The Red Box
Encyclopedia
The Red Box is the fourth Nero Wolfe
detective novel by Rex Stout
. Prior to its first publication in 1937 by Farrar & Rinehart
, Inc., the novel was serialized in five issues of The American Magazine (December 1936–April 1937). Together with The League of Frightened Men
, it was collected in The Nero Wolfe Omnibus (1944) by the World Publishing Company of Cleveland, Ohio.
In most Nero Wolfe novels and novellas, there is at least one unfamiliar word, usually spoken by Wolfe.
The following examples of the unfamiliar word are spoken by Archie.
Edmund Wilson wrote that the novel was "somewhat padded ... full of long episodes that led nowhere," and left him with the feeling that he "had to unpack large crates by swallowing the excelsior in order to find at the bottom a few bent and rusty nails."
The series of black-and-white telemovies stars Tino Buazzelli
(Nero Wolfe), Paolo Ferrari
(Archie Goodwin), Pupo De Luca (Fritz Brenner), Renzo Palmer
(Inspector Cramer), Roberto Pistone (Saul Panzer). Other members of the cast of Veleno in sartoria include Carla Gravina
(Helen Frost), Marisa Bartoli (Thelma Mitchell), Cecilia Todeschini (Molly Lauck), Andrea Lala (Lew Frost), Aroldo Tieri
(Boyden McNair), Barbara Landi (Signora Lamont), Raffaele Giangrande (Dudley Frost), Marina Berti
(Callie Frost) and Massimo Serato
(Claude Gebert).
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...
detective novel by Rex Stout
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...
. Prior to its first publication in 1937 by Farrar & Rinehart
Farrar & Rinehart
Farrar & Rinehart was a United States book publishing company founded in New York. Farrar & Rinehart enjoyed success with both nonfiction and novels, notably, the landmark Rivers of America Series and the first ten books in the Nero Wolfe corpus of Rex Stout...
, Inc., the novel was serialized in five issues of The American Magazine (December 1936–April 1937). Together with The League of Frightened Men
The League of Frightened Men
The League of Frightened Men is the second Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. The story was serialized in six issues of The Saturday Evening Post under the title The Frightened Men. The novel was published in 1935 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc...
, it was collected in The Nero Wolfe Omnibus (1944) by the World Publishing Company of Cleveland, Ohio.
Plot introduction
In the midst of a murder investigation, one of the suspects visits Wolfe and begs Wolfe to handle his estate and especially the contents of a certain red box. Wolfe is at first concerned about a possible conflict of interest, but feels unable to refuse when the man dies in his office before telling Wolfe where to find the red box. The police naturally think that he told Wolfe somewhat more before dying.The unfamiliar word
- Ortho-cousin, chapter 1. Wolfe to Archie:
- More transparent was the reason for Mr. Frost's familiarity with so strange a term as 'ortho-cousin,' strictly a word for an anthropologist, though it leaves room for various speculations. ... Ortho-cousins are those whose parents are of the same sex — the children of two brothers or of two sisters; whereas cross-cousins are those whose parents are brother and sister. In some tribes cross-cousins may marry, but not ortho-cousins. Obviously Mr. Frost has investigated the question thoroughly.
The following examples of the unfamiliar word are spoken by Archie.
- Spiff. Chapter 3."He [Llewllyn Frost] stopped, smiling from Wolfe to me and back again like a haberdasher's clerk trying to sell an old number with a big spiff on it."
- Yclept. Chapter 8. "Boyden McNair, with his right elbow on his knee and his bent head resting on the hand which covered his eyes, sat near Wolfe's desk in the dunce's chair, yclept that by me on the day that District Attorney Anderson of Westchester sat in it while Wolfe made a dunce of him."
Reviews and commentary
- Jacques BarzunJacques BarzunJacques Martin Barzun is a French-born American historian of ideas and culture. He has written on a wide range of topics, but is perhaps best known as a philosopher of education, his Teacher in America being a strong influence on post-WWII training of schoolteachers in the United...
and Wendell Hertig Taylor, A Catalogue of CrimeA Catalogue of CrimeA Catalogue of Crime, by Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor, is a critique of crime fiction first published in 1971. A revised edition was published in 1989 by Barzun after the death of Taylor in 1985. The book was awarded a Special Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in...
— Stout rarely has Nero Wolfe lured away from home on a case, but in this one Archie does it with orchids. Poisoning at a fashion show is the crime that Wolfe's method of exhaustive interrogation mixed with bluff is involved to solve. Archie is thinner and less amusing here than elsewhere, but we learn more about Wolfe from himself.
- Clifton FadimanClifton FadimanClifton P. "Kip" Fadiman was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.-Literary career:...
, The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
— Nero Wolfe leaves his orchids for the first time to solve the case of the poisoned fashion model. This one has practically everything the seasoned addict demands in the way of characters and action; you may guess the motive, but the mechanism is properly obscure.
Edmund Wilson wrote that the novel was "somewhat padded ... full of long episodes that led nowhere," and left him with the feeling that he "had to unpack large crates by swallowing the excelsior in order to find at the bottom a few bent and rusty nails."
