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Post by noose on Oct 24, 2010 12:00:38 GMT
From WIKI: Stanley Bernard Ellin (October 6, 1916 – July 31, 1986) was an American mystery writer. Ellin was born in Brooklyn, New York. He garnered a love for reading at a young age with an interest in works by the likes of Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, and Edgar Allan Poe. Ellin was educated at Brooklyn College and received a B.A. in 1936. He married Jean Michael in 1937; they had one daughter, Sue Ellin. Ellin worked as a steel worker, dairy farmer, and teacher before serving in the US Army in 1944-1945 during World War II. After his brief tenure in the Army, at the insistence of his wife, Ellin began writing full-time. In May 1948, one of Ellin's most famous short stories, "The Specialty of the House", appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. In the years to come, Ellin's fame as an author grew. He was awarded three Edgar Allan Poe Awards (Edgar Award). His first Edgar was for the short story "The House Party" in 1954, then for the short story "The Blessington Method" in 1956, and his third for the novel The Eighth Circle in 1959. Several episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents were based on Ellin short stories, and his novels Dreadful Summit, House of Cards, and The Bind were adapted into feature films. Ellin was a long-time member and past president of the Mystery Writers of America. In 1981, he was awarded with the Mystery Writers of America's highest honor, the Grand Master Award. Ellin died of a heart attack in Brooklyn, New York on July 31, 1986.
PENGUIN (1971)Mick Pilcher
BLURB'You are either a criminal or a practical joker. Either way, I'd like you to clear out. That's fair warning.'
All the same, Mr Treadwell is soon in touch again with the blandly sinister Mr Bunce. Soon 'The Blessington Method' is all set to solve a very tricky problem. A problem you may well share with Mr Treadwell.
The rest of this collection is equally dazzling, just as haunting. Robert taunts his teacher to suicide; the murder of a racketeer sends a man's mind back to a day in childhood when the criminal's fate was decided; Mr Kessler, the soul of conformity, leads a very odd life from nine to five...
Each of Ellin's stories grips like a vice. Once read, they settle obstinately in the mind. Start one now...if you dare.CONTENTSForeword by Julian Symons
The Blessington Method
The Faith of Aaron Menefee
You Can't be a Little Girl All Your Life
Robert
Unreasonable Doubt
The Day of the Bullet
Beidenbauer's Flea
The Seven Deadly Virtues
The Nine-to-five Man
The QuestionThe Blessington Method - Mr Bunce from The Society for Gerontology visits the likeable Mr Treadwell with a proposition that sits rather uncomfortably with Treadwell, but the more he thinks on it, the better it will be for him and his wife's marriage. Once the deed is done; which concerns the killing of his father in law who lives with him (and, who may be fit and healthy for the next twenty years) does Treadwell get notions that one day HIS daughter or son in law might want to do the same to him. I wonder if Stephen King had read this around the time of his writing Quitters Inc... The Faith of Aaron Menefee - Aaron Menefee is a god fearing mechanic who is true to his faith, but who also suffers from a terrible stomach ulcer. One day Healer Otis Jones comes to visit the garage where Aaron works - the car is almost on its last legs and he needs to be in Cincinnati by early evening. Being told of Aaron's trouble, he invites the younger man to his faith show, where lo and behold manages to get rid of the troublesome ulcer and prompts the mechanic to shut up shop and to work for Aaron's travelling ministry as it's car mechanic, much to the disgust of Aaron's local doctor. There are problems afoot though, Aaron falls in love with Jone's daughter who forbids their marriage, and on a return visit to see the Doctor who is being held to ransom by a paralysed cop killer when they next pass nearby Cincinnati, Aaron thinks that Jone's may be the only person who can save the day... You Can't be a Little Girl All Your Life - Julie is brutally attacked and raped while in bed by an intruder who wears suede gloves. During the attack she manages to bite into the gloves, tearing them. In hospital she can't tell the police anything about the person who attacked her. Her partner Tom is raging and then the police find Brunner, a degenerate drunk who they say carried out the attack. But if he did it, why does Tom have a pair of suede gloves - one of which looks like it had been torn...? Robert - Robert wants his teacher Miss Gildea dead. He's really rather nasty to her, and Miss Gildea finally snaps and attacks Robert , even though she is aware that he's only a child. She gets the sack and repays the act by running out of the school and into the traffic. Again, another Stephen King story pops into my head here while I'm reading this one, Suffer the Little Children. Unreasonable Doubt - The very stressed Willoughby is ordered to go on holiday by his doctors, to he decides to take the train to a lovely destination. While on the train though, he hears two gents talk about a case where the perfect murder was committed - and the unfolding story is fantastical and utterly amazing and transfixes Willoughby. Just before the punchline to the story though, the train pulls into a station and the two men hurry off, leaving Willoughby franticly making signs to the two men through the window to get him to explain what happened. They of course didn't know that he was listening and start making crazy signs at him. Which brings Willoughby's stress levels back up... The Day of the Bullet - Two young boys stumble upon a beating given by a local mafia boss called Rose. Going to the police, everyone seems hesitant to bring Rose in - but when he comes in, he decides to give one of the boys a job. Thirty five years later, the boy who didn't get the job is looking down at the photo in a newspaper of his friend, now all grown up and one of the big rackateers with a nice hole in his forehead. He wonders if that fateful day was the day that turned his friend onto the path which led to his death. Beidenbaur's Flea - Derelict approaches man on a bench and tells him a story of how he once owned the best flea circus on the planet. Murder and show business abound... I know I've read this story before, years ago, but I'll be damned if I can remember where. Still brilliant though. |
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Post by weirdmonger on Oct 24, 2010 12:05:05 GMT
That's the cover that shows the map of Iceland and the face the configuration of its volcanoes that caused the recent Ash Cloud! |
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Post by noose on Oct 24, 2010 15:08:39 GMT
The Seven Deadly Virtues - Charles is an up and coming fella who works for Evergreen Enterprises. His idol is P. O. D. Evergreen, the founder of the company. He brings Charles in for a 'chat' and is interested to hear Charlie's take on the seven deadly sins, or virtues as P.O.D. likes to call them. He encourages Charles to see if he can take over as assistant to the head of a certain department, to be as bold and as brash and as hard nosed as he can be, use every one of those seven sins then in a year report back to P.O.D. too see if he is qualified to become a head executive.
