OLD-TIME DETECTION, Spring 2018

(GIVE ME THAT) OLD-TIME DETECTION.
Spring 2018. Issue #47.
Editor: Arthur Vidro.
Old-Time Detection Special Interest Group of American Mensa, Ltd.
36 pages (including covers).
Cover image: Nine of the Best.

     "Countless millions in cinemas all over the world have thrilled—for at
     least the fifth time—to the ingenuity of one of Christie's most original
     plots. Sadly, not everything on view was the creation of Agatha Christie
     —nor, indeed, ingenious." — Dr. John Curran

Every previous issue of OLD-TIME DETECTION has proven its value to readers who are fond of the traditional detective story, and the Spring number keeps that winning streak going. In almost every OTD you'll probably encounter something that you've rarely or never run across before.

In this one: The late, great Ed Hoch offers background on a durable character "born" almost a century ago, one that readers still recognize—and, no, it's not Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes. - Michael Dirda reviews one of the latest books about the Sage of Baker Steet, and later gives us his take on the book and film versions of an Agatha Christie classic. - We have an excerpt from Francis M. Nevins's definitive book about Cornell Woolrich. - Editor Vidro reproduces correspondence between T. S. Stribling and Ellery Queen as well as a radio interview with Stribling, and gives us a reprint of one of his stories. - The results of two reader polls given forty-five years apart show remarkable similarities and contrasts. - Dr. John Curran keeps us up to date with the world of Agatha Christie and, like Michael Dirda, offers his thoughts on the same film adaptation. - And throughout the issue you'll find perceptive commentary and reviews by Arthur Vidro, John L. Breen, Ruth Ordivar, Charles Shibuk, and Amnon Kabatchnik.

~ ~ ~

~ CONTENTS ~

(1) "Blackie and Boyle: An Introduction," by Edward D. Hoch (1979), 5 pages:
    "The character of Boston Blackie was conceived, and the first four stories written, from a cell in a state penitentiary."
    Related: Mystery*File (HERE).

(2) "New Non-Fiction": Review by Michael Dirda (2017) of From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon, by Mattias Bostrom (2017):
    ". . . the best account of Baker Street mania ever written. Really."
    Related: The GAD Wiki (HERE).

". . . more than a treat, it's a smorgasbord."

(3) "The Sherlockian Revolution in Paperback," by Charles Shibuk (1975):
    "The Sherlockian revolution appears to subside somewhat from time to time, but future developments appear inevitable."

". . . an absolute masterpiece."

(4) "Murder on the Orient Express: The Book and the Movie," by Michael Dirda (2017):
    "The great detective's final revelations, with all the suspects assembled in the dining car, may strike some readers as almost fantastical. Who cares? In classic mysteries, dazzle is what counts, and realism tends to be inversely proportional to ingenuity."
    Related: The GAD Wiki (HERE).

(5) "Thirty-five Years Ago: Murder in Print," by John L. Breen (1983):
    "This is a wonderfully illustrated, richly rewarding reference that proves a book about mysteries can be both substantial and fun."

(6) "The Woolrich Films: Part Three," by Francis M. Nevins (1988):
    "It was the perfect story line for a suspense movie."
    Related: The GAD Wiki (HERE) - Mystery*File (HERE) and (HERE).

(7) "Stribling Letters," by Arthur Vidro (2018):
    "If the human race could have made such a great step as that last in seventy years, I see no reason why it should not disapprove of thieves with an ethical and moral culture extending over the next three hundred years."
    Related: The GAD Wiki (HERE).

(8) "Royal Archives: Two Pistols and Judge Lynch," by Arthur Vidro (2018):
    "I'll be delighted for you to use Judge Lynch at the price you name. You take the story, I'll take the check."
    Related: Mystery*File (HERE).

(9) Fiction: "Judge Lynch," by T. S. Stribling (Adventure, June 1934 and EQMM, September 1950), 8 pages (online HERE):
    "While the shot echoed amid the twilight swamp, the old man stood behind the flange of a cypress watching the threshing, struggling thing in the water."

(10) The Original Poll: "Did You Hear the One About the Two TADpolls?" by Jon L. Breen (The Armchair Detective, February 1973), 1 page:
     "Detective fiction is the great Anglo-American art form, yet only the compiler's wife represented the British in this poll."

The winner . . .

(11) "The Old-Time Detection Poll of 2018," by Arthur Vidro, 2 pages:
     "Reader response was surprisingly strong."
     Related: The GAD Wiki (HERE).

