Rex Stout(1886-1975)
- Writer
Rex Stout was an American writer from Indiana, primarily remembered for his detective fiction works. His best known characters were the Montenegrin armchair detective Nero Wolfe and his witty live-in assistant Archie Goodwin. Nero was depicted as a middle-aged war veteran, who rarely left his luxurious New York City brownstone house. So he relied on Archie for investigative work, and for personal assessments on some of the characters involved in their cases. The book series featuring the two characters lasted from 1934 to 1975. In 1985, Stout's final novella collection was published posthumously. Stout served as president of the Authors Guild for several years, and briefly served as the president of the Mystery Writers of America (MWA). He won the MWA's prestigious Grand Master Award in 1959.
In 1886, Stout was born to a Quaker family in Noblesville, Indiana. The city was one of the suburbs of Indianapolis. It underwent growth in the late 1880s, following the discovery of natural gas resources within the city's areas. Stout's parents were the teacher John Wallace Stout and his wife Lucetta Elizabeth Todhunter. Stout's sister was the horticulturist Ruth Stout (1884-1980), who wrote several books about gardening techniques.
Though born in Indiana, Stout was primarily raised in Kansas. His family had moved there during his childhood. Stout was encouraged to read by his father, and he reportedly had considerable reading skills before entering grade school. He managed to read the entire Biblical canon at an early age. In 1899, Stout won a state spelling bee championship.
Stout received his secondary education at the Topeka High School (1871-), a public high school located in Topeka, Kansas. The school had a large population of students for much of its early history, and attendance had repeatedly outgrown the capacity of the school facilities. Stout received his college education at the University of Kansas, a public research university located in Lawrence, Kansas.
In 1906, Stout joined the United States Navy. He served for some time as as a yeoman on the presidential yacht of then-president Theodore Roosevelt (term 1901-1909). Stout left the Navy in 1908. He was then drifting from job to job for the next few years. In 1910, Stout published one of his poems in the literary magazine "The Smart Set". He published a few more poems in this magazine, before starting work on prose fiction.
Between 1912 and 1918, Stout published about 40 short stories and novellas in various magazines. He was among the early writers of the pulp magazine "The All-Story Magazine" (1905-1920), which merged with its sister publication "Argosy" in 1920. His stories belonged to various genres, including adventure fiction, detective fiction, fantasy, romance, and science fiction. Two of these early works were murder mystery novellas, indicating his early interest in the genre.
Stout's literary career was not particularly lucrative in the 1910s, so he had to find other ways to earn money. In c. 1916, Stout invented a new school banking system. His system allowed schools to keep track of the money that school children saved in accounts at their school. About 400 schools adopted his system within a few years, and he was paid royalties for its use. Stout earned a small fortune, which allowed him to travel extensively. He gave up writing professionally for a while, though he intended to return to writing once he was wealthy enough to write whatever he pleased.
In 1926, Stout became one of the co-founders of the publishing house Vanguard Press (1926-1988). He served as the company's president from 1926 to 1928. Vanguard's early works focused on radical political publications. It later had a considerable catalog of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and children's literature, though it never became a major publisher. In 1929, Stout lost much of his savings at the start of the Great Depression. By that time, he had already resumed his literary career.
In the second phase of his literary career, Stout wrote the psychological story "How Like a God" (1929) and the political thriller novel "The President Vanishes" (1934). The novel depicted a President of the United States who staged his own disappearance in order to counter a planned military coup by an alliance of fascists and business oligarchs. It generated considerable publicity, and received its own film adaptation.
Stout introduced his popular characters Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin in the hit novel "Fer-de-Lance" (1934). The novel also introduced several of their recurring supporting characters. Stout started to increasingly focus on detective fiction, and had abandoned his work on all other genres by 1938. In 1937, he introduced the female detective Theodolinda "Dol" Bonner as a story protagonist. She would later join the recurring cast of the Nero Wolfe series. Stout also introduced the detective protagonists Tecumseh Fox and Alphabet Hicks, but soon lost interest in them.
Between 1940 and 1966, Stout published one new Nero Wolfe novel per year. He rarely published any other works in this period, as the Nero Wolfe series was by far his most lucrative work. His literary output declined considerably in quantity between 1968 and 1975. He published only four new novels in this period. His final Nero Wolfe novel was "A Family Affair" (1975), where Nero learns about the shady activities of one of his closest associates.
