"Yesterday's
fashion may not be today's; but it may be none worse for that. On the
contrary, it may be a devil of a sight better."
- John
Dickson Carr ("The Grandest
Game in the World," an essay collected in The Door to Doom and
Other Detections, 1980)
During
the past two years, I have been working my through the
long-forgotten, criminally neglected detective novels by John
Russell Fearn, a prolific writer of science-fiction, westerns and
detective stories, who has a complicated, maze-like publication
history – involving a battalion of pennames and publishers. This
year alone, I read nine of his detective novels and those nine titles
had originally appeared under no less than seven different names. And
a handful of publishers and periodicals were involved in those
initial publications.
 |
| John Russell Fearn |
Fortunately,
reading Fearn today is no longer a labyrinthine exercise in
bibliographical genealogy, because nearly all of his work has been
restored to print in brand new paperback editions or ebooks. We have
one man's indefatigable efforts to thank for that.
Philip
Harbottle is a researcher, editor, writer and literary agent who
has been tirelessly beating Fearn's drum for decades and wrote
extensively on his life and work, which includes John Russell
Fearn – An Evaluation (1963), John Russell Fearn: The
Ultimate Analysis (1965) and The Multi-Man: A Biographic and
Bibliographic Study of John Russell Fearn, 1908-1960 (1968) –
which appeared alongside more general studies like Vultures of the
Void: A History of British Science-Fiction, 1945-1956 (1993). So
it was only a matter of time before the reviews of John
Norris, Yvette
and yours truly caught his attention.
Earlier
this week, I received an email from Harbottle with a question to help
him get into contact with John Norris, but we also bounced some
emails back and forth about Fearn. Harbottle was kind enough to
answer some of my questions, which gave me a better idea who the man
behind all those pseudonyms actually was and granted permission to
adapt the letter he had drafted for John into a guest-post for this
blog.
The
letter in question was littered with interesting background
information on Harbottle's decades-long quest to get every single
title by Fearn back into print and included an informative rundown of
eleven of his more interesting detective novels. It was simply too
good to allow it to languish in my inbox and had to be shared with my
fellow detective-fiction addicts, because I know how famished all of
your wish lists are. Particularly with the holidays ahead of us.
For
the record, I only made a couple of minor alterations to the original
letter in order to make it fit a blog-post format, added links and
used the cover art that was supplied for this purpose by Harbottle.
So,
without further ado, I'll give the floor to the man who made reading
and collecting John Russell Fearn's many fictional endeavors
ridiculously easy.
THE
DETECTIVE FICTION OF JOHN RUSSELL FEARN BY PHILIP HARBOTTLE
I
thought it was about time I dropped you a line to express my
appreciation of your positive reviews of some of John Russell Fearn's
crime novels, and by following your links I have been pleasantly
surprised to discover a few others following your lead. However, it
has been a somewhat bitter-sweet experience.
Some seem to think they
are clever to have "discovered" Fearn's crime fiction, which
makes me grind my few remaining teeth. I was publishing myriads of
articles and even entire books about Fearn more than 50 years ago,
wherein I wrote, inter alia, "...Fearn's real potential as an
author was brilliantly realised in his mystery and detective
novels... Thy
Arm Alone by John Slate, first published by Rich and Cowan in
1947...may well have been the best book Fearn ever wrote."
Way
back in 1991, I wrote an essay about the "Black Maria" books that
appeared in Maxim
Jakubowski's book 100 Great Detectives, concluding: "Long
out of print, and known only to collectors, the novels were recently
rediscovered and successfully translated for an Italian readership.
They still await an enterprising UK publisher." But despite the
book appearing in both the US and UK in hardcover and paperback (not
to mention winning the Anthony Award for Best Critical Work!) no one
seemed to have read my article! Or if they did, they ignored it. To
understand why, you need to understand Fearn's history.
When
Fearn died of a sudden heart attack in 1960 at only 52, he
immediately fell out of print, because he had represented himself.
His widow (only married in 1957) was so grief- stricken—as well as
seriously ill herself—that she was unable to answer
would-be-publishers' letters, with which she was being bombarded when
news of his death was announced. When she recovered, she consulted
her solicitor about them. Sadly, this prize chump actually instructed
her to ignore or refuse all requests to reprint his hundreds of books
and stories, with the sole exception of his Star Weekly Golden
Amazon novels. These had been published under his own name, and
contained the tagline © John Russell Fearn. The prize chump
instructed her that any and all other pseudonymous work (which
comprised most of his output!) could not be reprinted because she "could not prove that Fearn was their author!" So Hugo
Blayn and John Slate and Vargo Statten and myriad pen names were
consigned to oblivion.
