Tue 1 May 2018
Pulp Stories I’m Reading: ERLE STANLEY GARDNER “Cold Clews.”
Posted by Steve under Pulp Fiction , Stories I'm Reading[10] Comments
ERLE STANLEY GARDNER “Cold Clews.” Lester Leith #22. Published in Detective Fiction Weekly, January 24, 1931. At one time apparently scheduled to be reprinted (??) in Hot Cash and Cold Clews: The Exploits of Lester Leith by Erle Stanley Gardner, edited by Jeffrey Marks, Crippen & Landru, Fall 2016.
Lester Leith was but one of many characters that Erle Stanley Gardner created for the pulp magazines well before he came up with a certain Perry Mason (in 1933) and become rich in doing so. To my mind, though, the Leith stories were a lot more fun — and dare I say — even more inventive than the cases that Perry, Della and Paul found themselves involved in.
Gardner wrote over 60 Leith stories between 1929 and 1943, mostly for Detective Fiction Weekly, and I can well imagine most were featured on the front covers, the character was that popular. I don’t know if Leith ever had a real occupation, but he was rich and lived in style, complete with a valet he chooses to call Scuttle, a stalwart chap who is really working uncover in Leith’s household on behalf of the police department, and Sgt. Ackley in particular.
Ackley, you see, suspects — but is never able to prove — that Leith has a way of horning in on local crimes and taking a cut of the loot or insurance/reward money before the cops can even start to make sense of the case.
And, case in point. In “Cold Clews” Leith takes interest in a valuable stolen necklace, stolen at gunpoint from a jewelry store in broad daylight. Although nearly nabbed while filling up his getaway car at a gasoline station, the thief seems to have eluded the police completely.
The police are baffled. Lester Leith is not. To his own mysterious ends, he asks Scuttle to obtain the following for him: a fierce bulldog, a cast iron stove, twenty-eight dice, a yard of silk cord, a small vise, a portable drill, and a small emery wheel.
The police are even more baffled, and equally most of the fun for the reader is reading along to find out what on earth Leith is going to do with this hodgepodge of items. Which he does is fine fashion — and of course he comes out on top once again.
You probably can’t read too many Leith stories in one sitting. They’re quite long, for one thing, novelette length at least, and rather repetitious in nature as well. But spread out over a period of time, great stuff indeed.
May 2nd, 2018 at 6:39 am
Most of the Lester Leith stories have not been reprinted and remain buried in the back issues of DETECTIVE FICTION WEEKLY. However these issues are not that hard to find and for the most part still fairly inexpensive. The pulp conventions always have many issues available.
The next one is Pulpfest in Pittsburgh during July 26-29. Details at Pulpfest.com
May 2nd, 2018 at 7:17 pm
These and Ed Jenkins are my favorite Gardner works, but thanks to length they aren’t often reprinted. That’s a shame, they represent some of the best of Gardner’s pre Mason and Lam work.
May 2nd, 2018 at 7:24 pm
I agree. What is available of Lester Leith today is mainly Gardner at the peak of his form.
I wish Crippen & Landru would publish a second collection of Lester Leith. All that has been available for decades is the one collection edited by Ellery Queen. So all I’ve been able to read is around seven tales.
May 2nd, 2018 at 10:25 pm
This particular story is 33 pulp pages long. My guess is that it would be 50 ordinary book pages long, if not more.
From what I’ve been able to tell, C&L planned to do a Lester Leith collection, but I don’t believe it was ever published.
May 3rd, 2018 at 12:39 pm
Well, I sure wish SOMEONE would do it, if not Doug (or the or more new publisher at C&L) then someone else. I’d like to see 20, 30 of these stories in print, or even just as ebooks.
May 3rd, 2018 at 7:03 pm
Hi,
The collection is still planned, but now it’s likely to be 2019. The stories had to be collected and I used the University of Texas-Austin to locate them (the Gardner collection.) it took a certain amount of time to get stories that I found appealing. I’m talking to the agents now about the contracts.
Leith is my personal favorite of Gardner’s characters, and I’d love to do 3-4 collections of them.
Jeff Marks of Crippen & Landru
May 3rd, 2018 at 7:15 pm
Good news on the forthcoming collection — hopefully plural, Jeff. As you can see, you already have several buyers waiting, including myself!
May 4th, 2018 at 8:06 am
Jeff, I’ll buy all the Leith collections you publish!
May 4th, 2018 at 12:27 pm
If I’m still alive I’ll buy the new collections too.
March 18th, 2019 at 8:04 pm
Just bought The Patent Leather Kid looking for Lester Leith. Please hurry and publish!