The Tragedy of Errors

he Tragedy of Errors and Others (1999) In honor of the seventieth anniversary of the first Ellery Queen novel, Crippen & Landru is proud to publish the first completely new Ellery Queen book in almost thirty years. The Tragedy of Errors is the lengthy and detailed plot outline for the final, but never published EQ novel, containing all the hallmarks of the greatest Queen stories - the dying message, the succession of false solutions before the astonishing truth is revealed, and scrupulous fair play to the reader. And the theme is one that Queen had been developing for many years: the manipulation of events in a world going mad by someone who aspires to the power of gods.

	Left: cover paperback/dustcover for cloth edition, Crippen & Landru, 1999 (cover design Deborah Miller). The limited edition had 250 numbered copies in cloth with a separately printed pamphlet reproducing original manuscript and typescript pages, in reduced size of The Tragedy of Errors. *

On the 70th anniversary of the release of The Roman Hat Mystery in 1999, the plot outline for The Tragedy of Errors was released. When Manfred Lee died in April, 1971 "Fred Dannay has announced that he will carry on with *Ellery Queen* and has told me that most of the plot outline of Ellery's next case had been worked out prior to Lee's death. But his own poor health, his full time editorial and anthological duties, and the death of his own wife in the summer of 1972, have resulted in a long delay between novels. How much longer only time will tell." (Royal Bloodline Francis Nevins, Jr.)
Never before published: Frederic Dannay's last complete plot outline/summary of a Queen mystery to be written by his cousin, Manfred B. Lee, the other half of the "Queen" partnership. Lee's death prevented the book from ever being completed. This beautifully made 222-page book, of which some 250 numbered copies sewn in cloth were made, includes critical reflections on Queen's work by a host of mystery writers. Also included is a separate pamphlet of selected facsimile pages of Dannay's first draft of Tragedy of Errors, heavily edited and annotated by the author, illustrating the EQ creative process at work.
The Tragedy of Errors and Others also contains the six hitherto uncollected Ellery Queen short stories, and a section of essays, tributes, and reminisces of Ellery Queen, written by family members, friends, and some of the finest mystery writers. Even a section on Ellery Queen in comic books was included. As where six short stories that had so far been uncollected.
"Terror Town" (from Argosy, 8/56; also called "The Motive" in EQMM) "Uncle from Australia" (from Diner's Club, 6/65 and EQMM 11/67) "Wedding Anniversary" (from EQMM, 9/67 and 10/99) "The Three Students" (from Playboy, March 1971) "The Odd Man" (from Playboy, June 1971) "The Honest Swindler" (from The Saturday Evening Post, Summer 1971) "The Reindeer Clue" (from National Enquirer, December 23. 1975) Note: Prior to publication the C&L site mentioned a subtitle for the book: The Lost Stories of Ellery Queen
Included are three cases for something Ellery Queen called "The Puzzle Club". There were five Puzzle Club stories in all. The three collected in Tragedy of Errors were first published in 1971, “The Three Students” and “The Odd Man” in Playboy and “The Honest Swindler” in The Saturday Evening Post. (The other two were older, first published in 1965 — “The Little Spy” in Cavalier and “The President Regrets” in Diners’ Club Magazine — and reprinted in 1968 in Q.E.D.: Queen’s Experiments in Detection.)
"Terror Town" was made into an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: "Terror at Northfield" (1963). "Wedding Anniversary" was reprinted in a special issue (70th birthday of The Roman Hat Mystery) of EQMM



The Tragedy of Errors: Japanse:
Other articles on this book (1) Reading Ellery Queen - Tragedy of Errors Jon Mathewson (2) Reading Ellery Queen - Uncle form Australia Jon Mathewson (3) Reading Ellery Queen - Wedding Anniversary Jon Mathewson (4) Reading Ellery Queen - The Honest Swindler Jon Mathewson (5) Reading Ellery Queen - The Odd Man Jon Mathewson (6) Reading Ellery Queen - The Three Students Jon Mathewson (7) Reading Ellery Queen - Terror Town Jon Mathewson

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