A year later he is back in P.O.D's office and is told that he has done well, that Charles commands both hatred and respect and admiration in his department. But as the final chapter unfolds and P.O.D. asks if Charles ever doubted anything he had said has Charles unwittingly made a bargain with the Devil himself?
The Nine-to-five Man - Mr Keesler is on the outside a bit of an absent minded bumbler who runs Keesler Novelties out of a small shabby office in the equally shabby area of Columbus Circle. He's loathe to help his freeloading relative's as he says to his wife that they really don;t have that kind of income. Keesler is hiding a secret though, he sets fires to buildings to help people claim the insurance money. He's very good at his 'other' job and is anything but absent minded.
The Question - An elderly gentleman is a state executioner, a secret only known to a few people and his son who he has recently told. His father before him was the executioner, but he knows in his heart that his son wont follow him. Not since he asked THE question: 'But you enjoy it, don't you'?
A great collection, but only two of the stories could be called horror, the rest flirt on the edges of the blackly comic and macabre and even on the back of the book it's classified as FICTION/CRIME.
Really enjoyed it though, Ellin has a way of writing that really draws you in and I'm still turning the stories over in my head. Can only be a good thing!
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Oct 24, 2010 16:11:37 GMT
Bit of the Bertie Van Thal there
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Post by Johnlprobert on Oct 24, 2010 16:39:07 GMT
Well done Noosey boy! It's a great collection, isn't it? Orion did a big paperback collection of his stories in their Crime Masterworks series a couple of years ago called, appropriately The Speciality of the House which included some of the stories here. I thought they were cracking.
(And so did the cover artist, obviously)
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Post by noose on Oct 24, 2010 16:57:02 GMT
Well done Noosey boy! It's a great collection, isn't it? Orion did a big paperback collection of his stories in their Crime Masterworks series a couple of years ago called, appropriately The Speciality of the House which included some of the stories here. I thought they were cracking. (And so did the cover artist, obviously) Cheers John! I've REALLY enjoyed reading this with the express purpose of wanting to write a wee review for el Vault - utterly love The Speciality of the House but had never really read anything else he's done (apart from that flea story, which I think may have appeared in Peter Haining's FREAKS anthology?) Up next is John Metcalfe's collection THE SMOKING LEG. The title story is very,very strange... |
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Post by dem bones on Oct 24, 2010 20:32:37 GMT
sorry about the defaced cover - you can tell a Notting Hill Books & Comics Exchange purchase anywhere. Stanley Ellin - The Speciality Of The House (Penguin, 1968: Originally Mystery Stories, USA 1956)  Michael Trevithick
Foreword - Ellery Queen
The Speciality Of The House
The Cat's-Paw
Death On Christmas Eve
The Orderly World Of Mr. Appleby
Fool's Mate
The Best Of Everything
The Betrayers
The House Party
Broker's Special
The Moment Of Decision and yes, Beidenbauer's Flea is included in Peter Haining's Freak Show. |
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Oct 24, 2010 20:57:11 GMT
sorry about the defaced cover - you can tell a Notting Hill Books & Comics Exchange purchase anywhere. Stanley Ellin - The Speciality Of The House (Penguin, 1968: Originally Mystery Stories, USA 1956) Michael Trevithick
Foreword - Ellery Queen
The Speciality Of The House
The Cat's-Paw
Death On Christmas Eve
The Orderly World Of Mr. Appleby
Fool's Mate
The Best Of Everything
The Betrayers
The House Party
Broker's Special
The Moment Of Decision and yes, Beidenbauer's Flea is included in Peter Haining's Freak Show. For once I've got one of these in about the same nick. It's a stunningly good collection. Specialty of the House was just an unforgettable story and I seem to recall that Fools Mate was another beauty - appealing to my love of chess of course. |
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Post by jonathan122 on Oct 24, 2010 22:42:08 GMT
Up next is John Metcalfe's collection THE SMOKING LEG. The title story is very,very strange... I posted a contents page to this one a while back, with the intention of writing an incisive story-by-story review, but I obviously got distracted... Anyway, feel free to make use of that thread if you want to save yourself 30 seconds or so! Perhaps the act of someone else posting a review will encourage me to think of something interesting to say, as the book certainly deserves a comment or two. vaultofevil.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=gruesome&thread=2657&page=1 |
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Post by cw67q on Oct 25, 2010 13:56:33 GMT
I'd be particularly interested to hear about those tales that didn't mae it into the Ah-Tree collection (which I hope to get back someday).
