Guy Boothby</u>, <u>Oppenheim</u>, Rex Beach, <u>Conan Doyle,</u> Marie Corelli, Joseph and Silas Hocking, Jack London, Dickens, Mrs. Henry Wood, Kipling (whose ‘Barrack Room Ballads’ they learnt by heart), Dumas, Ian Hay, <u>Baroness Orczy</u>, and <u>Hornung’s ‘Raffles.’</u></b></div><div><b> "And very favourite books are those dealing with wild animals and their habits, with ferrets, rats, and birds, and all stories of adventure and travel, and of course<u> detective stories</u>."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>As you can see, the wounded soldiers often chose detective fiction. Why that is we'll leave to the people who tell us they know how the mind works.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>References and resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- <i>Nat Gould</i> gets mentioned a lot; according to <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Gould">HERE</a>) he was <i>"a best selling author while alive."</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIC0OP9HAMUdLk-NaspI7_6c9LGmm6dRf5SCKfcjmMLCnsicBCEfo5ADcvKWdWkiwYRhsnisg-OAg1QMjiuvDt8gxrBB6XvthMHGmceatdigo2xTA3Y-0m1tQQCYKxn7n4H-HSQNeFXeVuCP-jlKnCA5KHXkSDXm4mpHIC8ffqh3uPyhr9-k5e6wlpvUv/s455/Nat%20Gould%20(1857%E2%80%931919).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIC0OP9HAMUdLk-NaspI7_6c9LGmm6dRf5SCKfcjmMLCnsicBCEfo5ADcvKWdWkiwYRhsnisg-OAg1QMjiuvDt8gxrBB6XvthMHGmceatdigo2xTA3Y-0m1tQQCYKxn7n4H-HSQNeFXeVuCP-jlKnCA5KHXkSDXm4mpHIC8ffqh3uPyhr9-k5e6wlpvUv/s16000/Nat%20Gould%20(1857%E2%80%931919).png" /></a></div><div><b>- Apart from the predictable <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> and <i>Conan Doyle</i> mentions, here are a few others from The <i>ONTOS </i>Files:</b></div><div><b> ~ Sexton Blake (<i>ONTOS </i><a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2016/12/sexton-blake-redux.html">HERE </a>and <a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2019/12/he-caught-glimpse-of-arma-long-bare.html">HERE</a>)</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DOfFxir0P8OvpAf1dcRP_hyphenhyphengc2qmUhLWr5VA8dk6nD4HHwZ7QIUCKjNkpNlw-KKmBqwKgvaaf9qQ9R2-XZWImA-KTKUqoEFR-An3bXLUEVpLsBngBBEI_1YDx8sODQpOk4PeYOhKRJ5qCex7TqyX60VWakYpQHnq0Uc76cRSDPaT-VjT_af3e2RrM9Tm/s382/Sexton%20Blake%20(with%20pipe,%20sketch).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DOfFxir0P8OvpAf1dcRP_hyphenhyphengc2qmUhLWr5VA8dk6nD4HHwZ7QIUCKjNkpNlw-KKmBqwKgvaaf9qQ9R2-XZWImA-KTKUqoEFR-An3bXLUEVpLsBngBBEI_1YDx8sODQpOk4PeYOhKRJ5qCex7TqyX60VWakYpQHnq0Uc76cRSDPaT-VjT_af3e2RrM9Tm/s16000/Sexton%20Blake%20(with%20pipe,%20sketch).jpg" /></a></div></div><div><b> ~ William Le Queux (<i>ONTOS </i><a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-strain-on-ones-credulity.html">HERE</a>)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqlQoESf1Agh6TNFVbwy-BAjsOgQyabY1r1NhZBAkmbPtlkQD7Tmxzlk7aOKKgE8YEdlwuPwQcYweyZ9yPUaaUCmHOoPCIaDvyzztlGrZieeprh6edAU1phLJjB6mzHW5GxMSx1qJFkdNriefvDmqim-ck1GlA6Yf3N5dETBoBcwnq2LZRB5dXWhmq_gG/s2498/William%20Le%20Queux%20in%201922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2498" data-original-width="2093" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqlQoESf1Agh6TNFVbwy-BAjsOgQyabY1r1NhZBAkmbPtlkQD7Tmxzlk7aOKKgE8YEdlwuPwQcYweyZ9yPUaaUCmHOoPCIaDvyzztlGrZieeprh6edAU1phLJjB6mzHW5GxMSx1qJFkdNriefvDmqim-ck1GlA6Yf3N5dETBoBcwnq2LZRB5dXWhmq_gG/w335-h400/William%20Le%20Queux%20in%201922.jpg" width="335" /></a></div><div><b> ~ E. Phillips Oppenheim (<i>ONTOS</i> <a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2014/03/doyle-and-oppenheim-react-to-critics.html">HERE</a>, <a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2015/11/an-oppenheim-trio.html">HERE</a>, <a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2016/08/luck-followed-him-as-it-sometimes-does.html">HERE</a>, and <a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2019/04/miscellaneous-mondaynumber-thirty-two.html">HERE</a>)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZf8pJT6K8L7aq3rYDtfxmVvCIcrWbZRdga4xdhtfa0fjUIGV9aXTTGM4xdHHSTKHUxZLnxL48av98zYNID7TwuD0LG4h1JiZ-_zfPWCorr6wlwzOAaa2bIgJbt6WRKE62xdkkeDpBoTNUD8CRXj4sDvyCr6kTzKiwFDLMuCxKFlvIgLzD-wJQVz0bQ3hX/s593/E.%20Phillips%20Oppenheim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="483" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZf8pJT6K8L7aq3rYDtfxmVvCIcrWbZRdga4xdhtfa0fjUIGV9aXTTGM4xdHHSTKHUxZLnxL48av98zYNID7TwuD0LG4h1JiZ-_zfPWCorr6wlwzOAaa2bIgJbt6WRKE62xdkkeDpBoTNUD8CRXj4sDvyCr6kTzKiwFDLMuCxKFlvIgLzD-wJQVz0bQ3hX/w326-h400/E.%20Phillips%20Oppenheim.jpg" width="326" /></a></div><div><b> ~ E. W. Hornung's Raffles (<i>ONTOS </i><a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-histrionic-raffles.html">HERE </a>and <a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2015/01/aye-theres-ruby.html">HERE</a>)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMKG9RQI5zn_AgQ2n8xXxyvCXzpXxikvqbsrhIwLeTlycOkDvNAsAorOmu7ph-qdyWUWMcbIZylPuVEpS7RQeJ-Qde6GjT9Uc3-Zue8EWSPdA6TS-xJlqJrZbbBWNnEgGpa2C6xsfapBisQ32RxsmmTQIq40P43hNvwGyakvScSkhcwogGaMvppCXwjsu/s861/Raffles%20and%20Bunny%20in%201901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMKG9RQI5zn_AgQ2n8xXxyvCXzpXxikvqbsrhIwLeTlycOkDvNAsAorOmu7ph-qdyWUWMcbIZylPuVEpS7RQeJ-Qde6GjT9Uc3-Zue8EWSPdA6TS-xJlqJrZbbBWNnEgGpa2C6xsfapBisQ32RxsmmTQIq40P43hNvwGyakvScSkhcwogGaMvppCXwjsu/w279-h400/Raffles%20and%20Bunny%20in%201901.jpg" width="279" /></a></div><div><b> ~ Baroness Orczy (<i>ONTOS </i><a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2013/12/first-we-kill-all-lawyers.html">HERE</a>, <a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-female-sherlock-holmes-was-bound-to.html">HERE</a>, <a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2020/02/there-is-no-such-thing-as-mystery-in.html">HERE</a>, and <a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2020/02/though-whole-aspect-of-it-was.html">HERE</a>)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEics4KloTRLu8nUGRk8HFW_gNZPvSXnPoYNUgZKho72yw_6-4hTDMjCLQSLnSB62Ni_YPynxI1vfK4k-UJxTZI4EZDq5Qz48GfcIcnwCMcX0oFHQFucf514rB5Aj2CR5AhQQR3mfGbqwsBXBOTUT4vUF52lpj_TYEZXnH_eGKRg7_ywJcg7LambMAfzZ1Gy/s500/Baroness%20Emma%20Orczy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEics4KloTRLu8nUGRk8HFW_gNZPvSXnPoYNUgZKho72yw_6-4hTDMjCLQSLnSB62Ni_YPynxI1vfK4k-UJxTZI4EZDq5Qz48GfcIcnwCMcX0oFHQFucf514rB5Aj2CR5AhQQR3mfGbqwsBXBOTUT4vUF52lpj_TYEZXnH_eGKRg7_ywJcg7LambMAfzZ1Gy/s16000/Baroness%20Emma%20Orczy.jpg" /></a></div><div><b> ~ Guy Boothby (<i>ONTOS </i><a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2016/02/before-there-was-raffles-there-was.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-96Au8rCAUqPgri1hBAnx9VG7zGe1AIFQ5XndCrTKIx-27xOWbKKHDO4rZQXDABI-ZCcwBlmngPYSCy6FjSCvHAYIA9luLLYVAYCft_BdYzDBdrZ2xrcPkZdX-OuuXyaLBbLTK-NJNTE0hVQ6xGwLAmUJquLcqJ5XXYfTPxRKQI_QrG1oIB7V13aB6Xn/s316/Guy%20Boothby%20in1896.