Frederic Dannay (left), with James Yaffe (1943)

Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel (David) Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (October 20, 1905–September 3, 1982) and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee (January 11, 1905–April 3, 1971), to write detective fiction. In a successful series of novels that covered forty-two years, Ellery Queen was not only the name of the author, but also that of the detective-hero of the stories. Movies, radio shows, and television shows have been based on their works. The two, particularly Dannay, were also responsible for co-founding and directing Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, generally considered as one of the most influential English crime fiction magazines of the last sixty-five years. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2109x2725, 528 KB) High resolution version http://memory. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2109x2725, 528 KB) High resolution version http://memory. ... A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to his or her legal name. ... A map of New York City, highlighting Brooklyn. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 72 days remaining. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative in prose. ... Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine is a monthly fiction digest magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction. ... Sherlock Holmes, pipe-puffing hero of crime fiction, confers with his colleague Dr. Watson; together these characters popularized the genre. ...

Ellery Queen, Detective

Ellery Queen was created when Dannay and Lee entered a writing contest sponsored by a magazine for the best first mystery novel. They decided to use as their collective pseudonym the same name that they had given their detective. Inspired by the formula and style of the Philo Vance novels by S. S. Van Dine, their entry won the contest but before it could be published, the magazine was sold and the prize given to another entrant by the new owner. Undeterred, the cousins decided to take the novel to publishers, and The Roman Hat Mystery was published in 1929. Philo Vance was a fictional American detective created by S. S. Van Dine in the 1920s who appeared in 12 novels. ... S. S. Van Dine was the pseudonym of Willard Huntington Wright (October 15, 1888 - April 11, 1939), a U.S. art critic and author. ... See also: 1928 in literature, other events of 1929, 1930 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

The Roman Hat Mystery established the basic formula: the unusual crime; the complex series of clues; the supporting characters of Ellery's father, Inspector Richard Queen, and his irascible assistant, Sergeant Velie; and what would become the most famous part of the book: Ellery's "Challenge to the Reader". This was a single page near the end of the book declaring that the reader now had seen all the same clues Ellery had, and asking if the reader could deduce the solution.

Ellery the character was himself a detective story writer, a snobbish, almost priggish Harvard-educated intellectual of independent wealth who wore a pince-nez and investigated and solved crimes solely because he found them stimulating. He derived these characteristics from his mother, the daughter of a rich aristocratic New York family who had married Inspector Queen, a bluff, man-in-the-street New York Irishman, and died before the stories began. His mannerisms in the first nine or ten novels were apparently based on those of the then-extremely popular Philo Vance character of the same era. As time went on, however, these mannerisms were toned down or disappeared entirely, to the point where he became a near-faceless, near-characterless persona whose role in the books was purely to solve the mystery. Theodore Roosevelt wearing pince-nez Pince-nez (also known as Oxford glasses) are a style of spectacles, popular in the 19th century, which are supported without earpieces, by pinching the bridge of the nose. ...

Story style

The Queen novels are examples of the classic "fair play", whodunit mystery, particularly during what became known as the "Golden Age" of the mystery novel. All the clues are made available to the reader in the same way they are to the protagonist detective, and so the reading of the book becomes an intellectual challenge as well. Mystery writer John Dickson Carr termed it "the grandest game in the world." Other characteristics of the early Queen novels were the intricately plotted clues and solutions. In The Greek Coffin Mystery (1932), multiple solutions to the mystery are proposed, a feature that would show up in later books, most notably Double, Double and Ten Days' Wonder. A whodunit or whodunnit (for Who done it? and sometimes referred to as a Golden Age Mystery novel) is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is paramount. ... The Four False Weapons (1948), 1961 Pan paperback edition. ... See also: 1931 in literature, other events of 1932, 1933 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

In that same year, the cousins created Drury Lane under the name of Barnaby Ross, eventually writing four novels about Lane, a Shakespearian actor/detective. These novels were later reissued under the Ellery Queen byline. For a while in the 1930s "Ellery Queen" and "Barnaby Ross" even staged a series of public debates in which one cousin impersonated Queen and the other impersonated Ross. Drury Lane is a fictional detective created by Ellery Queen in the 1930s under the byline of Barnaby Ross. ... Barnaby Ross is a pseudonym for the same writing team of two cousins that also wrote the Ellery Queen mysteries. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ...

