Fandom Promo: Nero Wolfe

[delphi]

Title: Colts and Cattleyas: A Nero Wolfe Fandom Promo
Author: delphi
Fandom: The Nero Wolfe Mystery Series
Historical Connection: This is a series of mystery novels written contemporaneously between 1934 and 1975.
Content Warning: n/a

If he had done nothing more than to create Archie Goodwin, Rex Stout would deserve the gratitude of whatever assessors watch over the prosperity of American literature.
—Jacques Barzun

His narrative and dialogue could not be improved, and he passes the supreme test of being rereadable. I don't know how many times I have reread the Wolfe stories, but plenty. I know exactly what is coming and how it is all going to end, but it doesn't matter. That's writing.
—P.G. Wodehouse

Stout says to us, "Here are two friends. Here are two people sharing their lives. As you wish for friendship, share in theirs. As you seek companionship, share in theirs. As you search for love, share in theirs." Rex Stout invites us into the family and offers warmth and security and certainty. He affirms what we all seek on some primal level. If such disparate individuals as Wolfe and Goodwin can share friendship and love and caring and life, can not we? That’s the strength here. That’s the message and the feel-good inherent in the voice and character that Rex Stout has given to Archie Goodwin. In this cold world, it is a fire on which we may warm our hands.
—Robert Crais


Canon Recap

The official Nero Wolfe book canon consists of 31 mystery novels and an additional 41 short stories and novellas written by Rex Stout from the 1930s to the 1970s. The stories are set in New York City in and about the years of their publication, narrated with wit and style by private investigator Archie Goodwin as he details the strange and complex cases of theft, blackmail and murder accepted by his reclusive genius boss, Nero Wolfe.

Some have hung the "hardboiled" label on the series because of its setting, but it has far too much humor, domesticity and tangents into the world of gourmet cooking for it to stick. Instead, the stories are more like a perfect three-minute egg in an antique porcelain egg cup with a plate of buttered toast soldiers standing at the ready to dip in the runny yolk. Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe live together in a Manhattan brownstone along with chef Fritz Brenner and gardener Theodore Horstmann, and far from focusing solely on sensational crimes, the mysteries usually run in parallel with some conflict, concern or competition on the home front.


Historical Connection

The first Nero Wolfe novel was published in 1934, and new novels and stories were published almost every year until Rex Stout’s death in 1975. The series exists on a floating timeline, which is to say that Archie is in his 30s and Wolfe in his 50s in 1934, and the two remain those ages in 1975 despite past cases and involvement with fixed historical points like the world wars usually remaining canon. Generally, all recurring characters are likewise floating in time, with the notable exception of one minor character who appears as a young man in a 1938 novel and whom Archie and Wolfe (having not aged themselves) encounter again in 1964 as a much older man with a grown son.

Not coincidentally, this character is African-American, and jumping forward in the life of a 1930s Howard University student to his life as an academic with a grown son involved in the 1960s civil rights movement allowed Stout to engage with political issues of the day and revisit his characters' core worldviews to account for a changing America.

As J. Kenneth Van Dover noted in relation to the purpose of the floating timeline:

Rex Stout's greater innovation lay in his attention to the realities of the larger world. Nero Wolfe might not know the streets of his city very well, but he knew his nation. There are, for examples, reference in Fer-de-Lance to national issues such as Prohibition, and the Depression, and the Lindbergh baby. A few other writers of Golden Age detective stories were inserting a few topical references of this sort, but none to the degree Stout did. The Wolfe series is probably the only major detective story series before the 1970s to make national affairs an essential part of the detective's world, and few of the post-1970 series are as explicit about historical events and figures. [...] Stout does not feel obligated to invent a surrogate senator from a vaguely Midwestern state; Nero Wolfe despises Joseph R. McCarthy, and he says so. Archie may drive a Heron, but when it comes to J. Edgar Hoover or Richard M. Nixon, he names names.


Nero Wolfe

"I understand the technique of eccentricity; it would be futile for a man to labor at establishing a reputation for oddity if he were ready at the slightest provocation to revert to normal action."
—Nero Wolfe, Fer-de-Lance (1934)

And there's no doubt he has fifteen or twenty pasts; I know that much about him.
—Archie Goodwin, "Instead of Evidence" (1946)

Nero Wolfe was born in Montenegro and had a mysterious and adventurous early life in Europe, Asia and Africa before immigrating to the United States to retreat into hermitry. If he had his druthers, Wolfe would never leave his brownstone and would spend his days raising orchids, reading, and enjoying gourmet meals prepared by his personal chef. If pressed, he might set foot outside for the occasional restaurant and flower show. However, a lifestyle like his requires money, and he is forced to interact with strangers long enough to accept sufficiently interesting and lucrative cases he hopes to be able to solve from the comfort of his armchair.