- chris
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Aug 22, 2012 9:43:32 GMT
Stanley Ellin - The Speciality Of The House (Penguin, 1968: Originally Mystery Stories, USA 1956) Michael Trevithick
Foreword - Ellery Queen
The Speciality Of The House
The Cat's-Paw
Death On Christmas Eve
The Orderly World Of Mr. Appleby
Fool's Mate
The Best Of Everything
The Betrayers
The House Party
Broker's Special
The Moment Of Decision[/quote] Foreword - Ellery Queen [/color]- usually chatty, friendly somehow annoying foreword from Queen where everyone respects everyone else and does the right thing. Does point out that Ellin won every prize going and when you read the stories it's no surprise. He was a master of the form. The Specialty Of The House[/color] - There's probably few people alive who haven't read this story. Costain's invited by his employer to the special restaurant (which sounds a bit like Charlies place near Manchester University.) The decor is pants, there's no condiments but the food is perfect. it's a solitary place, perhaps because over time some of the few customers have to make a one way trip to the kitchen. Superbly evoked atmosphere and characterisation. The Cat's-Paw - Mr Crabtree needs a job. Like many of Ellin's characters he's a bit fussy and officious and down to heel. He gets a job in a lonely office cataloguing magazines and writing endless reports about them. The office has a scarey drop from the window which comes in useful for his dastardly employer - it's a five star story. Death On Christmas Eve - This story, of brow beaten man plagued by his murderous sister, seems somewhat dated but its still brilliantly crafted and was doubtless a classic of the time.
The Orderly World Of Mr. Appleby Another small world and a small man who loves his little junkshop more than the series of wives who finance it by dying. The characterisation is superb as always. Fool's Mate Great story about a man who has to play chess with himself because his wife won't let him out. He evolves the classic system of inventing an opponent. Unfortunately the doppelganger plays better than himself with unexpected results. The Best Of Everything - Arthur's a young office worker who longs to have the elan of those public school boys who seem to see through him. He wants the bosses daughter as a wife and he needs money and style to get her. A cheating blackguard from the posh side gives him both. The Betrayers Ever listened to the girl next door moving about in her room? Robert does it all the time and falls in love. The husband is a nasty piece of work and it would be nice if he wasn't there. A plot full of twists. The House Party Egoistical and immoral actor gets his comeuppance in a typical, hell is for baddies who prefer repeating cycles, tale. Broker's Special Cornelius married a young and attractive women but obviously never reads any crime stories. When she decides to throw the forbidden fruit at a younger man he decides not to kill her but make her pay. The Moment Of Decision If you haven't read this one you really ought. I think its better than The Specialty of the House which is saying something. Hugh is a likeable man with definite opinions. When the retired magician buys the house next to his and decides the trees have got to go, Hugh stakes his own house in a bet. The end is perhaps the best piece of mental torture I could imagine. The collection has slightly dated in some parts, particularity in themes that have now gone stale through use by lesser writers, but the simplicity of the style, the perfect balance, the plot twists and the characterisation make this a brilliant bedtime read. Any budding author should just have a look just to see how its done. And if you have a copy read The Moment Of Decision.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Aug 22, 2012 16:44:03 GMT
And if you have a copy read The Moment Of Decision. I have had a copy for years, and for some reason had read every story in it except "The Moment of Decision." Thanks to your insistence, this has now been remedied. It is brilliant, of course, the best in the book. The Schrödinger's-cat ending is the surprise ending to end all surprise endings, a true tour-de-force. |
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Aug 22, 2012 17:16:37 GMT
And if you have a copy read The Moment Of Decision. I have had a copy for years, and for some reason had read every story in it except "The Moment of Decision." Thanks to your insistence, this has now been remedied. It is brilliant, of course, the best in the book. The Schrödinger's-cat ending is the surprise ending to end all surprise endings, a true tour-de-force. I'm glad its not just me. Classic story. |
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