| 词条 | A Family Affair (novel) |
| 释义 |
| name = A Family Affair | title_orig = | translator = | image = Stout-AFA-1.jpg | caption = | author = Rex Stout | cover_artist = Mel Williamson | country = United States | language = English | series = Nero Wolfe | genre = Detective fiction | published = 1975 (Viking Press) | media_type = Print (Hardcover) | pages = 152 pp. (first edition) | isbn = 0-670-30611-8 | dewey= 813/.5/2 | congress= PZ3.S8894 Fam PS3537.T733 | oclc= 1364163 | preceded_by = Please Pass the Guilt | followed_by = Death Times Three }} A Family Affair is the last Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1975. The prolific author, who had penned more than 70 stories in the internationally successful Nero Wolfe series since 1934, died at the age of 88, less than six months after publication of this last book. Plot summaryA waiter at Rusterman's Restaurant turns up at Wolfe's front door late one night, claiming that a man is going to kill him. Shortly after Archie puts him in one of the spare bedrooms, the waiter dies when a bomb planted in his coat pocket explodes. Wolfe, outraged at the thought of such a violent act taking place in his own house, resolves to find the murderer without sharing any information with Inspector Cramer. Soon Wolfe and Archie find themselves investigating two additional murders: the earlier killing of a customer at Rusterman's, and the subsequent death of the waiter's daughter. For much of the story, Stout leads the reader to believe that the central murder mystery is related to the Watergate scandal. Ultimately, Wolfe discovers that the killer is one of his closest associates, a character who had been appearing in Nero Wolfe mysteries for over forty years. A Family Affair is an unusual Nero Wolfe mystery in that Archie reveals his (correct) opinion of the killer's identity well before Wolfe does so in the closing chapters. Reviews and commentaryTime reviewer J.F. Powers gave the book a favorable review, indicating that "even veteran aficionados will be hypnotized by this witty, complex mystery."[1]Publication history
In his limited-edition pamphlet, Collecting Mystery Fiction #10, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part II, Otto Penzler describes the first edition of A Family Affair: "Blue boards, black cloth spine; front and rear covers blank; spine stamped with gold and blue foil. Issued in a mainly black dust wrapper."[3] In April 2006, Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine estimated that the first edition of A Family Affair had a value of between $60 and $100. The estimate is for a copy in very good to fine condition in a like dustjacket.[4]
The far less valuable Viking book club edition may be distinguished from the first edition in three ways:
References1. ^Notable; Time, November 3, 1975; retrieved 7-2-08 2. ^Townsend, Guy M., Rex Stout: An Annotated Primary and Secondary Bibliography (1980, New York: Garland Publishing; {{ISBN|0-8240-9479-4}}), pp. 44–45. John McAleer, Judson Sapp and Arriean Schemer are associate editors of this definitive publication history. 3. ^Penzler, Otto, Collecting Mystery Fiction #10, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part II (2001, New York: The Mysterious Bookshop, limited edition of 250 copies), p. 25 4. ^Smiley, Robin H., "Rex Stout: A Checklist of Primary First Editions." Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine (Volume 16, Number 4), April 2006, p. 35 5. ^Penzler, Otto, Collecting Mystery Fiction #9, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part I, pp. 19–20 External links{{wikiquote-inline|Nero Wolfe#A Family Affair|A Family Affair}}{{Nero Wolfe}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Family Affair}} 4 : 1975 American novels|Nero Wolfe novels by Rex Stout|Viking Press books|Works about the Watergate scandal |
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