Veleno in sartoria (Radiotelevisione Italiana)
The Red Box was adapted for the premier program in a series of Nero Wolfe films produced by the Italian television network RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana). Directed by Giuliana Berlinguer from a teleplay by Belisario L. Randone, Nero Wolfe: Veleno in sartoria first aired February 21, 1969.The series of black-and-white telemovies stars Tino Buazzelli
Tino Buazzelli
Tino Buazzelli was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 46 films between 1948 and 1978.-Selected filmography:* Totò Tarzan * Against the Law * Ghosts of Rome...
(Nero Wolfe), Paolo Ferrari
Paolo Ferrari
Paolo Ferrari , Italian dramatist, was born at Modena. His numerous works, chiefly comedies, and all marked by a fresh and piquant style, are the finest product of the modern Italian drama. After producing some minor pieces, in 1852 he made his reputation as a playwright with Goldoni e le sue...
(Archie Goodwin), Pupo De Luca (Fritz Brenner), Renzo Palmer
Renzo Palmer
Renzo Palmer was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 65 films between 1957 and 1988.He was born and died in Milan, Italy.-Selected filmography:* Shivers in Summer * Obiettivo ragazze...
(Inspector Cramer), Roberto Pistone (Saul Panzer). Other members of the cast of Veleno in sartoria include Carla Gravina
Carla Gravina
Carla Gravina is an Italian film actress. She appeared in 40 films between 1957 and 1998. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in La terrazza at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:...
(Helen Frost), Marisa Bartoli (Thelma Mitchell), Cecilia Todeschini (Molly Lauck), Andrea Lala (Lew Frost), Aroldo Tieri
Aroldo Tieri
Aroldo Tieri was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 107 films between 1939 and 1969.He was born in Corigliano Calabro, Italy and died in Rome, Italy.-Selected filmography:* C'è sempre un ma!...
(Boyden McNair), Barbara Landi (Signora Lamont), Raffaele Giangrande (Dudley Frost), Marina Berti
Marina Berti
Elena Maureen Bertolini, known as Marina Berti, was an English-born Italian film actress.Her first screen appearance was in the Anna Magnani film, La Fuggitiva in 1941. She appeared mainly in small roles and in the occasional leading role in nearly 100 films both Italian and American...
(Callie Frost) and Massimo Serato
Massimo Serato
Massimo Serato, born Giuseppe Segato, was an Italian film actor with a career spanning over 40 years.Serato was born in Oderzo, Veneto, Italy and started appearing in films in 1938. He played leading roles in several historical dramas and sword and sandal epics, mainly Italian, as well as roles in...
(Claude Gebert).
Publication history
- 1936, The American Magazine, serialized in five issues (December 1936–April 1937)
- 1937, New York: Farrar & RinehartFarrar & RinehartFarrar & Rinehart was a United States book publishing company founded in New York. Farrar & Rinehart enjoyed success with both nonfiction and novels, notably, the landmark Rivers of America Series and the first ten books in the Nero Wolfe corpus of Rex Stout...
, April 15, 1937, hardcover
- In his limited-edition pamphlet, Collecting Mystery Fiction #9, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part I, Otto PenzlerOtto PenzlerOtto Penzler is an editor of mystery fiction in the United States, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, where he lives.-Biography:...
describes the first editionEdition (book)The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed “from substantially the same setting of type,” including all minor typographical variants.- First edition :...
of The Red Box: "Gray cloth, front cover and spine printed with red; rear cover blank. Issued in a mainly black, gray, red and white pictorial dust wrapper … The first edition has the publisher's monogram logo on the copyright page." - In April 2006, Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine estimated that the first edition of The Red Box had a value of between $15,000 and $30,000.
- 1937, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1937, hardcover
- 1937, London: Cassell, 1937, hardcover
- 1937, New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1937, hardcover
- 1943, New York: Avon Murder Mystery Monthly #9,1943, paperback
- 1944, Cleveland, Ohio: World Publishing Company, The Nero Wolfe Omnibus (with The League of Frightened MenThe League of Frightened MenThe League of Frightened Men is the second Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. The story was serialized in six issues of The Saturday Evening Post under the title The Frightened Men. The novel was published in 1935 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc...
), January 1944, hardcover - 1957, London: Penguin #1175, 1957, paperback
- 1958, New York: Avon #T-216, 1958, as The Case of the Red Box, paperback
- 1964, New York: Pyramid (Green Door) #R-983, March 1964, paperback
- 1976, London: Severn House, 1976, hardcover
- 1979, New York: Jove #M-5117, July 1979, paperback
- 1992, New York: Bantam Crimeline ISBN 0553249193 January 1, 1992, paperback
- 1992, London: Scribners ISBN 0356201090 1992, hardcover
- 1994, Burlington, Ontario: Durkin Hayes Publishing, DH Audio ISBN 0886463777 1994, audio cassette (abridged, read by Saul RubinekSaul RubinekSaul Rubinek is a Canadian actor, director, producer and playwright, known for his work in TV, film and the stage.-Early life:...
) - 1995, Auburn, California: The Audio Partners Publishing Corp., Mystery Masters ISBN 157270053X June 1995, audio cassette (unabridged, read by Michael Prichard)
- 2009, New York: Bantam Dell Publishing Group (with The Rubber BandThe Rubber BandThe Rubber Band is the third Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. Prior to its publication in 1936 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., the novel was serialized in six issues of The Saturday Evening Post...
) ISBN 9780553386035 February 24, 2009, paperback - 2011, New York: Bantam Crimeline ISBN 978-0-307-76817-9 August 17, 2011, e-bookE-bookAn electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...