Patrick Quentin


Patrick Quentin, Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge were pen names under which Hugh Callingham Wheeler, Richard Wilson Webb, Martha Mott Kelley and Mary Louise White Aswell wrote detective fiction. In some foreign countries their books have been published under the variant Quentin Patrick. Most of the stories were written by Webb and Wheeler in collaboration, or by Wheeler alone. Their most famous creation is the amateur sleuth Peter Duluth. In 1963, the story collection The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow was given a Special Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. In 1949, the book Puzzle for Pilgrims won the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière International Prize, the most prestigious award for crime and detective fiction in France.

History

In 1931, Martha Mott Kelley and Richard Wilson Webb collaborated on the detective novel Cottage Sinister. Kelley was known as Patsy and Webb—an Englishman who worked for a pharmaceutical company in Philadelphia—was known as Rick, so they created the pseudonym Q. Patrick by combining their nicknames—adding the Q "because it was unusual".
Webb and Kelley's literary partnership soon ended, with Kelley's marriage to Stephen Shipley Wilson. Webb continued to write under the Q. Patrick name, while looking for a new writing partner. He wrote one novel with the journalist and Harper's Bazaar editor Mary Louise Aswell, before he found his permanent collaborator in Hugh Wheeler, a Londoner who had moved to the US in 1934.
Wheeler's and Webb's first collaboration was published in 1936. That same year, they introduced two new pseudonyms: Murder Gone to Earth, the first novel featuring Dr. Westlake, was credited to Jonathan Stagge, a name they would continue to use for the rest of the Westlake series. A Puzzle for Fools introduced Peter Duluth and was signed Patrick Quentin. This would become their primary and most famous pen name, even though they also continued to use Q. Patrick until the end of their collaboration.
In the late 1940s, Webb's contributions gradually decreased due to health problems. From the 1950s and on, Wheeler continued writing as Patrick Quentin on his own, and also had one book published under his own name. In the 1960s and '70s, Wheeler achieved success as a playwright and librettist, and his output as Quentin Patrick slowed and then ceased altogether after 1965.

Writing

The early Q. Patrick detective stories generally follow the Golden Age "whodunit" conventions, with elaborate puzzle mysteries reminiscent of Agatha Christie or John Dickson Carr. In the 1940s, the stories start to move away from the traditional detective pattern: Puzzle for Fiends is a Hitchcockian thriller, Puzzle for Pilgrims a noir novel, and Run to Death a pulpy spy novel.
The majority of the Webb–Wheeler collaborations feature one of their recurring characters: Peter Duluth, a Broadway director, WWII veteran and recovering alcoholic who, with his wife Iris, always seems to stumble across murders; Inspector Timothy Trant of the New York City Police, a Princeton University-educated dandy whose remorseless investigations often seem to be aimed at some innocent person before he reveals his real target; and the country doctor, Dr. Hugh Cavendish Westlake with his daughter Dawn. When Webb bowed out on the writing, these characters disappeared or receded into the background.
A study of all the Q.Patrick/Patrick Quentin/Jonathan Stagge novels has appeared in French, Patrick Quentin: Du roman-probleme au Thriller Psychologique by Roland Lacourbe, Vincent Bourgeois, Phillippe Fooz and Michel Soupart.

Legacy

Francis Iles called Quentin "number one among American crime writers".
A few of Quentin's stories have been filmed, most notably the Peter Duluth mystery Black Widow, which was filmed under that title by Twentieth Century Fox in 1954 as a color Cinemascope feature. Van Heflin portrayed the Peter Duluth character, who was renamed Peter Denver.

Works variously by Richard Wilson Webb, Hugh Wheeler, Martha Mott Kelley and Mary Louise Aswell

As 'Q. Patrick'

Novels by Webb and Kelley

Cottage Sinister – 1931. Abridged version: Triple Detective, Winter 1948Murder at the Women's City Club – 1932

Novels by Webb

Murder at the 'Varsity – 1933 The Grindle Nightmare – 1935. Abridged version: Detective Novel Magazine, May 1947Death Goes to School – 1936

Novel by Webb and Aswell

S.S. Murder – 1933

Novels by Webb and Wheeler

Death for Dear Clara – 1937, with Inspector TrantThe File on Fenton and Farr – 1938The File on Claudia Cragge – 1938, with Inspector TrantDeath and the Maiden – 1939, with Inspector TrantReturn to the Scene – 1941, serialised in the U.K.: Woman, 26 July 1941, 2 August 1941, 9 August 1941, 16 August 1941, 23 August 1941, 30 August 1941, 6 September 1941 and 13 September 1941Danger Next Door – 1952The Girl on the Gallows – 1954