We only see Wolfe filtered through Archie's point of view, as the series is written with the conceit that Archie has authored these write-ups of their investigations. Wolfe's eccentricities are therefore often subject to some exaggeration or fondly exasperated editorializing. We do know for certain that he keeps a strict schedule, is fastidious about his clothing, maintains ironclad personal boundaries, and will not stand for the word "contact" being used as a verb under his roof. He is firm about keeping an all-male household and claims to dislike women in a way that critic Molly Haskell once characterized as "part pose, part protection, but above all, a shrewd tool of detective strategy." In truth, the strangers Wolfe forms cordial relationships with are almost exclusively women, but the very idea of a heterosexual marriage disrupting his household (particularly the idea of Archie someday getting married and moving out) is a recurring anxiety throughout the series.

Wolfe is prone to mental health episodes affecting his energy and appetite that Archie calls "relapses." Full episodes featured more frequently in the early books before Archie perfected his methods for heading them off at the pass.


Archie Goodwin

"For what you pay me I do your mail, I make myself obnoxious to people, I tail them when necessary, I shoot when I have to and get shot at, I stick around and take every mood you've got, I give you and Theodore a hand in the plant room when required, I lie to Inspector Cramer and Sergeant Stebbins whether required or not, I even help Fritz in the kitchen in emergencies, I answer the phone."
—Archie Goodwin, "Easter Parade" (1958)

"Some day, Archie, I shall be constrained ... but no. I cannot remake the universe, and must therefore put up with this one. What is, is, including you."
—Nero Wolfe, The Red Box (1937)

There's a possibly apocryphal story that Agatha Christie used to refer to these books as the Archie Goodwin series and, when reminded that they're usually called the Nero Wolfe mysteries, once proclaimed, "Nonsense! Everyone knows that Archie does all the work!"

Archie is the in-universe author, but unlike Arthur Conan Doyle’s Dr. Watson, he isn't really there to be Wolfe's Boswell. Instead, Archie is a capable private investigator in his own right who undertakes most of the legwork on the cases himself, given how rarely Wolfe can be moved to leave the house.

Born in Chillicothe, Ohio, Archie moved to New York at eighteen, got a job as a security guard that led to him shooting two men, and is implied to have started working for Wolfe not long after. While not the preternatural genius that Wolfe is at solving mysteries, Archie has a logistical knowledge of the wider world and the people in it that Wolfe lacks, and he considers himself the second-best in all of the city at tailing a suspect (behind Saul Panzer, who we'll meet in a moment). On top of investigating on his own and reporting his findings to Wolfe, he handles the administrative side of both the detective business and Wolfe's orchid-raising endeavours.

Archie loves dancing, baseball and playing poker. He enjoys the fringe benefits of living in a gourmet's house, with his one culinary quirk being that he prefers a glass of milk as a pairing with his meals. He's something of a ladies' man, at least by his own report, and while no one ever manages to lure him away from living with Wolfe, he maintains an open relationship with a society woman named Lily Rowan throughout the series.


Fritz Brenner

"If you need any help with all the ladies, Archie, for my age I am not to be ignored. A Swiss has a long usefulness."
—Fritz Brenner, Murder by the Book (1951)

Fritz Brenner does not pry into other people’s private affairs, not even mine. But he has a legitimate interest in the welfare of that establishment, of the people who live in that old brownstone on West Thirty-fifth Street, and he merely wanted to know if my dinner engagement was likely to promote it.
—Archie Goodwin, Champagne for One (1958)

Originally from Switzerland, Fritz Brenner is the cook and de facto butler in Wolfe's household. He and Wolfe are closely bonded over their mutual love of food and only occasionally resort to furious quarrels over culinary disagreements. He has a very sweet relationship with Archie, who often joins him in the kitchen for a glass of milk, a snack, and a friendly chat.

Despite living with two detectives, Fritz's interest in the cases they take on is generally limited to wanting to know his salary will be paid and that domestic harmony will be maintained.