It
wasn't until 1969 (when I quit my local government career and became
an editor myself, seeking to reprint Fearn's work) that I learned
about this stupidity. I requested a personal interview, which Mrs.
Fearn kindly agreed to. I was able to explain to her that her
solicitor was an idiot, and that I had spent my life uncovering and
proving Fearn's authorship of all his pseudonymous output.
Fortunately I had earlier corresponded with Fearn—"John did
talk about you" she recalled—and Mrs. Fearn eventually
appointed me as her literary agent.
Thereafter
she became a close and dear friend of my family. But in that "lost
decade" Fearn had become almost completely forgotten, and in that
pre-PC and internet era when my only tools were a manual typewriter
and primitive photocopying, I had an uphill struggle to restore him
to print in the UK. I was obliged to resume my local government
career, and so could only work as an agent in my spare time. Much of
his fiction—sf, westerns, and detective—was first restored to
print in Italy, in translation, and included first posthumous
publication of some unpublished manuscripts.
When
Mrs. Fearn died in 1982, I learned that she had bequeathed to me all
of Fearn's copyrights, in her will. Slowly, gradually, I continued to
bring his work back into print. In 1996 I made the bold decision to
take early retirement at 55, bought myself a PC, learned to use it
and the internet, and became a full-time literary agent.
Since
when I have succeeded in returning every single one of Fearn's sf,
western, and crime books to print in the UK and USA, along with
scores of short stories in new collections, and several posthumous
collaborations. (I've also done the same for E.C.
Tubb and Sydney
J. Bounds, but your readers won’t wish to know that...)
Many
of these books have actually been available for years, but it is only
thanks to John
Norris and Tomcat
that they are finally being noticed. But sadly, there still seems
widespread ignorance of Fearn's crime novels outside of the Black
Maria, Garth/Dr. Carruthers novels, which everybody seems to think
comprised the totality of his locked room/impossible crime stories.
Not so! The
Silvered Cage was NOT the final bow of Dr. Carruthers.
Allow
me to offer your readers this further slice of information:
1:
ROBBERY WITHOUT VIOLENCE
In
1957 wrote a sf detective novel called Robbery
Without Violence. The basic plot was very similar to that
which Fearn had used in his Garth/Carruthers novel What
Happened to Hammond? Although its development was completely
different, Fearn considered that Garth and Carruthers could not be
the lead characters. So he renamed them as Chief Inspector Hargraves
and Sawley Garson (a "specialist in scientific puzzles"—but
without Carruthers' egotism and sarcasm).
It
was published in Fearn's regular market, the Toronto Star Weekly,
who requested Fearn (and others) to submit full length novels, which
they then condensed to fit their standard format. Fearn used to send
in his novels at 50,000 words; he was happy to do this because he
thus had the chance of selling his uncut versions as a book later).
Up to 1955, the Star novels ran at 40,000 words; from 1956 on they
were reduced to 32,000 words and finally, in 1960, they were cut to
only 25,000. (At that point, Fearn wrote them at a length of just
35,000.)
When
I sought to have this novel reprinted, I discovered that there was a
glaring plot hole because of the Star's cuts, so I had to
write in a missing explanation myself! I defy anyone to "spot the
join!" (note from TC: I did not spot it!) The cutting of 18,000
words rather vitiated the literary worth of the story, but the
original had been destroyed, and we can just be thankful that at
least the Star was giving Fearn a regular market.
Robbery
Without Violence is currently available from Linford and
Wildside, and is a locked room/impossible crime novel.
2.
THE MAN WHO WAS NOT
Fearn's
next Hargraves/Garson novel was an absolute humdinger, and entirely
original—it positively bristled with locked room/impossible crime
murders! But it was so complex that the Star rejected it,
deciding they would not be able to successfully cut it. Whereupon
Fearn promptly rewrote it, essentially unchanged, but reinserting
Garth and Carruthers! Sadly, he was unaccountably unable to find a
book publisher. I found both 50,000 word manuscript versions in
Fearn's effects. When I had the book reprinted, I took the decision
to use the Sawley Garson version.
