By Thomas F. Schwartz The movie Forrest Gump features Tom Hanks uttering the famous line: “Life is like a box of chocolates…You never know what you’re gonna get.” If the screen writer were mystery author Anthony Berkeley, it might be The Poisoned Chocolates Case. The French philosopher Voltaire posited, “The perfect is the enemy of … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers Part XI: Life is a Box of Chocolates
By Thomas F. Schwartz The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum opened a new exhibit, Hoover 150: A Birthday Celebration, that runs until the end of the year. The exhibit features highlights of birthdays of both Lou and Herbert Hoover throughout their lives. A humorous recollection by Ellanor Lawrence, wife of journalist David Lawrence, describes some birthdays … Continue reading What do you get Mr. Hoover for his birthday?
By Thomas F. Schwartz Frederick G. Eberhard and Mignon G. Eberhart are not related but have a common connection. Both wrote mysteries that featured doctors and nurses as the main characters. Little is known about Frederick G. Eberhard, other than he was a physician in real life and used his knowledge of science and human … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers Part IX: Doctors and Nurses
By Thomas F. Schwartz Two English mystery writers whose works were on the shelves at Camp Rapidan were Robin Forsythe and Freeman Wills Crofts. Both were born in 1879, Forsythe in Punjab, British India now Pakistan and Crofts in Dublin, Ireland. Both were popular during the “Golden Age” of detective fiction, roughly the two decades of 1920 … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part VII
By Thomas F. Schwartz Two titles on the shelves at Camp Rapidan were authors considered the best writers of the mystery genre: Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, often claimed to be the best mystery novel written by Christie, and The Omnibus of Crime, edited by Dorothy L. Sayers, offer interesting … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part VI
By Thomas F. Schwartz Carolyn Wells was born on June 18, 1862, in Rahway, New Jersey. She worked as a librarian after completing her education, accounting for her interest in books and writing. Her marriage to Hadwin Houghton, heir to the publishing house Houghton-Mifflin, provided an additional tie to the book world. Author of 170 books, … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part V, Carolyn Wells Houghton
By Thomas F. Schwartz Lawrence Saunders (a pseudonym for the married couple John Burton Davis and Clare Ogden Davis, not the Lawrence Saunders of The Anderson Tapes) and Harry Stephen Keeler are relatively unknown today but were rather well-known mystery writers in their day. The Columnist Murder (1931) was dedicated to Walter Winchell, the infamous gossip … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part IV
A group sits inside the President's cabin at Camp Rapidan. Lou Henry Hoover is seen on the left knitting. By Thomas F. Schwartz Many of the leading mystery writers of the era were English and tended to place murder settings in country manors. Class status, a pronounced feature of British society up to and beyond World … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part III
August 20, 1932: President Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover and Weegie relaxing at Rapidan Camp. By Thomas F. Schwartz How do we know what mystery writers were read by the Hoovers and available for visitors to Camp Rapidan? There are two boxes of 3x5” cards with the names of the author, title, and location of the … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part II
Lou Henry Hoover and Herbert Hoover sitting and reading at Camp Rapidan. (31-1930-70) By Thomas F. Schwartz A previous blog post described the friendship the Hoover’s shared with mystery writer Mary Roberts Rinehart. A review of the books they owned and provided for guests at Camp Rapidan shows a number of leading mystery writers that … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part I