Theodore Horstmann

"Mr. Wolfe has always pampered you because you're the best orchid nurse alive. This is as good a time as any to tell you that you remind me of sour milk."
—Archie Goodwin, In the Best Families (1950)

There's not a lot to say about Theodore Horstmann, but I'd be remiss to leave him out. Archie has no such qualms. Despite the fact that Horstmann lives in the brownstone with him, Archie rarely gives him more than a cursory mention in the books. On one level, this makes sense: Horstmann works on the orchids, and Wolfe's daily orchid time is usually a good excuse for Archie to set out on his own to chase down some clues. On another, it's an interesting look at how the conceit of Archie as the author shapes the stories. Archie likes Fritz, so Fritz gets page time. Archie dislikes Horstmann, so Horstmann stays upstairs.


Saul Panzer

"It's a temptation, sure it is, but I'm not like Oscar Wilde, I can resist it."
—Saul Panzer, A Family Affair (1975)

Saul smiled. His smile is as tender as he is tough, and it helps to make him the best poker player I know.
—Archie Goodwin, "Kill Now—Pay Later" (1961)

Saul Panzer is one of a trio of freelance private investigators regularly brought in when Archie and Wolfe need help, but he warrants his own entry here because while he lives elsewhere, he’s an honorary member of the household. He’s welcome at Wolfe’s dinner table, has hosted Wolfe at his apartment, and on one of the rare occasions when Wolfe willingly left town, he drove him to the train station and (by Archie’s report at least) choked off a tremolo as he bid him goodbye.

Despite a faint tinge of professional jealousy and insecurity, Archie deeply respects Saul and seems to regard him every bit as fondly as Wolfe does. He frequently discusses Saul as his equal or better in certain aspects of investigation, and he once even mused that he'd like to elect him president provided Saul could be coaxed into better clothes than his old brown suit and flat cap that he wears regardless of the season.

Saul is described as short, with a large nose and an air of being perpetually in need of a shave. He has a knack for blending into a crowd, and between his skills at tailing a suspect and his incredible memory for faces, he commands a high daily fee as a freelancer. According to Archie, he could be making a mint if he opened his own agency, but he prefers to keep his time free for playing piano and keeping up with his reading.


Why I Love It

"You are headstrong and I am magisterial. Our tolerance of each other is a constantly recurring miracle."
—Nero Wolfe to Archie Goodwin, Champagne for One (1958)

Frankly, I wish I could make my heart quit doing an extra thump when Wolfe says satisfactory, Archie. It's childish.
—Archie Goodwin, The Silent Speaker (1946)

These books are incredibly readable for their witty narration, wealth of historical detail, and of course their clever mysteries. The conceit of the format lets what could be a repetitive whodunnit formula develop in all sorts of interesting and unexpected ways because the reader gets to follow an intelligent and observant legman and start solving the case for themselves while a fickle genius waits back at the house to provide that last satisfying bit of information or an exciting twist without any forced contrivance.

However, to go back to the quotation from P.G. Wodehouse, these books aren’t just readable but rereadable—and to go back to the quotation from Robert Crais, it's all about the friendship, companionship, and love.

Archie and Wolfe are incredibly shippy, and I suspect that's not wholly by accident. Rex Stout was a great Sherlock Holmes fan, and at least one of his essays makes it clear he was very aware of the homoerotic subtext in Holmes and Watson's friendship. In addition, one of his first standalone novels, Forest Fire (1933), is a surprisingly sympathetic thriller/tragedy about an introverted and deeply repressed older man who unexpectedly falls in love with a younger male employee, at one point daydreaming about them living together and attempting his first clumsy overture of friendship by bringing him dinner and a flower. The very next year, Stout kicked off a decades-long series about an introverted and repressed older man who's been living companionably with his younger male employee for years, enjoying good dinners and cultivating flowers—a Holmes who's already more or less settled into semi-retirement with a Watson who never left him for matrimony.

We first meet Archie and Wolfe about fifteen years into their arrangement, and there they perpetually stay. It's an ideal point for comfort, conflict and catharsis: they get along with both the friction and ease of an old married couple, but with Archie reaching his mid-thirties there's a sense of him being on the precipice of deciding whether he wants to strike out on his own or commit to staying with Wolfe in this eccentric lifestyle. They bicker and keep each other on their toes, but at the end of the day each other's well-being is their top priority and they’re at their best when they're sharing a life.

(And if the text insists, alongside Archie helping Wolfe off with his pants or resting his head in Wolfe’s lap on a car ride home, that Archie loves the ladies and Wolfe doesn't like to be touched...well, Archie's the one writing these books for public consumption, so of course he would edit out the spicier details.)

