Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen is the pseudonym of two cousins, Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee, who were born in Brooklyn and became prominent figures in the world of detective fiction. They began their writing career together under the shared pen name of Ellery Queen, which also lent its name to their most famous fictional detective. The character of Ellery Queen is an amateur detective who assists his police inspector father in solving baffling crimes. The authors are known for their adherence to the principles of the Golden Age "fair play" mystery, in which the reader is given all the necessary clues to solve the mystery alongside the detective.

In addition to creating the Ellery Queen novels, Dannay and Lee also wrote a series of detective stories featuring a Shakespearean actor named Drury Lane under the pseudonym Barnaby Ross. Their first success came in 1928 when they won a mystery-writing contest with the book that would eventually be published as The Roman Hat Mystery. The Ellery Queen character gained widespread recognition through adaptations in television, radio, and film. Dannay and Lee also co-founded Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, one of the most influential crime publications of all time.

Although Frederic Dannay lived for nine years after his cousin's death, he retired the Ellery Queen pseudonym upon Manfred Lee's passing in 1971. Several later "Ellery Queen" books were written by other authors, including Jack Vance, Avram Davidson, and Theodore Sturgeon. The cousins' contributions to the genre of detective fiction have earned them a reputation as the foremost American authors of the Golden Age "fair play" mystery. Their writing, editing, and anthologizing under the Ellery Queen name have left a lasting impact on the world of crime fiction.