Stanley Ellin (1916–1986)
Author of The specialty of the house and other stories: The complete mystery tales, 1948-1978
About the Author
Works by Stanley Ellin
The specialty of the house and other stories: The complete mystery tales, 1948-1978 (1965) 150 copies, 2 reviews
Death on Christmas Eve 3 copies
The House Party 3 copies
Muž bez minulosti 2 copies
Ιστορίες της σκακιέρας 1 copy
Selecciones policiales codex 1 copy
A CHAVE DOURADA 1 copy
The Question [Short Story] 1 copy
La derniere bouteille 1 copy
Notturno selvaggio 1 copy
Fool's mate [short story] 1 copy
Robert [Short Story] 1 copy
The Betrayers [Short Story] 1 copy
The Payoff 1 copy
Associated Works
Murder on the Menu: Cordon Bleu Stories of Crime and Mystery, Volume 1 (1984) — Contributor — 211 copies, 2 reviews
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 13 More Stories They Wouldn't Let Me Do On TV (1959) — Contributor — 92 copies, 2 reviews
The Edge of the Chair: A Superlative Collection, Some Fact, Some Fiction, All Suspense (1967) — Contributor — 50 copies, 1 review
The Edgar Winners: 33rd Annual Anthology of the Mystery Writers of America (1980) — Contributor — 47 copies, 1 review
Simply the Best Mysteries: Edgar Award Winners and Front-Runners (1998) — Contributor — 45 copies, 1 review
The Mystery Hall of Fame: An Anthology of Classic Mystery and Suspense Stories (1984) — Contributor — 36 copies, 1 review
City Sleuths and Tough Guys: Crime Stories from Poe to the Present (1989) — Contributor — 32 copies, 1 review
Ellery Queen's murdercade: 23 stories from Ellery Queen's mystery magazine (Mystery annual ; 29) (1975) — Contributor — 25 copies
Tricks and Treats: An Anthology of Mystery Stories by the Mystery Writers of America (1976) — Contributor — 16 copies
Ellery Queen's headliners; 20 stories from Ellery Queen's mystery magazine. (1972) — Contributor — 15 copies
The Crime of My Life: Favorite Stories by Presidents of the Mystery Writers of America (1984) — Contributor — 13 copies
More Murder on Cue: Stage, Screen & Radio Favorites: Stories from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (1990) — Contributor — 9 copies
Killers of the Mind: A Collection of Stories by the Mystery Writers of America (1974) — Contributor — 5 copies
Crimes and Misfortunes: The Anthony Boucher Memorial Anthology of Mysteries — Contributor — 5 copies
A Choice of Murders: 23 Stories by Members of the Mystery Writers of America (1958) — Contributor — 5 copies
Detective-verhalen — Contributor — 3 copies
Eleven American Stories — Contributor — 1 copy
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine - Australian Edition No 137 - Nov 1958 (1958) — Contributor — 1 copy
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine - 1952/09 — Contributor, some editions — 1 copy
Hånden i sandet og andre virkelige kriminalsager skildret af berømte kriminalforfattere (1974) 1 copy, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Ellin, Stanley Bernard
- Birthdate
- 1916-10-06
- Date of death
- 1986-07-31
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Brooklyn College
- Occupations
- mystery writer
short story writer - Organizations
- United States Army (WWII)
Mystery Writers of America (president) - Awards and honors
- MWA Grand Master (1981)
- Short biography
- Stanley Ellin grew up in Brooklyn, went to school and college there, and lived there for most of his life. During the late 1930s, he eked out a living working at a number of jobs, including junior college teacher, magazine salesman, and steelworker. Although he began writing during these years, he was unable to sell his stories and eventually abandoned his literary efforts. In 1937, he married Jeanne Michael, an editor, and they had one child. After a stint in the Army during World War II, Ellin decided to return to writing full-time. He first sold a story to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine in 1948 -- his most famous work, now a classic, "The Specialty of the House," won the magazine's best fiction award that year. Also in 1948, Simon & Schuster published his first novel, "Dreadful Summit," launching a successful career in which he published another dozen novels and four collections of short stories. Ellin won three Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. The French translation of his Mirror, Mirror on the Wall (1972) received the 1975 Le Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere. In 1981, he was named Grand Master, the highest honor from the Mystery Writers of America.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Bath Beach, Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Place of death
- Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Burial location
- Friends' Burial Ground, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
Members
Reviews
I had high hopes for this Edgar Award winner, but I found it rather run-of-the-mill and reminiscent of Raymond Chandler, but less skillfully done. The protagonist, Murphy Kirk, is a New York City private detective, but not the usual broke PI. He owns a large agency and has a large staff and obviously lots of money at his disposal. Unfortunately, I thought he exhibited little personality while chasing down clues and women.