Even if I didn't ship it, the domestic elements of these books would ensure their spot on my comfort reading shelf. Wolfe's brownstone is a cozy place to visit, and its inner circle is comprised of some of the characters with whom I would most like to have dinner. Especially if that dinner is at Wolfe's house. After all, how many other detective series have enough sumptuous dishes on the page to warrant their author putting out its own cookbook long before the ubiquity of tie-in products?


Where to Find It

While some of the short stories and novellas are harder to track down, the main novels remain in print and are widely available in paperback and ebook format through most major bookshop chains and library systems.

With very few exceptions, all of the books stand alone and can be read in any order. As with most long-running series, it takes a few outings to really hit its stride, and some people warn against starting with the first book. While it's true that the first isn't my favourite and that Archie's level of sophistication increases markedly after a few books, I personally opted to read the series in chronological order and really enjoyed tracking the way history moved along with each installment.

If you're not sure about where to start, I've put the back-cover blurbs of a few likely places below and recommend going with whichever one interests you. My personal picks from the early books:

Fer-de-Lance (1934)
The fer-de-lance is among the most deadly snakes known to man. When someone makes a present of one to Nero Wolfe, his partner, Archie Goodwin, suspects it means Wolfe is getting close to solving the devilishly clever murders of an immigrant and a college president. But this is a case with more twists than an angry rattler...and if Wolfe doesn’t handle it with extreme care, he’ll be the next one struck by a killer with poison in his heart.
Note: This is the first book in the series and is a good place to start if, like me, you always prefer to start at the beginning.

The League of Frightened Men (1935)
Paul Chapin’s Harvard cronies never forgave themselves for the hazing prank that left their friend a cripple. Yet they believed that Paul himself had forgiven them—until a class reunion ends in death and a series of poems promising more of the same. Now this league of frightened men is desperate for Nero Wolfe’s help. But can even the great detective outwit a killer smart enough to commit an unseen murder...in plain sight?
Note: As the synopsis suggests, there's a fair bit of ableism in this one. The mystery itself isn’t my favourite of the series, and Archie still has some rough edges that get smoothed down later, but it also has some very shippy scenes that I'm particularly fond of.

Some Buried Caesar (1939)
A prize bull destined for the barbecue is found pawing the corpse of a late restaurateur. Wolfe is certain that Hickory Caesar Grindon, the soon-to-be-beefsteak bull, isn’t the murderer. But who among a veritable stampede of suspects—including a young woman who's caught Archie's eye—turned the tables on Hickory's would-be butcher? It's a crime that wins a blue ribbon for sheer audacity—and Nero Wolfe is the one detective audacious enough to solve it.
Note: In my personal opinion, this is the spot where the series officially crosses the line from good to great.

And some commonly recommended starting places from later in the series:

Champagne for One (1958)
Faith Usher had a decidedly morbid personality. She talked about taking her life, and kept cyanide in her purse. So when she collapses and dies from a lethal champagne cocktail in the middle of a high society dinner party, everyone calls it suicide—including the police. But Archie was watching it all, and suspects it was murder. So does Nero Wolfe, especially after he's warned by four men against taking the case. For the world's most formidable detective it is a tantalizing puzzle involving an unlikely combination of philanthropy, deception, blackmail, and an unrepentant killer who just may have committed the perfect crime.

The Silent Speaker (1946)
When a powerful government official, scheduled to speak to a group of millionaires, turns up dead, it is an event worthy of the notice of the great Nero Wolfe. Balancing on the edge of financial ruin, the orchid-loving detective grudgingly accepts the case. Soon a second victim is found bludgeoned to death, a missing stenographer’s tape causes an uproar, and the dead man speaks, after a fashion. While the business world clamors for a solution, Nero Wolfe patiently lays a trap that will net him a killer worth his weight in gold.

Murder by the Book (1951)
It wasn’t Leonard Dykes’s writing style that offended. But something in his unpublished tome seemed to lead everyone who read it to a very unhappy ending. Now four people are dead, including the unfortunate author himself, and the police think Nero Wolfe is the only man who can close the book on this novel killer. So the genius sleuth directs his sidekick to set a trap . . . and discovers that the truth is far stranger—and far bloodier—than fiction.

There have also been many radio, film and television adaptations over the years, the most recent and possibly best of which was a two-season television series airing on A&E in 2001 and 2002 called A Nero Wolfe Mystery. The series starred Timothy Hutton as Archie and Maury Chaykin as Wolfe along with a repertory cast for non-recurring characters. It's impeccably written, designed, directed and acted, and I found it a great supplement, but it didn't entirely capture what it is I love so much about the books. If you’re interested in a visual adaptation, this is available on DVD and for download and is definitely the one to go with.


