1 note the Peculiarity that here, on Page 6 of the 10,000 Pages Wolfe Oeuvre, Wolfe addresses Fred “Durkin” although, of course, in later Novels it’s “Fred”
2 >> everything in this Sentence up till now is no longer true in later Novels by Stout: Fritz, I think, sleeps in a Basement Bedroom; and Archie in a Room directly underneath Wolfe’s!!
4 !!!!!; what follows is one of the most hilarious Passages in the Wolfe Oeuvre; and it’s astonishing that Rex Stout was able to describe one of Nero Wolfe’s most notable – though embarrassing for him – Characteristics, his occasional, unpredictable Relapses, in this precise Fashion in the very first Nero Wolfe Volume – although 46 other Volumes were still to follow in the next 41 Years!!!!
5 cf. prec.!
6 !!!! (cf. final Sentence of Gulliver’s Travels)
9 i.e., spent in a devouring Orgy!
10 cf. penult.!
11 cf. penult.
12 this is quintessential Goodwin Wisecracking, in its original Fountain-Well of the very first Nero Wolfe Novel!!!
13 this extended Passage (§ 41) shows Rex Stout at what he really is: one of the greatest humorous Writers that have ever written in the English Language!!!!! many Critics have praised the idiomatic Consumateness of Stout’s literary Style; but, as I say, his Achievement is even higher than that: Rex Stout must be ranked among such Classics of comic Writing as Mark Twain or O. Henry or Lardner or even Dickens! by Comparison, the detective Element in Rex Stout’s Work is rather thin; and if I nevertheless prefer Stout’s Novels even to Agatha Christie’s superbly plotted Yarns – this is the best Proof that Rex Stout is not at all primarily a Writer of “detective / Mystery Fiction”!!!!!
14 instead, Archie got a Guffaw from me: out loud in this lonely Room, of course!
15 cf. prec.!
16 i. e., about Detectives
17 (!)
18 by now it’s absolutely clear that Fer-de-Lance is one of Rex Stout’s greatest Masterpieces!!!!! and again I must stress that Stout’s Merit does not lie exclusively, or even primarily, in the Sphere of “detective” or “Mystery Fiction” – but in his complete Mastery of the humorous Element!!!!! (on this, see Note #13, above!!) it’s almost miraculous what Rex Stout was able to pull off here in Fer-de-Lance: it’s his very first Nero Wolfe Novel – thirty-two others (!!!) were to follow, though Stout only wrote this one at the Age of 48 – but the literary Quality of it has been, to an amazing Degree, constant from Page 1 until this very Page 115!!!! Fer-de-Lance has been, so far, almost nothing except an uninterrupted Series of classic, unforgettable Episodes!!!!!
19 cf. penult.!
20 this, along with the preceding §, are excellent Examples of the Usage of the metaphorical Device of Personification
21 i. e., over Worry (cf. penultimate)
22 this shows that even Stout did make Improvements along the Way as he went writing his thirty-four (or was it thirty-three??) Nero Wolfe Novels: we can see that here, in Fer-de-Lance, the very first Novel, Nero Wolfe’s Office isn’t soundproofed yet – although, of course, this Fact is one of the best-known distinguishing Characteristics of Wolfe’s Establishment!!! an even more characteristic Feature is the one-Way Glass Panel at Wolfe’s front Door – yet this, too, is missing in Fer-de-Lance: Archie has to open the Door to a Crack every Time he wants to see who rings the Bell!!!! also, in this Novel Archie is taking down Notes in his Notebook while gathering Information in personal Interviews, instead of relying on his flawless Memory – this he consistently does in later Novels. – therefore we see from all this that, although Fer-de-Lance is perfect from the literary Point of View (as Walter D. Edmonds correctly observed!!) – still there were Technicalities to improve in the Novels shortly to follow the present Masterpiece.
25 [note: the word “Killer” in this Footnote does not refer to the Murder investigated in FDL] i. e., to open up, at long last!! that, of course, is the only Reason why Wolfe has been wheedling this Killer into reminiscing, all the Way back throughout the magnificent preceding §!!!
26 indeed!! (cf. the Discussion of Injuries in prec. §)
27 >> this is one of Stout’s customary Jabs at formal(istic) Education
29 ha, ha!! (a grim Laugh from me here; see Note #31)
30 cf. the Discussion of Injuries in prec. §
31 observe how adroitly Wolfe keeps to Holzheu’s conversational Device: he always lets his Voice drop at the End of each of his Remarks, instead of asking directly!!!! these Kinds of Statements are, according to Holzheu and many other Psychologists, the most effective Means of prompting someone into talking about themselves – far more so than direct Questions!!!!! (if only I, too, ever had the Nerve to practice this!!!)
32 [later:] »The boy’s name was Manuel, and that had been my friend’s name; I had suggested naming him after my friend.«
33 cf. Wolfe's Offer in prec.!
34 cf. prec.
35 cf. penult.
36 >> these hilarious Images show Rex Stout in what really is his main Métier: humorous Prose, not “detective Fiction” or “Murder Mysteries”!!!!!
37 cf. prec.
38 i. e., Goodwin and Stout value Spontaneity over all. cf. Walt Whitman’s “spontaneous Me”!!
39 cf. penult.
spoiler: click here if you don’t mind learning the name of the murderer in Fer-de-Lance
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