The Clue 1909 By Carolyn Wells

Madeleine Van Norman is the most eligible young woman in the state, a beautiful young lady who is soon to come into her fortune. From her countless suitors, she makes a peculiar choice, agreeing to marry a stuffy man who loves someone else. On the eve of the wedding, Madeleine shuts herself away in a locked room to think about what she is about to do-and in the morning, she is found gruesomely murdered. Every member of the household is a suspect, but no one understands how the killer could have slipped through the locked doors of Madeleine's bedroom. As the town whirls into a tailspin of suspicion and fear, it falls to the brilliant detective Fleming Stone to pick out the person who stabbed Madeleine to death-a baffling mystery that hinges on the discovery of a single, all-important clue......................... Carolyn Wells (June 18, 1862 - March 26, 1942) was an American writer and poet. Life and career: Born in Rahway, New Jersey, she was the daughter of William E. and Anna Wells.She died at the Flower-Fifth Avenue Hospital in New York City in 1942. Wells had been married to Hadwin Houghton, the heir of the Houghton-Mifflin publishing empire founded by Bernard Houghton. Wells also had an impressive collection of volumes of poetry by others. She bequeathed her collection of Walt Whitman poetry, said to be one of the most important of its kind for its completeness and rarity, to the Library of Congress. After finishing school she worked as a librarian for the Rahway Library Association. Her first book, At the Sign of the Sphinx (1896), was a collection of charades. Her next publications were The Jingle Book and The Story of Betty (1899), followed by a book of verse entitled Idle Idyls (1900). After 1900, Wells wrote numerous novels and collections of poetry. Carolyn Wells wrote a total of more than 170 books. During the first ten years of her career, she concentrated on poetry, humor, and children's books. According to her autobiography, The Rest of My Life (1937), she heard That Affair Next Door (1897), one of Anna Katharine Green's mystery novels, being read aloud and was immediately captivated by the unraveling of the puzzle. From that point onward she devoted herself to the mystery genre. Among the most famous of her mystery novels were the Fleming Stone Detective Stories which-according to Allen J. Hubin's Crime Fiction IV: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749-2000 (2003)-number 61 titles. Wells's The Clue (1909) is on the Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone list of essential mysteries. She was also the first to conduct a (brief, in this case) annual series devoted to the best short crime fiction of the previous year in the U.S., beginning with The Best American Mystery Stories of the Year (1931) (though others had begun a similar British series in 1929). In addition to books, Wells also wrote for newspapers. Her poetry accompanies the work of some of the leading lights in illustration and cartooning, often in the form of Sunday magazine cover features that formed continuing narratives from week to week. Her first known illustrated newspaper work is a two part series titled Animal Alphabet, illustrated by William F. Marriner, which appeared in the Sunday comics section of the New York World. Many additional series ensued over the years, including the bizarre classic Adventures of Lovely Lilly (New York Herald, 1906-07). The last series she penned was Flossy Frills Helps Out (American Weekly, 1942), which appeared after her death. Today, however, she is best known for her light verse, particularly for several classic limericks, including this one: A canner exceedingly canny One morning remarked to his granny: "A canner can can Any thing that he can But a canner can't can a can, can he?"

Carolyn Wells (1862 -1942) was an American writer and poet. Carolyn Wells wrote a total of more than 170 books. During the first ten years of her career, she concentrated on poetry, humor and children's books. Wells also wrote for newspapers. Wells's The Clue (1909) is on the Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone list of essential mysteries.

Carolyn Wells (June 18, 1862 - March 26, 1942) was an American writer and poe Among the most famous of Carolyn Wells' novels were the Fleming Stone Detective Stories which-according to Allen J. Hubin's Crime Fiction IV: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749-2000 (2003)-number 61 titles. Wells's The Clue (1909) is on the Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone list of essential mysteries.

Among the most famous of Carolyn Wells' novels were the Fleming Stone Detective Stories which-according to Allen J. Hubin's Crime Fiction IV: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749-2000 (2003)-number 61 titles. Wells's The Clue (1909) is on the Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone list of essential mysteries

