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S. S. Van Dine Quotes

S. S. Van Dine is the pseudonym used by American art critic Willard Huntington Wright when he wrote detective novels. Wright was an important figure in avant-garde cultural circles in pre-World War I New York, and under the pseudonym he created the immensely popular fictional detective Philo Vance, a sleuth and aesthete who first appeared in books in the 1920s, then in movies and on the radio. Wikipedia  

✵ 15. October 1888 – 11. April 1939
S. S. Van Dine photo

Works

The Bishop Murder Case
The Benson Murder Case
S. S. Van Dine: 12 quotes0 likes

Famous S. S. Van Dine Quotes

“Oh, my dear fellow! I’m not indulgin’ in implications. I’m merely givin’ tongue to my youthful curiosity, don’t y’ know.”

S. S. Van Dine book The Bishop Murder Case

Ch 22
The Bishop Murder Case (1929)

“Anyway, you know full well I never wear boutonnieres. The decoration has fallen into disrepute. The only remaining devotees of the practice are roués and saxophone players.”

S. S. Van Dine book The Benson Murder Case

Source: The Benson Murder Case (1926), Ch. 2

“Circumstantial evidence, Markham, is the utt‘rest tommyrot imag‘nable. Its theory is not unlike that of our present-day democracy. The democratic theory is that if you accumulate enough ignorance at the polls, you produce intelligence; and the theory of circumst‘ntial evidence is that if you accumulate a sufficient number of weak links, you produce a strong chain.”

S. S. Van Dine book The Benson Murder Case

Source: The Benson Murder Case (1926), Ch. 22

“As I understand it, your policemen are chosen by their height and weight; they must meet certain requirements as to heft—as thought the only crimes they had to cope with were riots and gang feuds. Bulk—the great American ideal, whether in art, architecture, table d‘hôte meals, or detectives. An entrancin‘ notion.”

S. S. Van Dine book The Benson Murder Case

Ch 25
The Benson Murder Case (1926)

““Good God!” he mummered. “I don‘t know what to believe.”
“In that respect,” returned Vance, “you‘re in the same disheartenin‘ predic‘ment as all the philosophers.””

S. S. Van Dine book The Benson Murder Case

Source: The Benson Murder Case (1926), Ch. 23

“I trust the clergy are not involved in this problem. They‘re notoriously unscientific. One can‘t attack them with mathematics.”

S. S. Van Dine book The Bishop Murder Case

Ch 5
The Bishop Murder Case (1929)

S. S. Van Dine Quotes

“Only, as long as we‘re going insane we may as well go the whole way. A mere shred of sanity is of no value.”

S. S. Van Dine book The Bishop Murder Case

Ch 1
The Bishop Murder Case (1929)

““Do you play chess, by the by?” asked Vance.
“Used to. But no more. A beautiful game, though—if it wasn't for the players.””

S. S. Van Dine book The Bishop Murder Case

Ch 11
The Bishop Murder Case (1929)

“He spent considerable time at his clubs; his favorite was the Stuyvesant, because, as he explained to me, its membership was drawn largely from the political and commercial ranks, and he was never drawn into a discussion which required any mental effort”

S. S. Van Dine book The Benson Murder Case

Source: The Benson Murder Case (1926), Ch. 1

“You’re probably right,” sighed Vance. “I haven’t any coruscatin’ arguments to combat you with. Only, I’m disappointed. I don’t like anticlimaxes, especially when they don’t jibe with my idea of the dramatist’s talent. Pardee’s death at this moment is too deuced neat—it clears things up too tidily. There’s too much utility in it, and too little imagination.”

S. S. Van Dine book The Bishop Murder Case

Ch 22
The Bishop Murder Case (1929)

“A fairy tale in terms of blood—a world in anamorphosis—a perversion of all rationality.… It’s unthinkable, senseless, like black magic and sorcery and thaumaturgy. It’s downright demented.”

S. S. Van Dine book The Bishop Murder Case

Ch 1
The Bishop Murder Case (1929)

“Giving full rein to one‘s cynicism as one goes along produces a normal outlet and maintains an emotional equilibrium.”

S. S. Van Dine book The Bishop Murder Case

Ch 26
The Bishop Murder Case (1929)

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