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="315" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-96Au8rCAUqPgri1hBAnx9VG7zGe1AIFQ5XndCrTKIx-27xOWbKKHDO4rZQXDABI-ZCcwBlmngPYSCy6FjSCvHAYIA9luLLYVAYCft_BdYzDBdrZ2xrcPkZdX-OuuXyaLBbLTK-NJNTE0hVQ6xGwLAmUJquLcqJ5XXYfTPxRKQI_QrG1oIB7V13aB6Xn/s1600/Guy%20Boothby%20in1896.png" width="315" /></a></div><div><b>- We posted about this very subject nearly ten years ago; see <i>ONTOS </i>(<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2014/03/detective-stories-are-shouted-for.html">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-58003431886582791942024-01-23T11:34:00.000-08:002024-01-23T11:40:14.521-08:00"Look Out for One of Them"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Backward Passage."</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Lee Francis (either Howard Browne or Leroy Yerxa; <i>FictionMags</i> <a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz8lBe8Yw5_A2JaBmRS7a1lF9oofKfbECxQKS-gXwPxl5pIXz8PyRd7l3M26su4iJdrpfPHeTPadkluL3A2ylEdehbYJf7n0_bA7VnGFbYCCaPl_nsEPjuvcjC2b3oVdIZxL01AwRbGxH2aUWag2IZJzJaHLORJFNXakCZTDijFfFT24fl6UyBcXFP28Hn/s650/'Backward%20Passage'%20illo%20(RGL).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz8lBe8Yw5_A2JaBmRS7a1lF9oofKfbECxQKS-gXwPxl5pIXz8PyRd7l3M26su4iJdrpfPHeTPadkluL3A2ylEdehbYJf7n0_bA7VnGFbYCCaPl_nsEPjuvcjC2b3oVdIZxL01AwRbGxH2aUWag2IZJzJaHLORJFNXakCZTDijFfFT24fl6UyBcXFP28Hn/s16000/'Backward%20Passage'%20illo%20(RGL).jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Illustrated by Bill Terry (1921-92; <i>ISFDb </i><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?27575">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Fantastic Adventures</i>, September 1949.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecXGmx7nFyqyZlqGdlzGXxPGTPBVEPwIOxPP-L95SSJZ5Kw5gQtI944szzSrTDQTh7bO-ZzCgHdoCPQkVPpcy2W2imIh16CcMEEBaa2ZE3UoaVejlnYpoiJQ7hB4LPS0yEQuIJ1xDCEx4Xuw3Vdrs1cUm818Q2M6NMy-KYMOa-ISR0NibY-iZ7xiAeiUo/s650/'Fantastic%20Adventures'%20cover,%20September%201949.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="455" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecXGmx7nFyqyZlqGdlzGXxPGTPBVEPwIOxPP-L95SSJZ5Kw5gQtI944szzSrTDQTh7bO-ZzCgHdoCPQkVPpcy2W2imIh16CcMEEBaa2ZE3UoaVejlnYpoiJQ7hB4LPS0yEQuIJ1xDCEx4Xuw3Vdrs1cUm818Q2M6NMy-KYMOa-ISR0NibY-iZ7xiAeiUo/s16000/'Fantastic%20Adventures'%20cover,%20September%201949.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Reprinted in <i>Fantastic Adventures Quarterly (Reissue),</i> Winter 1949 (<i>FictionMags</i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm"> HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Reprints page (<i>ISFDb </i><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?192337">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Novelette (39 pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>Roy Glashan's Library</i> (<a href="https://freeread.com.au/@RGLibrary/Unknown/Francis/BackwardPassage.html">HERE </a>HTML).</span></b></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">(Parental note: Strong language.)</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i> "If I let you wander about as you wish, returning to your old haunts, you'll cause a sensation that will rock the whole nation."</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Police work is hard enough when it comes to living criminals, but what's a detective to do with a dead one who won't stay dead? Not to mention that deceased doctor, or the pretty girl who threw herself into a river and never came out—until now . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Typo: </i></b></span><b>"drowned herself in <i>the Hudson River</i>" (<i>"Hudson" </i>or <i>"Chicago"</i>? Probably the latter.)</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Principal characters:</i></span></b></div><div><b><i>~ Tony Sputozza:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . a gangster who was buried five years before in Greenlawn Cemetery . . ."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Doc Hickory:</i></b></div><div><b> "Listen here, son. Sometimes you madden me to the point of violence. You know everything."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Detective Grant Warner:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . wasn't easily excited. He had graduated from the first precinct and was making a nice place for himself in the plainclothes division. Warner didn't have to worry about being classed as a story-book detective. His red hair, snub hose and sad face took care of that. He did his work quietly and received a weekly stipend for his troubles. Beyond that, he was only Grant Warner, and the chief quite often coupled his name with the name of the Lord, whom he liked to speak of in vain."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Randy White:</i></b></div><div><b> "<i>'I can't be sure,'</i> Warner continued, <i>'but if my memory is any good, this girl drowned herself in the Chicago river four years ago'</i>."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Doctor Howard Phelps:</i></b></div><div><b> ". . . was the third and last person to come out of the alley."</b></div><div><b><i>~ James:</i></b></div><div><b> "He turned, caught Warner's eyes and smiled wryly."</b></div><div> </div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">References and resources:</span></i></b></div><div><b>- "walked all the way to <i>the Loop</i>":</b></div><div><b> The 1950 Census said there were just over 7,000 people living in Chicago's 1.6 square mile <i>Loop</i>; see <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Loop">HERE</a>).</b></div><div><b><i>- </i>"in<i> the Chicago river</i>":</b></div><div><i><b> "<u>The Chicago River</u> is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of 156 miles (251 km) that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop)."</b></i><b> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_River">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><b>- "a hail of <i>tommy-gun</i> fire":</b></div><div><b> That would be the legendary <i>Thompson submachine gun</i>, which is discussed in detail in <i>Wikipedia </i>(<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_submachine_gun">HERE</a>).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-a6CifcAPm2DmFuMHzOkTzGGsskPaRN0nx9B6q3xxlchZLkp-GVpujc-kvprBJDOSC8XO-NBOebTWVgjs77-7Yja_lQ7wQWGkZ16z1_cJ5VUS0DE3CGMHhf0PRxmV7ayvH3lx36Fuiq5po9mi-vFDOewRGeJ9fd8EsCwxpdB3YJWwUB_qE2nyu-scPUN/s970/Gun%20-%20Colt%20M1921A%20Thompson%20with%20a%20100-round%20drum%20magazine.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="970" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-a6CifcAPm2DmFuMHzOkTzGGsskPaRN0nx9B6q3xxlchZLkp-GVpujc-kvprBJDOSC8XO-NBOebTWVgjs77-7Yja_lQ7wQWGkZ16z1_cJ5VUS0DE3CGMHhf0PRxmV7ayvH3lx36Fuiq5po9mi-vFDOewRGeJ9fd8EsCwxpdB3YJWwUB_qE2nyu-scPUN/w400-h216/Gun%20-%20Colt%20M1921A%20Thompson%20with%20a%20100-round%20drum%20magazine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "placed her on <i>the davenport</i>":</b></div><div><b><i> "It is used as a synonym for 'sofa' or 'couch' in some Great Lakes regions of the United States, especially the Upper Midwest and Buffalo, NY–Erie, PA areas."