The Nero Wolfe Books

ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
Having Bond give a shout out in OHMSS to the Nero Wolfe Books
" I rather enjoy them myself, Sir " I know Rex Stout was a friend
of Fleming's, but Know little about the Nero Wolfe Books.
Would there be any fans of them here ? or advice on where to start.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Apologies if this is already a thread, I did search but found nothing
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."

Comments

  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    I don't think there's a previous thread.
    I did read one of the books years ago, but didn't pursue any more. There have been several TV series based on Nero Wolfe over the years- don't know if you've seen any of those?
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    No I have seen nothing of him. So don't know if it's worth investing any time in
    reading the books ? Although I have read several murder mystery books from
    Agatha Christie, mainly the Miss Marple books.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    I've read dozens of Christie books, love them!
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent
    I’ve never read or seen anything with Nero Wolfe. As for Nero Wolfe sales in my bookshop, I had a small but loyal clientele for those titles.

    Agatha Christie was the opposite, lots of collectors, many who wanted 1st editions when I could get them.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,907MI6 Agent
    I read at least one of his books when I was a lad.
    Can't remember the plots, but I do remember the character.

    Nero Wolfe is a New Yorker, living in a nice brownstone in midtown Manhattan. He's a big lazy indulgent guy who enjoys gourmet food and spends all his time in the greenhouse raising orchids. His version of Watson is a character named Archie Goodwin, which I always found confusing because that is also the real life name of a comic book writer who wrote for Vampirella and Marvel Comics in the 1970s. but I gather the fictional Archie Goodwin came first, and there's no relation.

    and that's all I can recall.
    But I like when Fleming gives these shout-outs. Like the one to Eric Ambler in FRWL. What other shout-outs did Fleming give his fellow authors?
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Thanks everyone, I might try a couple on Kindle to see if I'd enjoy them.
    "He's a big lazy indulgent guy who enjoys gourmet food"
    If fast food can count as Gourmet, we might have been separated at birth. ;)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • RevelatorRevelator Posts: 558MI6 Agent

    According to the foreword to a Nero Wolfe anthology, "Stout considers the late Ian Fleming to have been a good storyteller too, but he turned down Fleming's suggestion that M, James Bond, Nero Wolfe, and Archie Goodwin should all appear together in the same novel. 'Bond would have gotten all the girls,' Stout admits ruefully."

    Incidentally, does anyone know what's become of Thunderpussy? He was one of my favorite people on this board.

  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,645MI6 Agent

    Yes, I recall reading that and I think I had a thread on CBn years ago under the same username enquiring about the proposed collaboration between Rex Stout and Ian Fleming. I bought up a good few of the Nero Wolfe novels at that time as I found them in a second hand indoor market. Sadly I never got around to reading them but I still have them somewhere.

    I too lament the absence of my fellow countryman Thunderpussy both here and at MI6 as he's a great chap and the life and soul of the party. I think he took a break here due to adverse political discussion. I hope he's well and will return to us when he's ready as it's just not the same here without him.

    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
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