Frederick Dannay, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story

As author of the popular Ellery Queen novels and short stories, as literary historian and critic, and especially as editor of the renowned Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine--Ellery Queen was the single greatest force in the mid-1900s for the survival and health of the detective-crime short story. Queen’s indefatigable and enthusiastic promotion of his favorite form of fiction was vital to its continuing popularity after the passing of Doyle and Chesterton and Christie and Hammett and its other famous authors of the early- and mid-20th Century. This critical study presents the first thorough examination of the role Queen played in the flourishing of the detective-crime short story with particular focus on the importance of Frederick Dannay as editor of EQMM and scores of short story anthologies. Many of the authors (“Old Masters,” “New Masters,” and “tec tyros” alike), detectives, and stories that Queen promoted and championed are listed and described, including authors who won Edgars, EQMM Contests, Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes, famous authors from other genres such as Baum, Borges, Dreiser, Whitman, Wells, and even William Butler Yeats, “lost and forgotten” stories of classic authors, and auspicious debuts of authors and detectives who were to become famous. With over 50 years as author, historian, and editor, Queen was the detective-crime short story’s “guardian angel, patron saint, and publisher.” Without the influence of Queen, the detective-crime short story may not have survived, for Queen was “the last bastion of short mystery fiction”; he was “the detective-crime short story.” Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) was--with his partner Manfred Lee--the creator of the Ellery Queen detective novels and short stories. Dannay was also a literary historian and critic, and the editor of the renowned Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine . Queen--both a pen name and the fictional protagonist of the stories--was also a vital force behind the continuing popularity of crime fiction in the early to mid-20th century, after the deaths of Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Melville Davisson Post, and other Old Masters of the genre. This book presents the first critical study of Ellery Queen's role in the preservation of the detective short story. Many of the writers, characters and stories EQMM championed are covered, including such celebrated authors as Allingham, Ambler, Ellin, Innes, Vickers, and even William Butler Yeats. Dedication Acknowledgments Table of Contents Preface Introduction: Queen as Champion of the Past and Patron of the Future One. From Thinking Machine to Human Being—From Ellery I to Ellery II Two. A Quorum of Queens, the Old Masters and the New Masters Three. A Never-Ending Stream of Manuscripts Four. The Old Masters Resuscitated Five. The New Masters Celebrated Six. The Acclaimed and the Awarded Seven. “’Tec Tyros” as Masters of the Future Eight. Other Significant Debuts Nine. The Fine Arts of Parody, Pastiche and Spoof Ten. Queen as Champion, Cheerleader, Critic and Patron Appendix: Story Titles Works Cited Index "Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) was--with his partner Manfred Bennington Lee--the creator of the Ellery Queen detective novels and short stories, a literary historian and critic, and the editor of the renowned Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. This book presents the first critical study of Ellery Queen's role in the preservation of the detective short story"-- Provided by publisher