</i> (<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davenport_(sofa)">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQhyphenhyphen59bAxI4DIuBA40mBLhKtvUrI2EHuyEoSK59uO6vSQqyaaoLPTYmjCjrxWh6K5NlVx32pM1LpZqtvuDylQp8Z6KeJMIaFXi59iRAatHX2yhTzn6y-oLWyGegllTbGd5fUrrpsCAmbPcGrHHvwW1yS1ZmYt9SdZQJubWorhJgg2tl3ybYF-KRBP25pw/s1429/Furniture%20-%20Davenport%20(sofa).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1429" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQhyphenhyphen59bAxI4DIuBA40mBLhKtvUrI2EHuyEoSK59uO6vSQqyaaoLPTYmjCjrxWh6K5NlVx32pM1LpZqtvuDylQp8Z6KeJMIaFXi59iRAatHX2yhTzn6y-oLWyGegllTbGd5fUrrpsCAmbPcGrHHvwW1yS1ZmYt9SdZQJubWorhJgg2tl3ybYF-KRBP25pw/w400-h224/Furniture%20-%20Davenport%20(sofa).png" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>- "when you're under <i>ether</i>, Bud":</b></div><div> <i><b> "It is a colourless, highly volatile, sweet-smelling ('ethereal odour'), extremely flammable liquid. It is commonly used as a solvent in laboratories and as a starting fluid for some engines. It was formerly used as a general anesthetic, until non-flammable drugs were developed . . ."</b></i> <b>(<i>Wikipedia </i><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diethyl_ether">HERE</a>.)</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Bottom line:</i></b></span></div><div><b> ". . . it is appointed unto men <a href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/hebrews/9-27.htm">once to die</a>, but after this the judgment . . ."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</span></i></b></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-233409533762515352024-01-23T10:39:00.000-08:002024-01-23T10:39:48.569-08:00UPDATE: Link Change to "Mystery and Detective Fiction Sprang from the Startling Changes That Occurred During a Vibrant, Tumultuous and Exciting Era of History—the Victorian Period"<div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Added new link to <i>Sharon J. Kobritz's</i> thesis paper <i>"Why Mystery and Detective Fiction Was a Natural Outgrowth of the Victorian Period"</i> (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2017/04/mystery-and-detective-fiction-sprang.html">HERE</a>).</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0MC9kmMPUi3D2EyIAHlZ0zj31o7_VV0hRkF-KycDtrQDV5u4xwSruVwUjFMIItCxL0VdTmw7nEXlwj_0VwnXwCn0pP5McWLLv4Tuas9XtWYGMLjT-6o5EAIA63s5z0qUFbzInhgEx6KsQXqVwhr3ygu9a76lMmf5Ne7VmcfYKua52o6jAiuzFyqqBBtrp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0MC9kmMPUi3D2EyIAHlZ0zj31o7_VV0hRkF-KycDtrQDV5u4xwSruVwUjFMIItCxL0VdTmw7nEXlwj_0VwnXwCn0pP5McWLLv4Tuas9XtWYGMLjT-6o5EAIA63s5z0qUFbzInhgEx6KsQXqVwhr3ygu9a76lMmf5Ne7VmcfYKua52o6jAiuzFyqqBBtrp=s16000" /></a></div></span></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222296802338385267.post-91369152479134848262024-01-19T10:58:00.000-08:002024-01-22T09:54:26.385-08:00"I Am Harassed by a Woman. She Is Busily Engaged in Killing Me."<div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>ISAAC ASIMOV wrote a short introduction to today's story that places it in that species of detective fiction which most of us are quite familiar with:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i><b> "The whodunit is one of the most widely recognized forms of mystery, and for many its name has become synonymous with the entire field. It gives the reader a chance to discover the identity of the criminal, usually a murderer, before the detective does, and therein may be its special appeal. In the classic version, the crime occurs in an isolated place, such as a manor house, there is a limited number of suspects, and near the end of the story the survivors are assembled to hear the detective's solution.