By 1938, with Ellery making the move to Hollywood to try his hand at scriptwriting, both his character and the character of the novels began to change. Romance was introduced, the solutions began to involve psychological elements as well, and the "Challenge" vanished from the pages. The novels also moved from mere puzzles to more introspective themes. Ten Days' Wonder (1948), set in the New England town of Wrightsville (a backdrop for several Queen novels during the 1940s), even showed the limitations of Ellery's methods of detection. The 1950s and 1960s showed more experimental work, with one of the last novels to feature Ellery, And on the Eighth Day (1964), being a religious allegory touching on fascism. See also: 1937 in literature, other events of 1938, 1939 in literature, list of years in literature. ... ... See also: 1947 in literature, other events of 1948, 1949 in literature, list of years in literature. ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... See also: 1963 in literature, other events of 1964, 1965 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Fascism is a radical political ideology that combines elements of corporatism, authoritarianism, nationalism, militarism, anti-anarchism, anti-communism and anti-liberalism. ...

Although some of the middle-period novels, especially Calamity Town and Cat of Many Tails (an early serial killer novel), are considered classics, some criticize the combination of religious symbolism and detection in the later Queens as clumsy and pretentious. Several of the later novels featuring Ellery Queen the detective were ghost-written, or at least ghost-collaborated, by science fiction writers Theodore Sturgeon and Avram Davidson. A ghostwriter is a writer who writes under someone elses name, with their consent. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Theodore Sturgeon (February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American science fiction author. ... Avram Davidson (April 23, 1923 – May 8, 1993) was a writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many unclassifiable but unforgetable stories that do not fit into a genre niche. ...

Towards the end of their careers, the cousins also produced novels, mainly original paperbacks, written by various people under the Ellery Queen name that did not feature the character Ellery Queen as the protagonist. These included three novels featuring the governor's "troubleshooter" Mike McCall: The Campus Murders (1969, written by Gil Brewer); The Black Hearts Murder (1970, written by Richard Deming); and The Blue Movie Murders (1972, written by Edward D. Hoch). The prominent science-fiction writer Jack Vance also wrote three of these original paperbacks, including the locked room mystery A Room to Die In. A governor is a governing official, usually the executive (at least nominally, to different degrees also politically and administratively) of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the Head of state; furthermore the title applies to officials with a similar mandate as representatives of a chartered company which has... The original 1969 cover The Campus Murders is a 1969 paperback novel by Gil Brewer (1922 - 1983) published under the name Ellery Queen. ... See also: 1968 in literature, other events of 1969, 1970 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1969 in literature, other events of 1970, 1971 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1971 in literature, other events of 1972, 1973 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Edward Dentinger Hoch (born February 22, 1930 in Rochester, New York) is a prolific American writer of detective fiction. ... Jack Vance John Holbrook Vance (b. ... In crime fiction, a locked room mystery (or cosy) is a particular kind of mystery story, where a murder is apparently committed under impossible circumstances: no one could have entered or left the scene of the crime, and it could not have been a suicide. ...

Radio and television

On radio, The Adventures of Ellery Queen was heard on all three networks from 1939 to 1948. During the 1970s, syndicated radio fillers, Ellery Queen's Minute Mysteries, began with an announcer saying, "This is Ellery Queen..." and would go on to describe a case in one minute. The radio station would then encourage callers to try to solve the mystery and win a sponsor's prize. Once they got a winner, the solution part of the spot would be played as confirmation. The Adventures of Ellery Queen was a mystery series heard on all three networks from 1939 to 1948. ...

Helene Hanff, best-known for her book 84 Charing Cross Road, was a scripter for the television series version of The Adventures of Ellery Queen (1950-52), which began on the DuMont Television Network but soon moved to ABC. Shortly after the series began, Lee Hart, who played Queen, died and was replaced in the lead role by Lee Bowman. The series returned to DuMont in 1954 with Hugh Marlowe in the title role. George Nader then played Queen in The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen (1958-59), but he was replaced with Lee Philips in the final episodes. Helene Hanff was an American writer; born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1916; died New York City, New York, April 9, 1997. ... 84, Charing Cross Road is the title of a book by Helene Hanff, published in 1970 about the long correspondence (1949-1969) between Hanff, a resident of New York City, and Frank Doel of the Marks & Co. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... The Adventures of Ellery Queen was the title of four separate television series made from the 1950s through the 1970s. ... DuMont Televisions Logo The DuMont Television Network was an American television network, beginning operation in 1946. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... Lee Bowman (December 28, 1914 – December 25, 1979) was an American film and television actor. ... Marlowe in Night and the City (1950) Hugh Marlowe was a film, television, stage and radio actor. ... George Nader (October 9, 1921 — February 4, 2002) was an American film and television actor. ...

