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Nero Wolfe of West Thirty-fifth Street: The Life and Times of America's Largest Private Detective
Excellent Book
202 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 1969
About the author
William S. Baring-Gould
21 books19 followersWilliam Stuart Baring-Gould (1913–1967) was a noted Sherlock Holmes scholar, best known as the author of the influential 1962 fictional biography, Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A life of the world's first consulting detective.
He was creative director of Time magazine's circulation and corporate education departments from 1937 until his death. His paternal grandfather was Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould.
He was creative director of Time magazine's circulation and corporate education departments from 1937 until his death. His paternal grandfather was Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 24, 2020
A book that explores the history and background of the fictional detective Nero Wolfe. It goes in depth on Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe, and all of their friends, and their various cases.
These sorts of books used to be pretty popular, but not anymore.
These sorts of books used to be pretty popular, but not anymore.
November 18, 2025
2.75/5
I had some fun with this but ultimately it was a bit disappointing. I was hoping for a full blown fictional biography but instead this felt like a halfassed puff piece for a magazine article.
I had some fun with this but ultimately it was a bit disappointing. I was hoping for a full blown fictional biography but instead this felt like a halfassed puff piece for a magazine article.
September 4, 2017
Useful and diverting "biography" of Nero Wolfe. The Wolfe stories are more consistent and high quality than the complete Sherlock Holmes, but that doesn't mean that they contain enough for a bio. Baring-Gould has fun and makes a few "shocking" claims--but really this is a meditation on excellence and a great source of info on the stories you may have missed. Extra points for the map of Wolfe's house.
Not for anyone who hasn't read the Nero Wolfe books. Most if not all of them.
Not for anyone who hasn't read the Nero Wolfe books. Most if not all of them.
June 15, 2011
Merely mediocre. It's nice to have the data from all the Nero Wolfe stories collected in one volume (well, all the stories published prior to 1969, that is--Death of a Dude, Please Pass the Guilt, and the rather dark A Family Affair came later and are not included here). I particularly appreciated the chronology (presented concisely in an appendix of sorts, and rather unnecessarily in text form in chapters 12 through 26). I read the books as they came my way, and never really got much of an idea of their proper chronological order. I expect that I will refer to the chronology often in future re-reading of the Nero Wolfe mysteries.
I also appreciated the map of the ground floor of the brownstone--I'd always pictured the office and front room to the right of the front door, and was grateful to have my misconception corrected.
Baring-Gould also includes descriptions of all of the main and repeat supporting players. However, he offers nothing new or insightful--his descriptions consist entirely of quotes and excerpts lifted directly from the text. Which is all well and good from an accuracy standpoint, but doesn't make for exciting reading. I suppose I was hoping for more of an analysis of the characters than a mere recitation of their appearances in the books and a parroting of Stout's own descriptions.
This unwillingness to expound on Stout's writing is particularly surprising in light of the fanciful and foundationless theories Baring-Gould offers regarding Wolfe's ancestry. Much emphasis is placed upon the conflicting dates and biographical details in the various stories. And perhaps this was deliberate obfuscation to hide Wolfe's unusual familial connections. However, since Baring-Gould himself admits that Stout usually cranked out a new story in 35-40 days, and in an era long before computers made the text of previous books readily searchable, it is much more likely that these inconsistencies are mere continuity errors--particularly since they so often concern minor details and dates. Baring-Gould uses these discrepancies to build an entire (and unlikely) history based merely on the fact that it "could have happened." No actual evidence is offered.
For example, much is made of the similarities between Wolfe and Sherlock Holmes--the assistant as narrator, the genius for crime-solving, the idiosyncrasies . . . yet it is far more likely that Stout wrote in such a way as to honor and to some degree imitate a classic character he loved (and a set-up that he saw worked well), than it is that he intended his stories to be connected to Holmes in a direct sense or to share a fictional universe with Holmes.
I think I would have preferred more critical analysis of the facts and characters we do see and fewer efforts to create an utterly preposterous backstory for Wolfe and Archie. Still, it has merits as a reference book, so it's not a complete waste.
[NOTE: My copy, which was purchased from a used bookstore, bears a stamp reading "U.S. Air Force" and another identifying it as having belonged to the library of a former U.S. Congressman. This is why I love used books.]
I also appreciated the map of the ground floor of the brownstone--I'd always pictured the office and front room to the right of the front door, and was grateful to have my misconception corrected.
Baring-Gould also includes descriptions of all of the main and repeat supporting players. However, he offers nothing new or insightful--his descriptions consist entirely of quotes and excerpts lifted directly from the text. Which is all well and good from an accuracy standpoint, but doesn't make for exciting reading. I suppose I was hoping for more of an analysis of the characters than a mere recitation of their appearances in the books and a parroting of Stout's own descriptions.
