Ellery Queen was a pen name created and shared by two cousins,
Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) and Manfred B. Lee (1905-1971), as well
as the name of their most famous detective. Born in Brooklyn, they
spent forty-two years writing the greatest puzzle-mysteries of
their time, gaining the duo a reputation as the foremost American
authors of the Golden Age “fair play” mystery.
Eventually famous on television and radio, Queen’s first appearance
came in 1929 when the cousins won a mystery-writing contest with
the book that would eventually be published as The Roman Hat
Mystery. Besides co-writing the Queen novels, Dannay founded Ellery
Queen’s Mystery Magazine, one of the most influential crime
publications of all time. Although Dannay outlived his cousin by
nine years, he retired the fictional Queen upon Lee’s death.
Otto Penzler, the creator of American Mystery Classics, is also the
founder of the Mysterious Press (1975), a literary crime imprint
now associated with Grove/Atlantic; Mysterious Press.com (2011), an
electronic-book publishing company; and New York City’s Mysterious
Bookshop (1979). He has won a Raven, the Ellery Queen Award, two
Edgars (for the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, 1977, and
The Lineup, 2010), and lifetime achievement awards from Noircon and
The Strand Magazine. He has edited more than 70 anthologies and
written extensively about mystery fiction.
"Perfect for a discussion group exploring the history and variety
of the mystery genre."
*Booklist*
"A new Ellery Queen novel has always been something to look forward
to"
*Agatha Christie*
"The solution [is] one of Ellery's brainiest"
*Kirkus*
"It has everything needed to make it great"
*The Philadelphia Ledger*
"Ellery Queen is the American detective story."
*Anthony Boucher*
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