Dr Gideon Fell is a fictional character created by John Dickson Carr.[1] He is the protagonist of 23 mystery novels from 1933 through 1967, as well as a few short stories. Carr was an American who lived most of his adult life in England; Dr. Fell is an Englishman who lives in the London suburbs.
Gideon Fell
Self-portrait of G. K. Chesterton. Dr. Fell is described as a corpulent man with a moustache who wears a cape and a shovel hat and walks with a cane.
Dr Fell is supposedly based upon G. K. Chesterton (author of the Father Brown stories),[2] whose physical appearance and personality were similar to those of Doctor Fell.[3]
Dr. Fell is a corpulent man with a moustache who wears a cape and a shovel hat and walks with the aid of two canes.[1] His age is not specified; in his first appearance, in a 1933 novel, he is said to be "not too old" but with a kind of ancient quality about him. He is frequently described as bringing the spirit of Father Christmas or Old King Cole into a room.[1] In his early appearances he was portrayed as a lexicographer, but this description gradually disappeared and he was thereafter mostly referred to as working on a monumental history of the beer-drinking habits of the English people.
He is an amateur sleuth, frequently called upon by the police, whom he frustrates in the usual manner of fictional detectives by refusing to reveal his deductions until he has arrived at a complete solution to the problem. The most frequently recurring police character was Superintendent Hadley. Most of Fell's exploits concern the unravelling of locked room mysteries or of "impossible crimes". When he himself becomes frustrated, he is likely to cry out, "Archons of Athens!"
When Dr. Fell is not traveling, he lives with his wife in a somewhat cluttered house. The wife's name is never given, and little of her character is revealed, except that she is rather eccentric as well. She goes unmentioned in many of the books, but an allusion to her late in the series indicates that the couple's domestic life is unchanged. The Fells have no children.[4]
Chapter 17 of the novel The Three Coffins contains Dr. Fell's "locked room lecture",[5] in which he delineates many of the methods by which apparently locked-room or impossible-crime murders might be committed. In the course of his discourse, he states, off-handedly, that he and his listeners are, of course, characters in a book.
gideon, fell, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 2022, l. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Gideon Fell news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message Dr Gideon Fell is a fictional character created by John Dickson Carr 1 He is the protagonist of 23 mystery novels from 1933 through 1967 as well as a few short stories Carr was an American who lived most of his adult life in England Dr Fell is an Englishman who lives in the London suburbs Gideon FellSelf portrait of G K Chesterton Dr Fell is described as a corpulent man with a moustache who wears a cape and a shovel hat and walks with a cane First appearanceHag s Nook 1933 Last appearanceFell and Foul PlayCreated byJohn Dickson CarrPortrayed byFinlay Currie Donald SindenIn universe informationGenderMaleOccupationLexicographer DetectiveNationalityBritish Dr Fell is supposedly based upon G K Chesterton author of the Father Brown stories 2 whose physical appearance and personality were similar to those of Doctor Fell 3 Contents 1 Biography 2 Chronology 3 Adaptations 3 1 Television 3 2 Radio 4 References 5 External linksBiography editDr Fell is a corpulent man with a moustache who wears a cape and a shovel hat and walks with the aid of two canes 1 His age is not specified in his first appearance in a 1933 novel he is said to be not too old but with a kind of ancient quality about him He is frequently described as bringing the spirit of Father Christmas or Old King Cole into a room 1 In his early appearances he was portrayed as a lexicographer but this description gradually disappeared and he was thereafter mostly referred to as working on a monumental history of the beer drinking habits of the English people He is an amateur sleuth frequently called upon by the police whom he frustrates in the usual manner of fictional detectives by refusing to reveal his deductions until he has arrived at a complete solution to the problem The most frequently recurring police character was Superintendent Hadley Most of Fell s exploits concern the unravelling of locked room mysteries or of impossible crimes When he himself becomes frustrated he is likely to cry out Archons of Athens When Dr Fell is not traveling he lives with his wife in a somewhat cluttered house The wife s name is never given and little of her character is revealed except that she is rather eccentric as well She goes unmentioned in many of the books but an allusion to her late in the series indicates that the couple s domestic life is unchanged The Fells have no children 4 Chapter 17 of the novel The Three Coffins contains Dr Fell s locked room lecture 5 in which he delineates many of the methods by which apparently locked room or impossible crime murders might be committed In the course of his discourse he states off handedly that he and his listeners are of course characters in a book Chronology edit1933 Hag s Nook 1933 The Mad Hatter Mystery 1934 The Eight of Swords 1934 The Blind Barber 1935 Death Watch 1935 The Hollow Man The Three Coffins 1936 The Arabian Nights Murder 1937 To Wake the Dead 1938 The Crooked Hinge 1939 The Black Spectacles The Problem of the Green Capsule Mystery in Limelight 1939 The Problem of the Wire Cage 1940 The Man Who Could Not Shudder 1941 The Case of the Constant Suicides 1941 Death Turns the Tables The Seat of the Scornful 1944 Till Death Do Us Part 1946 He Who Whispers 1947 The Sleeping Sphinx 1949 Below Suspicion 1958 The Dead Man s Knock 1960 In Spite of Thunder 1965 The House at Satan s Elbow 1966 Panic in Box C 1967 Dark of the Moon 1991 Fell and Foul PlayAdaptations editTelevision edit The Seat of the Scornful was adapted as a 1956 episode of the BBC Sunday Night Theatre Fell was portrayed by Finlay Currie Radio edit The Clock Strikes Eight written by Carr was broadcast on On 18 May 1944 for the anthology series Appointment with Fear Richard George played Fell The Hollow Man was adapted for Saturday Night Theatre with Norman Shelley as Fell Donald Sinden played Dr Fell in a series of eight BBC Radio adaptations References edit a b c appraisal of all the Dr Fell books Archived 2004 08 11 at the Wayback Machine Dr Fell books Archived 2004 08 11 at the Wayback Machine Carr John Dickson PBworks Retrieved 2012 11 13 user generated source Carr John Dickson 1933 Hag s Nook ISBN 9780451005328 the locked room mysteryExternal links editMystery list Dr Fell books Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gideon Fell amp oldid 1199769431, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
