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Matthew Scudder #Short Story
A Candle for the Bag Lady
I began writing about Matthew Scudder in the mid-1970s. The first novel, The Sins of the Fathers, appeared in 1975, and A Drop of the Hard Stuff - the 17th and most recent - was published in 2011. Over the years Scudder has also been featured in 11 short works of fiction; A Candle for the Bag Lady, which first appeared in AHMM in 1977, is the second of them.
Out the Window and A Candle for the Bag Lady kept Scudder alive for me after Dell failed to sell the first three books effectively. There seemed little point in trying to interest another publisher in a series that had already proved unsuccessful, but I couldn't abandon Scudder, and wrote the two novelettes for magazine publication. Then I wrote the fourth novel, A Stab in the Dark, and Don Fine published it at Arbor House, and Scudder was back in business.
If you catch me in a weak moment, you might persuade me to sing the title song...
A Candle for the Bag Lady was briefly retitled Like a Lamb to Slaughter in order to serve as the title story of a collection; it's original was subsequently restored. It is included in The Night and the Music, my collection of all 11 Matthew Scudder short stories, available for Kindle or as a handsome trade paperback.
Out the Window and A Candle for the Bag Lady kept Scudder alive for me after Dell failed to sell the first three books effectively. There seemed little point in trying to interest another publisher in a series that had already proved unsuccessful, but I couldn't abandon Scudder, and wrote the two novelettes for magazine publication. Then I wrote the fourth novel, A Stab in the Dark, and Don Fine published it at Arbor House, and Scudder was back in business.
If you catch me in a weak moment, you might persuade me to sing the title song...
A Candle for the Bag Lady was briefly retitled Like a Lamb to Slaughter in order to serve as the title story of a collection; it's original was subsequently restored. It is included in The Night and the Music, my collection of all 11 Matthew Scudder short stories, available for Kindle or as a handsome trade paperback.
34 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2012
63 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Block
758 books3,016 followersLawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
February 14, 2022
Another Matt Scudder short, in which the New York based private detective receives an unexpected visit from a local lawyer. It seems he’s the recipient of legacy of $1200, but he’s struggling to place the name of his benefactor. Then it comes to him, it’s a lady who sold newspapers on the street - that after having already paid the same price for these items from a retailer. She’s one of the bag ladies who seem to scuttle around the city, carrying her belongings with her wherever she goes.
The lawyer reveals the fact that she was murdered, viciously so, and that she’d also left amounts to a number of others. But why had Matt received such a windfall, he’d hardly known the woman. It’s a mystery, but then mysteries are Scudder’s stock-in-trade. He decides to pursue the matter, but not aggressively so. After picking away at it for a while the mystery rather resolves itself.
With Block, it’s never really just about the story for me. Yes, a good yarn adds to my enjoyment but the main pleasure I derive is simply from the way in which he places words on the page, from the vibe his prose gives off. And I love spending page time with Scudder, he’s such a complex and interesting character. The author read this audio version himself, his gravelly voice perfect for the job. I’d happily consume one of these episodes daily.
August 1, 2021
On all accounts this should be fairly boring, yet it touches on something deeply poignant and enigmatic about human connections and drives - the accidental, the arbitrary, the unpredictable, the irrational- that really stuck with me.
January 20, 2020
Another great Scudder story from the 70's released on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Mr. Block blogged about this bounty of newly added stories yesterday in one of his letters to his fans.
I plan to read all I had missed previously. This one has great elements of life in NYC in another era.
Kindle Unlimited
I plan to read all I had missed previously. This one has great elements of life in NYC in another era.
Kindle Unlimited
December 15, 2019
Good early Scudder story
July 1, 2014
My first outing with a Scudder story, and I am pleased to say the hard-drinking detective and his creator, Lawrence Block, delivered.
January 30, 2024
Another example, via a short story, of the talented writing of Lawrence Block and his brilliantly imagined PI, Matthew Scudder. Both demand your attention and are worthy of your time and reading pleasure.
What I liked especially after working a proportion of my life with the social underclass and a section of society ignored, is that it champions a bag lady. Senselessly killed without any obvious motive - the murder comes to Matt Scudder’s attention after he is mentioned in her will.
During the course of the time he spends looking into her life and asking about her in the neighbourhood few leads arise to why this kindly lady was attacked and stabbed to death.
