Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey
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Frederick van Rensselaer Dey (February 10, 1861 – April 25, 1922) was an American dime novelist and pulp fiction writer.
Early life and marriages
He was born on February 10, 1861, in Watkins Glen, New York, to David Peter Dey and Emma Brewster Sayre. He attended the Havana Academy, and later graduated from the Columbia Law School. He practiced law and was a junior partner of William J. Gaynor. Dey took up writing while recovering from an illness. His first full-length story was written for Beadle and Adams in 1881.
Dey married Annie Shepard Wheeler, of Providence, Rhode Island, on June 4, 1885, and they had two children, Harriet and Kinsley. After a divorce he married Haryot Holt (c. 1857–June 16, 1950) on April 1, 1898.[1][2]
Career
In 1891, Street & Smith hired him to continue the series begun by John R. Coryell, on the adventures of Nick Carter.[1] Most of his Nick Carter stories appeared under the pseudonyms "A Celebrated Author" and "The Author of 'Nick Carter'".[3] He wrote over a thousand Nick Carter novelettes, comprising over forty million words, all written longhand.[4] Dey also worked as a newspaper reporter.[5]
Writing as "Varick Vanardy", he created "The Night Wind", which appeared in stories from 1913 to the early 1920s. Collected into 4 books, these have been recently reprinted by Wildside Press: Alias The Night Wind (1913), Return of the Night Wind, The Night Wind's Promise, The Lady of the Night Wind (1918).[6]
Death
Dey shot himself in his room in the Hotel Broztell in New York City, during the night of April 25, 1922, or the morning of April 26, 1922.[7] The body was found either by Charles E. MacLean, the managing editor for Street & Smith,[1] or by Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Faurot.[8]
References
- ^ a b c "FREDERICK VAN RENSSELAER DEY". www.ulib.niu.edu.
- ^ "Mrs. Haryot Dey, Author, Dies at 93; Widow of Creator of the Nick Carter Stories. Had Been Editor for Many Years". New York Times. June 17, 1950. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
- ^ Cox, J. Randolph. The Dime Novel Companion: A Source Book. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2000. Print. 82-83.
- ^ Bradley, Marion Zimmer, "Speaking of Hacks", Astra's Tower #4, May 1950.
- ^ Dey, Frederick Van Rensselaer. "How I Wrote a Thousand 'Nick Carter' Novels." The American Magazine Feb 1920: 19, 159-163. Print.
- ^ "Wildside Press Varnady Listings". Archived from the original on 2009-04-26. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
- ^ "Creator of 'Nick Carter' Kills Himself; Penniless After Writing 40,000,000 Words". New York Times. April 27, 1922. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey, 61 years old, originator of the 'Nick Carter' detective stories, shot himself to death in his room at the Hotel Broztell, 3 East Twenty-seventh Street, late last Tuesday night or yesterday morning. His body was found at 2 P.M. by Charles E. MacLean, managing editor for Street Smith, who first published the 'Nick Carter' tales.
- ^ Van Raalte, Joseph. "Nick Carter: The Picturesque Career of the Man Who Made Him." Century: A Popular Quarterly 114 (Nov 1927): 91-97. Print.
External links
Media related to Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey at Wikimedia Commons
- Works by or about Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey at the Internet Archive
- v
- t
- e
- John R. Coryell
- Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey
- Thomas C. Harbaugh
- Eugene T. Sawyer
- Richard Wormser
- Michael Avallone
- Gayle Lynds
- New York Weekly (newspaper)
- Nick Carter-Killmaster (books)
- Nick Carter, Master Detective (radio)
- Nick Carter (comic strip)
- Nick Carter, le roi des détectives (France, 1908)
- The Inheritance from New York (Germany, 1919)
- The Hotel in Chicago (Germany, 1921)
- Only One Night (Germany, 1922)
- The Passenger in the Straitjacket (Germany, 1922)
- Women Who Commit Adultery (Germany, 1922)
- Nick Carter, Master Detective (1939)
- Phantom Raiders (1940)
- Sky Murder (1940)
- Nick Carter va tout casser (France, 1964)
- Nick Carter and Red Club (France, 1965)
- Adventures of Nick Carter (1972, TV film)
- Dinner for Adele (Czechoslovakia, 1977)
- Agent Counter-Agent
- The Bright Blue Death
- The Code
- The Death Strain
- The Devil's Cockpit
- Double Identity
- The Executioners
- The Filthy Five
- Hanoi
- Istanbul
- The Living Death
- Macao
- Operation Starvation
- Peking & The Tulip Affair
- The Red Guard
- Rhodesia
- Saigon
- Seven Against Greece
- The Terrible Ones
- The 13th Spy
- Assassination Brigade
- Assault on England
- Assignment: Israel
- Checkmate in Rio
- The China Doll
- The Chinese Paymaster
- Circle of Scorpions
- Danger Key
- Dragon Flame
- The Eyes of the Tiger
- Fraulein Spy
- The Golden Serpent
- Hood of Death
- The Jamaican Exchange
- A Korean Tiger
- The Mind Poisoners
- Mission to Venice
- Operation Moon Rocket
- Operation Snake
- The Rangoon Man
- Run, Spy, Run
- Safari for Spies
- The Samurai Kill
- Spy Castle
- Temple of Fear
- The Weapon of Night
- Web of Spies
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