This unwillingness to expound on Stout's writing is particularly surprising in light of the fanciful and foundationless theories Baring-Gould offers regarding Wolfe's ancestry. Much emphasis is placed upon the conflicting dates and biographical details in the various stories. And perhaps this was deliberate obfuscation to hide Wolfe's unusual familial connections. However, since Baring-Gould himself admits that Stout usually cranked out a new story in 35-40 days, and in an era long before computers made the text of previous books readily searchable, it is much more likely that these inconsistencies are mere continuity errors--particularly since they so often concern minor details and dates. Baring-Gould uses these discrepancies to build an entire (and unlikely) history based merely on the fact that it "could have happened." No actual evidence is offered.
For example, much is made of the similarities between Wolfe and Sherlock Holmes--the assistant as narrator, the genius for crime-solving, the idiosyncrasies . . . yet it is far more likely that Stout wrote in such a way as to honor and to some degree imitate a classic character he loved (and a set-up that he saw worked well), than it is that he intended his stories to be connected to Holmes in a direct sense or to share a fictional universe with Holmes.
I think I would have preferred more critical analysis of the facts and characters we do see and fewer efforts to create an utterly preposterous backstory for Wolfe and Archie. Still, it has merits as a reference book, so it's not a complete waste.
[NOTE: My copy, which was purchased from a used bookstore, bears a stamp reading "U.S. Air Force" and another identifying it as having belonged to the library of a former U.S. Congressman. This is why I love used books.]
April 30, 2020
Rilettura di questo saggio sul grande Nero Wolfe, incluso nel cofanetto dell'Omnibus Gialli "L'eccellentissimo Nero Wolfe". Praticamente la Bibbia per chi vuol sapere tutto su Wolfe, dalle sue vere origini ai suoi presunti genitori eccellenti, a tutti i casi risolti da lui e dal suo braccio destro Archie Goodwin. E, come ogni volta che leggo un saggio sul giallo, mi verrebbe voglia di leggere o rileggere tutti i titoli citati nel libro.
August 14, 2018
I had higher hopes for this book. I have stumbled on the Nero Wolfe series as done by Rex Stout and this was one of the books that was highly recommended that one get to better understand the background of the character if I couldn't find all the 70 different published items on the characters of Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin and the rest of the stock characters that was standard in a Nero Wolfe mystery.
However, in reading this book I got thru the first chapter and was left flat with what seems like a longer version of a fanzine article about who Nero Wolfe is and what his true background was, the supposed clues that make him a was weak and at times desperate based on the contradictory information that is presented in some of the books written up to when this book was published. After walking thru the life line of Archie Goodwin and again presenting views of all the other stock characters. That is where the meat of the book was for me and where I started to lose it with the author is everything after the "life and times" of the characters. A third of the book is chapters that attempt to summarize via a timeline all the published works with what happened in-between the major cases. The last 20 percent of the books was for sure filler, with a short chapter (<10pgs) on quotes by Wolfe on subjects taken from the published novels, what Wolfe does fiscally, what and how he eats (again a short chapter), something on orchids and finally another timeline with dates of when events such as births, wars and the stories occur up to again the published date of 1969.
If you are a completest for Nero Wolfe like articles, then hunt this book down. If you are just someone who enjoys the novels and doesn't really care about timelines, character background, etc. Avoid the expense of trying to find this book. I had to pick it up on eBay to find a copy and then I don't think it was worth it based on what I spent on it.
However, in reading this book I got thru the first chapter and was left flat with what seems like a longer version of a fanzine article about who Nero Wolfe is and what his true background was, the supposed clues that make him a was weak and at times desperate based on the contradictory information that is presented in some of the books written up to when this book was published. After walking thru the life line of Archie Goodwin and again presenting views of all the other stock characters. That is where the meat of the book was for me and where I started to lose it with the author is everything after the "life and times" of the characters. A third of the book is chapters that attempt to summarize via a timeline all the published works with what happened in-between the major cases. The last 20 percent of the books was for sure filler, with a short chapter (<10pgs) on quotes by Wolfe on subjects taken from the published novels, what Wolfe does fiscally, what and how he eats (again a short chapter), something on orchids and finally another timeline with dates of when events such as births, wars and the stories occur up to again the published date of 1969.
If you are a completest for Nero Wolfe like articles, then hunt this book down. If you are just someone who enjoys the novels and doesn't really care about timelines, character background, etc. Avoid the expense of trying to find this book. I had to pick it up on eBay to find a copy and then I don't think it was worth it based on what I spent on it.
January 6, 2018
Good overview of Rex Stout's series with excerpts from the world of the great Nero Wolfe.
February 16, 2019
This is a fantastic introduction to the character, Nero Wolfe. I can't wait to find the mysteries, to start reading them.
June 5, 2015
I really wanted to love this book, but like many of the later musical comedy films, it suffers from a very noticeable seam down the middle. In the first half, talking about the house itself and its residents and how they spend their time, well and good (though really you can get that just by reading the stories). But then the author goes off on a wierd tangent regarding Wolfe and Archie's possible parentage and relationship. Instead of just saying, as Anne Hart does in her The Life and Times of Hercule Poirot, "Oh look, the author seems to have forgotten what he wrote in 1936, as in 1955 he says something completely different, how interesting!" little William busts a gut trying to force all the pieces to fit together. Which is ridiculous. No one twits Alexander McCall Smith for forgetting that in the first installment of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency he said that Grace Makutsi was a widow, only to repeatedly state in later volumes that she has never even had a boyfriend. It's called character development, Willy boy. Then, to top it off, BG here decides to postulate a rather ridiculous theory: that Wolfe's parents were Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler, and that somehow Wolfe and Marco Vuckic managed to be twins, or at least brothers. He also really, really wanted to suggest that Wolfe was actually Archie's father--but not even he has the face for that.
After that exploit, the reader is expected to sit through several chapters of poorly-written precis of alll of the novels and stories up to the date of the book's publication. The "best" part about this section are the "clever" chapter titles sarcasm. Heavy, heavy sarcasm.
Unfortunately, a potentially good read gone wrong. Both the author and Stout were apparently members of the Baker Street Irregulars, but Stout had the grace to leave The Master in peace. I wish Baring Gould could have accorded his mentor the same privilege.
After that exploit, the reader is expected to sit through several chapters of poorly-written precis of alll of the novels and stories up to the date of the book's publication. The "best" part about this section are the "clever" chapter titles sarcasm. Heavy, heavy sarcasm.
Unfortunately, a potentially good read gone wrong. Both the author and Stout were apparently members of the Baker Street Irregulars, but Stout had the grace to leave The Master in peace. I wish Baring Gould could have accorded his mentor the same privilege.
May 20, 2023
I'm a big fan of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories. So I was thrilled when I stumbled over this book while exploring the stacks at the main branch of the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, But I have mixed feelings about this book. The first third and the last few chapters are very good, but the middle portions are not.
The first part of the book has a number of chapters on Nero Wolfe's habits, his home, his associates, and so on. We get chapters on Archie as well as on Saul and the other detectives who work for Wolfe. There are chapters on the NYC police, on Wolfe's home, and on other aspects of how Wolfe operates.
The last few chapters discuss Wolfe's philosophy, his favorite books, his favorite foods, orchids, and his finances. All this is fascinating to fans of Rex Stout's great detective.
But the middle of the book, dealing with Wolfe's cases, is nothing but chapter after chapter of short, spoiler-free descriptions of Wolfe's cases. Often the descriptions sound like they could be turned into back-cover descriptions for the book they are discussing. The lack of detail makes it all rather tedious.
I'd still recommend this to Nero Wolfe fans, but might decide to just skim the middle section.
The first part of the book has a number of chapters on Nero Wolfe's habits, his home, his associates, and so on. We get chapters on Archie as well as on Saul and the other detectives who work for Wolfe. There are chapters on the NYC police, on Wolfe's home, and on other aspects of how Wolfe operates.
The last few chapters discuss Wolfe's philosophy, his favorite books, his favorite foods, orchids, and his finances. All this is fascinating to fans of Rex Stout's great detective.
But the middle of the book, dealing with Wolfe's cases, is nothing but chapter after chapter of short, spoiler-free descriptions of Wolfe's cases. Often the descriptions sound like they could be turned into back-cover descriptions for the book they are discussing. The lack of detail makes it all rather tedious.
I'd still recommend this to Nero Wolfe fans, but might decide to just skim the middle section.
May 2, 2010
As a dedicated Nero Wolfe buff, I expected more from this book than it delivered..........that is not to say that it wasn't interesting because it was. The major fault is that a recap of each story is repetitive and not necessary for the fan since most people reading this book would have already read all or most of the Wolfe stories However, the rest of the book is fascinating and the hypothesis that Wolfe and his twin brother Marko who appears in the books as his best friend and owner of Rustermann's Restaurant, are the offspring of Sherlock Homes and "the woman" Irene Adler...........and that somewhere along the way Archie Goodwin is either Wolfe's son or nephew. What fun!!!!!
I may be wrong but I believe that the blueprint of Wolfe's brownstone which is included, is also incorrect.......but I'm not quibbling. It's a great read for the Wolfe fan and even though out of print can still be found at a reasonable price.
