Tecumseh Fox
Encyclopedia
Tecumseh Fox was a fictional private detective created by Rex Stout
to provide some diversity from his housebound and opinionated rival Nero Wolfe
.
Although the character's name sounds native American, he is not. In Double for Death, he explains that his full name is William Tecumseh Sherman Fox, so he was supposedly named for the American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman
. It seems probable that Stout chose this name in order to justify Fox's nickname, "Tec," which is also a slang term for detective. (A similar motive was presumably behind the naming of another Stout detective, the beautiful Theodolinda "Dol" Bonner.) The surname "Fox" was presumably chosen as an analogy to "Wolf(e)."
Fox's Westchester County is located in the same universe as Wolfe's New York City. Even though the two men seem to be unaware of each other's existence, both are acquainted with operatives from Bonner & Raffray and the Bascom Agency. Characters in both series dine at Rusterman's, dance at the Flamingo Club, frequent the Churchill Hotel, read the Gazette, and drive Wethersill convertibles.
Stout created just three mystery novels with this title character (two of which were adapted to Nero Wolfe stories), before devoting himself exclusively to writing Nero Wolfe
books:
Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
to provide some diversity from his housebound and opinionated rival Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...
.
Although the character's name sounds native American, he is not. In Double for Death, he explains that his full name is William Tecumseh Sherman Fox, so he was supposedly named for the American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
. It seems probable that Stout chose this name in order to justify Fox's nickname, "Tec," which is also a slang term for detective. (A similar motive was presumably behind the naming of another Stout detective, the beautiful Theodolinda "Dol" Bonner.) The surname "Fox" was presumably chosen as an analogy to "Wolf(e)."
Fox's Westchester County is located in the same universe as Wolfe's New York City. Even though the two men seem to be unaware of each other's existence, both are acquainted with operatives from Bonner & Raffray and the Bascom Agency. Characters in both series dine at Rusterman's, dance at the Flamingo Club, frequent the Churchill Hotel, read the Gazette, and drive Wethersill convertibles.
Stout created just three mystery novels with this title character (two of which were adapted to Nero Wolfe stories), before devoting himself exclusively to writing Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...
books:
- Double for Death
- The Broken VaseThe Broken VaseThe Broken Vase is a Tecumseh Fox mystery novel by Rex Stout, first published by Farrar & Rinehart in 1941, and later in paperback by Dell as mapback #115 and, later, by other publishers.-Plot summary:...
- Bad for BusinessBad for BusinessBad for Business is a mystery novel by Rex Stout starring his detective Tecumseh Fox, first published in 1940. Private investigator Tecumseh Fox was the protagonist of three mysteries published by Stout between 1939 and 1941.-Publication history:...