The Wolfe Pack

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The Wolfe Pack is a literary society devoted to Rex Stout's character Nero Wolfe. [1]

Contents

History

As publicity for William S. Baring-Gould's book Nero Wolfe of West 35th Street, Viking Press ran a "Mammoth New Nero Wolfe Contest" in The New York Times Book Review . [1] Four years later, John McAleer began working on what would become Rex Stout: A Biography. McAleer obtained the contest mailing list and began correspondence with one of the fans, Ellen Krieger. [1] Krieger desired to form a literary society devoted to Wolfe and McAleer provided the name: The Wolfe Pack. [1]

The first Nero Wolfe dinner was held in 1977 at The Lotus Club in New York City. [2] The dinner, entitled "Maitre D'tective: Rex Stout," honored John McAleer and his book Rex Stout: A Biography, recently published by Little, Brown and Company. [2] There were 131 guests who included Otto Penzler editor, publisher, and owner of The Mysterious Bookshop which would open two years after the dinner; Eleanor Sullivan, then-editor of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ; and Dilys Winn, founder of Murder Ink, the West Side mystery bookstore that sponsored the dinner. [2]

At the dinner, guests received a questionnaire to determine interest in an ongoing Wolfe Pack society. [1] Six months later the society was born. [1]

Over the course of the numerous novels and short stories, Rex Stout gave numerous addresses for Wolfe's brownstone. In 1996, The Wolfe Pack investigated the issue and found that only one possibility matched the description given in the stories: 454 West 35th Street. [3] With the aid of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the group had a commemorative plaque placed at the address.

"On this site stood the elegant brownstone of the corpulent fictional private detective Nero Wolfe. With his able assistant Archie Goodwin, Mr. Wolfe raised orchids and dined well, while solving over seventy cases as recorded by Rex Stout from 1934-1975." [3]

Activities

The Wolfe Pack holds an annual Black Orchid Banquet, [4] at which the Nero Award and the Black Orchid Novella Award are presented. [5] [6]

Publications

The group publishes a journal, The Gazette: the Journal of the Wolfe Pack, which is distributed to members. Marvin Kaye compiled selected articles and fiction from The Gazette into two books, The Nero Wolfe Files and The Archie Goodwin Files. [7]

Related Research Articles

Nero Wolfe Fictional character

Nero Wolfe is a fictional character, a brilliant, oversized, eccentric armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West 35th Street in New York City, and he is loath to leave his home for business or anything that would keep him from reading his books, tending his orchids, or eating the gourmet meals prepared by his chef, Fritz Brenner. Archie Goodwin, Wolfe's sharp-witted, dapper young confidential assistant with an eye for attractive women, narrates the cases and does the legwork for the detective genius.

Rex Stout

Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and 39 novellas between 1934 and 1975.

Archie Goodwin (character)

Archie Goodwin is a fictional character in Rex Stout's mysteries. The witty narrator of all the stories, he recorded the cases of his boss, Nero Wolfe, from 1934 (Fer-de-Lance) to 1975.

<i>The Doorbell Rang</i>

The Doorbell Rang is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1965.

<i>Prisoners Base</i>

Prisoner's Base is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by Viking Press in 1952.

<i>The Rubber Band</i>

The Rubber Band is the third Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. Prior to its publication in 1936 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., the novel was serialized in six issues of The Saturday Evening Post. Appearing in one 1960 paperback edition titled To Kill Again,The Rubber Band was also collected in the omnibus volume Five of a Kind.

<i>Meet Nero Wolfe</i> 1936 film by Herbert Biberman

Meet Nero Wolfe is a 1936 mystery film based on the 1934 novel Fer-de-Lance, written by Rex Stout. Set in New York, the story introduced the detective genius Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin. The partnership endured through 33 novels and 39 short stories written by Stout, but continued in only one more film for Columbia Pictures. Wolfe's client is portrayed by Rita Hayworth, then billed as Rita Cansino, in an early performance.

