Ten Days' Wonder
Encyclopedia
Ten Days' Wonder is a novel
that was published in 1948 by Ellery Queen
. It is a mystery novel primarily set in the imaginary town of Wrightsville, USA.
.) After many popular mystery novels, a radio program and a number of movies, the character of Ellery Queen was at this point firmly established. This novel is the third to take place against the setting of the imaginary New England town of Wrightsville (following Calamity Town
and The Murderer is a Fox
) and, as is common in the Wrightsville novels, depends more on characterization, atmosphere and the observed minutiae of small-town American life than many other Queen novels; this novel less so, because of the necessity to make characters and events fit into the underlying format. "The town with its gossip and cliques is well done ... [one of] the complex and mundane mysteries ... favored by the ingenious authors." "All Wrightsville murders are well written as more attention is given to character development and humor. The way some Wrightsville stories interlink only adds to the fun ... This is the era wherein Ellery Queen experiments with minimalism as his work is stripped down to its most fundamental features. ... The more fallible side to Ellery is especially emphasized. Nowhere else is the limitation of reason better shown than in Ten Days' Wonder. Ellery went through the turmoil of extreme self-doubt, almost giving up on being a detective ... and another double-twist ending. Brilliant portrayals, be it a little far-fetched."
"(Ellery's) exploits took place more frequently in the small town of Wrightsville, where his arrival as a house guest was likely to be the signal for the commission of one or more murders. Very intelligently, Dannay and Lee used this change in locale to loosen the structure of their stories. More emphasis was placed on personal relationships, and less on the details of investigation. ... In later stories, however, fantastic ingenuity takes over at the expense of characterization, as in Ten Days' Wonder ... One can admire the ingenuity, and yet sense that there is something wrong about the way in which Queen is turning back to Van Dine
and abandoning the possibilities glimpsed in the first Wrightsville books."
The book was made into a 1971 film called La Décade prodigieuse
(English-language title Ten Days' Wonder) directed by Claude Chabrol
and starring Orson Welles
, Anthony Perkins
and Marlène Jobert
as Van Horn father, son and wife/stepmother (their first names changed to Theo, Charles and Helene), and Michel Piccoli as "Paul Regis", who (although there is no character named Ellery Queen) is the principal investigator.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
that was published in 1948 by Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee , to write, edit, and anthologize detective fiction.The fictional Ellery Queen created by...
. It is a mystery novel primarily set in the imaginary town of Wrightsville, USA.
Plot summary
Howard Van Horn, son of millionaire Diedrich Van Horn, comes to Ellery Queen with the request that Ellery investigate what Howard has been doing during a recent bout with amnesia. The trail leads to the small New England town of Wrightsville and what seems to be a love triangle with Howard's stepmother, the beautiful young Sally, from the "wrong side of the tracks" in class-conscious Wrightsville. A series of small and unusual crimes over the next nine days seem to be committed by Howard during amnesiac blackouts, and Ellery Queen suddenly realizes the bizarre pattern that underpins the series of crimes. But it is only after the murder of one Van Horn and the suicide of another that Ellery Queen can reveal the true pattern underlying events and bring a crime home to the criminal.Literary significance & criticism
(See Ellery QueenEllery Queen
Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee , to write, edit, and anthologize detective fiction.The fictional Ellery Queen created by...
.) After many popular mystery novels, a radio program and a number of movies, the character of Ellery Queen was at this point firmly established. This novel is the third to take place against the setting of the imaginary New England town of Wrightsville (following Calamity Town
Calamity Town
Calamity Town is a novel that was published in 1942 by Ellery Queen. It is a mystery novel primarily set in the fictitious town of Wrightsville, USA.-Plot summary:...
and The Murderer is a Fox
The Murderer is a Fox
The Murderer is a Fox is a novel that was published in 1945 by Ellery Queen. It is a mystery novel primarily set in the imaginary town of Wrightsville, USA.-Plot summary:...
) and, as is common in the Wrightsville novels, depends more on characterization, atmosphere and the observed minutiae of small-town American life than many other Queen novels; this novel less so, because of the necessity to make characters and events fit into the underlying format. "The town with its gossip and cliques is well done ... [one of] the complex and mundane mysteries ... favored by the ingenious authors." "All Wrightsville murders are well written as more attention is given to character development and humor. The way some Wrightsville stories interlink only adds to the fun ... This is the era wherein Ellery Queen experiments with minimalism as his work is stripped down to its most fundamental features. ... The more fallible side to Ellery is especially emphasized. Nowhere else is the limitation of reason better shown than in Ten Days' Wonder. Ellery went through the turmoil of extreme self-doubt, almost giving up on being a detective ... and another double-twist ending. Brilliant portrayals, be it a little far-fetched."
"(Ellery's) exploits took place more frequently in the small town of Wrightsville, where his arrival as a house guest was likely to be the signal for the commission of one or more murders. Very intelligently, Dannay and Lee used this change in locale to loosen the structure of their stories. More emphasis was placed on personal relationships, and less on the details of investigation. ... In later stories, however, fantastic ingenuity takes over at the expense of characterization, as in Ten Days' Wonder ... One can admire the ingenuity, and yet sense that there is something wrong about the way in which Queen is turning back to Van Dine
S. S. Van Dine
S. S. Van Dine was the pseudonym of Willard Huntington Wright , a U.S art critic and author. He created the once immensely popular fictional detective Philo Vance, who first appeared in books in the 1920s, then in movies and on the radio.-Early life and career:Willard Huntington Wright was born...
and abandoning the possibilities glimpsed in the first Wrightsville books."
The book was made into a 1971 film called La Décade prodigieuse
La Décade prodigieuse
La Décade prodigieuse is a French murder-mystery film directed by Claude Chabrol and based on the novel Ten Days' Wonder by Ellery Queen....
(English-language title Ten Days' Wonder) directed by Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol was a French film director, a member of the French New Wave group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s...
and starring Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins was an American actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Friendly Persuasion and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , and its three sequels.-Early life:...
and Marlène Jobert
Marlène Jobert
Marlène Jobert is a French actress, singer and author.Jobert was born in Algiers, Algeria , the daughter of Andrée and a father who flew for the French Air Force. She is a Pied-Noir of Jewish heritage. She came to Metropolitan France when aged 8...
as Van Horn father, son and wife/stepmother (their first names changed to Theo, Charles and Helene), and Michel Piccoli as "Paul Regis", who (although there is no character named Ellery Queen) is the principal investigator.