Philo Gubb
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The character of Philo Gubb was created by prolific
pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...
writer
Ellis Parker Butler Ellis Parker Butler (December 5, 1869 – September 13, 1937) was an American author. He was the author of more than 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays and is most famous for his short story "Pigs Is Pigs", in which a bureaucratic s ...
and first appeared in the May 1913 issue of ''
Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Communications, Hearst magazine division. It is one of the "Seven Sisters (magazines), Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publicatio ...
''
magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
. Philo Gubb attained such a high level of popularity that the author's attempt to kill the character off was derailed by public pressure. Philo Gubb is a small-town paperhanger who learned his deductive technique by correspondence course, admires
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
, and "commits a major crime during every case on which he works: the murder of the English language"—most notably by invariably referring to himself as a “deteckative.” (Other characters use the correct pronunciation.) Gubb differs from many mainstream fictional detectives in that he is not brilliant, clever, nor egocentric, but he is persistent, good-natured, and occasionally displays common sense. Also in contrast, his work may be characterized by elaborate disguises that deceive nobody, theories that are overhauled at every clue, and the often unintentional solving of mysteries. The nature of the character and his work methods help to create intentionally humorous situations.


Short stories

*Philo Gubb, The Correspondence School Detective (1913) (AKA"The Hard-Boiled Egg") *Philo Gubb and the Oubliette (1913) *Philo Gubb and the Un-burglars(1913) *Philo Gubb and the Two-Cent Stamp (1913) *Philo Gubb and the Chicken (1913) *Philo Gubb and the Dragon's Eye (1913) *The Progressive Murder (1913) *Red Cedar! (1914) *The Pet (1914) *The Eagle's Claws (1914) *The Missing Mister Master (1914) *Waffles and Mustard (1914) *The Anonymous Wiggle (1914) *The Half of a Thousand (1915) *Dietz's 7642, Bessie John (1915) *Buried Bones (1915) *Philo Gubb's Greatest Case (1915) *The Togbury Jool (1915) *One Hundred Dollars Reward (1915) *Henry (1915) *The Disappearance of Ma'y Jane (1915) *The Premature Death of Philo Gubb (1915) *The Stolen Umbrella (1915) *Four Tufts of Golden Hair (1915) *The Inexorable Tooth (1915) *The Carnival of Crime (1916) *This Style, $20 (1916) *The Parmiller Pounds (1916) *The Kinwiller Case (1916) *The Ghatghee (1916) *In the Dark! (1916) *The Needle, Watson (1916) *The Dark Closet (1916) *Too Much Gubb (1916) *The Hound of the Tankervilles (1916) *The Tenth of June (1916) *Who Would Steal a Pump? (1916) *The Last Case of Philo Gubb (1917) *The McNoodle Brothers' Radio Mystery (1923) *The Sword Swallower Murder (1933)


References

* Chris Steinbrunner and
Otto Penzler Otto Penzler (born July 8, 1942) is an American editor of mystery fiction, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City. Biography Born in Germany to a German-American mother and a German father, Penzler moved to The Bronx at ag ...
(1976). ''Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection''. New York: McGraw-Hill.


External links

*
Philo Gubb, Correspondence-School Detective
' at
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...
. * Literary characters introduced in 1913 Fictional amateur detectives Fictional American detectives Characters in pulp fiction {{fict-char-stub