The Old Lexicographer
Some of Dr Fell's finest cases
“The man has more obscure, useless, and fascinating information than any person I ever met. He’ll ply you with food and whisky until your head reels; he’ll talk interminably, on any subject whatever, but particularly on the glories and sports of old-time England. He likes band music, melodrama, beer and slapstick comedies; he’s a great old boy, and you’ll like him.”
With these words, Dr Gideon Fell was introduced to the world in 1933. A stout lexicographer and amateur detective, Fell is the most successful of John Dickson Carr’s creations, appearing in 23 novels. I’m on a gradual readthrough of his cases — here are my top choices from the first ten books.
Book 1: Hag’s Nook (1933)
Dr Fell’s debut takes him to an abandoned prison, where the Starberth family’s heirs are required to spend an hour late at night in the Governor’s Room, because that’s a completely normal thing to make people do. Young Martin Starberth is a bit nervous about taking part in the ritual, which is not too surprising when you realise that his predecessors have had a habit of dying with broken necks. No prizes for guessing what happens to Martin’s neck…
As well as providing a great introduction to the Doctor, Hag’s Nook is a good showcase for Carr’s atmospheric writing, which gives Poe-style Gothic vibes. Throughout his writing career, Carr had a fondness for both the absurd and the macabre. Reviewing his second Fell novel, The Mad Hatter Mystery, Dorothy Sayers aptly summarised: “Mr. Carr can lead us away from the small, artificial, brightly-lit stage of the ordinary detective plot into the menace of outer darkness. He can create atmosphere with an adjective… He can alarm with an allusion or delight with rollicking absurdity.”1
Prior to Hag’s Nook, Carr had written a few good-but-not-great novels featuring the detective Henri Bencolin. With the introduction of Dr Fell, we see a maturing writer — although Carr was still only in his 20s. The result is a strong mystery, an unsettling atmosphere, and a satisfying sprinkling of humour and romance. A promising start to Fell’s long career.
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Book 6: The Hollow Man (1935)
John Dickson Carr’s specialism was locked room mysteries (and other similarly impossible scenarios). I don’t think any other author has formulated more locked room variations than JDC. And the most famous of these is his 1935 tour de force The Hollow Man (a.k.a The Three Coffins).
The Hollow Man features not one, but two impossible crimes — one in a locked room, one on a street with witnesses at both ends, both committed in the snow without leaving any footprints. This mystery is also celebrated for its 17th chapter, containing Dr Fell’s fourth-wall-breaking “locked-room lecture”, outlining the various forms of locked-room crimes. “We’re in a detective story,” he begins, “and we don’t fool the reader by pretending that we’re not. Let’s not invent elaborate excuses to drag in a discussion of detective stories. Let’s candidly glory in the noblest pursuits possible to characters in a book.”
If you want an introduction to Carr, this is a great place to start. In true Carr style, the setting is delightfully creepy, the mystery is increasingly baffling, and the solution is ridiculously convoluted. I love the author’s penchant for concluding his cases by carefully and earnestly pointing out all the clues you had no hope of piecing together. This is a master at work.
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
Book 9: To Wake the Dead (1938)
To Wake the Dead takes place in a more mundane setting than many of Carr’s mysteries, as he leads us to a Piccadilly hotel, which charges 21/6 for a double room. Christopher Kent attempts to steal some breakfast from said hotel, but ends up discovering a dead body in an upstairs room. This embarrassing mistake is the beginning of a fabulously perplexing mystery.
As someone with a poor memory, I appreciate occasions when detectives provide an itemised summary of key questions. Here, Dr Fell provides us with a list of twelve, in chapter 17 (out of 20). With this list, Carr opens up the tantalising possibility that you could solve the mystery, but I doubt you’ll be any the wiser until the final revelation. The solution is perhaps at the very edge of the boundaries of “fair play”, but the clues are all there, and the whole mysterious edifice is so impressive that I didn't really mind.
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Book 10: The Black Spectacles (1939)
The Black Spectacles (a.k.a. The Problem of the Green Capsule) recounts the demise of Marcus Chesney, who is murdered in full view of three people during a demonstration of the fallibility of eyewitness testimony. The eyewitness test that Marcus had prepared for the spectators unwittingly provides clues to his murder, but there are multiple layers to untangle. Dr Fell steps in to do some successful untangling, where the local police and Scotland Yard have been left at a loss. The result is a very nicely plotted mystery, with a good dose of the macabre.
For this book, Carr was inspired by a true crime case, namely the poisonings committed by Christiana Edmunds (“the Chocolate Cream Killer”) in Brighton in the 1870s. Appropriately, in chapter 18, we are treated to another of Gideon Fell’s lectures, this time on real-life poisoning cases. He argues that “the poisoner, by the very nature of his character, is doomed from the start. He cannot, he never does, let well enough alone.” In an interesting footnote, Carr (or Fell?) explains the omission of Crippen from this list: “To many of us there will always remain a strong suspicion that Crippen never meant to kill Belle Elmore, and that the overdose of hyoscine was accidental.”
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
I’m looking forward to continuing my readthrough. There are some reputedly excellent titles awaiting me, including The Seat of the Scornful (Book 14), Till Death Do Us Part (Book 15), and He Who Whispers (Book 16). Check back soon to see what I thought of them!
You can find other rankings of Gideon Fell novels at The Invisible Event and In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel.
In The Sunday Times, 24 September 1933.
I've never read any of this series but I'll definitely be looking out for some now!