. . . and still Number One 45 years later.

(12) "Christie Corner," by Dr. John Curran (2018):
       "The Queen of Crime still reigns supreme."

"But whose Poirot was he portraying? Certainly not Agatha Christie's."

(13) Mini-Reviews—Keen appraisals of the known and the relatively obscure:
     ~ Mom Doth Murder Sleep (1991), reviewed by Ruth Ordivar:
       ". . . an unsung and often forgotten writer . . ."
       Related: The GAD Wiki (HERE).

     ~ The Case of the Counterfeit Eye (1935), reviewed by Arthur Vidro:
       ". . . the plot zips along at an ultra-rapid pace."
       Related: The GAD Wiki (HERE).

     ~ The Mysterious World of Agatha Christie (1975), reviewed by Amnon Kabatchnik (1976):
       "It is a treasure."
       Related: The GAD Wiki (HERE).

       ~ Artists in Crime (1938), reviewed by Arthur Vidro:
       ". . . I found the book a bit tedious."
       Related: The GAD Wiki (HERE).

(14) "The Readers Write":
       "Congratulations upon the reprinting of William Brittain's long-lost story."

(15) Puzzle Page
     Related: The GAD Wiki (HERE).

~ ~ ~

Subscription information:

- Published three times a year: spring, summer, and autumn.
- Sample copy: $6.00 in U.S.; $10.00 anywhere else.
- One-year U.S.: $18.00 ($15.00 for Mensans).
- One-year overseas: $40.00 (or 20 pounds sterling or 25 euros).
- Payment: Checks payable to Arthur Vidro, or cash from any nation, or U.S. postage stamps.
Mailing address:
   Arthur Vidro, editor
   Old-Time Detection
   2 Ellery Street
   Claremont, New Hampshire 03743
Web address:
   oldtimedetection@netzero.net
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Resource:
- We had the pleasure of reviewing Issue #46 of OTD (HERE).
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"Curiouser and Curiouser"

"Alimentary, My Dear Watson."
By Lawrence Schimel (born 1971).

First appearance: Sherlock Holmes in Orbit (1995).

Reprinted in The Dragon Done It (2008).

Reprints page (HERE).
Short short short story (3 pages as a PDF).
Online at Baen Books (HERE).

"You might write in your notes that he died of consumption, if you're willing to interpret the term loosely."

There's more than one way for justice to be served; take, for instance, in Alice's mixture of cherry tart, custard, pineapple, roast turkey, and toffee—nor, she reminds us, should we forget the hot buttered toast and the most important ingredient of all, Dinah, of the furry persuasion . . .

Resources:
- Our author has been publishing SFF since 1990; see the ISFDb (HERE) for more.

- One Holmes adventure (online HERE; a couple of mouse clicks might be necessary) is heavily referenced in our story, while it and a children's classic (HERE) both get the postmodern treatment.

The bottom line: "Children seem to me a remarkable race. They want so much to murder so many people, and they so rarely murder anybody at all."
   ― Rebecca West
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"I S'pose You and Hawkeye Over There Can Solve This Crime"

"Dawg Tracks."
By G. W. Barrington (1876-1955).
First appearance: Short Stories, November 10, 1935.
Short story (13 pages, 7 illos).
Online at Archive.org (HERE).
(Parental caution: Strong language, some of it racist.)

"At that, though, you moughta got away with it, if it hadn't been fur a skift of rain, an' a houn' dawg—an' Danny Simmons."

Dallas metropolitan police investigating a murder claim they've wrapped up the case nice and tight ("Well, boys, what do you think of our city methods now? Scientific, eh? Johnny-at-the-rat-hole, eh? Quick service, eh?"), but a couple of skeptical country cops who've come along for the ride have their own way of solving murders . . .

Characters:
~ John Collum, a man with friends in high places—but even they couldn't save his life:

  "Clad in a faded purple bathrobe, the time-worn, emaciated figure lay sprawled on a rug by the gloomy old canopied bed. There had been no struggle. The left temple had been caved in. Only a thin trickle of blood had dried on the craggy cheek-bone. One stiffened hand still clutched a long-stemmed pipe, embers from which had slightly scorched the rug beside 

the old man's shoulder."

