History Creator / ElleryQueen

* GentlemanDetective: Ellery was this is the early novels (being essentially an {{Expy}} of Literature/PhiloVance). However, as the series went on, his character developed and he lost most of his snobbishness (except on intellectual matters) and developed an interest in some decidedly blue collar pastimes such as boxing and baseball.

* LetOffByTheDetective: ''The Finishing Stroke''

* MysteryWriterDetective

->''I can recommend to the lover of the detective novel (which must not be confused with the mere adventure novel or those of international espionage, inevitably inhabited by sumptuous female spies that fall in love and secret documents) this last book of Ellery Queen. I can say that it meets the first requirements of the genre: statement of all the terms of the problem; economy of characters and resources; primacy of the how over the whom; a solution necessary and wonderful, but not supernatural. (In detective stories, hypnotism, telepathic hallucinations, elixirs of evil operation, witches and warlocks, real magic and recreational physics, are scams.) Ellery Queen plays with the supernatural, as does Chesterton, but in a lawful way: he suggests it to make the mystery bigger in the problem statement, then forgets or denies it in the solution.''

[[quoteright:344:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ellery_queen_detective.jpg]]

Golden age mystery writer, used as both a pen name for two authors and as the eponymous character.

* DirectLineToTheAuthor

* UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper: In ''A Study in Terror'', Ellery reads a manuscript detailing Franchise/SherlockHolmes's battle of wits against Jack the Ripper.

* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: In a foreword to ''The Roman Hat Mystery'', the Fictional "J. J. [=McC.=]" explains that Ellery and Inspector Richard Queen are pseudonyms picked out by the real man who inspired Ellery, and further that the "real" Ellery is married. Subsequent books drop the roman à clef conceit, and Ellery remains a bachelor throughout the series. The reason for the discrepancy is probably that this novel was written for a whodunit contest, and Dannay and Lee rethought some things when they chose to continue the series.

* AliveAllAlong: In ''The Lamp of God'', [[spoiler: The supposedly long-deceased Olivia is actually quite alive and impersonating her lookalike cousin Alice. The story about the death was meant to throw off suspicion that the impersonation was possible, and also cover for Olivia's senile mother not remembering to pretend she didn't know Olivia when she saw her.]]

* FingerLickingPoison: ''The Three Widows'' had a victim being slowly poisoned even though everything she ate and drank was carefully screened beforehand. It turned out the would-be killer was her doctor and the poison was on the thermometer with which he took her temperature each day.

->''In the history of the detective genre (dating from April 1841, the date of the publication of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Creator/EdgarAllanPoe), Ellery Queen novels import a deviation, or a little progress. I refer to his art. The novelist often proposes a vulgar clarification of the mystery and dazzle his readers with an ingenious solution. Ellery Queen proposes, like all the others, a not so interesting explanation, suggests (at last) a very beautiful solution which the reader falls in love with, then refutes it and discovers a third solution, which is the correct one: always less strange than the second, but entirely unpredictable and satisfying. Other great novels of Ellery Queen: The Egyptian Cross Mystery, the Dutch Shoe Mystery, The Siamese Twin Mystery''

->''I can recommend to the lover of the detective novel (which must not be confused with the mere adventure novel or those of international espionage, inevitably inhabited by sumptuous female spies that fall in love and secret documents) this last book of Ellery Queen. I can say that it meets the first requirements of the genre: statement of all the terms of the problem; economy of characters and resources; primacy of the how over the whom; a solution necessary and wonderful, but not supernatural. (In detective stories, hypnotism, telepathic hallucinations, elixirs of evil operation, witches and warlocks, real magic and recreational physics, are scams.) Ellery Queen plays with the supernatural, as does Chesterton, but in a lawful way: it suggests it to make the mystery bigger in the problem statement, forgets it or denies it in the solution.''

->''I can recommend to the detective novel’s (that must not be confused with the mere adventure novel or those of international espionage, inevitably inhabited by sumptuous female spies that fall in love and secret documents) amateur this last book of Ellery Queen. I can say that meets the first requirements of the genre: statement of all the terms of the problem, economy of characters and resources, primacy of the how about the whom, necessary and wonderful solution, but not supernatural. (In detective stories, hypnotism, telepathic hallucinations, elixirs of evil operation, witches and warlocks, the real magic and recreational physics, are scams.) Ellery Queen plays with the supernatural, as Chesterton, but in a lawful way: it suggests it to make the mystery bigger in the problem statement, forgets it or denies it in the solution.''

