Phoebe Atwood Taylor
Encyclopedia
Phoebe Atwood Taylor was an American mystery author.
Phoebe Atwood Taylor wrote mystery
novel
s under her own name, and as Freeman Dana and Alice Tilton. Her first novel, The Cape Cod Mystery
, introduced the "Codfish Sherlock", Asey Mayo, who became a series character appearing in 24 novels. Taylor's work was light in tone, a bit more serious than screwball comedy
, but fun and easy to read. According to critic Dilys Winn, "Mrs. Taylor is the mystery equivalent to Buster Keaton." She borrowed heavily on her own background (being born in Boston
, and very familiar with Cape Cod
) to produce books full of local color. "As a whole the Asey Mayo books are a treasure trove of humor and local culture of the Cape in the 1930s and '40s." Taylor adopted the pseudonyms of Freeman Dana and Alice Tilton for her other books because her publisher did not want her known as a writer of potboilers. Like many who lived through the Great Depression
, she was in constant need of money, and one of her letters to her publisher was printed in a recent edition of one of her books as an explanation of why she adopted the pen name
of Alice Tilton for the popular Leonidas Witherall novel series.
The earliest Asey Mayo titles are rather dark, perhaps reflecting the Depression background. As the series went on, the tone lightened and approached the screwball towards the end of the series. All the books have a strong sense of the Cape Cod background, and many have a strong sense of time as well. In the novels written during World War II
, for example, Mayo is hindered by fuel and rubber rationing, military maneuvers, Fifth column
activity, civilian defense groups, blackouts
and First Aid
training.
, and takes to anonymously writing books and, later, a radio show about the adventures of "Lieutenant Hazeltine" as a means of survival, while solving murders as a sideline. In the eight novels chronicling his adventures, Witherall is confronted with a corpse under unusual and maximally embarrassing circumstances that suggest his own guilt, requiring him to enlist a motley crew of assistants, use disguise and impersonation to escape discovery, and engage in at least one scavenger-hunt-like chase before solving the crime. Once in every novel, Witherall references the radio program's constant repetition of "Cannae
" -- an ancient battle from which Hazeltine draws inspiration so that his smaller force defeats his larger mass of enemies. This mention of Cannae means that Witherall is about to marshal his assistants as part of a clever scheme to deliver the murderer to justice. Hazeltine is also subject to the machinations of the "octopus of fate", by which an incredible coincidence is explained at least once in every Witherall novel. In 1944, the character was adapted into a Mutual radio mystery program, The Adventures of Leonidas Witherall
.
Mystery critic Dilys Winn had this to say about the Witherall novels: "These books don't make all that much sense, but they go a long way in proving that making sense is immaterial -- a guffaw is more vital. Tilton books are so busy, so complicated, so Marx Brothers ... that makes them sound as if they might have a plot, doesn't it? Bad assumption. They drift from incident to incident with the style of the crash 'em cars at a carnival." Mystery writer and critic H. R. F. Keating
wrote, in an introduction to a 1987 reissue of the first Witherall novel, "If a writer can keep in play an interest in a crime of some sort, preferably indeed murder, and at the same time induce the reader to take the hither-and-thither balloon flight of farce, then the entertainment provided will be not doubled but tripled. But it is difficult. I suspect that the only recipe for success is sheer deftness in writing, coupled perhaps with establishing a firm basis in fact before the hilarious fantasy is allowed to take off. Both these elements Alice Tilton has at her disposal."
Phoebe Atwood Taylor wrote mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s under her own name, and as Freeman Dana and Alice Tilton. Her first novel, The Cape Cod Mystery
The Cape Cod Mystery
The Cape Cod Mystery, first published in 1931, is a detective story by Phoebe Atwood Taylor, the first to feature her series detective Asey Mayo, the "Codfish Sherlock". This novel is a mystery of the type known as a whodunnit.-Plot summary:...
, introduced the "Codfish Sherlock", Asey Mayo, who became a series character appearing in 24 novels. Taylor's work was light in tone, a bit more serious than screwball comedy
Screwball Comedy
Screwball Comedy is an album by the Japanese band Soul Flower Union. The album found the band going into a simpler, harder-rocking direction, after several heavily world-music influenced albums.-Track listing:...
, but fun and easy to read. According to critic Dilys Winn, "Mrs. Taylor is the mystery equivalent to Buster Keaton." She borrowed heavily on her own background (being born in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and very familiar with Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
) to produce books full of local color. "As a whole the Asey Mayo books are a treasure trove of humor and local culture of the Cape in the 1930s and '40s." Taylor adopted the pseudonyms of Freeman Dana and Alice Tilton for her other books because her publisher did not want her known as a writer of potboilers. Like many who lived through the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, she was in constant need of money, and one of her letters to her publisher was printed in a recent edition of one of her books as an explanation of why she adopted the pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
of Alice Tilton for the popular Leonidas Witherall novel series.
Asey Mayo
Asey (a nickname for his given name, Asa) Mayo is a down-to-earth Cape Cod resident who has had numerous adventures around the world during his former sailing career, but now works as a kind of general assistant to the heir to "Porter Motors." He has an immense amount of local knowledge of local geography and the doings of the inhabitants of Cape Cod, and uses his knowledge, his physical stamina, his very fast car and a great deal of intelligence to solve local murders at breakneck speed. His cousin Jennie Mayo, a repository of local gossip, plays a role in many of the novels, and her husband Syl often assists Asey. Jennie's charitable and civic activities in the community often provide the starting point for Asey's cases, but another constant theme is the interference of "folks from away" in local affairs.The earliest Asey Mayo titles are rather dark, perhaps reflecting the Depression background. As the series went on, the tone lightened and approached the screwball towards the end of the series. All the books have a strong sense of the Cape Cod background, and many have a strong sense of time as well. In the novels written during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, for example, Mayo is hindered by fuel and rubber rationing, military maneuvers, Fifth column
Fifth column
A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group such as a nation from within.-Origin:The term originated with a 1936 radio address by Emilio Mola, a Nationalist General during the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War...
activity, civilian defense groups, blackouts
Blackout (wartime)
A blackout during war, or apprehended war, is the practice of collectively minimizing outdoor light, including upwardly directed light. This was done in the 20th century to prevent crews of enemy aircraft from being able to navigate to their targets simply by sight, for example during the London...
and First Aid
First aid
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
training.
Leonidas Witherall
Leonidas Witherall ("the man who looks like Shakespeare"), once an instructor at a private boys' school, has lost all of his money due to the Wall Street crash of 1929Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
, and takes to anonymously writing books and, later, a radio show about the adventures of "Lieutenant Hazeltine" as a means of survival, while solving murders as a sideline. In the eight novels chronicling his adventures, Witherall is confronted with a corpse under unusual and maximally embarrassing circumstances that suggest his own guilt, requiring him to enlist a motley crew of assistants, use disguise and impersonation to escape discovery, and engage in at least one scavenger-hunt-like chase before solving the crime. Once in every novel, Witherall references the radio program's constant repetition of "Cannae
Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
" -- an ancient battle from which Hazeltine draws inspiration so that his smaller force defeats his larger mass of enemies. This mention of Cannae means that Witherall is about to marshal his assistants as part of a clever scheme to deliver the murderer to justice. Hazeltine is also subject to the machinations of the "octopus of fate", by which an incredible coincidence is explained at least once in every Witherall novel. In 1944, the character was adapted into a Mutual radio mystery program, The Adventures of Leonidas Witherall
The Adventures of Leonidas Witherall
The Adventures of Leonidas Witherall was a radio mystery series broadcast on Mutual in the mid-1940s.Based on the novels of Phoebe Atwood Taylor , the 30-minute dramas were produced by Roger Bower and starred Walter Hampden as Leonidas Witherall, a New England boys' school instructor in Dalton,...
.
Mystery critic Dilys Winn had this to say about the Witherall novels: "These books don't make all that much sense, but they go a long way in proving that making sense is immaterial -- a guffaw is more vital. Tilton books are so busy, so complicated, so Marx Brothers ... that makes them sound as if they might have a plot, doesn't it? Bad assumption. They drift from incident to incident with the style of the crash 'em cars at a carnival." Mystery writer and critic H. R. F. Keating
H. R. F. Keating
Henry Reymond Fitzwalter "Harry" Keating was an English crime fiction writer most notable for his series of novels featuring Inspector Ghote of the Bombay CID.-Life:...
wrote, in an introduction to a 1987 reissue of the first Witherall novel, "If a writer can keep in play an interest in a crime of some sort, preferably indeed murder, and at the same time induce the reader to take the hither-and-thither balloon flight of farce, then the entertainment provided will be not doubled but tripled. But it is difficult. I suspect that the only recipe for success is sheer deftness in writing, coupled perhaps with establishing a firm basis in fact before the hilarious fantasy is allowed to take off. Both these elements Alice Tilton has at her disposal."