~ Detective Moffat, with the Dallas police force:
  ". . . a real city detective out on a murder case!"
~ The lieutenant, pressurized:
  ". . . the lieutenant had malleted his favorite bald spot on the desk with a knuckly fist and sworn by the wraiths of Nick Carter and Old Sleuth that if this crime was added to the six others unsolved during the past thirty days somebody was going to ketch hell. He had 
looked hard at Moffat when he said 'somebody.'"
~ The captain, pressurizer:
  ". . . whose facial expression backed up everything the lieutenant's malleting fist had conveyed."
~ Speed Smiley, not the world's best driver:
  "Nawthin' serious. Bunged shoulder, ankle on the bum, noodle a little woozy. Guess I'll live."
~ Sheriff Bob Forrest, endowed with a dialect unknown to science:
  "You know that word 'smart' means a hull lot, or nawthin' Mister. Depends on who's usin' it, an' who he's pastin' it onto."
~ Danny Simmons, Forrest's taciturn deputy:
  ". . . also wore his badge, and in the crook of his arm nestled a light, high-powered rifle that seemed to belong just there."
~ Perkins, the butler, an import:
  "Permit me to say, 'e must be an extraordinarily soft-moving person, quite. Not a sound did I 'ear from 'im while 'e was prowling about and looting the bally safe. It was fair spooky, sir, I assure you."
~ Melissa, the maid:
  ". . . a buxom, round-faced brunette, had worked in the house before poor dear Mrs. Cullom had died, six years previously. She had taken the evening off to see the pictures, returning shortly after eleven to find Perkins tied. She had gotten a knife from the kitchen and cut him loose somehow."
~ Tiney Stevens, Braley and Smith, Eddie Stalworth:
  Assigned to the case.

Typo: "Satnding on the threshold".

Nice bit of equinification:

   "Sticking its steaming prow into the winding drive, the flivver displayed a new variety of vibrations and abdominal rumblings when its worn tires encountered a brick-flagged roadway. When it stopped, panting and shuddering, beside the deep front veranda, Moffat was already on the running board."

Resource:
- FictionMags's notes about George Whitfield Barrington say: "Traveller, soldier and author. Died in Dallas, Texas." Barrington's short fiction output, spanning thirty years, takes up the better part of two pages and, typical of a pulp writer of the era, shows that he wrote in many genres, with Westerns understandably predominating.
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"Beware Lest You Open This Box"

"The Episode of the Perilous Talisman."
By Jeremiah Phelan (C. Daly King, 1895-1963).
First appearance: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1951.
Reprinted in The Curious Mr. Tarrant (1935) and The Complete Curious Mr. Tarrant (2003).
Novelette (21 pages, 1 illo).
Online at Archive.org (HERE).

"You will never survive."

Gazing into the Mirror of Truth isn't for the faint of heart; there are reports of people dying because of it. Trevis Tarrant knows it's a risk, but he feels it's a necessary one if he's going 
to prevent a murder . . .

Resources:
- Because of confusing title changes and other instances of editorial switcheroo, here is a by-no-means completely accurate list of Trevis Tarrant stories [data from FictionMags]:
  (1) "The Episode of 'Torment IV,'" 1934; Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, April 1990.
  (2) "Invisible Terror," Mystery, February 1935; also published as “The Tangible Illusion.”
  (3) "The Affair on the Roof," Mystery, March 1935; also published as “The Nail and the Requiem.”
  (4) "The Vanishing Harp," The Curious Mr. Tarrant (1935); AHMM, August 1987; also published as “The Episode of the Vanishing Harp.”

  (5) "The Episode of the Man with Three Eyes," The Curious Mr. Tarrant (1935).
  (6) "The Episode of the Final Bargain," The Curious Mr. Tarrant (1935).
  (7) "Lost Star," Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, September 1944; EQMM Overseas Edition for the Armed Forces, September 1944; and EQMM (Australia), May 1948.
  (8) "The Episode of the Sinister Inventor," Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, December 1946; EQMM (Australia), August 1948.
  (9) "The Episode of the Perilous Talisman," The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1951 [above].
  (10) "The Episode of the Absent Fish," Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, April 1979.
- And here is WorldCat's TOC for The Complete Curious Mr. Tarrant, a few of which tally with the previous list, remarkably enough:
  (1) "The Episode of the Codex' Curse"
  (2) "The Episode of the Tangible Illusion" [Mystery, February 1935 as "Invisible Terror"; EQMM, November 1947 and EQMM (Australia), August 1949]
  (3) "The Episode of the Nail and the Requiem" [Mystery, March 1935 as "The Affair on the Roof"; EQMM, May 1944; EQMM Overseas Edition for the Armed Forces, May 1944; and EQMM (Australia), March 1948]
  (4) "The Episode of 'Torment IV'"
  (5) "The Episode of the Headless Horrors"
  (6) "The Episode of the Vanishing Harp" [a.k.a. "The Vanishing Harp"]