The
Man Who Was Not is currently available from Linford and
Wildside, and is a locked room/impossible crime novel, par
excellence.
3.
ACCOUNT SETTLED
This
is a "stand alone" novel, first published as a Paget Books
paperback in 1949. Paget were already running westerns as by "John
Russell Fearn" so they made the decision to publish this as by "John Russell." Consequently it remained completely unknown for
many decades until I discovered it. Even Bob Adey had never seen a
copy and was unaware of its locked room credentials until I presented
him with one a few years ago! It is perhaps the rarest of all his
books. I restored Fearn's full name when I had it reprinted.
Account
Settled is a terrific fun mystery, with a science fiction
flavour, but the (many!) locked room/impossible crime elements are
all "straight." It is currently available from Linford and
Wildside. (note from TC: can any of you guess which title by Fearn
has shot up, like a rocket, on my wish list?).
4)
SHATTERING GLASS
Fearn
created a fascinating psychiatrist detective in his character "Dr.
Castle" for this 1947 Star Weekly novel. It was published as
by "Frank Russell" to distinguish it from his regular John
Russell Fearn "Golden Amazon" sf novels for the Star. This murder
mystery may not be impossible crime, but it is unusual and is
strongly recommended. It was reprinted unchanged as a 1953 Brown
Watson paperback in 1953. It is incredibly rare. But the good news is
that it is currently easily available from Linford and Wildside,
under Fearn's own name.
5)
REFLECTED GLORY
This
second "Dr. Castle" novel was written many years later, and
unaccountably remained unpublished during Fearn's lifetime. The
50,000 word manuscript was discovered in his effects. I actually
believe this may be his best novel—better than Garth and Black
Maria. Whilst not exactly impossible crime, it has a wonderful creepy
atmosphere and the plot revolves around psychological quirks and
flaws in the characters. It has my highest recommendation.
Reflected
Glory is currently available from Linford and Wildside.
6)
THE TATTOO MURDERS
This
was originally published as Murder's A Must by Fearn, by Muir
Watson as a 1949 paperback. It is extremely rare, but is worth trying
to chase down because of its superb cover by the great Reina Sington.
Well worth the probable high price, because this is a very
entertaining and efficient murder mystery. Not impossible crime (and
also NOT "hardboiled" either) it is none the worse for that.
The
Tattoo Murders is currently available from Linford and is shortly
to appear from Fearn’s newest publisher, Endeavour Press. The
Wildside edition is now out of print but can still be found on the
net
7)
THE FOURTH DOOR
This
was another "one off" 1947 Star Weekly novel, originally as by
Frank Russell. It has some of the same creepy/psychological
atmosphere of the "Dr. Castle" novels and some impossible crime
sub-texts. The writing is not so polished as in Reflected Glory
because it has been cut from 50,000 to 40,000 words. (Once again I
had to write in extra "missing" text to cover a plot hole created
by the abridging) but the novel is notable enough to have been picked
up by Audible.com, and makes very good listening.
The
Fourth Door is currently available from Linford and
Wildside.
8)
LIQUID DEATH
This
is a fun-read SF detective thriller with some impossible crime
elements. It was first published by Modern fiction in 1953 under
their "Griff" house name. Scarce and expensive.
The
novel is available from Thorpe, and is shortly to be reprinted by
Fearn's newest publisher, Endeavour Press. An earlier Wildside
edition is now out of print, but second hand copies will be available
for some time on the net. The Wildside edition is worth getting,
however, because it is a "double size" book, also containing a
collection of Fearn's early short crime stories from diverse hard
to find sources—principally Thrilling Mystery Stories, which
are very entertaining rationalized supernatural stories.
9)
DON'T TOUCH ME
This
is a hardboiled gangster thriller first published by Modern Fiction
in 1953 under their "Spike Gordon" house name. Expect to pay
through the nose if you can find a copy! A quite entertaining "crime
noir," it was considered notable enough to have been picked up by
Audible.com.
Don't
Touch Me is currently available from Linford and Wildside.