But it is the moving from obscurity into memories and recollections within those he meets that her value as a human being is enhanced and remembered with respect.
Such a considered piece. It promotes the value of life in all New York’s inhabitants as some remember escaping from dispair themselves. It is through reflection on Mary Alice Redfield that this story turns, her murder is shown not only to be futile, not just a statistic but the loss of a person. She was often anonymous amid the normal passing of New Yorkers, few knew her name but she was a decent woman in all her interactions. Her life had value and her death no meaning at all. This seems to press Scudder on without any real expectation that he’ll solve the case.
Brings a lot of detail to who the protagonist Matt Scudder is, background details to bring to the substantial novels. It is also his values as a man, his humanity that shines out here. An easy going soul, mindful of his own limitations and a genuine guy whose journey in these books you want to follow, whose company makes your outlook on life more enriched and optimistic.
What I liked especially after working a proportion of my life with the social underclass and a section of society ignored, is that it champions a bag lady. Senselessly killed without any obvious motive - the murder comes to Matt Scudder’s attention after he is mentioned in her will.
During the course of the time he spends looking into her life and asking about her in the neighbourhood few leads arise to why this kindly lady was attacked and stabbed to death.
But it is the moving from obscurity into memories and recollections within those he meets that her value as a human being is enhanced and remembered with respect.
Such a considered piece. It promotes the value of life in all New York’s inhabitants as some remember escaping from dispair themselves. It is through reflection on Mary Alice Redfield that this story turns, her murder is shown not only to be futile, not just a statistic but the loss of a person. She was often anonymous amid the normal passing of New Yorkers, few knew her name but she was a decent woman in all her interactions. Her life had value and her death no meaning at all. This seems to press Scudder on without any real expectation that he’ll solve the case.
Brings a lot of detail to who the protagonist Matt Scudder is, background details to bring to the substantial novels. It is also his values as a man, his humanity that shines out here. An easy going soul, mindful of his own limitations and a genuine guy whose journey in these books you want to follow, whose company makes your outlook on life more enriched and optimistic.
February 24, 2021
I thought this was really good. There is a reason Block has been writing for so many years. It is haunting because it makes you think about the people you usually don't but may pass by every day if you live in a city: the homeless or bag people. The song in this story would make a great song I think.
I haven't read much of Lawrence Block but these short stories are well crafted and show a master storyteller at work.
I haven't read much of Lawrence Block but these short stories are well crafted and show a master storyteller at work.
November 16, 2020
Another great read with an interesting storyline. I am really getting into this series and author. The story pulls you in and the ending is not what you would have expected.
April 4, 2022
⭐️3.5/4⭐️
May 21, 2013
A novella in the classic Block mold, read by the author, who, unlike most authors, does an excellent job portraying the humdrum, rather ordinary, plodding existence that is Matt Scudder.
Matt is visited by a lawyer who gives him a check for $1200 from a bag lady who Matt barely knew and for whom he had done nothing remarkable. He learns she had been murdered and had been quite wealthy, revising her will regularly to make bequests to people she didn't know and barely had any interaction with.
Matt, in his inimitable way, after tithing from the bequest and sending some to his ex-wife and sons, decides to assume the money was to discover who and why she had been murdered. The result is utterly banal (intentional reference to Hannah Arendt.)
It's interesting to feel the undercurrent of danger and lawlessness attributed to New York. The book was written many decades ago in 1977. New York is now considered one of the safer cities so from that sense it feels somewhat anachronistic.
It's a marvelous listen/read, nevertheless, very short but a great character study. Block has been reissuing many of his earlier works for Kindle and audio, much to my delight. Not to mention we get to hear Block sing in this audiobook. Well, we'll overlook that.
Matt is visited by a lawyer who gives him a check for $1200 from a bag lady who Matt barely knew and for whom he had done nothing remarkable. He learns she had been murdered and had been quite wealthy, revising her will regularly to make bequests to people she didn't know and barely had any interaction with.
Matt, in his inimitable way, after tithing from the bequest and sending some to his ex-wife and sons, decides to assume the money was to discover who and why she had been murdered. The result is utterly banal (intentional reference to Hannah Arendt.)
It's interesting to feel the undercurrent of danger and lawlessness attributed to New York. The book was written many decades ago in 1977. New York is now considered one of the safer cities so from that sense it feels somewhat anachronistic.