Short fiction by Webb and Wheeler

  • Darker Grows the Valley. Mystery, May 1935
  • Killed by Time. Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine, October 1935
  • The Dogs Do Bark. Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine, November 1935
  • The Frightened Landlady. Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine, December 1935
  • Call the Heart Home. Sketch, 18 December 1935
  • The Scarlet Circle. Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine, January 1936
  • The Hated Woman. Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine, February 1936
  • Murder or Mercy. Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine, June 1936
  • The Jack of Diamonds. The American Magazine, November 1936
  • Death Goes to School. PUBLICATION UNKNOWN, 1936
  • Danger Next Door. Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine, May 1937
  • The Lady Had Nine Lives. The American Magazine, August 1937
  • Exit Before Midnight. The American Magazine, October 1937. Serialised weekly in the U.K.: Woman Magazine, 4 to 25 January 1941
  • Death and the Maiden. American Weekly, 22 and 29 January 1939
  • Death for Dear Clara. Five-in-One Detective Magazine, June/July 1939
  • Another Man’s Poison. The American Magazine, January 1940
  • Death Rides the Ski-Tow. The American Magazine, April 1941. Serialised weekly in the U.K. as Death Rides the Ski Trail, Woman Magazine, 6 to 20 March 1943
  • Ordeal. Woman Magazine, 18 October 1941
  • Murder with Flowers. The American Magazine, December 1941
  • Portrait of a Murderer. Harper's Magazine, April 1942
  • Humphrey. This Week, 24 May 1942. Reprinted as “Cat’s Cradle”. Woman Magazine, 26 September 1942
  • Lest We Forget. Woman Magazine, 27 June 1942
  • The Woman Who Waited. The Shadow, January 1945

Short fiction by Wheeler

As 'Dick Callingham'

Short fiction by Webb and Wheeler

  • ‘'Striking Silence'’. Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine, February 1936
  • ‘'Terror Keepers'’. Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine, March 1936
  • ‘'Frightened Killer'’. Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine, May 1937

As 'Patrick Quentin'

Novels by Webb and Wheeler

A Puzzle for Fools – 1936
with Peter Duluth.Puzzle for Players – 1938
with Peter Duluth.Puzzle for Puppets – 1944
with Peter Duluth. Serialised weekly as “Ring around the Roses” as by Q Patrick. Woman magazine, 18 April to 9 May 1942. Filmed as Homicide for Three .Puzzle for Wantons – 1945
with Peter Duluth. Originally serialised as "Puzzle for Frauds". Woman Magazine, 20 January to 10 March 1945Puzzle for Fiends – 1946
with Peter Duluth. Filmed in the UK as The Strange Awakening, US title Female Fiends . Serialised weekly in the U.K., Answers Magazine, 24 August 1946 to 8 February 1947Puzzle for Pilgrims – 1947
with Peter Duluth.Run to Death – 1948
with Peter Duluth.The Follower – 1950 Black Widow – 1952
with Peter Duluth and Inspector Trant. Filmed as Black Widow .

Novels by Wheeler

My Son, the Murderer – 1954
with Peter Duluth and Inspector Trant.The Man with Two Wives – 1955. Serialised, Woman's Own Weekly from 16 June 1955, 23 June 1955, 30 June 1955, 7 July 1955, 14 July 1855, 21 July 1955, 28 July 1955 and 4 August 1955
with Inspector Trant. Filmed as Tsuma Futari 　by Shindo Kaneto .The Man in the Net – 1956
Filmed as The Man in the Net .Suspicious Circumstances – 1957Shadow of Guilt – 1959
with Inspector Trant. Filmed as .The Green-Eyed Monster – 1960 The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow – 1961
A short story collection; the title story was filmed for TV as an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, "The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow" .Family Skeletons – 1965
with Inspector Trant. Filmed for West German TV as Familienschande .

Short story collections by Webb and Wheeler

The Puzzles of Peter Duluth – Crippen & Landru Publishers, 2016. Short stories.The Cases of Lieutenant Trant – Crippen & Landru Publishers, 2020. Short stories.Hunt in the Dark and Other Fatal Pursuits – Crippen & Landru Publishers, 2021. Short stories.

Short fiction by Webb and Wheeler

Honor the Valiant.This Week, 20 October 1940She Wrote Finis. Maclean’s Magazine, December 1940 – January 1941 Witness for the Prosecution, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, July 1946*

Short non-fiction by Wheeler

Unlucky Lady. American Weekly, 10 May 1953

As 'Jonathan Stagge'

Novels by Webb and Wheeler

Murder Gone to Earth – 1936 – with Dr Hugh WestlakeMurder or Mercy? – 1937 – with Dr Hugh WestlakeThe Stars Spell Death – 1939 – with Dr Hugh WestlakeTurn of the Table – 1940. Serialised in US newspapers as The Table Talks – with Dr Hugh WestlakeThe Yellow Taxi – 1942. Serialised in US newspapers as Riddle in Red – with Dr Hugh WestlakeThe Scarlet Circle – 1943 – with Dr Hugh WestlakeDeath, My Darling Daughters – 1945 Death's Old Sweet Song – 1946The Three Fears – 1949 – with Dr Hugh Westlake

Novels by Hugh Wheeler

The Crippled Muse – 1951

Novels by Mary Louise Aswell

Far to Go – 1957