Nice interview with Cayce. She did a Guppies MS Swap critique for me that was very helpful.
Ah, the early 1970s. Height of the Civil Rights Movement and the Anti-[Vietnam] War movement. Not just the Mad-town bombings but also the Kent State Shootings, where National Guard troops opened fire on students protesting Nixon war actions, killing several. My ex-wife is from Madison, and her father had some connection to the bombing—if I remember right, an office near the building.
I started grad school fall of 1966. I always said I could tell who was in the 1967 group by just looking at them—styles and fashions changed so rapidly. I started teaching in 1970, and things were soon changing again. By the end of the 1970s, the neo-conservative backlash had begun, and Jimmy Carter was struggling through his one term, with Reagan about to win the 1980 election by a true landslide, 489-49 in the Electoral College. (Note to Trump: that’s was a real “mandate” looks like.) By the end of the seventies, humanities were out, and business courses were in. In 1987, the movie _Wall Street_ popularized the line, “Greed is good.”
I’m reading the last of the Nero Wolfe stories, _A Family Affair_, published in 1975. I just finished _Fer-de-lance_, Stout’s first Wolfe novel, published in 1934, and thought it would be interesting to “bookend” his oeuvre. Stout doesn’t shrink from commenting on current events, despite writing popular genre fiction. According to Archie, Wolfe knew everything about Watergate. And one of the novel’s characters had a book shelf loaded with Betty Friedan and Simone de Beauvoir books.
Sorry for late reply. I don’t look at Substack very often. I’d start with the beginning, Fer-de-Lance. The others can be read in pretty much any order, since, while the world around Nero and Archie changes, they don’t—which makes for interesting insights into various epics in 20th c history, the novels having appeared over a 40 year span. Leave A Family Affair for late, since it works better if you’re reasonably acquainted with the characters.
In the Intro to _A Family Affair_, Thomas Gifford says "you should build up to" this book, since it represents a break of a sort which benefits from knowing what the norm has been. Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin and the house and the staff don't change over forty years, but the world around them does and, as I noted, they interact with the world as it exists at the time a particular novel is set.
I'd say, start with _Fer-de-Lance_ (arguably the world's most dangerous snake), the first one in the series. Beyond that you can go to whatever vol happens to be available, probably saving _A Family Affair_ for last.
Great post, Meredith and Cayce. I worked as a high-school science teacher for two decades and did quite a bit of work on science literacy with the DOE and some outside organizations (like the National Writing Project). It is inspiring work. Cayce, does your science knowledge inform your writing plots, etc.?
Thanks for commenting, Pamela! My science literacy is lacking, I'm afraid, but that's not the fault of my high school biology teacher (who was excellent) or human anatomy teacher (who was in her first year of teaching) or any of my college professors; I just didn't care for science and didn't bother to learn the material beyond what was necessary for an A. Now I regret that, and I'm trying to fill in some of the gaps in my education.
Hey Meredith,
Nice interview with Cayce. She did a Guppies MS Swap critique for me that was very helpful.
Ah, the early 1970s. Height of the Civil Rights Movement and the Anti-[Vietnam] War movement. Not just the Mad-town bombings but also the Kent State Shootings, where National Guard troops opened fire on students protesting Nixon war actions, killing several. My ex-wife is from Madison, and her father had some connection to the bombing—if I remember right, an office near the building.
I started grad school fall of 1966. I always said I could tell who was in the 1967 group by just looking at them—styles and fashions changed so rapidly. I started teaching in 1970, and things were soon changing again. By the end of the 1970s, the neo-conservative backlash had begun, and Jimmy Carter was struggling through his one term, with Reagan about to win the 1980 election by a true landslide, 489-49 in the Electoral College. (Note to Trump: that’s was a real “mandate” looks like.) By the end of the seventies, humanities were out, and business courses were in. In 1987, the movie _Wall Street_ popularized the line, “Greed is good.”
I’m reading the last of the Nero Wolfe stories, _A Family Affair_, published in 1975. I just finished _Fer-de-lance_, Stout’s first Wolfe novel, published in 1934, and thought it would be interesting to “bookend” his oeuvre. Stout doesn’t shrink from commenting on current events, despite writing popular genre fiction. According to Archie, Wolfe knew everything about Watergate. And one of the novel’s characters had a book shelf loaded with Betty Friedan and Simone de Beauvoir books.
Thank you for sharing, Eric. This is fascinating stuff!
I haven't read any of the Nero Wolfe series. Where should I start?
Sorry for late reply. I don’t look at Substack very often. I’d start with the beginning, Fer-de-Lance. The others can be read in pretty much any order, since, while the world around Nero and Archie changes, they don’t—which makes for interesting insights into various epics in 20th c history, the novels having appeared over a 40 year span. Leave A Family Affair for late, since it works better if you’re reasonably acquainted with the characters.
In the Intro to _A Family Affair_, Thomas Gifford says "you should build up to" this book, since it represents a break of a sort which benefits from knowing what the norm has been. Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin and the house and the staff don't change over forty years, but the world around them does and, as I noted, they interact with the world as it exists at the time a particular novel is set.
I'd say, start with _Fer-de-Lance_ (arguably the world's most dangerous snake), the first one in the series. Beyond that you can go to whatever vol happens to be available, probably saving _A Family Affair_ for last.
Great post, Meredith and Cayce. I worked as a high-school science teacher for two decades and did quite a bit of work on science literacy with the DOE and some outside organizations (like the National Writing Project). It is inspiring work. Cayce, does your science knowledge inform your writing plots, etc.?
Best of luck with I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.
Thanks for commenting, Pamela! My science literacy is lacking, I'm afraid, but that's not the fault of my high school biology teacher (who was excellent) or human anatomy teacher (who was in her first year of teaching) or any of my college professors; I just didn't care for science and didn't bother to learn the material beyond what was necessary for an A. Now I regret that, and I'm trying to fill in some of the gaps in my education.