It's a marvelous listen/read, nevertheless, very short but a great character study. Block has been reissuing many of his earlier works for Kindle and audio, much to my delight. Not to mention we get to hear Block sing in this audiobook. Well, we'll overlook that.
April 3, 2013
Another solid short-story from the perspective of part-time detective/full-time drunk Matthew Scudder. At first, the detective's actions not factoring directly into the solution of the murder mystery bothered me, but after thinking about it, his tertiary involvement and self realization about his role in the case made more sense, and was more realistic, in a certain way.
December 21, 2020
A short story in the Matthew Scudder series. Quick and enjoyable.
April 26, 2022
Spoilers ahead:
This is the second Scudder short story I've read. A bag lady is savagely murdered in the streets. Scudder is drawn into the mystery when he finds out that the woman is an heiress and has left him a bequest of $1200 for reasons unknown since he doesn't know her any more than as a local denizen of the streets.
Because of this bequest he decides to look into it. The bag lady does have a room in a rooming house (RSO) and he questions the landlady and as many of the boarders that he can find. He next questions the attorney handling the estate and finds out that the lady had given out 32 bequests and he also undertakes to question as many of those as he can find.
But most of the people he questions don't have a beef with her or even know her well. In fact, most of the people don't even understand why she left them money. The word gets out on the street that Scudder is investigating her murder but he is at an impasse.
Finally one night out of the blue, someone comes into Armstrong's out of the blue, sits at Scudder's table and just confesses.
There isn't really a whodunit in this short story as Scudder's investigations lead to a dead end and the killer just confesses. But I still like the book as it's a brief revisit to one of my favorite crime solvers and maybe Block wanted to write about the homeless denizens that populate our streets and tell us that they are people too and have their stories.
This is the second Scudder short story I've read. A bag lady is savagely murdered in the streets. Scudder is drawn into the mystery when he finds out that the woman is an heiress and has left him a bequest of $1200 for reasons unknown since he doesn't know her any more than as a local denizen of the streets.
Because of this bequest he decides to look into it. The bag lady does have a room in a rooming house (RSO) and he questions the landlady and as many of the boarders that he can find. He next questions the attorney handling the estate and finds out that the lady had given out 32 bequests and he also undertakes to question as many of those as he can find.
But most of the people he questions don't have a beef with her or even know her well. In fact, most of the people don't even understand why she left them money. The word gets out on the street that Scudder is investigating her murder but he is at an impasse.
Finally one night out of the blue, someone comes into Armstrong's out of the blue, sits at Scudder's table and just confesses.
There isn't really a whodunit in this short story as Scudder's investigations lead to a dead end and the killer just confesses. But I still like the book as it's a brief revisit to one of my favorite crime solvers and maybe Block wanted to write about the homeless denizens that populate our streets and tell us that they are people too and have their stories.
February 11, 2023
A Candle for the Bag Lady, by Lawrence Block
Good story, sad but classic crime noir. ***
"New York is full of them. East Side, West Side, each neighborhood has its own supply of bag women. Some of them are alcoholic but most of them have gone mad without any help from drink. They walk the streets, huddle on stoops or in doorways. They find sermons in stones and treasures in trash cans. They talk to
themselves, to passersby, to God. Sometimes they mumble. Now and then they shriek.
They carry things around with them, the bag women. The shopping bags supply their generic name and their chief common denominator. Most of them seem to be paranoid, and their madness convinces them that their possessions are very valuable, that their enemies covet them. So their shopping bags are never out of their sight."
Good story, sad but classic crime noir. ***
"New York is full of them. East Side, West Side, each neighborhood has its own supply of bag women. Some of them are alcoholic but most of them have gone mad without any help from drink. They walk the streets, huddle on stoops or in doorways. They find sermons in stones and treasures in trash cans. They talk to
themselves, to passersby, to God. Sometimes they mumble. Now and then they shriek.
They carry things around with them, the bag women. The shopping bags supply their generic name and their chief common denominator. Most of them seem to be paranoid, and their madness convinces them that their possessions are very valuable, that their enemies covet them. So their shopping bags are never out of their sight."
June 5, 2022
( Format : Audiobook )
"The shopping bag lady."
A short, quick to read mystery from the masterful story teller, Lawrence Block. Scudder unexpectedly receives a,small legacy from someone he barely knew - a murder victim from three months before. Not expecting any real results, he decided to find out a little more about her.
