Stephen Marlowe (born Milton Lesser, in Brooklyn, New York, died , in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

) was an American author of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, mystery

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s, and fictional autobiographies of

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

, and

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

. He is best known for his detective character Chester Drum, whom he created for the 1955 novel ''The Second Longest Night''. Lesser also wrote using the pseudonyms Adam Chase, Andrew Frazer, C.H. Thames, Jason Ridgway, Stephen Wilder, and

Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1928 by the American detective fiction writers Frederic Dannay (1905–1982) and Manfred Bennington Lee (1905–1971). It is also the name of their main fictional detective, a mystery writer in New York City ...

Biography

Lesser attended the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

, earning his degree in philosophy, marrying Leigh Lang soon after graduating. He was drafted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He and his wife divorced in 1962. He was awarded the French Prix Gutenberg du Livre in 1988 for ''The Memoirs of Christopher Columbus'', and in 1997 he was awarded the Life Achievement Award by the Private Eye Writers of America. He also served on the board of directors of the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

. In the later part of his life he lived with his second wife Ann in

Selected bibliography

As Milton S. Lesser: * ''Somewhere I'll Find You'' (1947) *
It's Raining Frogs!
' (1950) *
Pen Pal
' (1951) *
The Sense of Wonder
' (1951) *
The Old Way
' (1956) * ''Earthbound'' (1952) *
Ride the Crepe Ring
' (1952) *
Jungle in the Sky
' (1952) *
The One and the Many
' (1952) *
Black Eyes and the Daily Grind
' (1952) *
Voyage To Eternity
' (1953) *
Earthsmith
' (1953) *
Picnic
' (1953) *
World Without Glamor
' (1953) *
Finders Keepers
' (1953) * ''The Star Seekers'' (1953) *
Quickie
' (1954) *
Tyrants of Time
' (1954) *
Pariah
' (1954) *
A Cold Night for Crying
' (1954) *
Revolt of the Outworlds
' (1954) *
The Dictator
' (1955) *
Newshound
' (1955) *
No-Risk Planet
' (1955) *
The Cosmic Snare
' (1956) *
The Graveyard of Space
' (1956) *
My Sweetheart's the Man in the Moon
' (1956) *
Recruit for Andromeda
' (1959) *
Divvy up
' (1960) * '' Stadium Beyond the Stars'' (1960) * ''Spacemen Go Home'' (1961) * ''Secret of the Black Planet'' (1965) As Stephen Marlowe: *
Fugue
' (1951) *
Resurrection Seven
' (1952) *
Slaves to the Metal Horde
' (1954) * ''Catch the Brass Ring'' (1954) *
Es Percipi
' (1955) * ''Model for Murder'' (1955) * ''Turn Left for Murder'' (1955) *
Prison of a Billion Years
' (1956) *
My Shipmate—Columbus
' (1956) * ''Dead on Arrival'' (1956) *
Excitement for sale
' (1957) * ''Blonde Bait'' (1959) * ''Passport to Peril'' (1959) * ''The Shining'' (1961) * ''Colossus: A novel about Goya and a world gone mad'' (1965) * ''The Search for Bruno Heidler'' (1966) * ''Come Over, Red Rover'' (1968) * ''The Summit'' (1970) * ''The Man with No Shadow'' (1974) * ''The Cawthorn Journals'' (or ''Too Many Chiefs'') (1975) * ''Translation'' (1976) * ''The Valkyrie Encounter'' (1978) * ''Deborah's Legacy'' (1983) * ''The Memoirs of Christopher Columbus'' (1987) * ''The Death and Life of Miguel De Cervantes'' (1991) * ''The Lighthouse at the End of the World'' (1995) Chester Drum novels (as Stephen Marlowe): * ''The Second Longest Night'' (1955) * ''Mecca for Murder'' (1956) * ''Killers Are My Meat'' (1957) * ''Murder Is My Dish'' (1957) * ''Trouble Is My Name'' (1957) * ''Terror Is My Trade'' (1958) * ''Violence Is My Business'' (1958) * ''Double in Trouble'' (with Richard S. Prather, co-starring Prather's series character Shell Scott) (1959) * ''Homicide Is My Game'' (1959) * ''Danger Is My Line'' (1960) * ''Death Is My Comrade'' (1960) * ''Peril Is My Pay'' (1960) * ''Manhunt Is My Mission'' (1961) * ''Jeopardy Is My Job'' (1962) * ''Francesca'' (1963) * ''Drum Beat - Berlin'' (1964) * ''Drum Beat - Dominique'' (1965) * ''Drum Beat - Madrid'' (1966) * ''Drum Beat - Erica'' (1967) * ''Drum Beat - Marianne'' (1968) As Adam Chase: *
Summer Snow Storm
' (1956) *
Home is Where You Left It
' (1957) *
Quest of the Golden Ape
' (1959) As Andrew Frazer: * ''Find Eileen Hardin - Alive!'' (1959) * ''The Fall of Marty Moon'' (1960) As Jason Ridgway: * ''West Side Jungle'' (1958) * ''Adam's Fall'' (1960) * ''People in Glass Houses'' (1961) * ''Hardly a Man Is Now Alive'' (1962) * ''The Treasure of the Cosa Nostra'' (1966) As

* ''Dead Man's Tale'' (1961) As C. H. Thames: *
A Place in the Sun
' (1956) * ''Violence Is Golden'' (1956) *
Planet of Doom
' (1956) *
Forever We Die!
' (1956) *
World of the Hunter
' (1956) *
Revolt of the Brains
' (1956) *
Think Yourself to Death
' (1957) *
World Beyond Pluto
' (1958) * ''Blood of My Brother'' (1963) As Darius John Granger: *
A World Called Crimson
' (1956) *
An eye for the ladies
' (1956) *
We Run From the Hunted!
' (1956) *
Stop, You're Killing Me!
' (1956) *
The Thing in the Truck
' (1956) *
Centauri Vengeance
' (1956) *
Disaster Revisited
' (1957) As Stephen Wilder: *
The passionate pitchman
' (1956)

References

External links

* Th
Mystery*File
blog: Bill Pronzini on Stephen Marlowe, 1928-2008. * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marlowe, Stephen 1928 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers American male novelists American male short story writers American mystery writers American science fiction writers College of William & Mary alumni Military personnel from New York City Military personnel from New York (state) Novelists from Virginia People from Williamsburg, Virginia Shamus Award winners United States Army personnel of the Korean War