"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
| The man who explained miracles... |
After
perusing the article "C is for... John Dickson Carr," an unabashed piece
of hero worship from fellow blogger Sergio, a germ of an idea began to fester
and grow in my mind, but with it came a knock on the door and found a problem on
my doorstep. The instrument I exert to trumpet his praise broke after beating a
dead horse with it and more than enough people are already of the opinion that
I should get a room for me and the ghost of John Dickson Carr. So I decided to
adjust my focus for this post and take a look at some of the stories that he
inspired others to write.
Well, I
guess I have to start with the late William Brittain, a novelist and school
teacher, who scattered the pages of The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine with an abundance of short
stories – including "The Man Who Read" series. It's a series of stand-alone
mysteries centering on readers of detective fiction that are put in a position
where they have to apply the knowledge culled from the stories of their
favorite mystery writer to solve a problem of their own... or to create one.
| William Brittain (1930-2011) |
"The Man
Who Read John Dickson Carr" is a young orphan, named Edgar Gault, who
discovered the undisputed master of the locked room mystery at the
impressionable age of fourteen, imbuing him with the conviction that, one day,
he will bring his stories to life – preferably with his unpleasant uncle as the
victim. The trick of the locked door is almost as good as the final sentence of
the story, which is a real kicker, and it's just overall an amusing and a very rich story.
It places the inverted mystery in the convinces of the locked room and even
gives you, somewhat, of a character study of the protagonist, but, above all,
it's just fun story to read. I wish the entire series, all ten of them,
were gathered in one easily accessible volume. Messrs Crippen and Landru, are
you taking notes? Until then, you can find this story in Murderous Schemes:
An Anthology of Classic Detective Stories (1998).
Norma
Schier was another mystery writer who had her tongue firmly planted in her
cheek when she began to pen a series of short stories for The Ellery Queen
Mystery Magazine, in which she harlequinade her most famous predecessors –
from Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh to Clayton Rawson and John Dickson Carr.
Most of her stories perfectly captured the heart and soul of the originals and
have the added bonus of being anagram puzzles. You can figure out whodunit and
who's being spoofed by simply decoding the anagrams.
"Hocus-Pocus
at Drumis Tree" (published under the byline Handon C. Jorricks) was her nod to
John Dickson Carr, which takes place in a reputable restaurant where it's not
the custom to spike a glass of champagne with poison and then pass it around,
but that's exactly what happened. Enter Sir Marvin Rhyerlee! Who's miffed that
he can't enjoy a quiet lunch without someone dying under impossible
circumstances. Schier admitted that her little pastiche does little justice to
Carr's plotting technique and knack for coming up with impossible situations,
but the attempt that was made here is definitely being appreciated. You can
find this story in the collection The Anagram Detectives (1979).
Another
humorous excerpt, lampooning Dr. Gideon Fell, comes from the word processor of
one of our very own, Barry Ergang, who was inspired to write "Dr. Gideon Fell,
Hardboiled Sawbones" after a comment from Nick Fuller berating the atrocity
that was The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries – a TV series that butchered a
number of Gladys Mitchell's most enjoyable novels. Here is Nick's full-comment
that can double as a synopsis for Barry's story: "It is like adapting
Carr, and making Dr. Fell a cantankerous hard-drinking medico on the sleazy
streets of London's East End who deals with professional crime of the
hard-boiled variety and with an awful number of demented blondes, without an
impossible crime in sight." The story can still be read by clicking here (GAD archive).
William Krohn's "The Impossible Murder of Dr. Satanus" was written in a more serious
and darker vein, when the author was only 18-years-old, and almost reads like a
love letter to John Dickson Carr and the locked room mystery. Krohn's introduction
to the genre came a few years previously, when he read The Three Coffins
(1935) and the Cult of Carr welcomed another member in their midst. The story
itself dribs with Carrian influences, involving the stabbing of a magician in
closed and moving elevator, with a solution that does not rely on gizmos like a
certain other story I could mention – and I can only imagine that Carr himself must
have beamed with pride after finishing the story (it was published during his
lifetime). Krohn penned a second story for the EQMM, but it was rejected as too
complex and eventually moved away from detective fiction to become a film
critic and expert on Alfred Hitchcock. I wonder if a copy of that story
survived. Anyway, as Darrell from The Study Lamp remarked, the story has been
deservedly reprinted in The Mammoth Book of Perfect Crimes and Impossible
Mysteries (2007).
By the
same token, I should also mention Paul Halter's The Fourth Door (1987),
whose Dr. Alan Twist is a "thinly" disguised version of Dr. Gideon Fell, and
Jean-Paul Török's The Riddle of Monte Verita (2007), but I already
discussed them in depth on this blog. However, Peter Lovesey's Bloodhounds (1997)
should be mentioned, even if it's more of a general wink at the genre than one specifically
meant for Carr. The bloodhounds of the title are a group of fanatical mystery
fans, ranging from locked room enthusiasts to hardboiled fanatics, who meet
once a week to discuss detective stories – until one of them is murdered aboard
a locked houseboat. A very clever, fun and eerily recognizable book that should
belong on the shelves of everyone who's permanently under the weather with the
sleuth flu. It's about us!
I
probably missed a few and could probably find more, but I think this was more
than enough hero worship for this Sunday. My next sermon will be on how Carr has
fed our hungry brains and banished mediocrity from our bookshelves. Thank you
Carr for unlocking doors and forgiving our sins, like you did with the murderers
in so many of your books, past, present and future. In name of the Father (Edgar
Allan Poe), the Son (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) and the Holy Spirit (G.K. Chesterton).
Amen.