4/9/22

Baring-Gould, who was also a Holmes scholar, penned this slight book, which more or less functions as a quasi-biography of Nero Wolfe. There's a fairly admirable summary of the books that had appeared through 1969, which in the event includes all but the last three books published in Rex Stout's lifetime. There's some slightly mindless, but harmless, speculation as to who Wolfe's father is, as well as the date of his birth. Another item of value is a survey of the secondary and supporting characters in the series. Certainly nice to have if you are a Wolfe fan, and recommended for them; otherwise, it's a fairly specialized book. ( )

Right off the bat I need to tell you Nero Wolfe of West Thirty-Fifth Street is better read after you have consumed every Rex Stout mystery starring the portly private detective. I guarantee you will have many more ah-ha moments if you already know the cases. Baring-Gould fills his book with a mountain of facts but they are oddly assembled; a veritable mishmash of all things Nero Wolfe (and Archie Goodwin). Everything from fashion, and facial tics to food and every case in between is scrutinized. It's as if Baring-Gould combed the pages of every mystery, never missing a single detail, to build a character profile and biography of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.
Baring-Gould also has some interesting theories. I don't think it is a spoiler to say that Baring-Gould thinks Sherlock Holmes fathered Nero Wolfe. He draws thought-provoking connections between Holmes and Wolfe, including the similar phrases they utter. ( )

I am dubious about some of the early bits that rely on the writer's imagination --Wolfe being the son of Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler and Marko Vukcic's twin brother -- but once the book gets into the actual Rex Stout material it is a useful chronology includng not only the cases Stout wrote up but also the ones he mentioned only in passing. ( )

An absolute must-have book for all Nero Wolfe fans. ( )