 llery
Queen once described the difference
between pastiche and
parody: 'A pastiche is a serious and sincere imitation in the exact
manner of the original author. But writers of parodies, which are humorous
or satirical take-offs, have no such reverent scruples. They usually
strive for the weirdest possible distortions, and many ingenious
travesties have been conceived.' In 1944 Ellery Queen edited an
anthology of Holmesian pastiches and parodies entitled "The
Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes". He used "this form of
flattery" to pay tribute to the most famous character in mystery
fiction. It is but fitting to consider those same sort of tributes that
have been made to Ellery Queen.
The first attempt at this was apparently was made by Queen himself. In 'The
Devil to Pay' he masquerades as Hilary "Scoop" King,
newspaper reporter and in the same year (1938) Queen, the editor also
provided an anthology "Challenge to the Reader" in which
the identities of 24 famous sleuths are disguised in the stories in which
they appeared. "The Adventure of the Hanging Acrobat" was
refurnished with Hilary King, detective. However we have to agree simply
replacing a name of the main character will not sufice to talk of a real
pastiche. In listing the stories we do have to bear in mind that our
figure is not only a detective but also writer, editor and a magazine. Starting
of with the detective...
  n
The Final Problem (1946) by Bliss Austin, a Baker Street
Irregular, one of its central characters is Christopher Morley.
This tale uses Sherlock Holmes material to spoof EQMM's first Detective Short-Story Contest. The judges in that real life 1946 contest were Morley, Howard
Haycraft and Ellery Queen, and Austin uses them as the detective protagonists of his story.
Even Richard is included! The tale is a delightful little detective story, with a good deal of tongue in cheek humor, and a nice spoof of both Holmes and the
Ellery Queen short stories. (Mike Grost)
In February 1947 EQMM
republished a story by Maurice Richardson called "The Last Detective
Story in the World". This story tells of the last battle between
Holmes and Professor Moriarty who have enlisted the great detectives
and criminals in fiction on their respective sides. Ellery Queen
appears on Holmes' team, just long enough to be snapped at by Nero Wolfe's
man-eating orchid.
Another Holmesian pastiche brought to us by Viola Brothers Shore (EQMM,
November 1948) was called 'A Case of
Facsimile' It involved the solving of a crime by Shirley Holmes at the
Edgar Allan Poe School with the aid of Samantha Spade, Regina Fortune,
Nerissa Wolfe and Elsie Queen!
During the transitional periode in the late 40s - early 50s very few
pastiches were published about aynone other than Holmes. EQ appearance
continued to be basically Sherlockiana or Watsoniana. For example in
"International Investigators, Inc." (EQMM,
February 1952) E.G. Ashton writes about an
organization of the great fictional detectives who gather to discuss many
things especially Holmes. Ellery is present and is described as 'quiet
young American whose pince-nez protected pale silver eyes". Another
prominent member feels that Queen " dressed more reasonable than most
Americans, his manners excellent, his Duesenberg good." As Lord Peter
points out, "a Lord must always be outranked by a Queen."
Another gathering of the First International Congress of Fictional Sleuths
in W.Heidenfeld's "The Unpleasantness at the Stooges' Club" (EQMM,
February 1953) leaves their respective
"Watsons" alone when a crime wave occurs. Nikki Porter is heard
to wail "Oh, if only Ellery were here!"
R.G.G.Price's "Tec's Twilight" (EQMM,
September 1953 originally published in 1951) tells the memoirs of
an aging investigator who didn't use a side-kick, feeling that many of his
rivals lost trade when clients met the people the associated with. This
English' Tec admits he learned a lot about atmosfere from
Americans such as Philo Vance and Ellery Queen, who "stand in the
murder room for hours just sniffing up atmosphere."
Ellery
was once even parodied as a penguin along with a host of other penguin
detectives. This was the case in Stuart Palmer's article "Some of my
Best Friends (are Penguins)" (EQMM, June 1950)
In it he discussed and showed of his collection illustrations from the
Penguin statues and drawings. EQ is pictured "pondering first
editions between precarious balancings on the high wire of logic".
Again he wasn't alone in "Murder in Pastiche Or Nine
Detectives All at Sea" by
Marion Mainwaring (1954) Mallory King meets several
thinly disguised fictional detectives
 involved in solving a murder: Atlas
Poireau (Hercule Poirot), Trajan Beare (Nero Wolfe), Spike Bludgeon (Mike
Hammer), Sir John Nappleby (Sir John Appleby), Jerry Pason (Perry Mason),
Lord Simon Quinsey (Lord Peter Wimsey), Miss Fan Sliver (Maud Silver)
Broderick Tournier (Roderick Alleyn).
Thomas Narcejac has written a book of pastiches of
the great detectives called 'Usurpation d'identite' published in
France in 1959. It hasn't been republished in English.
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hasty conclusions". These ares the
first but not the last of pastiches who used Queen's early methode of
naming mysteries.
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