The writing is tight, no superfluous wording yet everything, and everyone is perfectly portrayed. Read by the author, his slightly gravelly and sardonic tone suits the character of Scudder well and other protagonists are given individual voices. The whole experience is most enjoyable despite the brevity of the book.
Recommended.
Available for free with Audible Plus; thank you, Audible
"The shopping bag lady."
A short, quick to read mystery from the masterful story teller, Lawrence Block. Scudder unexpectedly receives a,small legacy from someone he barely knew - a murder victim from three months before. Not expecting any real results, he decided to find out a little more about her.
The writing is tight, no superfluous wording yet everything, and everyone is perfectly portrayed. Read by the author, his slightly gravelly and sardonic tone suits the character of Scudder well and other protagonists are given individual voices. The whole experience is most enjoyable despite the brevity of the book.
Recommended.
Available for free with Audible Plus; thank you, Audible
November 20, 2020
I read this first in an Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine I bought on a whim. It struck me as poignant then, long before I knew who Block was or that there were more Matt Scudder stories. Just finished a re-read, and it holds up well.
It’s not really a tale of detection. It’s a slice of urban life in the ‘70s with Scudder casually investigating the bag lady’s Murder.
It’s a solid addition to the Scudder canon with a meditation on how each life we encounter affects us.
Well worth a look as a stand alone or in The Night and the Music which collects Scudder shorts.
It’s not really a tale of detection. It’s a slice of urban life in the ‘70s with Scudder casually investigating the bag lady’s Murder.
It’s a solid addition to the Scudder canon with a meditation on how each life we encounter affects us.
Well worth a look as a stand alone or in The Night and the Music which collects Scudder shorts.
September 30, 2021
Revisiting Matt’s past
This was a fun read, returning Matt Scudder to his pre-AA life. None of the series continuing characters are here, but that’s kind of nice. It was great to be reminded of how the series began with Matt drinking and isolating but unable to walk away from the thing he does best: catching killers. Not so much a mystery but probably more realistic than most mysteries in that the procedure of detection is the means of solving the case. I really enjoyed this and hope for more short stories. Love the character, especially the early Matt.
This was a fun read, returning Matt Scudder to his pre-AA life. None of the series continuing characters are here, but that’s kind of nice. It was great to be reminded of how the series began with Matt drinking and isolating but unable to walk away from the thing he does best: catching killers. Not so much a mystery but probably more realistic than most mysteries in that the procedure of detection is the means of solving the case. I really enjoyed this and hope for more short stories. Love the character, especially the early Matt.
December 9, 2021
Another very short story by a great author whom I have enjoyed reading for years.
Although this one was not nearly as good as his well known series novels, it was entertaining nonetheless.
Probably more appropriate for Block fans than a reader new to the author.
Although this one was not nearly as good as his well known series novels, it was entertaining nonetheless.
Probably more appropriate for Block fans than a reader new to the author.
May 3, 2018
My second favorite author and the Matt Scudder series is his best but I enjoy the others as well
March 12, 2019
I’m hooked and will be reading the books in the Scudder series...
March 30, 2020
Great story
I read this twice and loved it both times. James Scott Bell discusses it in his book on how to write a short story. This is an excellent example.
I read this twice and loved it both times. James Scott Bell discusses it in his book on how to write a short story. This is an excellent example.
May 22, 2021
A super short about a bag lady that leaves Scudder,and others, money in her will. He didn't know her but feels compelled to find her killer.
August 22, 2022
A good short story - Matt Scudder is such a well written character
September 13, 2022
I hated it for most its duration but the end made it better.
November 21, 2023
Another Matt Scudder short story with a "message". And it's a good story with a good message
December 7, 2024
What a good read. Lawrence Block has a way of writing that draws you in and manages to bring you to the end in very few words.
August 27, 2025
Loved it! I think I'm gonna get into the entire series.
January 19, 2023
Classic Block — Excellent
This was a great read, as are all of Lawrence Block’s books. It’s a novella, so a quick read, and thoroughly enjoyable.
This was a great read, as are all of Lawrence Block’s books. It’s a novella, so a quick read, and thoroughly enjoyable.
April 7, 2013
A wonderful novella. A violent death kicks off an investigation by detective Matthew Scudder, but this tale isn't a whodunnit, or a whydunnit. It's a tale about the mysterious ways in which we are all connected, both in life and in death. Truly moving.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews