Isabel Egenton Ostrander (1883–1924) was an American mystery writer of the early twentieth century who used her own name and the pseudonyms Robert Orr Chipperfield, David Fox, and Douglas Grant. Christopher B. Booth is falsely credited as a pseudonym of hers.[1][2]
Isabel Ostrander | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Isabel Egenton Ostrander 1883 |
| Died | 1924 (aged 40–41) |
Early life
editShe was born in New York City to Thomas E Ostrander and Harriet Elizabeth Bradbrook. Her Ostrander pedigree goes back to seventeenth-century Kingston, New York.
First Blind Detective
editIn the discussions of which writer invented the blind detective, Ostrander is one of the candidates.[3]
The first book publication of her Damon Gaunt is a 1915 novel At One-Thirty, but there might be a misplaced earlier short story: periodical publication of many mystery short story writers is often lost or partial. For example, blind detective Thornley Colton appeared in some short stories in People's Ideal Fiction Magazine in early 1913 that weren't collected in book form until 1915, while Max Carrados by Ernest Bramah reached the periodicals in 1913, but anthologization in 1914. In no case is bibliography complete for periodicals, and either might be the first, though Max Carrados was the first in book publication.
Agatha Christie parodies
editIn the 1920s, Ostrander was notable enough that Agatha Christie parodied Ostrander's work in Christie's Tommy and Tuppence short stories, anthologized in Partners in Crime. We find Tommy and Tuppence modeling their detective skills after Ostrander's characters, ex-Roundsman[4] Tim McCarty and his friend Dennis Riordan.[citation needed]
Personal life
editOstrander married songwriter Arthur J. Lamb in June 1907[5] and filed for divorce 11 months later.[6]
Ostrander died of heart disease in Long Beach, NY, on April 26, 1924.[7]
Works
edit
- "The One Who Knew," The All-Story, Oct, Nov, Christmas 1911, Jan, Feb 1912[8]
- "The Heritage of Cain," The Cavalier, Mar 30, Apr 6, Apr 13, Apr 20, Apr 27, May 4, May 11, 1912[9]
- "The Affair Across the Street," The Cavalier, Sep 13, Sep 20 1913
- "Eyes That Saw Not" [Damon Gaunt], The Cavalier, Feb 14, Feb 21, Feb 28, Mar 7 1914
- "The Man Who Died," All-Story Cavalier Weekly, Dec 12 1914
- At One-Thirty, a Damon Gaunt novel, Grosset, 1915[10]
- Ostrander, Isabel (1915). The Primal Law. Mitchell Kennerley – via Google Books.
- The Clue in the Air: A Detective Story. W. J. Watt & Co. 1917 – via Google Books.
- "The Crevice" [with William J. Burns], The Blue Book Magazine, Jan, May, Jun, Jul 1915[11]
- "Mystery of the Poison Pen," All-Story Weekly, May 5, May 12, 1917
- "Between Heaven and Earth," All-Story Weekly, Jun 9, Jul 7 1917
- "The Fifth Ace," The Argosy, Dec 15 1917 as Douglas Grant[12]
- "Suspense, " All-Story Weekly, Apr 6, Apr 13, Apr 20, Apr 27 1918[13]
- "Booty," The Argosy, Nov 16 1918 as Douglas Grant[14]
- The Island of Intrigue, novel, 1918, basis for the 1919 film, The Island of Intrigue[15]
- Ostrander, Isabel (1918). The Red Glove. Grosset & Dunlap., basis for the 1919 film serial, The Red Glove, directed by J. P. McGowan, written by Isabel Ostrander and Hope Loring
- "The Twenty-Six Clues", novel, Grosset & Dunlap, 1919,[4]
- "The Single Trace, Argosy, Sep 13 1919 as Douglas Grant
- Ostrander, Isabel (1919). The Single Track. Grosset & Dunlap – via Google Books.
- "Ashes to Ashes," All-Story Weekly, Sep 27, Oct 4, Oct 18, Oct 25, Nov 1 1919[16]
- "Anything Once," Argosy, Apr 10 1920 as Douglas Grant[17]
- "The Shadowers / 1: The Man Who Convicted Himself," All-Story Weekly, May 1, May 8, 1920 as David Fox.
- Unseen Hands. Robert M. McBride & Company. 1920 – via Google Books.
- "How Many Cards?," Argosy All-Story Weekly, Aug 7 1920[18]
- The Crimson Blotter. Robert M. McBride. 1921.