Stout died in October 1975, at the age of 88. His work has remained popular and influential among writers. In 2000, he was nominated by Bouchercon XXXI (an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction) for its writer of the century award. He lost the award to Agatha Christie, but was listed as a runner-up, alongside Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Dorothy L. Sayers. In 2014, Stout was inducted posthumously to the New York State Writers Hall of Fame.
In 1886, Stout was born to a Quaker family in Noblesville, Indiana. The city was one of the suburbs of Indianapolis. It underwent growth in the late 1880s, following the discovery of natural gas resources within the city's areas. Stout's parents were the teacher John Wallace Stout and his wife Lucetta Elizabeth Todhunter. Stout's sister was the horticulturist Ruth Stout (1884-1980), who wrote several books about gardening techniques.
Though born in Indiana, Stout was primarily raised in Kansas. His family had moved there during his childhood. Stout was encouraged to read by his father, and he reportedly had considerable reading skills before entering grade school. He managed to read the entire Biblical canon at an early age. In 1899, Stout won a state spelling bee championship.
Stout received his secondary education at the Topeka High School (1871-), a public high school located in Topeka, Kansas. The school had a large population of students for much of its early history, and attendance had repeatedly outgrown the capacity of the school facilities. Stout received his college education at the University of Kansas, a public research university located in Lawrence, Kansas.
In 1906, Stout joined the United States Navy. He served for some time as as a yeoman on the presidential yacht of then-president Theodore Roosevelt (term 1901-1909). Stout left the Navy in 1908. He was then drifting from job to job for the next few years. In 1910, Stout published one of his poems in the literary magazine "The Smart Set". He published a few more poems in this magazine, before starting work on prose fiction.
Between 1912 and 1918, Stout published about 40 short stories and novellas in various magazines. He was among the early writers of the pulp magazine "The All-Story Magazine" (1905-1920), which merged with its sister publication "Argosy" in 1920. His stories belonged to various genres, including adventure fiction, detective fiction, fantasy, romance, and science fiction. Two of these early works were murder mystery novellas, indicating his early interest in the genre.
Stout's literary career was not particularly lucrative in the 1910s, so he had to find other ways to earn money. In c. 1916, Stout invented a new school banking system. His system allowed schools to keep track of the money that school children saved in accounts at their school. About 400 schools adopted his system within a few years, and he was paid royalties for its use. Stout earned a small fortune, which allowed him to travel extensively. He gave up writing professionally for a while, though he intended to return to writing once he was wealthy enough to write whatever he pleased.
In 1926, Stout became one of the co-founders of the publishing house Vanguard Press (1926-1988). He served as the company's president from 1926 to 1928. Vanguard's early works focused on radical political publications. It later had a considerable catalog of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and children's literature, though it never became a major publisher. In 1929, Stout lost much of his savings at the start of the Great Depression. By that time, he had already resumed his literary career.
In the second phase of his literary career, Stout wrote the psychological story "How Like a God" (1929) and the political thriller novel "The President Vanishes" (1934). The novel depicted a President of the United States who staged his own disappearance in order to counter a planned military coup by an alliance of fascists and business oligarchs. It generated considerable publicity, and received its own film adaptation.
Stout introduced his popular characters Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin in the hit novel "Fer-de-Lance" (1934). The novel also introduced several of their recurring supporting characters. Stout started to increasingly focus on detective fiction, and had abandoned his work on all other genres by 1938. In 1937, he introduced the female detective Theodolinda "Dol" Bonner as a story protagonist. She would later join the recurring cast of the Nero Wolfe series. Stout also introduced the detective protagonists Tecumseh Fox and Alphabet Hicks, but soon lost interest in them.
Between 1940 and 1966, Stout published one new Nero Wolfe novel per year. He rarely published any other works in this period, as the Nero Wolfe series was by far his most lucrative work. His literary output declined considerably in quantity between 1968 and 1975. He published only four new novels in this period. His final Nero Wolfe novel was "A Family Affair" (1975), where Nero learns about the shady activities of one of his closest associates.
Stout died in October 1975, at the age of 88. His work has remained popular and influential among writers. In 2000, he was nominated by Bouchercon XXXI (an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction) for its writer of the century award. He lost the award to Agatha Christie, but was listed as a runner-up, alongside Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Dorothy L. Sayers. In 2014, Stout was inducted posthumously to the New York State Writers Hall of Fame.
