Customer Reviews

Rex Stout: A Majesty's Life - Millennium Edition

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Stout fans will love this new edition of the definitive, Edgar award-winning biography of Rex Stout. This printing by James Rock Publishing Company contains a new introduction by Professor McAleer and an Afterword by his son, mystery writer Andrew McAleer (Appearance of Counsel) who visited Stout's home and study at age eleven. In addition, there are never-before-published photos of Rex Stout. As always, P.G. Wodehouse's Foreword is great fun. Satisfactory Times Three!!!

Rex Stout in his maturity was "a man of mythic dimensions." He helped enlighten America about the Nazi threat, fought racism and supported world government. You'll get all the details in this scholarly biography.

You'll also encounter interviews and vignettes that give an intimate picture of Rex Stout - demeanor, behavior and opinions. I was delighted to learn that he hid boxes of chocolates and that he built a special cabinet with one slide-out shelf per shirt to keep his shirts pristine. The comic poem Stout wrote (page 249) to defend his profession of "mystery monger" is a treat. And the many insights into the Wolfe-Archie dynamic were just what I wanted from this book.

But for a recreational reader like me, the book does have some slow-going passages. While Stout's first marriage goes by in a paragraph, his leadership of boards and committees merits long chapters. This is an authorized biography; achievements must be chronicled.

In any case, I found it fascinating that Wolfe, the most rational of detectives, came to Stout, the most rational of writers, as pure inspiration. Wolfe and Archie simply happened one day. After this spontaneous birth, plots came to Stout as he puttered around. He let his characters fill in the story, and he did no revisions. McAleer's portrayal of how Stout created the Wolfe series is a delight.

This is, to be blunt, a very impressive biography. The go-to source for all things Rex Stout. A book nearly as heavy as Nero Wolfe.