- The Man in the Jury Box. Robert M. McBride. 1921 – via Google Books.
- McCarty Incog. Robert M. McBride. 1922 – via Google Books.
- "Two-Gun Sue," Argosy All-Story Weekly, Mar 4 1922 as Douglas Grant
- "The Doom Dealer," Argosy All-Story Weekly, Mar 24 1923 as David Fox.[19]
- "Annihilation," Argosy All-Story Weekly, Nov 17, Nov 24, Dec 22, Dec 29 1923
- "Bright Lights," Argosy All-Story Weekly, Dec 22, Dec 29 1923 as Robert Orr Chipperfield
- "Liberation, " Argosy All-Story Weekly, Jul 19 1924[20]
- Ostrander, Isabel (1924). Dust to Dust. Robert M. McBride – via Google Books.
- Ostrander, Isabel (1925). The Neglected Clue. Robert M. McBride – via Google Books.
- Ostrander, Isabel (1925). Impulse. Hurst & Blackett – via Google Books.
- The Sleeping Cat, A. L. Burt, 1926. Coachwhip Publications, 2024.
- The Mathematics of Guilt, McBride, 1926
References
edit- ↑ "Christopher B. Booth, Mr. Clackworthy - FATAL KISS - Reviews by Steve Lewis". www.mysteryfile.com. 2005.
To point out that you can not always trust the Internet for factual information, some sites suggest that Christopher B. Booth was a pseudonym for Isabel Ostrander.
- ↑ Embden, Nico van. "Isabel Ostrander". www.xs4all.nl. Archived from the original on 2004-09-07. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
Isabel Egenton Ostrander also wrote under the pseudonyms 'Christopher B. Booth', ...
- ↑ "Scientific Detectives - by Michael e. Grost". Archived from the original on 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2012-07-02.
Isabel Ostrander also created the blind sleuth Damon Gaunt, who appeared in the pleasant-enough but fairly ordinary mystery novel 'At One-Thirty' (1915);
- 1 2 Ostrander, Isabel (1919). The Twenty-Six Clues. Grosset & Dunlap. Retrieved 24 May 2026 – via gutenberg.org.
- ↑ "In Haste to Wed Her Song Writer". New York Times. 8 June 1907.
- ↑ "A. J. Lamb Dies in Hospital". New York Times. 12 Aug 1928.
- ↑ "Isabel Ostrander; Author of Detective Stories, Used Four Pen Names". The New York Times. 27 April 1924. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ↑ "Ostrander, Isabel (Egenton) (1883-1924); see pseudonyms Robert Orr Chipperfield, David Fox & Douglas Grant (stories)". The FictionMags Index. Archived from the original on 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2012-07-02.
- ↑ Ostrander, Isabel (1916). The Heritage of Cain. W.J. Watt. Retrieved 24 May 2026 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Ostrander, Isabel (1915). At One-thirty: A Mystery. W.J. Watt. Retrieved 24 May 2026 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Burns, William J.; Ostrander, Isabel (1915). The Crevice. W.J. Watt – via Google Books.
- ↑ Ostrander, Isabel (1918). The Fifth Ace. W.J. Watt – via Google Books.
- ↑ Ostrander, Isabel (1918). Suspense. Robert M. McBride & Company. Retrieved 24 May 2026 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Grant, Douglas; Ostrander, Isabel (1919). Booty. W. J. Watt. Retrieved 24 May 2026 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Ostrander, Isabel (1918). Island of Intrigue. Robert M. McBride & Company. Retrieved 24 May 2026 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Ostrander, Isabel (1919). Ashes to Ashes. Robert M. McBride & Company – via Google Books.
- ↑ Ostrander, Isabel (1920). Anything Once. W.J. Watt. Retrieved 24 May 2026 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Ostrander, Isabel (1920). How Many Cards?. A. L. Burt. Retrieved 24 May 2026 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Ostrander, Isabel (1923). The Doom Dealer: An Exploit of The Shadowers, Inc. Robert M. McBride. Retrieved 24 May 2026 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Ostrander, Isabel (1924). Liberation. R. M. McBride – via Google Books.
External links
edit- Works by or about Isabel Egenton Ostrander at Wikisource
- Works by Isabel Ostrander at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Isabel Ostrander at the Internet Archive
- Works by Isabel Ostrander at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- inauthor:"Isabel Ostrander" - Google Books
