Steve Carper – Page 3 – Larque Press | The Digest Enthusiast

Vault June 2, 2018

They Got Me Covered

An excerpt from Steve Carper’s article for The Digest Enthusiast book six:

“Quick. What’s the bestselling digest paperback of all time? Here are some hints. It appeared in 1941. It was self-published. It sold four million copies. And you’ve probably never heard of it.

“If none of those things seem at all probable, here’s the wholly improbable story of Bob Hope’s They Got Me Covered.”

A sample of the quips inside:
“I grew up with six brothers. That’s how I learned to dance—waiting for the bathroom.”
“I get letters written in all languages: French, Spanish and unmentionable.”
“You know what a fan letter is—it’s just an inky raspberry.”

Steve Carper’s website <FlyingCarsandFoodPills.com>, a history of the Future as seen through 19th and 20th century eyes, led to a book in progress, the first comprehensive history of robots in popular culture. That led to a semi-regular column about robots on <BlackGate.com>. His digest novel collection has passed the 1000 milestone.

Vault April 12, 2018

Bestseller Mystery B128

Although not labeled officially with the “Ellery Queen Selects” banner, Bestseller Mystery B128 follows the series’ formula: a short story collection edited by Queen, with his introduction. It’s also the last of the series.

Bestseller Mystery, B128, Nov. 1, 1950
“The Monkey Murder and other Hildegarde Withers Stories” by Stuart Palmer
“The Monkey Murder,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Jan.1947
“The Purple Postcards,” The Detroit Free Press, July 2, 1939 as “The Riddle of the Purple Postcards” with slight differences in text
“Miss Withers and the Unicorn,” Aug. 3, 1941*
“The Riddle of the Double Negative,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, March 1947
“The Long Worm,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Oct.1947
“The Hungry Hippo,” 1943**
“Tomorrow’s Murder,” The Detroit Free Press, June 2, 1940 as “Riddle of the Beggar on Horseback” with slight differences in text.
“Fingerprints Don’t Lie,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov. 1947

* date of copyright registration: no findable publication previous to this volume.
** 1943 is copyright date given in the book; earliest findable publication: The Australian Women’s Weekly, Feb. 19, 1944. The text has numerous differences.

Vault March 24, 2018

Bestseller Mystery B94

Although not labeled officially with the “Ellery Queen Selects” banner, Bestseller Mystery B94 follows the series’ formula: a short story collection edited by Queen, with his introduction.

Bestseller Mystery B94, Jan. 30, 1948
 “Cops and Robbers” by O. Henry 
“After Twenty Years” (The Four Million, New York Sunday World Magazine, Feb. 14, 1904)
“The Clarion Call” (The Voice of the City)
“A Municipal Report” (Strictly Business, Hampton’s Magazine, Nov. 1909)
“The Dissipated Jeweler” (O. Henry Encore, Houston Post, 1896)
“The Adventures of Shamrock Jolnes,” (Sixes and Seven, New York Sunday World Magazine, Feb. 7, 1904)
“The Cop and the Anthem” (The Four Million, New York Sunday World Magazine, Dec. 4, 1904)
“Jeff Peters as a Personal Magnet” (The Gentle Grafter)
“The Random of Red Chief” (Whirligigs, The Saturday Evening Post, July 6, 1907)
“A Retrieved Reformation” (Roads of Destiny, Cosmopolitan, April 1903)
“Babes in the Jungle” (Strictly Business)
“A Double-Dyed Deceiver” (Roads of Destiny, Everybody’s Magazine, Dec. 1905)
“The Caballero’s Way” (Heart of the World, Everybody’s Magazine, July 1907)
“The Marionettes,” (Rolling Stones, The Black Cat, Apr. 1902)
“The Man Higher Up” (The Gentle Grafter)

Vault March 12, 2018

Bestseller Mystery B91

Although not labeled officially with the “Ellery Queen Selects” banner, Bestseller Mystery B91 follows the series’ formula: a short story collection edited by Queen, with his introduction.

Bestseller Mystery B91, Oct. 14, 1947  “The Department of Dead Ends” by Roy Vickers
Contents
“The Rubber Trumpet,” Pearson’s Magazine, Sept. 1934*
“The Case of the Merry Andrew,” Fiction Parade and Golden Book Magazine, July 1936 as “The Cowboy of Oxford Street”
“The Man Who Was Murdered By a Bed,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, March 1946
“Mean Man’s Murder,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov. 1945
“Snob’s Murder,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Aug. 1946
“The Case of the Honest Murderer,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, July 1946
“The Man Who Played the Market,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Oct.1946

* Listed on the copyright page as Fiction Parade, 1935, actually the first merged issue of Fiction Parade and Golden Book Magazine, Oct. 1935, reprinted from Pearson’s.

Vault February 5, 2018

Mercury Mystery 112

Although not labeled officially with the “Ellery Queen Selects” banner, Mercury Mystery #112 met all the series’ criteria: a short story collection edited by Queen, with his introduction.

Mercury Mystery 112, June 10, 1947 
“The Case Book of Mr. Campion” by Margery Allingham
“The Crimson Letters,” The Strand Magazine, Aug. 1938 as “The Case of the Longer View”
“Safe as Houses,” The Strand Magazine, Jan. 1940
“The Case of the Question Mark,” The Strand Magazine, Jan. 1938 as “The Question Mark”
“The Definite Article,” The Strand Magazine, Oct. 1937
“The Magic Hat,” The Strand Magazine, Oct. 1938 as “The Case of the Hat Trick”
“The Meaning of the Act,” The Strand Magazine, Sept. 1939
“A Matter of Form,” The Strand Magazine, May 1940

Vault January 16, 2018

“Ellery Queen Selects”

Although not labeled officially with the “Ellery Queen Selects” banner, Mercury Mystery #110 met all the series’ criteria: a short story collection edited by Queen, with his introduction.

Mercury Mystery 110 cover — Mercury Mystery 110, April 4, 1947

Mercury Mystery 110, Apr. 4, 1947 “Dr. Fell, Detective and Other Stories” by John Dickson Carr Adventures of Dr. Fell 
“The Proverbial Murder” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine July 1943)
“The Locked Room” (The Strand Magazine July 1940)
“The Wrong Problem,” (The [London] Evening Standard Aug. 14 1936)
“The Hangman Won’t Wait” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Sept. 1944; first broadcast on Suspense, CBS radio, Feb. 9, 1943)
“A Guest in the House” (The Strand Magazine Oct. 1940 as “The Incautious Burglar”)
Other Stories
“The Devil in the Summer House” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Sept. 1946; first broadcast by the BBC on Oct. 14, 1940. This is the shorter version without Dr. Fell which was broadcast on the CBS radio program Suspense on Nov. 3, 1942)
“Will You Walk Into My Parlor?” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Sept. 1945; first broadcast on the CBS radio program Suspense on Feb. 23, 1943)
“Strictly Diplomatic” (The Strand Magazine Dec. 1939)