The Skeleton Closet of Jules De Grandin (Paperback)

by Seabury Quinn (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Warner Books; First Printing edition (June 1976)
• ISBN-10: 0445085274
• ISBN-13: 978-0445085275
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,786,776 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It All Ends With a Bumper of Brandy, May 17, 2006

By	Paul Camp (Chattanooga, TN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In the grand old days of _Weird Tales_(1923 to 1954), the most prolific writer was Seabury Quinn. His stories appeared in roughly 60 per cent of the issues of the magazine during its lifetime. Quinn was also arguably the most popular writer for _Weird Tales_-- more so than even H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith.


He was best known for his stories of Jules de Grandin (he wrote 93 in all), a French psychic detective who lives with his friend Dr. Trowbridge in the little town of Harrisonville, New Jersey--where there are a lot more dirty doings going on than You Might Think.


This collection consists of six de Grandin stories from _Weird Tales_ during 1930. One story ("The Drums of Damballah") begins with a New Year's toast, one ("Bride of Dewar") begins at a wedding, and one("Daughter of the Moonlight") begins at a country club ball. The other three ("The Doom of the House of Phipps," "The Dust of Egypt," and "The Brain-Thief") begin with visitors to the house of Trowbridge and Grandin. All of the stories end with Grandin drinking a bumper of brandy, whiskey, or wine. (I do not recall any story in which he drinks beer.)


Three of the stories ("The Doom of the House of Phipps," "The Dust of Egypt," and "Bride of Dewar") involve curses of some kind. One story ("The Drums of Damballah") involves voodoo. One story ("The Brain-Thief") involves a particularly nasty series of crimes committed by an odious villain who meets a grim but appropriate end at the hands of Grandin. For some reason, the cover artist depicted the medieval monster of "Bride of Dewar" in a spacesuit.


Quinn is not considered a writer in the same league as Lovecraft, Howard, and Smith. Certainly he is not in the same league as later _Weird Tales_ writers like Ray Bradbury, Henry Kuttner, Robert Bloch, and C.L. Moore. He wrote quickly and polished little. His stories were formulaic. But he was a reasonably good craftsman, and these tales are passable fun.