Three Men Out
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Three Men Out | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Author(s) | Rex Stout |
| Cover artist | Bill English |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Nero Wolfe |
| Genre(s) | Detective fiction |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Publication date | March 26, 1954 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 181 pp. (first edition) |
| ISBN | NA |
| Preceded by | The Golden Spiders |
| Followed by | The Black Mountain |
Three Men Out is a collection of Nero Wolfe mystery novellas by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1954. The book comprises three stories that first appeared in The American Magazine:
- "Invitation to Murder" (August 1953, as "Will to Murder")
- "The Zero Clue" (December 1953, as "Scared to Death")
- "This Won't Kill You" (September 1952, as "This Will Kill You")
Contents |
[edit] Invitation to Murder
A client hires Archie to assess the matrimonial intentions of his wealthy invalid brother-in-law. When Archie finds the client dead, he tricks Wolfe into leaving the brownstone and identifying the killer before the police are called in.
[edit] The Zero Clue
Leo Heller, a probability expert who has parlayed his math skills into celebrity, tries to consult Wolfe after he calculates that one of his clients has committed a serious crime. Wolfe refuses the case, but Archie — "who is subordinate only when it suits his temperament and convenience," Wolfe later complains — agrees to explore on his own.
[edit] This Won't Kill You
Nero Wolfe honors a guest's request by taking him to a World Series game at the Polo Grounds. After the Giants are trounced by the Red Sox, members of the team are found to have been drugged — and a body is discovered in the locker room. Wolfe solves the crime without leaving the ball park.
[edit] Publication history
[edit] "Invitation to Murder"
- 1953, The American Magazine, August 1953 (as "Will to Murder") [1]
- 1979, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September 1979
[edit] "The Zero Clue"
- 1953, The American Magazine, December 1953 (as "Scared to Death") [2]
- 1963, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, April 1963
- 1970, Ellery Queen's Anthology, Mid-year 1970
- 1972, Ellery Queen's Best Bets, ed. by Ellery Queen, New York: Pyramid #N2775, August 1972
- 1976, Masterpieces of Mystery: The Supersleuths, ed. by Ellery Queen, New York: Davis Publications, 1976
[edit] "This Won't Kill You"
- 1952, The American Magazine, September 1952 (as "This Will Kill You") [3]
- 1953, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, October 1953 (as "The World Series Murder")
- 1962, Ellery Queen's Anthology, 1962 (as "The World Series Murder")
[edit] Three Men Out
- 1954, New York: The Viking Press, March 26, 1954, hardcover[4]
- In his limited-edition pamphlet, Collecting Mystery Fiction #9, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part I, Otto Penzler describes the first edition of Three Men Out: "Red boards, front cover blank. Issued in a red, black and white dust wrapper. … The binding of this title was a textured cardboard designed to resemble cloth; the book club edition has a smoother texture."[5]
- In April 2006, Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine estimated that the first edition of Three Men Out had a value of between $200 and $350. The estimate is for a copy in very good to fine condition in a like dustjacket.[6]
- 1954, New York: Viking (Mystery Guild), June 1954, hardcover
- The far less valuable Viking book club edition may be distinguished from the first edition in three ways:
-
- The dust jacket has "Book Club Edition" printed on the inside front flap, and the price is absent (first editions may be price clipped if they were given as gifts).
- Book club editions are sometimes thinner and always taller (usually a quarter of an inch) than first editions.
- Book club editions are bound in cardboard, and first editions are bound in cloth (or have at least a cloth spine).[7]
-
- 1955, London: Collins Crime Club, January 17, 1955, hardcover
- 1955, Toronto: Macmillan, 1955, hardcover
- 1955, New York: Bantam #1388, November 1955, paperback
- 1991, New York: Bantam Crimeline ISBN 0-553-24547-3 June 1, 1991, paperback
- 1994, New York: Bantam Crimeline ISBN 0-553-24547-3 May 1994, paperback, Rex Stout Library edition with introduction by Linda Ellerbee
- 1997, Newport Beach, California: Books on Tape, Inc. ISBN 0-7366-3749-4 July 21, 1997, audio cassette (unabridged, read by Michael Prichard)
- 2011, New York: Bantam Crimeline ISBN 978-0-307-76816-2 August 17, 2011, e-book
[edit] References
- ^ Townsend, Guy M., Rex Stout: An Annotated Primary and Secondary Bibliography (1980, New York: Garland Publishing; ISBN 0-8240-9479-4), p. 67. John McAleer, Judson Sapp and Arriean Schemer are associate editors of this definitive publication history.
- ^ Townsend, Guy M., Rex Stout: An Annotated Primary and Secondary Bibliography (1980, New York: Garland Publishing; ISBN 0-8240-9479-4), p. 67
- ^ Townsend, Guy M., Rex Stout: An Annotated Primary and Secondary Bibliography (1980, New York: Garland Publishing; ISBN 0-8240-9479-4), p. 65
- ^ Townsend, Guy M., Rex Stout: An Annotated Primary and Secondary Bibliography (1980, New York: Garland Publishing; ISBN 0-8240-9479-4), p. 83
- ^ Penzler, Otto, Collecting Mystery Fiction #9, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part I (2001, New York: The Mysterious Bookshop, limited edition of 250 copies), p. 30
- ^ Smiley, Robin H., "Rex Stout: A Checklist of Primary First Editions." Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine (Volume 16, Number 4), April 2006, p. 34
- ^ Penzler, Otto, Collecting Mystery Fiction #9, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part I, pp. 19–20