Peter Lawford starred in the television movie Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You (1971). The 1975 television movie Ellery Queen led into the 1975-76 Ellery Queen television series starring Jim Hutton in the title role (with David Wayne as his widowed father). Each episode would end with Queen breaking the fourth wall to go over the facts of the case and invite the audience to solve the mystery on their own. The Rat Pack. ... A television movie (also known as a TV film, TV movie, TV-movie, feature-length drama, made-for-TV movie, movie of the week (MOTW or MOW), single drama, telemovie, telefilm, or two-hour-long drama) is a film that is produced for and originally distributed by a television network. ... Ellery Queen was an American television mystery series that ran for one season from 1975 to 1976 on NBC. It starred Jim Hutton (father of Timothy) as Ellery Queen, and David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen. ... Dana James Hutton (May 31, 1934 – June 2, 1979) was an American actor. ... The title role is the role (or position) of the character after whom a literary work (e. ... David Wayne (born Wayne James McMeekan on 30 January 1914 in Traverse City, Michigan; died 9 February 1995 in Santa Monica, California) was a Broadway, film, and television actor, with a career spanning nearly half a century. ... The fourth wall is the imaginary invisible wall at the front of the stage in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. ...

The cousins, under their collective pseudonym, were given the Grand Master Award for achievements in the field of the mystery story by the Mystery Writers of America in 1961. The Mystery Writers of America are an organization for mystery writers. ...

Bibliography

Novels

• The Roman Hat Mystery - 1929
• The French Powder Mystery - 1930
• The Dutch Shoe Mystery - 1931
• The Greek Coffin Mystery - 1932
• The Egyptian Cross Mystery - 1932
• The American Gun Mystery - 1933
• The Siamese Twin Mystery - 1933
• The Chinese Orange Mystery - 1934
• The Spanish Cape Mystery - 1935
• Halfway House - 1936
• The Door Between - 1937
• The Devil to Pay - 1938
• The Four of Hearts - 1938
• The Dragon's Teeth - 1939
• Calamity Town - 1942
• There Was an Old Woman - 1943
• The Murderer Is a Fox - 1945
• Ten Days' Wonder - 1948
• Cat of Many Tails - 1949
• Double, Double - 1950
• The Origin of Evil - 1951
• The King Is Dead - 1952
• The Scarlet Letters - 1953
• The Glass Village - 1954 (neither Ellery Queen nor Inspector Queen in book)
• Inspector Queen's Own Case - 1956 (Inspector Queen only)
• The Finishing Stroke - 1958
• The Player on The Other Side - 1963 (ghost-written with Theodore Sturgeon)
• And on The Eighth Day - 1964 (ghost-written with Avram Davidson)
• The Fourth Side of The Triangle - 1965 (ghost-written with Avram Davidson)
• A Study In Terror - 1966 (Sherlock Holmes part written by Paul W. Fairman)
• Face to Face - 1967
• The House of Brass - 1968 (ghost-written with Avram Davidson)
• Cop Out - 1969 (neither Ellery Queen nor Inspector Queen in book)
• The Last Woman in His Life - 1970
• A Fine and Private Place - 1971

Sherlock Holmes as imagined by the seminal Holmesian artist, Sidney Paget, in The Strand magazine. ... Paul W. Fairman (1916-1977) was an editor and writer in a variety of genres under his own name and pseudonyms. ...

Short story collections

• The Adventures of Ellery Queen - 1933
• The New Adventures of Ellery Queen - 1940
• The Case Book of Ellery Queen - 1945
• Calendar Of Crime - 1952
• Q.B.I. - Queen's Bureau of Investigation - 1955
• Queen's Full - 1966
• QED - Queen's Experiments In Detection - 1968
• The Best Of Ellery Queen - 1985 one previously uncollected)
• The Tragedy Of Errors - 1999 (a previously unpublished synopsis written by Dannay)
• The Adventure of the Murdered Moths and Other Radio Mysteries - 2005

As Barnaby Ross

• Tragedy Of X - 1932
• Tragedy Of Y - 1932
• Tragedy Of Z - 1933
• Drury Lane's Last Case - 1933

Drury Lane is a fictional detective created by Ellery Queen in the 1930s under the byline of Barnaby Ross. ...

Critical works

• Queen's Quorum - 1951
• In the Queen's Parlor, and Other Leaves from the Editor's Notebook - 1957

External link

• Ellery Queen - a website on deduction