tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post1812104016747567429..comments2024-03-28T10:31:55.774-07:00Comments on The Passing Tramp: The Clue of the Ambergris: Octagon House (1937), Phoebe Atwood TaylorThe Passing Tramphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-10179769010502650782021-06-15T20:44:43.494-07:002021-06-15T20:44:43.494-07:00And, yes, it's clear PAT was interested in pol...And, yes, it's clear PAT was interested in political events as well as social history. Even though her books are lighthearted she often references politics and the Depression, etc. Good for her for making an immediate success of mystery writing and avoiding the drudgery of 9-5.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-19328301385914032102021-06-15T20:42:18.797-07:002021-06-15T20:42:18.797-07:00Yes as a vintage mystery prodigy PAT ranked with J...Yes as a vintage mystery prodigy PAT ranked with John Dickson Carr and Hugh Wheeler. I've got some more on her coming soon I hope. <br /><br />I just find octagon houses so intriguing. But then I grew up in a ranch house! My Mom's old house in Gratz , now, that had some history behind it, even if it looked more like Lizzie Borden's house, lol.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-20289682070593982512021-06-15T20:39:16.506-07:002021-06-15T20:39:16.506-07:00In Taylor's book, I mean!In Taylor's book, I mean!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-2424275206433522792021-06-15T20:38:57.364-07:002021-06-15T20:38:57.364-07:00Japanese mysteries seem fascinated with domestic a...Japanese mysteries seem fascinated with domestic architecture. (See Roger Scarlett.) There's no murder actually in the octagon house, but it definitely makes an impression. The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-15932075187422220892021-06-15T20:37:28.690-07:002021-06-15T20:37:28.690-07:00Also one for constant drinking mysteries. Not rea...Also one for constant drinking mysteries. Not really a thing with Taylor though? The people seem naturally exuberant, don't they?<br /><br />I would love to live in an octagon house! Speaking of above, Clayton, Al's other landmark is the "whiskey bottle tombstone," which was in Ripley's Believe It or Not as I recall.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-15166341807551067362021-06-15T13:10:53.774-07:002021-06-15T13:10:53.774-07:00Very recently I read PAT's first Asey Mayo boo...Very recently I read PAT's first Asey Mayo book, I enjoyed it and was amazed that she was only 22 when it was published. It was obvious she was awake to the world and people around her and could express it on paper. BTW, I tracked down an octagon house in western PA after seeing a note about it in the old WPA Guide to Pennsylvania.drizzzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03032435453362480868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-23362580170577618662021-06-15T10:27:50.214-07:002021-06-15T10:27:50.214-07:00Thanks for this rich reminder of what fun some of ...Thanks for this rich reminder of what fun some of these Phoebe Atwood Taylors can be -- and for all the other good stuff about Octagon Houses. Have just read the recent translation of The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji and enjoyed it. Looking forward to hearing about the mystery inspired by the Octagon House of Clayton, ALScaparellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05640761880026565073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-67213666464409308042021-06-14T12:34:00.296-07:002021-06-14T12:34:00.296-07:00"the Biffer, successively bashes on the head ..."the Biffer, successively bashes on the head Asey, Tim Carr, two cops and Aaron Frye, and not one person among them has even a mild concussion afterward. This beats hard-boiled mysteries!"<br />Should there be a sub-genre of hard-headed mysteries?<br />I was interested to learn about Octagon Houses, as the idea made a journey to London, in a college for teachers, and I'd always vaguely wondered about it. You inspired me to find out about them.Roger Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11012987757094423896noreply@blogger.com