Sometimes I attempt to make myself step outside my usual fare and try show more a genre that I know will only appeal to me if the book is exceptionally written. By picking an Edgar winner, I thought it was increasing my chances, but the truth is detective fiction just isn’t my forte and I wished I had spent the afternoon with the kind of fiction I cannot get enough of. show less
Sometimes I attempt to make myself step outside my usual fare and try show more a genre that I know will only appeal to me if the book is exceptionally written. By picking an Edgar winner, I thought it was increasing my chances, but the truth is detective fiction just isn’t my forte and I wished I had spent the afternoon with the kind of fiction I cannot get enough of. show less
I enjoyed it most of the way through, an urbane, sophisticated thriller that follows the course of a somewhat aimless young American who absconds from his Ivy Leage university to live amongst the counter culture of Europe, being drawn into criminality that ends with a murderous double-cross and a thirst for vengeance - a Count Of Monet Cristo updating, in short. I was hooked and entertained until the childhood friend whose crush on him has persisted and shaped her life - it's okay she show more doesn't mind - turns up and while adoringly chiding him for his ruthless actions, still adores him - and then the climax turns on another woman having an enduring crush on him, and it was all a bit much, frankly of Strong Female Characters utterly besotten with a charismatic paragon, and I was skipping paragraphs and pages by then anyway, where before I'd enjoyed every sentence and change of scene and each new twist and coil of the plot and the ramping up of pace and tension. show less
I'm re-reading this book after at least 40 years. In the interim, my only real exposure to Stanley Ellin has been through his classic story "The Specialty of the House" -- which received a nice dramatization in Vincent Price's BBC Radio Series "The Price of Fear". Amazingly, that was his first published story.
The Blessington Method is a mixed bag at best. The title story is clever--perhaps too clever, but has a nice, ironic ending. It is also extremely dated, already, given the 21st show more century's changing demographics and explosion of older people in our society. "Robert" is the most disturbing story in the book as a teacher two years away from retirement faces off against a sixth grader. Other stories are enjoyable, such as The 9 to 5 Man. Some are just silly, such as one about a flea circus. Ellin's writing style and subject matter takes us back to a mid-century world that seems far more antique than it actually is. show less
The Blessington Method is a mixed bag at best. The title story is clever--perhaps too clever, but has a nice, ironic ending. It is also extremely dated, already, given the 21st show more century's changing demographics and explosion of older people in our society. "Robert" is the most disturbing story in the book as a teacher two years away from retirement faces off against a sixth grader. Other stories are enjoyable, such as The 9 to 5 Man. Some are just silly, such as one about a flea circus. Ellin's writing style and subject matter takes us back to a mid-century world that seems far more antique than it actually is. show less
Specialty of the House and Other Stories is a collection of sinister and chilling short stories written over the 35 years of the author’s career span. All but one of the stories originally appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. These stories were eagerly anticipated and Stanley Ellin is well known for his popular short stories.
The Specialty of the House is about two men who become addicted to an exclusive restaurant and spend every evening dining there. It is a story with a twist, show more but most readers will guess what it is early on in the story. That is intentional as it adds to the tension. This story was adapted for an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1959 and again in 1987.
With 35 short stories in the book, the subject matter is varied, from rape to the murder of one’s wife often the stories seem more fitting to the genre of horror than mystery. This is an author whose view reminds me of the old TV show “Twilight Zone” and I urge fans of short mystery stories to give this one a try. show less
The Specialty of the House is about two men who become addicted to an exclusive restaurant and spend every evening dining there. It is a story with a twist, show more but most readers will guess what it is early on in the story. That is intentional as it adds to the tension. This story was adapted for an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1959 and again in 1987.
With 35 short stories in the book, the subject matter is varied, from rape to the murder of one’s wife often the stories seem more fitting to the genre of horror than mystery. This is an author whose view reminds me of the old TV show “Twilight Zone” and I urge fans of short mystery stories to give this one a try. show less
Lists
Edgar Award (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 48
- Also by
- 123
- Members
- 1,152
- Popularity
- #22,303
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 18
- ISBNs
- 168
- Languages
- 10
- Favorited
- 1