The Smiling Corpse

by Philip Wylie, Bernard A. Bergman

The Smiling Corpse was written in 1935 by Philip Wylie and features as characters in a murder mystery many of the big names of literature. In fact, S.S. Van Dine, Sax Rohmer, G.K. Chesterton and Dashiell Hammett are the detectives! J. Randolph Cox provides an introduction that places the book in its place historically and you provide the result: enjoyment of a wonderful period when murder was fun

138 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Born in Beverly, Massachusetts, Philip Gordon Wylie was the son of Presbyterian minister Edmund Melville Wylie and the former Edna Edwards, a novelist, who died when Philip was five years old. His family moved to Montclair, New Jersey and he later attended Princeton University from 1920–1923. He married Sally Ondek, and had one child, Karen, an author who became the inventor of animal "clicker" training. After a divorcing his first wife, Philip Wylie married Frederica Ballard who was born and raised in Rushford, New York; they are both buried in Rushford.

A writer of fiction and nonfiction, his output included hundreds of short stories, articles, serials, syndicated newspaper columns, novels, and works of social criticism. He also wrote screenplays while in Hollywood, was an editor for Farrar & Rinehart, served on the Dade County, Florida Defense Council, was a director of the Lerner Marine Laboratory, and at one time was an adviser to the chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee for Atomic Energy which led to the creation of the Atomic Energy Commission. Most of his major writings contain critical, though often philosophical, views on man and society as a result of his studies and interest in psychology, biology, ethnology, and physics. Over nine movies were made from novels or stories by Wylie. He sold the rights for two others that were never produced.

Reviews

[Michael Springer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little gem, a reprint from the 1930s, likely has a small and highly specialized audience. The author was originally anonymous (later revealed to be Philip Wylie and a collaborator), and it was viewed as a spoof and "a namedroppers delight." Many of those dropped names are forgotten now, but some, like Dorothy Parker, are still known. The clever gimmick is having four famous detective writers -- Dashiell Hammett (Sam Spade), S.S. Van Dine (Philo Vance), Sax Rohmer (Doctor Fu Manchu) and G.K. Chesterton (Father Brown) all present at a literary tea, then trying to solve a murder. The story still works, and it's a great little entertainment for fans of hardboiled detective stories of the period.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long way from being a great Wylie novel, but still an interesting read. I enjoyed it.