</b></i></div><div><i><b> "While science fiction can only boast of a moderate number of whodunits, some of its authors, like the incomparable Jack Vance, show great facility in handling this kind of story. And from the adventures of Mr. Vance's irascible detective, Magnus Ridolph, we have selected the following gem."</b></i></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Coup de Grace" (a.k.a. "Worlds of Origin").</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">By Jack Vance (1916-2013).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Magnus Ridolph No. 10.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">First appearance: <i>Super-Science Fiction,</i> February 1958</span></b>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jzYJ1lvxr669Os9vxEOnHM5qWhg0HLn2IEMAmcZXw9ZKJZ5sv9Mn4HusqSxg1t3-rDrb0oCEgU_Sat8TQ_HKrsRos97JnejF1QWXrs2uvfnLuXoZVtRIlyT5nZN-DhE7xfEvTpHuIxDFG4OiUA8rfhtAfNDLykqIDTnogV5GwrBTbniFUuUauNanH4p5/s397/'Super-Science%20Fiction'%20cover,%20February%201958.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jzYJ1lvxr669Os9vxEOnHM5qWhg0HLn2IEMAmcZXw9ZKJZ5sv9Mn4HusqSxg1t3-rDrb0oCEgU_Sat8TQ_HKrsRos97JnejF1QWXrs2uvfnLuXoZVtRIlyT5nZN-DhE7xfEvTpHuIxDFG4OiUA8rfhtAfNDLykqIDTnogV5GwrBTbniFUuUauNanH4p5/s16000/'Super-Science%20Fiction'%20cover,%20February%201958.jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Reprints page (<i>ISFDb</i> <a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?43711">HERE</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQI_iXGICCsw9DdHBXGSv5UKiiRo5W2m4zwu5gENy_YHWg_PAQgFqx2T_Zaw4PF1Oo2abOXaQ0agz4KwnWA_N2DMBJtJriPaCB_QrbJFx6xpeRSF8zdL1MhcQfuLRxKPTQd5YBUgdGBHSOqPoG05Z_7iuNA8vY3_0GbpQrFeH38vyxFQ8-HJxJkSKMPnW6/s592/'The%2013%20Crimes%20of%20Science%20Fiction'%20HB%20cover%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQI_iXGICCsw9DdHBXGSv5UKiiRo5W2m4zwu5gENy_YHWg_PAQgFqx2T_Zaw4PF1Oo2abOXaQ0agz4KwnWA_N2DMBJtJriPaCB_QrbJFx6xpeRSF8zdL1MhcQfuLRxKPTQd5YBUgdGBHSOqPoG05Z_7iuNA8vY3_0GbpQrFeH38vyxFQ8-HJxJkSKMPnW6/s16000/'The%2013%20Crimes%20of%20Science%20Fiction'%20HB%20cover%20(2).jpg" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Novelette (22 text pages).</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Online at <i>The Luminist Archives</i> (<a href="https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/EB/A/Asimov_ed%20-%20The%2013%20Crimes.pdf">HERE</a>; go to text page 155, PDF page 159).</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i> "Police routine might solve the case through the use of analyzers and detection machines. I hope to achieve the same end through cultural analysis."</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b>There's been a murder in The Hub (<i>"a fashionable resort, a glamor-island among the stars—something more than a mere stopover depot and junction point"</i>), and it's hard to imagine a more diverse collection of possible suspects who might have done it. For Magnus Ridolph the usual approaches to crime solving will not do and he must employ all of his advanced sociological knowledge plus a technique that always proves useful, the old-fashioned process of elimination . . .