10)
ONE WAY OUT (with Philip Harbottle)
This
is a "straight" detective novel about how an innocent man becomes
a murder suspect and is forced to go on the run, that was unfinished
at the time of Fearn's death. His final detective novel. On the
very last page was a very brief cryptic scribble by Fearn to himself,
setting out his thoughts on how it finished. Unfortunately I could
not make head nor tail of it, and so the manuscript remained
unpublished for more than 20 years. Then, suddenly, I woke up one day
with an interpretation of what the notes could have meant! I
immediately set to work and within a few days I had completed the
novel! It was sent to Thorpe and Wildside and immediately accepted
and published by them, and is still available.
11)
PATTERN OF MURDER
Fearn's
original title on this unpublished manuscript was Many A Slip
and he had actually bylined it as by "Hugo Blayn" when he
submitted it to the successors to his old UK hardcover publisher in
1957. Unaccountably it was not accepted—God knows why, maybe
because the lending library markets were dying out then, and UK genre
publishers were tightening their belts.
The
story is one of Fearn's very best (it might even be better than
Reflected Glory) because he was writing directly from his own
life-experiences, so that it is completely authentic.
This is a
murder story set inside a cinema. (During the war, Fearn himself
worked as a Chief projectionist in a cinema, as part of his war
service, having been graded C3 and unfit for active service). It has
an entirely original authentic scientific plot behind the murder,
which would have certainly qualified it as an "impossible crime."
However, Fearn inverted the plot—anticipating Columbo
by several decades—by revealing the modus operandi early on. The
suspense derives from how the hero painstakingly uncovers the method
and unmasks the murderer.
There
is no surviving record of it ever having been submitted anywhere
else, until I sent the manuscript to Robert Hale in 1982
(incidentally, along with The Man Who Was Not). Editor John
Hale wrote back to say that both stories were "quite good"
and that he really would have liked to publish them—but had
reluctantly decided against it, because "the author's name is
not known." Bah! Humbug! (Ironically, nearly 20 years later, I
would sell John Hale some 20 of Fearn's western novels!)
Needless
to say it was snapped up by, and is currently available from, both
Linford and Wildside. On no account should this one be missed! (note
from TC: this one is on my TBR-pile and might be one of my next
reads... unless Account Settled overtakes it).
So
there you have my top-of-the head selection of some of the best (not
all) of Fearn's still largely "unknown" crime novels. I hope it
might just interest you.
There
are numerous new collections containing all of Fearn's remaining
short crime stories, but I don't suppose any of your readers would be
interested, as most of them are interspersed with sf stories…
Phil
Harbottle
-
- -
I
would like to append Harbottle's list with two titles that did not
make the cut or was mentioned, but deserve to be considered for your
wish list: Except
for One Thing (1947) is an excellent inverted detective novel
with battle-of-wits between the police-inspector and the murderer and
an under appreciated locked room novel, Death
in Silhouette (1950), which has a splendid
have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too solution.
So
now we have gotten that out of the way, I would like to express my
gratitude for all the time and hard work Harbottle has put into
preserving Fearn's literary legacy. Fearn was one of the earliest
followers (read: fanboy) of my favorite mystery writer, John
Dickson Carr, whose influence can often be found in his
impossible crime fiction (e.g. the locked room solution in The
Five Matchboxes, 1948).
More often than not, Fearn attempted
to bring a new idea, or approach, to the impossible crime genre (e.g.
previously mentioned Thy Arm Alone) and that's what attracted
me to his work, but only this week have I come to appreciate the time
and work that went into making them accessible to a world-wide
audience – as well as giving me a glimpse of the man who wrote
them. A man who must have been an absolute treasure to have had as a
friend.
All
of this has completely expunged my recent disappointment over Robbery
Without Violence and moved two of the titles mentioned by
Harbottle to the top of my to-be-read pile, but before I'll get
around to that I'll have special review planned for one my fellow
locked room addicts. But that's for the next post. So see you all on the
flipside!
However,
Adey apparently overlooked a short story, "The Closed Door," that
appeared in Amazing Stories. A genuine impossible crime story
with a dying message and an original solution, grounded in
science-fiction territory, but with an old-fashioned twist that
harked back to our own time – even one of John
Dickson Carr's famous detective characters gets a mention ("If
Gideon Fell could have lived to see this..."). My only quibble
is that this story would have worked better, as a detective story,
had it been a novella or even a novel-length story, because it would
have given Crossen the opportunity to fully explain the science
behind this universe.