  (7) "The Episode of the Man with Three Eyes"
  (8) "The Episode of the Final Bargain"
  (9) "The Episode of the Little Girl Who Wasn't There"
  (10) "The Episode of the Sinister Invention"
  (11) "The Episode of the Absent Fish" [EQMM, April 1979]
  (12) "The Episode of the Perilous Talisman" [above].
- Concerning our story, "The Episode of the Perilous Talisman," others have written:

   ". . . it can in some ways be considered to be either a fantasy or science fiction story, or a horror story. Or a detective story. It concerns an ancient Egyptian artifact that possesses certain very surprising powers. Not quite occult powers though. Perhaps scientific rather than magical, depending on how one defines science and magic. The story also involves a shady politician. Now why would a shady politician want to posses such an artifact? Tarrant 
has a fair idea of the answer to that question."
     — Vintage Pop Fictions

   ". . . a hitherto unpublished lesser thunderbolt concerning an Egyptian talisman with uncanny powers."

     — Kirkus Reviews

   "I wasn't enamoured with this story. It felt a bit slight, and again there is the paucity of characters which makes it a bit too obvious what happened."

     — Mysteries, Short and Sweet

   ". . . a combination fantasy and mystery story. Such hybrid works are fairly common in the sf world. This tale is nicely done, with some clever ideas, and King's patented ability to create suspense. This seems to be King's final work of fiction published during his lifetime."
     — Mike Grost

- It's hard not to find something about Charles Daly King on the Worldwide Webbie; consult the GAD Wiki (HERE and HERE), the ISFDb (HERE), Vintage Pop Fictions (HERE), Kirkus Reviews (HERE), Mysteries, Short and Sweet (HERE), and Mike Grost (HERE).

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Two from THE STRAND

HERE ARE A COUPLE of crime fiction pieces that shared the same issue with one of Holmes's memoirs ("The Adventure of the Reigate Squire"), one of them serious, the 
other not so much.

   "It was a settled thing with me that poor Huntingdon had been murdered."

"A Work of Accusation."
By Harry How (?-?).
Illustrations by John Gülich (1864-98).
First appearance: The Strand, June 1893.
Short story (11 pages as a PDF).
Online at Prof. David Stewart's Library (HERE; PDF) and Project Gutenberg (HERE; 5 illos; scroll down to page 633).

". . . I saw him at the top of the stairs. His hat was on. His face was ghastly pale, every feature was working. His eyes betokened some mad intention—their gaze appeared to kill."

It's said that the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime, but in this instance all that remains of the crimescene is that which lingers in the feverish mind of one man . . .

Comment: As is too often the case in stories of this type, the author lets the perp take the easy way out; otherwise it could have been at least twice as long.

Resource:
- Alas, we can learn nothing about Harry How's biographical life; we do know biblio-graphically from FictionMags that he produced dozens of non-fiction articles for 
The Strand, many of them profiles of famous people.

~ ~ ~

   "I shall always regard you as any right-minded man should regard those who have saved his life with imminent peril to themselves or, which is just the same, to their liberty."

"Pierre and Baptiste."
By Beckles Willson (1869-1942).
Illustrations by Paul Hardy.
First appearance: The Strand, June 1893.
Short short story (6 pages as a PDF; scroll down to page 547).
Online at Project Gutenberg (HERE).

"Pierre and Baptiste were hard workers. They worked far into the night and, occasionally, the thin mists of dawn had begun to break on the narrow city pavements before their labours would cease. No one could truthfully say that theirs was not a hard-earned pillow. Sometimes they did not toil in vain. It depended largely upon the police."

Here's a valuable life lesson that thieves everywhere should take to heart; if you're going to rob a safe, first make sure there's nobody in it . . .

Resource:
- In addition to stories and articles, FictionMags also credits Beckles Willson with a few illustrations for The Strand; however, somebody else did them for "Pierre and Baptiste."

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"Mallory and Carruthers Is Said To Be the Best Detective Agency in All New York"

"The Long and Short of It."
By Mike Resnick (born 1942).
First appearance: The Dragon Done It (2008).
Short story (19 pages).
Online at Baen Books (HERE).
(Parental caution: Adult themes and language.)

   "This is the Manhattan that people in my Manhattan can sometimes see out of the corner of their eye, but when they turn to face it it's not there."