</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Comment:</span></i> Rather than ending with an action-packed denouement, the ultimate solution depends entirely on the mental acuity of an armchair detective.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Main characters:</span></i></b></div><div><b><i>~ Magnus Ridolph:</i></b></div><div><b> "At the moment I do not care to accept employment."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Pan Pascoglu:</i></b></div><div><b> "We've never had a killing. It's got to be cleaned up!"</b></div><div><b><i>~ Lester Bonfils:</i></b></div><div><b> "I seem predisposed to failure and defeat. I consider myself a man of good-will—yet there is no one with more enemies. I attract them as if I were the most vicious creature alive."</b></div><div><b><i>~ Dr. Scanton:</i></b></div><div><b> "Beside the cage stood a thin young man, either inspecting or teasing the paleolithics. He turned hastily when Pascoglu and Magnus Ridolph stepped into the cottage."</b></div><div><b><i> . . . and a starship-load of suspects:</i></b></div><div><b> 1. Lester Bonfils (<i>the victim</i>), with</b></div><div><b> a. Abu</b></div><div><b> b. Toko</b></div><div><b> c. Homup</b></div><div><b> 2. Viamestris Diasporus</b></div><div><b> 3. Thorn 199</b></div><div><b> 4. Fodor Impliega</b></div><div><b> 5. Fodor Banzoso</b></div><div><b> 6. Scriagl</b></div><div><b> 7. Hercules Starguard</b></div><div><b> 8. Fiamella of Thousand Candles</b></div><div><b> 9. Clan Kestrel, 14th Ward, 6th Family, 3rd Son</b></div><div><b> 10. (No name).</b></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Resources:</i></b></span></div><div><b>- The <i>ISFDb </i>has complete information about the Magnus Ridolph series (<a href="http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?11997">HERE</a>). <i>Kevyn Winkless </i>at <i>Castalia House</i> has an article about Ridolph (<a href="http://www.castaliahouse.com/magnus-ridolph/">HERE</a>) that explains Jack Vance's approach to these stories.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGL2zPep80V0o6Dlu8g0qC1PUga87UTvC8TdQqolpv47enOPbnjKelVuqk4lpVj7t2nwHvNWFunWmlDGowlMamfcqsXASjJT1uYPrEHW-JaSC3qxxAiwOeJzbDOXCl7ZvmJfR3OL0eH6ZYGBanBporyt3hY1LwdRyPMm_NumM7VNp80RyGChELXCwgJzM/s500/'Magnus%20Ridolph'%20cover%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGL2zPep80V0o6Dlu8g0qC1PUga87UTvC8TdQqolpv47enOPbnjKelVuqk4lpVj7t2nwHvNWFunWmlDGowlMamfcqsXASjJT1uYPrEHW-JaSC3qxxAiwOeJzbDOXCl7ZvmJfR3OL0eH6ZYGBanBporyt3hY1LwdRyPMm_NumM7VNp80RyGChELXCwgJzM/s16000/'Magnus%20Ridolph'%20cover%20(2).jpg" /></a></div><div><b>- Our last encounter with Magnus Ridolph was <i>"The Kokod Warriors"</i> (<a href="https://carrdickson.blogspot.com/2020/04/everything-considered-it-was.html">HERE</a>), where you'll also find a list linked to all our previous postings about the "irascible" galactic trouble-shooter. At the time <i>"Coup de Grace"</i> was hard to come by, as we noted in the posting, but fortunately for us anglophones Isaac Asimov and his editors chose to include it in their 1979 anthology, linked <i>above</i>.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from <i><a href="http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm">The FictionMags Index</a></i> created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.</b></span></div><div><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</b></div></div>Mike Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com0