“Hercule Poirot meets Fox Mulder in these 19 pulpy tales from 1929-30, the second of five volumes reprinting the complete adventures of occult sleuth Dr. Jules de Grandin.” This quote is from the Kirkus review that captures the essence of Seabury Quinn’s stories. If taken in moderation, these tales can be fun reading. They follow a similar template so reading too many of these stories at one time can become tedious. I recommend one Dr. Jules de Grandin story per week. Night Shade Books is doing a fine job reprinting this series in chronological order. The hardcover editions are sturdy and well-made. And priced right! Many small presses reprint pulp tales and charge exorbitant prices ($100 and up!) while AMAZON is selling this edition for $22.35 (a bargain for a book of this quality!). If you’re in the mood for some spooky stories, you’ll find them in The Devil’s Rosary. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction-George A. Vanderburgh and Robert E. Weinberg
“Loved by Thousands of Readers”: The Popularity of Jules de Grandin-Stefan Dziemianowicz
1929
The Black Master (Weird Tales, January 1929)
The Devil People (Weird Tales, February 1929)
The Devil’s Rosary (Weird Tales, April 1929)
The House of Golden Masks (Weird Tales, June 1929)
The Corpse Master (Weird Tales, July 1929)
Trespassing Souls (Weird Tales, September 1929)
The Silver Countess (Weird Tales, October 1929)
The House Without a Mirror (Weird Tales, November 1929)
Children of Ubasti (Weird Tales, December 1929)
1930
The Curse of the House of Phipps (Weird Tales, January 1930)
The Drums of Damballah (Weird Tales, March 1930)
The Dust of Egypt (Weird Tales, April 1930)
The Brain-Thief (Weird Tales, May 1930)
The Priestess of the Ivory Feet (Weird Tales, June 1930)
The Bride of Dewer (Weird Tales, July 1930)
Daughter of the Moonlight (Weird Tales, August 1930)
The Druid’s Shadow (Weird Tales, October 1930)
Stealthy Death (Weird Tales, November 1930)
The Wolf of St. Bonnot (Weird Tales, December 1930)
On my radar. Looks like I can get vol 1 thru interlibrary loan. Remember reading a story called Roads by him a long time ago.
Steve, “Roads” is a classic. If you don’t set the bar too high, these Seabury Quinn tales can be fun.
I’m a sucker for Jules de Grandin, as well as many other occult detectives. Quinn was not the greatest writer in the world but, like Robert E. Howard, he could pull you through a story and represents some of what made Weird Tales so great.
Jerry, you are so right about Quinn and Howard. These Jules de Grandin stories are entertaining if taken in moderation.
I have a lot of these stories in the old Popular Library editions. I might pull one volume out and read a couple.
Bill, I loved those Popular Library editions! Great covers!
I had those Popular Library editions (at least some of them), but seem to have disposed of them somewhere along the way. I think I only read the first volume. I’m always looking for entertaining short stories, so I’ve considered looking for them again.
Good choice.
Jeff, these Night Shade Press editions of Seabury Quinn are now the Gold Standard. The five chronological volumes will collect all the Jules de Grandin stories in a very attractive format.
I actually rather like this sort of thing if done well (I enjoyed the Karnacki tales for instance) – thanks George, complete revelation to me.
Sergio, you’ll like the Jules de Grandin tales. Taken in moderation, they can be quite entertaining! And Night Shade Books is doing a wonderful job publishing these stories in such nice editions.