Ellery Queen: Mystery Writer

Ellery Queen was the creation of two cousins, Daniel Nathan and Manford Lepofsky, who went by the pseudonyms of Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee. The character was created in 1929, as both a writer of crime stories and as the crime-solving detective in the novels. Queen was first introduced in The Roman Hat Mystery as an entry in a magazine contest. The work would win the contest, but never made it into publication because the magazine was sold and the new owner would choose a different entry as winner. The writing duo persisted and ultimately got the novel published.

The character of Ellery Queen is the son of police detective Richard Queen. Ellery would assist his father in the collection, and through his analysis of the clues and his own sleuthing, would ultimately solve the crime. This duo would prove to be a success with readers and there were some 33 novels written along with numerous short stories.

The Queen novels are traditional whodunit fare, in which the reader has access to the same clues and information as the characters. This gives the reader the ability to solve the crime himself before Queen does. This method of writing involves intricate plots and clues, and yet one is able to deduce the murderer's identity. Giving specific characteristics to the perpetrator does this, and by a process of elimination they are able to name the culprit. Queen evolved over the course of his appearances from a wealthy, snobbish writer who solved the crimes for his own satisfaction, to a more caring person who had actual empathy for his victim and sought justice for its own sake.

Numerous Edgar awards by the Mystery Writers of America, including the Grand Master Award, honored Ellery Queen’s writing duo. The Mystery Writers established an Ellery Queen Award to further honor their contribution to the mystery detective genre.