It’s hard to believe that a three-time Edgar Award winner could be forgotten. But Time can be cruel. Stanley Ellin, once regarded as one of the greatest practitioners of writing mystery short stories like the classic “The Specialty of the House,” is nowhere on today’s readers’ radar screens. His work is out-of-print. Yet, while rereading Ellin’s 1958 Edgar Award winning novel, The Eighth Circle, I was struck with Ellin’s craftsmanship. The plot involves police corruption. Ellin takes this mundane activity and spins gold. You’ll meet some unforgettable characters and encounter some questions that will gnaw at you long after you’ve finished reading The Eighth Circle. “So in the eighth circle are the liars, flatterers, and sellers of office, the fortune tellers, hypocrites, and thieves, the pimps and grafters, and all such scum,” wrote Dante. Ellin’s visit to his own version of Dante’s Inferno sparkles and burns.
This is a good one, all right. I still have my old Dell edition.
The edition pictured here is an Orion Books edition from England. It’s sad that The Eighth Circle is out-of-print in the U.S. despite being an Edgar Award winner.
Ellin is still my favorite writer of mystery short stories. In addition to winning the 3 Edgars, he was nominated for at least 5 others. Quite a few things he wrote were filmed; “Specialty of the House” and “The Day of the Bullet” were the basis for two of the best episodes of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”.
I think one reason he is not better known is that he didn’t have continuing themes or characters. Other than the fact that most of his work is in the broad field of “mysteries”, it is very diverse. (I even like his one non-mystery novel, The Winter after This Summer; I believe I am the only person alive who has ever read this.)
I’ve read all of Stanley Ellin’s books. You’re not the only one who’s read The Winter After This Summer. It was the novel he published after The Eighth Circle. Ellin was a masterful writer. In The Eighth Circle he refers to Poe’s “The Purloined Letter” and the Sherlock Holme’s story about the dog that didn’t bark. Clearly, Ellin was well-read and knew the Classics.
Bonjour George,
Glad to read what you said. Just finished reading “Very Old Money” and loved every page of it. Yes, why has he been forgotten? Maybe only because room was needed for the numerous newcomers. Now I ordered the 8th Circle I was reading about 25 years ago and then lost the book somehow.
Cheers to you
Georg
I’m mystified that Stanley Ellin has been forgotten, Georg. He was an outstanding writer. I’ve read most of his novels and all of his short stories. Ellin’s works are well worth seeking out! You’ll enjoy THE EIGHTH CIRCLE.