Fannish Recs

Pretty much everything you could ever want to know about the Nero Wolfe series in terms of facts and trivia can be found through the official Nero Wolfe society, The Wolfe Pack.

This is also one of those small fandoms blessed by a ridiculous proportion of excellent fanfic. I've linked a dozen favourites below, mostly Archie/Wolfe and Archie/Saul with some gen mixed in and aimed towards being friendly to folks newer to the series. They don't even scratch the surface of everything out there worth reading, or indeed everything worth reading by the authors featured.

Ambush by Parhelion (Archie Goodwin/Nero Wolfe, Rated G, 989 words)
Summary: Archie didn't go out looking for trouble...

But Half His Foe by Alona (Archie Goodwin & Nero Wolfe, Unrated, Crossover with His Dark Materials, 38,305 words)
Summary: The local Magisterium turns to Nero Wolfe when an alethiometer reader goes missing in New York City.

Carny by Parhelion (Archie Goodwin/Nero Wolfe, Rated M, 27,082 words)
Summary: In this version of their world, Archie and Wolfe meet on the road.

Dinner and a Movie by The_Plaid_Slytherin (Archie Goodwin/Saul Panzer, Rated T, 4120 words)
Summary: Saul and Archie have Friday night plans. Wolfe throws a wrench in the works.

Extenuating Circumstances by Alona (Archie Goodwin/Nero Wolfe, Rated G, 1564 words)
Summary: Getting married in order to cover up a crime is itself a crime and not recommended unless you and your partner are too strong-minded/pig-headed to admit that you just want to get married.*
*Not legal advice.

Furlough by Re_White (Achie Goodwin/Nero Wolfe, Rated M, 1370 words, contains graphic descriptions of violence and non-graphic descriptions of sexual assault)
Summary: Archie knows that this is Wolfe being polite. This is Wolfe bowing to circumstance.

Liars by Parhelion (Archie Goodwin & Saul Panzer & Nero Wolfe, Rated T, 5587 words)
Summary: Saul has a problem, and needs Wolfe and Archie to help him sort it out.

Pharaohs by Parhelion (Archie Goodwin/Saul Panzer, Rated G, 6650 words)
Summary: Saul's nerves are fraying. Archie just wants to help.

A Queer Customer by Persiflager (Archie Goodwin/Saul Panzer, Rated T, 3148 words)
Summary: When Lionel Hattersley sat down at a quarter past three on that hot summer afternoon and said, ‘Mr Wolfe, I am a homosexual’, Wolfe’s only response was to press the button for his beer.

Taste by Parhelion (Archie Goodwin/Nero Wolfe, Rated T, 8387 words)
Summary: While in exile in La-la Land, Wolfe and Archie pass the time by cooking.

Tell Me What You Eat by Lorelei (Fritz Brenner & Archie Goodwin, Rated G, 1721 words)
Summary: Fritz interviews a young man for the position of Mr. Wolfe's assistant.

Vagaries of Love by aeyre (Archie Goodwin/Nero Wolfe, Rated G, 4484 words)
Summary: There's a case that's been troubling Archie.

I'm also very fond of this vid by 2scribble for the A&E television series, set to “Feeling Good" by Michael Bublé.

Watch on YouTube

Whew! If you've made it this far, please feel free to throw any questions my way - or let me know what you think if you give the series a try.

Comments

[rosefox]

I don't know whether this quite counts as a fanwork, but I've cooked from the Nero Wolfe cookbook and it is superb. The pork ribs are really unparalleled.

[delphi]

I haven't tried the ribs, but I can second that the cookbook is fantastic! Those forty-minute scrambled eggs changed my life.

[copperfyre]

I admit that I have only watched the A&E tv series, and not read any of the books, but I do really love the tv series, so clearly I should definitely track down the books and give them a go! This is a really lovely write-up.

[delphi]

Thank you! I really hope you end up enjoying the books as much as the series.

[duskpeterson]

I haven't read as widely in this fandom as I should - I will now, thanks to this post! - but I can testify that Parhelion's fics are excellent. My favorite is Express, which is based on a historical event.

[delphi]

I really could have recommended all of Parhelion's work, but Express is a great one to highlight! It's one of my all-time favourites, a good fic for folks new to the canon, and as you say, particularly apt for those interested in the historical setting. I'm off to re-read it right now. :D

[senmut]

I should definitely track the books down. I managed to see most of the series, and was SHOCKED that my mother had not recced it to me, as she was a Timothy Hutton and Mysteries fan.

[delphi]

I hope you manage to find some copies and enjoy them!