| Drury Lane | |
|---|---|
 The four Drury Lane novels | |
| First appearance | The Tragedy of X |
| Last appearance | Drury Lane's Last Case |
| Created by | Ellery Queen (writing as "Barnaby Ross") |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Actor, unofficial detective |
| Nationality | American |
Drury Lane is a fictional detective created by Ellery Queen in the 1930s under the byline of Barnaby Ross. Later publications reverted to the Ellery Queen name. Lane is a deaf Shakespearean actor turned amateur sleuth.
Lane was born in New Orleans on November 3, 1871. His father was a travelling American tragedian, and his mother an English music hall comic. Drury was born prematurely in a theater, his mother dying in childbirth. He was raised by his father, and made his acting debut aged 7. He was sixteen when his father died.
Lane became a highly celebrated Shakespearean actor, noted author of theatrical studies and biographies, and both a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and an honorary member of the French Legion of Honour. In 1928, he retired from the stage, having developed deafness. [1] He became highly skilled in lip reading.
Upon his retirement, Lane decides to take up amateur sleuthing. He explains in The Tragedy of X, "I think I can bring to this pursuit a rather unique equipment. I have murdered on the stage countless times; emotionally I have suffered the agony of plotting, the torture of conscience. I have been, among others perhaps less noble, Macbeth, and I have been Hamlet. And like a child viewing a simple wonder for the first time, I have just realized that the world is full of Macbeths and Hamlets." [2]
Lane resides in "The Hamlet", a castle overlooking the banks of the Hudson River, and accompanied by a small Elizabethan village, populated by people clad in authentic period garb and all bearing Shakespearean names. He is aided by Quacey (also known as Caliban and Quasimodo), his "hunchbacked" butler and formerly his makeup artist. [1] Lane is also assisted by Inspector Thumm, and later by Thumm’s daughter Patience. [3]
Physically, he is tall and slender, with white hair and greyish-green eyes. Despite being in his 60s, facially he looks much younger. [1]
Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, Macbeth most clearly reflects his relationship with King James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy.
Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1928 by the American detective fiction writers Frederic Dannay (1905–1982) and Manfred Bennington Lee (1905–1971). It is also the name of their main fictional detective, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve baffling murder cases. From 1929 to 1971, Dannay and Lee wrote around forty novels and short story collections in which Ellery Queen appears as a character.
David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Samuel Johnson. He appeared in several amateur theatricals, and with his appearance in the title role of Shakespeare's Richard III, audiences and managers began to take notice.
Edmund Kean was a celebrated British Shakespearean stage actor, who performed, among other places, in London, Belfast, New York, Quebec, and Paris. He was known for his short stature, tumultuous personal life, and controversial divorce.
Sarah Siddons was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified".
William Charles Macready was an English stage actor. The son of Irish actor-manager William Macready the Elder he emerged as a leading West End performer during the Regency era.
John Philip Kemble was a British actor. He was born into a theatrical family as the eldest son of Roger Kemble, actor-manager of a touring troupe. His elder sister Sarah Siddons achieved fame with him on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. His other siblings, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton, and Elizabeth Whitlock, also enjoyed success on the stage.
Maurice Herbert Evans was an English actor, noted for his interpretations of Shakespearean characters. His best-known screen roles include Dr. Zaius in the 1968 film Planet of the Apes and Maurice on Bewitched.
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William Dennis Gargan was an American film, television and radio actor. He was the 5th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1967, and in 1941, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Joe in They Knew What They Wanted. He acted in decades of movies including parts in Follow the Leader, Rain, Night Flight, Three Sons, Isle of Destiny and many others. The role he was best known for was that of a private detective Martin Kane in the 1949–1952 radio-television series Martin Kane, Private Eye. In television, he was also in 39 episodes of The New Adventures of Martin Kane.
Hannah Pritchard was an English actress who regularly played opposite David Garrick. She performed many significant Shakespearean roles and created on stage many important female roles by contemporary playwrights.
Emma Waller was an English actress who achieved fame in America.
The Roman Hat Mystery is a novel that was written in 1929 by Ellery Queen. It is the first of the Ellery Queen mysteries.
Thousands of performances of William Shakespeare's plays have been staged since the end of the 16th century. While Shakespeare was alive, many of his greatest plays were performed by the Lord Chamberlain's Men and King's Men acting companies at the Globe and Blackfriars Theatres. Among the actors of these original performances were Richard Burbage, Richard Cowley, and William Kempe.
Dennis Neilson-Terry was a British actor, theatre manager and producer, who starred in a number of films between 1917 and 1932.
William Creswick was an English actor. A popular tragedian on the London stage, he appeared with many leading actors of his day, including William Charles Macready, Edwin Booth and Fanny Kemble and was well known for his Shakespearean and melodrama roles in Britain, the U.S. and Australia.
John Henderson (1747–1785) was an English actor who played many Shakespearean and other roles. He first acted in Bath, where he was known as "The Bath Roscius", and then in London. Had he not died young he would have been remembered as a worthy successor to David Garrick.
Richard "Dicky" Suett, was an English comedian who was George III's favourite Shakespearean clown, and star at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane for twenty-five years.
Mary Amelia Warner, best known by her stage name Mrs Warner, was an English actress and theatre manager.
John Michael Vandenhoff was an English actor. He performed in London theatres, and also in Edinburgh and Liverpool; he played leading roles including those in Shakespearean tragedy.
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