->''In the history of the detective genre (dating from April 1841, the date of the publication of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Creator/EdgarAllanPoe) Ellery Queen novels import a deviation, or a little progress. I refer to his art. The novelist often propose a vulgar clarification of the mystery and dazzle his readers with an ingenious solution. Ellery Queen proposes, like all the others, a not so interesting explanation, suggests (at last) a very beautiful solution, from which the reader falls in love with, refutes it and he discovers a third solution, which is the correct one: always less strange than the second, but entirely unpredictable and satisfying. Other great novels of Ellery Queen: The Egyptian Cross Mystery, the Dutch Shoe Mystery, The Siamese Twin Mystery''

* CanonDiscontinuity: The first novel ''The Roman Hat Mystery'' suposedly describes an event that happened some time in the past and mentions that Ellery now lives in Italy with his wife and daughter. The wife, daughter and retirement to Italy are never mentioned in any of the subsequent books that establish that Ellery is a bachelor who lives with his father in New York (apart from a brief period of living in Hollywood).
* CanonImmigrant: Ellery's secreatary Nikki Porter was originally created for the radio show, but went on to appear in two of the novels and several short stories.

* DistaffCounterpart: ''MurderSheWrote''

->''I can recommend to the [[MysteryLiterature detective novel’s]] (that must not be confused with the mere [[{{Adventure}} adventure novel]] or those of [[SpyFiction international espionage]], [[ClicheStorm inevitably inhabited by]] [[SexFaceTurn sumptuous female spies that fall in love]] and [[MacGuffin secret documents]]) amateur this last book of Ellery Queen. I can say that meets [[FairPlayWhoDunnit the first requirements of the genre]]: [[TheSummation statement of all the terms of the problem]], [[ClosedCircle economy of characters and resources]], [[LockedRoomMystery primacy of the how about the whom]], necessary and wonderful solution, but not [[OutOfGenreExperience supernatural]]. (In detective stories, [[HypnoFool hypnotism]], [[{{Telepathy}} telepathic hallucinations]], [[LovePotion elixirs of evil operation]], [[WitchSpecies witches and warlocks]], [[FunctionalMagic the real magic]] and [[ArtisticLicensePhysics recreational physics]], [[AssPull are scams]].) Ellery Queen [[Literature/FatherBrown plays with the supernatural, as Chesterton]], but in a lawful way: [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane it suggests it to make the mystery bigger in the problem statement]], [[ScoobyDooHoax forgets it or denies it in the solution]].''

->''In the history of the [[MysteryLiterature detective genre]] ([[UrExample dating from April 1841, the date of the publication of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"]] by EdgarAllanPoe) Ellery Queen novels import [[GrowingTheBeard a deviation, or a little progress]]. I refer to his art. The novelist often propose a [[MundaneSolution vulgar clarification of the mystery]] and [[ComplexityAddiction dazzle his readers with an ingenious solution]]. Ellery Queen proposes, [[FollowTheLeader like all the others]] , a not so interesting explanation, suggests (at last) a very beautiful solution, from which the reader falls in love with, [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle refutes it]] and he [[TakeAThirdOption discovers a third solution]] , which is the correct one: [[MadeOfWin always less strange than the second, but entirely unpredictable and satisfying]]. Other great novels of Ellery Queen: The Egyptian Cross Mystery, the Dutch Shoe Mystery, The Siamese Twin Mystery''

-->--'''JorgeLuisBorges.''' Revista Hogar, October 30, 1936

* MysteryMagnet: While some of Ellery's cases come to him via his father, it also seems that Ellery cannot travel anywhere without stumbling across a mystery. This even gets {{lampshaded}} in the novella "Mum's the Word" when the chief of police comments that Ellery can't visit Wrightsville without a major crime taking place.

* JackTheRipper: In ''A Study in Terror'', Ellery reads a manuscript detailing Franchise/SherlockHolmes's battle of wits against Jack the Ripper.