Famous today as the creator of the reserved and scholarly detective Fleming Stone, Carolyn Wells was a prolific American writer of popular mystery novels, celebrated for their intricate plots and engaging characters. The first novel in the series, ‘The Clue’ (1909), features on the Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone list of essential mysteries. Throughout her career, Wells produced over 170 titles, including children’s stories, detective novels, anthologies and humorous and nonsense writings. This eBook presents Wells’ collected works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts appearing in digital print for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Wells’ life and works * Concise introductions to the major texts * 73 novels, with individual contents tables * Features many rare novels appearing for the first time in digital publishing * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * The complete Patty Fairfield and Marjorie Maynard series * Famous children’s books are fully illustrated with their original artwork * Includes Wells’ rare poetry collections – available in no other collection * Features Wells’ seminal non-fiction work ‘The Technique of the Mystery Story’ * Features the author’s autobiography ‘The Rest of My Life’ (first time in digital print) – discover Wells’ literary life * Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and genres Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles CONTENTS: The Fleming Stone Series The Clue (1909) The Gold Bag (1911) A Chain of Evidence (1912) The Maxwell Mystery (1913) Anybody But Anne (1914) The White Alley (1915) The Curved Blades (1915) The Mark of Cain (1917) Vicky Van (1918) The Diamond Pin (1919) Raspberry Jam (1920) The Mystery of the Sycamore (1921) The Mystery Girl (1922) Feathers Left Around (1923) Spooky Hollow (1923) The Furthest Fury (1924) Prillilgirl (1924) The Daughter of the House (1925) The Bronze Hand (1926) Where’s Emily (1927) The Crime in the Crypt (1928) The Huddle (1936) Murder in the Bookshop (1936) Murder Will In (1942) Who Killed Caldwell? (1942) The Alan Ford Series The Bride of a Moment (1916) Faulkner’s Folly (1917) The Pennington Wise Series The Room with the Tassels (1918) The Man Who Fell Through the Earth (1919) In the Onyx Lobby (1920) The Come Back (1921) The Luminous Face (1921) The Vanishing of Betty Varian (1922) The Affair at Flower Acres (1923) Wheels within Wheels (1923) Kenneth Carlisle Series Sleeping Dogs (1929) The Patty Fairfield Series All 17 Patty Fairfield novels (too many to list) The Marjorie Maynard Series All Marjorie novels The Dorrance Family Series The Dorrance Domain (1905) Dorrance Doings (1906) The Two Little Women Series Two Little Women (1915) Two Little Women and Treasure House (1916) Two Little Women on a Holiday (1917) Other Novels Abeniki Caldwell (1902) Eight Girls and a Dog (1902) The Gordon Elopement (1904) The Staying Guest (1904) The Matrimonial Bureau (1905) The Emily Emmins Papers (1907) Dick and Dolly (1909) Betty’s Happy Year (1910) Ptomaine Street (1921) Face Cards (1925) The Deep-Lake Mystery (1928) Short Stories Christabel’s Crystal (1905) An Easy Errand (1910) The Adventure of the Mona Lisa (1912) The Adventure of the Clothes-Line (1915) The Poetry and Nonsense Works Many poetry works; too many to list. The Non-Fiction The Technique of the Mystery Story (1913) The Autobiography The Rest of My Life Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to purchase this eBook as a Parts Edition of individual eBooks

Carolyn Wells was an American author of mysteries, verse, humor, and children's books. In 1910 she decided to devote herself to mysteries and became an early master of the genre, creating two memorable sleuths: Pennington Wise and Fleming Stone. Earlier in her career, she penned two humorous stories featuring Sherlock Holmes and a plethora of other great detectives, both of which are included here. Sherlock Holmes mysteries: THE ADVENTURE OF THE CLOTHES-LINE (1912) THE ADVENTURE OF THE "MONA LISA" (1915) Pennington Wise mysteries: THE ROOM WITH THE TASSLES (1918) THE MAN WHO FELL THROUGH THE EARTH (1919) IN THE ONYX LOBBY (1920) THE COME BACK (1921) THE LUMINOUS FACE (1921) THE VANISHING OF BETTY VARIAN (1922) Fleming Stone Mysteries: THE GOLD BAG (1911) A CHAIN OF EVIDENCE (1912) THE CURVED BLADES (1915) THE MARK OF CAIN (1917) VICKY VAN (1918) THE DIAMOND PIN (1919) RASPBERRY JAM (1920) THE MYSTERY OF THE SYCAMORE (1921) THE MYSTERY GIRL (1922) If you enjoy this book, search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see the more than 100 other entries in the series, covering science fiction, modern authors, mysteries, westerns, classics, adventure stories, and much, much more! (Sort by publication date to see the most recent releases.)

Carolyn Wells wrote a total of more than 170 books. During the first ten years of her career, she concentrated on poetry, humor, and children's books. According to her autobiography, The Rest of My Life (1937), she heard That Affair Next Door (1897), one of Anna Katharine Green's mystery novels, being read aloud and was immediately captivated by the unraveling of the puzzle. From that point onward she devoted herself to the mystery genre. Among the most famous of her mystery novels were the Fleming Stone Detective Stories which-according to Allen J. Hubin's Crime Fiction IV: Wells's The Clue (1909) is on the Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone list of essential mysteries. She was also the first to conduct a (brief, in this case) annual series devoted to the best short crime fiction of the previous year in the U.S., beginning with The Best American Mystery Stories of the Year (1931) (though others had begun a similar British series in 1929).

The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells is the first biography of one of the “lost ladies” of detective fiction who wrote more than eighty mysteries and hundreds of other works between the 1890s and the 1940s. Carolyn Wells (1862–1942) excelled at writing country house and locked-room mysteries for a decade before Agatha Christie entered the scene. In the 1920s, when she was churning out three or more books annually, she was dubbed “about the biggest thing in mystery novels in the US.” On top of that, Wells wielded her pen in just about every literary genre, producing several immensely popular children’s books and young adult novels; beloved anthologies; and countless stories, prose, and poetry for magazines such as Thrilling Detective, Life, The Saturday Evening Post, Harper’s, and The New Yorker. All told, Wells wrote over 180 books. Some were adapted into silent films, and some became bestsellers. Yet a hundred years later, she has been all but erased from literary history. Why? How? This investigation takes us on a journey to Rahway, New Jersey, where Wells was born and is buried; to New York City’s Upper West Side, where she spent her final twenty-five years; to the Library of Congress, where Carolyn’s world-class collection of rare books now resides; and to many other public and private collections where exciting discoveries unfolded. Part biography and part sleuthing narrative, The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells recovers the life and work of a brilliant writer who was considered one of the funniest, most talented women of her time.