Circus performing team Macro, the ten-foot-tall giant, and Micro, "the Nineteen-Inch Dynamo," have a unique problem and come to Mallory and Carruthers for help. "Some 
fiend has been making me shrink down to normal size," says Macro, "and me grow up 
to it," says Micro, which will be ruinous to their careers in very short order. Who would 
do such a pernicious thing?

As Mallory soon learns, because of Macro and Micro's extracurricular activities with every attractive female in sight, his suspect pool is very large indeed: "I think what you're telling 
me is that if it works for the circus and has a wife or a girlfriend, it has a grudge against you," 
not forgetting "probably three or four million husbands wandering around Manhattan."

Winnifred, his .45 Magnum-toting female associate, convinces Mallory not to seek help from Grundy: "He's the most powerful demon on the East Coast—and in case it's slipped your mind, he's your mortal enemy! His last word was that he was going to disembowel you slowly and painfully." Instead, because of her big top connections, she and Mallory and Felina the catgirl head for the Ringling & Bailey Barnum Brothers Circus, to be confronted with a goblin, an elf, a troll and a leprechaun (bodyguards for a magician who isn't all that sure of his powers), as well as Circe, easily the most beautiful woman Mallory has ever seen ("She makes Sophia Loren look like a boy!"), astride a cantering centaur.

Eventually Mallory arrives at a solution resulting in "seventy-three long-stemmed roses, each with a scented thank-you note."

Comment: When she found herself trapped in Wonderland, little Alice was assured that 
one can believe six impossible things before breakfast—which would be a piece of cake compared to what Mallory, our sleuth (and by extension, the reader), has to do to suspend 
his disbelief. If over-the-top fantasy isn't your cup of tea, then this one's not for you—and forget about the cake.

Resources:
- This is our first encounter with Mike Resnick (on the weblog; we've been reading his stuff for years), but it probably won't be the last; the relevant information about Resnick is at Wikipedia (HERE), the SFE (HERE), and the ISFDb (HERE).
- The central character in a series of fantasy-hardboiled crime stories, John Justin Mallory (JJM) is a private eye who manages to get stuck in an alternate Manhattan; see The Thrilling Detective (HERE) for background on Mallory, the ISFDb for a list of the stories (HERE), and Wikipedia for a SPOILER-filled description of Stalking the Unicorn (1987; HERE), the first Mallory adventure detailing how he got stuck elsewhere in the first place.

- As you can see from the ISFDb bibliography, Resnick followed up Unicorn with the novels Stalking the Vampire (2008) and Stalking the Dragon (2009), along with another book entitled Stalking the Zombie (2012), that one being a collection of shorts the contents of which evidently are a deep, dark secret; in the interim he produced some short fiction featuring JJM in addition to "The Long and Short of It."

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"The Audacity of the Thing Was Astounding, Yet the Completeness with Which It Had Succeeded Was Even More Astounding"

"The Mystery of the Churchill Pearls."
By Arthur Stringer (1874-1950).
Illustration by C. D. Williams.
First appearance: The Hampton Magazine, May 1912.
Short short story (9 pages, 1 illo).
Online at Hathi Trust starting (HERE) and finishing (HERE).

"Yet I was able to laugh a little as I put the magazine revolver down on the table; it had memories which were amusing."

A rainy night, a crowded theater, and around a beautiful young woman's neck . . .

   ". . . an extraordinarily large and vivid stone stood out in limpid ruddiness. It was a challenge to attention. It caught and held the eye. It stood there, just below where the hair billowed into its crown of Venetian gold, as semaphoric as a yardlamp to a night traveler. And I wondered, as I sat looking at it, what element beyond curiosity could coerce the man at my side into studying it so indolently and yet so intently."

All too soon it will become clear what that "element" is, leading to a wild chase through the rain-slick streets of Manhattan and culminating in an ironic finale.

Comment: If nothing else our author's above-average descriptive prose succeeds in setting the scene and establishing mood better than many other crime fiction writers that we've encountered; Queenian it is in its attention to detail but, unlike EQ on occasion, 

without overdoing it.

Resources:
- The thriller and fantasy fiction of Arthur John Arbuthnott Stringer was quite popular in his day but is now almost completely forgotten; find all the relevant data about him at Wikipedia (HERE), the Science Fiction Encyclopedia (HERE), and the Internet Speculative Fiction Data-base (HERE).
- We first encountered Stringer not long after we started this weblog, but it has been nearly four years since our last contact with his work; see (HERE).
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