<i>Nero Wolfe</i> (1981 TV series) 1981 television series

Nero Wolfe is an American drama television series based on the characters in Rex Stout's series of detective stories that aired on NBC from January 16 to August 25, 1981. William Conrad fills the role of the detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Lee Horsley is his assistant Archie Goodwin. Produced by Paramount Television, the series updates the world of Nero Wolfe to contemporary New York City and draws few of its stories from the Stout originals.

Cordially Invited to Meet Death

"Cordially Invited to Meet Death" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published in abridged form as "Invitation to Murder" in the April 1942 issue of The American Magazine. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection Black Orchids, published by Farrar & Rinehart in 1942.

Door to Death

"Door to Death" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published in the June 1949 issue of The American Magazine. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection Three Doors to Death, published by the Viking Press in 1950.

"Eeny Meeny Murder Mo" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published in the March 1962 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (#220). It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection Homicide Trinity, published by the Viking Press in 1962.

"Death of a Demon" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first serialized in three issues of The Saturday Evening Post. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection Homicide Trinity, published by the Viking Press in 1962.

"Counterfeit for Murder" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first serialized as "The Counterfeiter's Knife" in three issues of The Saturday Evening Post. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection Homicide Trinity, published by the Viking Press in 1962.

Murder Is Corny Mystery novella by Rex Stout

"Murder Is Corny" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published in April 1964 in the short-story collection Trio for Blunt Instruments. It was the last Nero Wolfe novella to be written, and the last published in Stout's lifetime.

Before I Die (short story)

"Before I Die" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published in the April 1947 issue of The American Magazine. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection Trouble in Triplicate, published by the Viking Press in 1949.

"Christmas Party" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published as "The Christmas-Party Murder" in the January 4, 1957, issue of Collier's magazine. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection And Four to Go, published by the Viking Press in 1958.

Easter Parade (short story)

"Easter Parade" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published as "The Easter Parade Murder" in the April 16, 1957, issue of Look magazine. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection And Four to Go, published by the Viking Press in 1958.

Not Quite Dead Enough (novella)

"Not Quite Dead Enough" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published in abridged form in the December 1942 issue of The American Magazine. It first appeared in book form as the first of two novellas in the short-story collection Not Quite Dead Enough, published by Farrar & Rinehart in 1944.

Home to Roost (short story) short story by Rex Stout

"Home to Roost" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first published as "Nero Wolfe and the Communist Killer" in the January 1952 issue of The American Magazine. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection Triple Jeopardy, published by the Viking Press in 1952. This novella and the 1949 novel The Second Confession are notable expressions of Stout's contempt for both Communism and McCarthyism.

This is a bibliography of works by or about the American writer Rex Stout, an American writer noted for his detective fiction. He began his literary career in the 1910s, writing more than 40 stories that appeared primarily in pulp magazines between 1912 and 1918. He wrote no fiction for more than a decade, until the late 1920s, when he had saved enough money through his business activities to write when and what he pleased. In 1929, he wrote his first published book, How Like a God, an unusual psychological story written in the second person. He wrote a pioneering political thriller, The President Vanishes (1934), before he turned to writing detective fiction. His 1934 novel Fer-de-Lance introduced his best-known characters, detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and 39 novellas and short stories between 1934 and 1975. In 1959, Stout received the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award. The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon XXXI, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "ABOUT US: Who We Are and What We Do". The Wolfe Pack. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Ferretti, Fred (November 9, 1977). "Amid the Orchids, A Feast for Nero And the Wolfe Pack". The New York Times . Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Spencer, Luke. "Nero Wolfe's Brownstone". Atlas Obscura . Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  4. Liebenson, Donald (March 5, 2015). "Robert Goldsborough continues Nero Wolfe legacy with 'Archie in the Crosshairs'". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  5. "Black Orchid Novella Award". Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine . Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  6. "The Nero Award". The Wolfe Pack. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  7. "The Nero Wolfe Files". Marvin Kaye . Retrieved December 18, 2017.