Drury Lane

Series · 4 books · 1932-1933

By Ellery Queen, Barnaby Ross

Books in series

The Tragedy of X

1932

Retired Shakespearean actor Drury Lane solves a mystery from afar Born during intermission in a seedy New Orleans playhouse, Drury Lane has spent the better part of his life in the theater. A majestic old-fashioned ham, he made his name in London, where his record-breaking run as Hamlet defined the role for a generation. When hearing loss forces him to retire, he turns his attention to human drama—specifically crime. Using his powers of disguise, knowledge of human nature, and an occasional dash of theatrical combat, Lane is the most fantastic detective of all time—onstage or off. In The Tragedy of X, a man is poisoned in the middle of a crowded New York streetcar, and not one of the dozens of witnesses can provide any useful evidence. The police are stumped until they receive a letter from Lane, claiming to have solved the crime by reading newspaper reports. He knows the killer’s name—but now he has to catch him.

The Tragedy of Y

1932

Some bizarre things have been happening to the eccentric Hatter family. First, the body of York Hatter is recovered from the ocean. But he didn’t drown. He died of poison. Next, another poisoning occurs in the Hatters’ old mansion in New York’s Greenwich Village. This time the police have a witness. But what a witness! She is a blind, deaf mute. Naturally the authorities call in Drury Lane—retired Shakespearean actor. Matinee idol. Master of disguise. Amateur sleuth who finds “crime the highest refinement of human drama”. Ellery Queen’s most flamboyant detective. Here is another novel in the great tradition. All clues are scrupulously presented to you, the reader. Can you unmask the murderer before Drury Lane does? (Publisher’s description)

The Tragedy of Z

1933

The elderly detective Drury Lane is aided by Patience Thumm in the investigation of the mysterious death of a corrupt state senator

Drury Lane's Last Case

1933

Paperback Intl Polygonics Ltd (October 1987) English Ellery Queen The best of the Drury Lane stories.

Authors

Ellery Queen

Author · 99 books

aka Barnaby Ross. "Ellery Queen" was a pen name created and shared by two cousins, Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) and Manfred B. Lee (1905-1971), as well as the name of their most famous detective. Born in Brooklyn, they spent forty two years writing, editing, and anthologizing under the name, gaining a reputation as the foremost American authors of the Golden Age "fair play" mystery. Although eventually famous on television and radio, Queen's first appearance came in 1928 when the cousins won a mystery-writing contest with the book that would eventually be published as The Roman Hat Mystery. Their character was an amateur detective who used his spare time to assist his police inspector father in solving baffling crimes. Besides writing the Queen novels, Dannay and Lee cofounded Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, one of the most influential crime publications of all time. Although Dannay outlived his cousin by nine years, he retired Queen upon Lee's death. Several of the later "Ellery Queen" books were written by other authors, including Jack Vance, Avram Davidson, and Theodore Sturgeon.

Barnaby Ross

Author · 3 books

House pseudonym. The Drury Lane mystery series was writen by Ellery Queen (Daniel Nathan and Manford Lepofsky). The historical novels were ghosted by Don Tracy.