Asey Mayo novels
- The Cape Cod MysteryThe Cape Cod MysteryThe Cape Cod Mystery, first published in 1931, is a detective story by Phoebe Atwood Taylor, the first to feature her series detective Asey Mayo, the "Codfish Sherlock". This novel is a mystery of the type known as a whodunnit.-Plot summary:...
- 1931 - Death Lights a Candle - 1932
- The Mystery of the Cape Cod Players - 1933
- The Mystery of the Cape Cod TavernThe Mystery of the Cape Cod TavernThe Mystery of the Cape Cod Tavern, first published in 1934, is a detective story by Phoebe Atwood Taylor which features her series detective Asey Mayo, the "Codfish Sherlock"...
- 1934 - Sandbar SinisterSandbar SinisterSandbar Sinister, first published in 1934, is a detective story by Phoebe Atwood Taylor which features her series detective Asey Mayo, the "Codfish Sherlock"...
- 1934 - Deathblow HillDeathblow HillDeathblow Hill, first published in 1935, is a detective story by Phoebe Atwood Taylor which features her series detective Asey Mayo, the "Codfish Sherlock"...
- 1935 - The Tinkling SymbolThe Tinkling SymbolThe Tinkling Symbol, first published in 1935, is a detective story by Phoebe Atwood Taylor which features her series detective Asey Mayo, the "Codfish Sherlock". This novel is a mystery of the type known as a whodunnit.-Plot summary:...
- 1935 - The Crimson PatchThe Crimson PatchThe Crimson Patch, first published in 1936, is a detective story by Phoebe Atwood Taylor which features her series detective Asey Mayo, the "Codfish Sherlock". This novel is a mystery of the type known as a whodunnit.-Plot summary:Mr...
- 1936 - Out of OrderOut of Order (novel)Out of Order, first published in 1936, is a detective story by Phoebe Atwood Taylor which features her series detective Asey Mayo, the "Codfish Sherlock". This novel is a mystery of the type known as a whodunnit.-Plot summary:...
- 1936 - Figure AwayFigure AwayFigure Away, first published in 1937, is a detective story by Phoebe Atwood Taylor which features her series detective Asey Mayo, the "Codfish Sherlock"...
- 1937 - Octagon House - 1937
- The Annulet of Gilt - 1938
- Banbury Bog - 1938
- Spring Harrowing - 1939
- The Criminal C.O.D. - 1940
- The Deadly Sunshade - 1940
- The Perennial Boarder - 1941
- The Six Iron Spiders - 1942
- Three Plots for Asey Mayo (novelets) - 1942
- Going, Going, Gone - 1943
- Proof of the Pudding - 1943
- The Asey Mayo Trio (novelets) - 1946
- Punch with Care - 1946
- Diplomatic Corpse - 1951
Writing as Alice Tilton
- Beginning with a BashBeginning with a BashBeginning With a Bash is a novel that was published in 1937 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor writing as Alice Tilton. It is the first of the Leonidas Witherall mysteries.-Plot summary:...
- 1937 - The Cut DirectThe Cut DirectThe Cut Direct is a novel that was published in 1938 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor writing as Alice Tilton. It is the second of the eight Leonidas Witherall mysteries.-Plot summary:...
- 1938 - Cold StealCold StealCold Steal is a novel that was published in 1939 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor writing as Alice Tilton. It is the third of the eight Leonidas Witherall mysteries.-Plot summary:...
- 1939 - The Left LegThe Left LegThe Left Leg is a novel that was published in 1940 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor writing as Alice Tilton. It is the fourth of the eight Leonidas Witherall mysteries.-Plot summary:...
- 1940 - The Hollow ChestThe Hollow ChestThe Hollow Chest is a novel that was published in 1940 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor writing as Alice Tilton. It is the fifth of the eight Leonidas Witherall mysteries.-Plot summary:...
- 1941 - File For RecordFile for RecordFile For Record is a novel that was published in 1943 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor writing as Alice Tilton. It is the sixth of the eight Leonidas Witherall mysteries.-Plot summary:...
- 1943 - Dead ErnestDead Ernest (novel)Dead Ernest is a novel that was published in 1944 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor writing as Alice Tilton. It is the seventh of the eight Leonidas Witherall mysteries.-Plot summary:...
- 1944 - The Iron ClewThe Iron ClewThe Iron Clew is a novel that was published in 1947 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor writing as Alice Tilton. It is the eighth and last of the eight Leonidas Witherall mysteries.-Plot summary:...
- 1947