Thu 29 Dec 2011
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: ELIZABETH CURTISS – Nine Doctors and a Madman.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Reviews[14] Comments
William F. Deeck
ELIZABETH CURTISS – Nine Doctors and a Madman. Simon and Schuster, hardcover, 1937.
The subgenre of mysteries dealing with insane asylums seems to be few in number but high in quality. Now Curtiss’s novel can be added to the list, and it is a fine addition.
One of the nine doctors at Brandmere Hospital is murdered by an inmate, or so it would appear. The inmate says he did it, is in a room alone with the corpse, and has the bloody skewer; the other physical evidence, however, contradicts his claim.
Nonetheless, he must have done it since no one else in the hospital seems to have had the opportunity, though most of them had a motive. A simple mind, my mind, but I would judge that there’s tricky fair play here.
Curtiss writes and observes well: “Her hair had been meticulously pinched and plastered into waves which would have turned a Greek sculptor green with envy.”
Her detective, Nathaniel Bunce, M.D., whom the publisher describes as a psychologist but must be a psychiatrist, is a character who might have achieved greatness if he had appeared in more than two novels, assuming the second matches the quality of this one. [The second being Dead Dogs Bite (Simon & Schuster, 1937).]
Describing the narrator of the novel, young and naive Dr. Theophilus Bishop, Bunce says: “Your mind … is like a kangaroo. It jumps, high, wide and handsome. It leaves, therefore, vast areas untrodden.”
ADDENDUM:
For those who may be interested, the novels that I have read that have as a setting mental institutions or have reason to believe deal with that sort of establishment are:
Murder in the Madhouse, by Jonathan Latimer
The Deadly Chase, by Carter Cullen
Shock Treatment, by Winfred van Atta
Night World, by Robert Bloch
The Drowning Pool, by Ross Macdonald
The Goodbye Look, by Ross Macdonald
No Face in the Mirror, by Richard Copeland in the UK, Hugh McLeave in the US
Death in the Doll’s House, by Hannah Lees and Lawrence Blochman
Crazy to Kill, by Ann Cardwell
The Odor of Bitter Almonds, by James G. Edwards
A Mind to Murder, by P. D. James
The Spectacles of Mr. Caligostro, by Harry Stephen Keeler
Snow White and Rose Red, by Ed McBain
A Puzzle for Fools, by Patrick Quentin
Shadow of a Doubt, by June Thomson.
December 30th, 2011 at 7:15 am
Add to your list THE HOUSE OF DR EDWARDES by John Palmer and Hilary A. Saunders, under the pseudonym “Francis Beeding”, filmed as SPELLBOUND.
December 30th, 2011 at 8:29 am
Another title to add is IN MATTO’S REALM by the German-language Swiss writer Friedrich Glauser (1896-1938) http://www.bitterlemonpress.com/authors/friedrich-glauser.asp
The author was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent most of his life in psychiatric wards, insane asylums and prison.
December 30th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Thanks, Dan and Jamie.
It was Bill who compiled the list. This was back in 1990, and so far as I know, he never updated it before he died.
I assume there were many more he missed, including of course those written after 1990. Any other additions most welcome!
— Steve
December 30th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
HIGH WALL by Alan R Clark might be added. A film was made of the book in 1947 – from the review on IMDb, it looks like it’s worth seeking out
December 30th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
I’ve always meant to watch the movie, but so far, I never have. I’ve been told it’s a good one.
December 30th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Keeler’s book THE SPECTACLES OF MR. CAGLIOSTRO (note the correct spelling) is his most somber work though it still contains the requisite loony storyline. The scenes in the mental institution are all too serious at times. He was incarcerated (by his parents!) in one of the worst asylums in Illinois when he was a teenager for a short period. His fictionalization of that world therefore has a very personal and real touch. It’s one of his best books, I think because of that personal element rarely seen in his other work.
December 30th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
THE SECLUSION ROOM is another detective story, set against the backdrop of a mental institution, that should not be left off that list. It was penned by Fredric Neuman, a practicing psychiatrist himself, and he drew upon his professional expertise to craft a very modern, but nonetheless intriguing, crime novel – with a very unusual approach to the locked room problem.
I reviewed the book two weeks ago on my blog: http://moonlight-detective.blogspot.com/2011/12/its-mad-mad-mad-mad-world.html
December 30th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Here’s another to add to the list, and a very good one it is: MADMEN DIE ALONE by Josiah E. Greene (Morrow 1938). From the dust jacket:
“The whole asylum seemed to be listening…listening…not, this time, for a maniac’s scream, but for the terror-filled cry of an escaped madman’s victim!”
December 30th, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Much of the important action in John D. MacDonald’s NIGHTMARE IN PINK takes place in a mental asylum.
December 31st, 2011 at 6:18 am
Off topic, but ON calendar :
A Happy New Year to all !!!
The Doc
December 31st, 2011 at 10:36 am
“The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether” (1845) is a classic short story by Poe set in an asylum. It has strong mystery elements.
Much inferior is the Chesterton tale called “The Asylum of Adventure” in his collection THE POET AND THE LUNATICS.
See also “Time Out of Mind” (1948) in Peter Godfrey’s THE NEWTONIAN EGG.
Also such films as BEHIND LOCKED DOORS and SHOCK CORRIDOR.
December 31st, 2011 at 11:50 am
I don’t imagine books that revolve around escapees from such institutions qualify. But if they do, then books such as Donald Westlake’s PITY HIM AFTERWARDS, reviewed here, and Margaret Millar’s THE IRON GATES — I believe this is the one I am trying to think of — would have to be added to the list.
Thanks to all who’ve passed along suggestions, with hopefully more to come. A small but solid subgenre in the mystery field!
And let me echo Doc’s best wishes for 2012: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
January 4th, 2012 at 3:22 pm
SHOCK CORRIDOR is also a novel – the novelization was written by Mike Avallone! Dave Zeltserman seems to held it in high regard.
THE SNAKE PIT might not be a crime novel per se, but there was a noirish film based on it.
January 4th, 2012 at 5:27 pm
Thanks, Juri. Two more to add to the list! Well, maybe one, because I don’t think THE SNAKE PIT is a crime novel, either, but it’s good to be reminded of it.