I may be wrong but I believe that the blueprint of Wolfe's brownstone which is included, is also incorrect.......but I'm not quibbling. It's a great read for the Wolfe fan and even though out of print can still be found at a reasonable price.
January 6, 2015
A biography of America's largest detective weighing in at one-seventh of a ton...Mr. Nero Wolfe. A nice summation of what can be known about Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin based on what is revealed in the novels and short stories. I was not impressed with the chapter on Wolfe's parentage. I was very much impressed with the section which summarizes the stories to date (1968) because they really set the scene without giving away any of the surprises. You can learn all about Wolfe's orchids, the layout of his house, the types of food he eats, and the various people who work for him.
Highly skim-able with lots of hidden information.
Highly skim-able with lots of hidden information.
March 11, 2008
A great book for Nero Wolfe fans. The author collects some wonderful Wolfe quotes of all time, includes a diagram of the brownstone and a chronology of the series. I plan to use the chronology to help me read all the books in the series I haven't read. The chronolgy is not complete since Stout kept writing after this book was published, but it's pretty close.
I LOVE Nero Wolfe by the way. The Nero-Archie relationship is so much fun to read, and Wolfe is so good with words and so satisifyingly eccentric I can't get enough. Any fan of Nero Wolfe would enjoy this book.
I LOVE Nero Wolfe by the way. The Nero-Archie relationship is so much fun to read, and Wolfe is so good with words and so satisifyingly eccentric I can't get enough. Any fan of Nero Wolfe would enjoy this book.
May 19, 2015
Park of me thinks that the only reason I rated this book so low is because of the unreachable goal I create for anything involving Stouts work.
Coming in to this book already a fan it saddened me to find it so dry and hard to get through. My favorite parts were the chapter about Wolfe's parents. The Philosophy of Nero Wolfe, and a Chronology of Nero Wolfe.
The stories of Wolfe and Goodwin have also continued since the publication of this book.
Just overall left a little disappointed.
Coming in to this book already a fan it saddened me to find it so dry and hard to get through. My favorite parts were the chapter about Wolfe's parents. The Philosophy of Nero Wolfe, and a Chronology of Nero Wolfe.
The stories of Wolfe and Goodwin have also continued since the publication of this book.
Just overall left a little disappointed.
January 7, 2012
The only complaint I have about this book—about this issue at least—is that it was published in 1969, before Rex Stout had written his last Nero Wolfe novel (and of course before Robert Goldsborough continued Wolfe’s saga); so it’s effectively incomplete. Otherwise great!
Want to Read
November 3, 2019Synopsis: a biography of America's favourite home-grown detective, Nero Wolfe. Includes the same for Archie and Fitz.
April 5, 2017
I remember reading William S. Baring-Gould's Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street long ago and far away and being very impressed with it. So, when I came across a similar book purporting to give all the details on Nero Wolfe, his home, members of his household, and his cases, I naturally expected to be similarly impressed. Of course, it's 30-some years later and I'm a different person from the teenager who read the first book. That might explain my disappointment. It's also possible that Baring-Gould, who was known as a noted Holmes scholar, may not have been quite so invested in the story of America's largest private eye. Either way--I wasn't nearly as interested in this book as I remember being in the Holmes "biography."
I was not particularly convinced by his "evidence" explaining Wolfe's parentage. I was even less convinced at the connections he tried to make between Archie Goodwin and Wolfe. The first section of the book which gives the details on Wolfe's background (separate from the parentage speculations) and the description of life in the brownstone home and its inhabitants as well as recurring characters in the stories was quite good and informative. Though all the information is readily available in the novels, it's nice to have it summed up all in one place. The chronology at the back which lists all novels and stories up to 1969 is also helpful. Less so are the flights of fancy about parentage and the synopses of books. While you can't accuse Baring-Gould of spoiling any of the stories by revealing too much, there are numerous synopses which tell barely anything about the story at all.
This is a decent reference book for those interested in the Nero Wolfe stories. But not quite as interesting or impressive as I expected from Baring-Gould.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
I was not particularly convinced by his "evidence" explaining Wolfe's parentage. I was even less convinced at the connections he tried to make between Archie Goodwin and Wolfe. The first section of the book which gives the details on Wolfe's background (separate from the parentage speculations) and the description of life in the brownstone home and its inhabitants as well as recurring characters in the stories was quite good and informative. Though all the information is readily available in the novels, it's nice to have it summed up all in one place. The chronology at the back which lists all novels and stories up to 1969 is also helpful. Less so are the flights of fancy about parentage and the synopses of books. While you can't accuse Baring-Gould of spoiling any of the stories by revealing too much, there are numerous synopses which tell barely anything about the story at all.
This is a decent reference book for those interested in the Nero Wolfe stories. But not quite as interesting or impressive as I expected from Baring-Gould.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews