Third book in this series collecting the de Grandin stories. Jules de Grandin is a fictional occult detective created by Seabury Quinn for Weird Tales. Assisted by Dr. Trowbridge (a Doctor Watson-like figure), de Grandin fought ghosts, werewolves, satanists in over ninety stories between 1925 and 1951. Collected here are the following: The Devil-People (1929); The Great God Pan (1926); Restless Souls (1928); The Wolf of St. Bonnot (1930); The Hand of Glory (1933); Mephistopheles and Company, Ltd. (1928). The entire Polular Library series of these books are: 1) The Adventures of Jules de Grandin (1976), 2) The Casebook of Jules de Grandin (1976); 3) Hellfire Files of Jules de Grandin (1976); 4) The Skeleton Closet of Jules de Grandin (1976); 5) The Horror Chambers of Jules de Grandin (1977).
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Heaving Bosoms and Seabury Quinn,
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This review is from: The Hellfire Files of Jules De Grandin (Paperback)
In the July, 1963 issue of _Fantastic_, a reader complained that "sex is a taboo factor in s/f artwork" (128). He added: "Give me the good old days of Seabury Quinn and heaving bosoms" (128). The reader was referring to the days of _Weird Tales_, when nudes by Virgil Finlay, Hannes Bok, and Margaret Brundage appeared on the covers, shocking respectable readers and boosting circulation. Seabury Quinn would routinely write scenes into his Jules de Grandin stories in which an innocent heroine (or occasionally a not-so-innocent _femme fatale_) would appear in a state of undress.
Here are some scenes of this sort from _The Hellfire Files of Jules de Grandin_: "Now she leaned forward till her cerise bodice seemed barely to clear the floor, now she bent back till it seemed that she could not retain her balance" (47); "With a maniac shriek, one of [the girls] seized the bodice of her robe and rent it asunder, exposing her [...], another tore her gown from hem to hips in half-a-dozen places..." (65); "On [the alter], garlanded in flowers, but otherwise unclothed, lay a young girl, eyes closed, hands clasped as if in prayer, slim ankles crossed" (175); "From the shadows Diane Wickwire came, straight and supple as a willow wand, unclothed as for the bath... her slim nude form stood out like a spirit out of Purgatory visiting the earth" (176). _Wellsir!_ After passages like _that_, we can understand why the editors of _Fantastic_ responded: "Sex is not taboo. Heaving bosoms are" (128). I did, however, decide to do more research on this topic (strictly out of a Calvinistic sense of duty), and so I checked the _Weird Tales_ index for information on the covers. Four of the stories in this collection received no covers. But two stories were graced by cover illustrations. "The Wolf of St. Bonnot" was illustrated by Hugh Rankin and featured a beautiful woman in a diaphonous gown accompanied by a giant white werewolf. "The Hand of Glory" was illustrated by Margaret Brundage and depicted a naked girl being carried off to be subjected to fiendish rites by a band of bald headed villains. "Mephistopholes and Company, Ltd." has a memorable chase scene (non taboo in nature) that endeared me to this story. The villains have bundled the girl into a car and are driving away. De Grandin orders his friend Dr. Trowbridge to follow the car and keep it in sight: "Not a chance," I declared. "They're doing better than thirty miles an hour now, and gathering speed all the time. We'll never be able to keep their trail with my little rattletrap." (202) I suppose much of this is pretty tame stuff for modern readers. Perhaps that is an unfortunate comment on our time. In any event, I believe that _The Hellfire Files_ may spark a bit of fun for you. I recommend it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some Parts Great, Some Mediocre...,
By
This review is from: The Hellfire Files of Jules De Grandin (Paperback)
Seabury Quinn is one of the great forgotten writers of the early 20th century. HELLFIRE FILES is only a mediocre collection of his though. One chapter, Restless Souls, a story about ghouls/ vampires is great. The Devil People and The Hand of Glory are quite excellent. The Wolf of St. Bonnot and The Great God Pan are a bit lack-luster. Overall HELLFIRE FILES is a better-than-average read, and I recommend it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
From the glory days of Weird Tales,
This review is from: The Hellfire Files of Jules De Grandin (Paperback)
Back when Weird Tales was the flagstaff magazine of fantasy and horror, its greatest author wasn't Lovecraft or Howard or even CAS, but rather this man: Seabury Quinn. His works may lack the imaginative genius of the aforementioned authors, but in many ways he was better at the technical side of writing. His Jules de Grandin stories are some of the best plain and simple /fun/ occult detective stories ever written, and are a delight for anyone willing to lose an hour or so in the company of the peppery French detective. Truly delightful!
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