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Hildegarde Withers
The Cases of Hildegarde Withers
Miss Hildegarde Withers, middle-aged school teacher and amateur sleuth, stars in five short stories by Stuart Palmer. Miss Withers, her odd hats, and her ever-present umbrella have been featured in seven motion pictures and seventeen full-length novels, which, like the shorts, are characterized by madcap stories of murder and brilliant deduction.
- GenresMysteryShort Stories
93 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2012
21 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Stuart Palmer
76 books31 followersPseudonyms Theodore Orchards, Jay Stewart
Stuart Palmer (1905–1968) was an American author of mysteries. Born in Baraboo, Wisconsin, Palmer worked a number of odd jobs—including apple picking, journalism, and copywriting—before publishing his first novel, the crime drama Ace of Jades, in 1931. It was with his second novel, however, that he established his writing career: The Penguin Pool Murder introduced Hildegarde Withers, a schoolmarm who, on a field trip to the New York Aquarium, discovers a dead body in the pool. Withers was an immensely popular character, and went on to star in thirteen more novels, including Miss Withers Regrets (1947) and Nipped in the Bud (1951). A master of intricate plotting, Palmer found success writing for Hollywood, where several of his books, including The Penguin Pool Murder, were filmed by RKO Pictures Inc.
Stuart Palmer (1905–1968) was an American author of mysteries. Born in Baraboo, Wisconsin, Palmer worked a number of odd jobs—including apple picking, journalism, and copywriting—before publishing his first novel, the crime drama Ace of Jades, in 1931. It was with his second novel, however, that he established his writing career: The Penguin Pool Murder introduced Hildegarde Withers, a schoolmarm who, on a field trip to the New York Aquarium, discovers a dead body in the pool. Withers was an immensely popular character, and went on to star in thirteen more novels, including Miss Withers Regrets (1947) and Nipped in the Bud (1951). A master of intricate plotting, Palmer found success writing for Hollywood, where several of his books, including The Penguin Pool Murder, were filmed by RKO Pictures Inc.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 4, 2017
I first came across Stuart Palmer because I’m a movie buff, my specialty being films of the 1930s and ‘40s. Palmer wrote the screenplays for a few Bulldog Drummond films, as well as entries for the Flacon and Lone Wolf series. But Palmer was also a novelist, and had great success right out of the gate in the early 1930s with his Hildegarde Withers mysteries. His first novel featuring the sharp-tongued and sometimes comic older schoolmarm who was the best friend — and worst critic — of Inspector Oscar Piper, The Penguin Pool Murders, was adapted by RKO Pictures starring Edna May Oliver, whom Palmer had based the character on in the first place.
Palmer then wrote over a dozen novels featuring the popular Miss Withers. He also penned a slew of short Miss Withers stories, some of them for a magazine called Mystery which was exclusive to Woolworth’s. Palmer teamed with the fabulous Craig Rice at one point, combining his Miss Withers with Rice’s hard drinking attorney/detective J.J. Malone for a collection of short stories.
Here we get five Miss Hildegarde mysteries, and they are very enjoyable. There isn’t a load of character development here, but the pacing of these rather cozy mysteries is reminiscent of the whiz-bang pulp style. Brisk and breezy in narrative and brief in length, these are perfect for bedtime when you don’t want to get into anything heavy or long. Of the five stories, I can’t say I have a definite favorite, because they are all enjoyable. Miss Withers is not endearing like her British counterparts, Miss Marple and Miss Silvers, but neither is she unlikable, and the whiz-bang pacing leaves the reader little time to be annoyed with her occasionally quick and caustic manner.
THE PUZZLE OF THE SCORNED WOMAN was first published in The New York Sunday News of 1942, so is a later Miss Withers story. Someone uses a girl’s attempted suicide to exact revenge, and Miss Withers makes some very clever deductions to solve the case. When Oscar’s nab goes south, however, it is some quick thinking by the alert school teacher that saves the day.
THE RIDDLE OF THE YELLOW CANARY was first published in 1934 in the aforementioned Mystery, the slick-papered magazine where she appeared in short form from 1933-1935. If I did perhaps have a favorite among the five stories, I’d probably have to say it was this one. A music publisher plans to get rid of a little problem he has with the help of poison, but Miss Withers, as usual miles ahead of her police pal Oscar Piper, deduces a suicide was no suicide at all. There is a lot of atmosphere in this one, from a yellow canary and a tune called May Day, to some fun business on a train as Miss Withers attempts to keep the murderer from getting away.
A FINGERPRINT IN COBALT was first published in the New York Sunday News of 1938 and starts off with a bang when an old wardrobe at an auction is discovered — quite dramatically — to contain a body. A painting, a glass sliver, and young love all come into play in this enjoyable little mystery.
THE RIDDLE OF THE DOCTOR’S DOUBLE has the grizzled but generally happy Inspector and the angular sleuth enjoying a night of music when on the stroll home they hear a scream from a window above. Toy horses, secret passages and young love all make this one another fun one.
GREEN FIRE was first published in The Chicago Tribune in 1941. A smash and grab at a jewelry store leaves an officer dead, and Oscar is in jeopardy of losing his job when the emerald ring left behind is returned for and taken by the thieves. A witness very smitten with a young copper and a crazy — literally — painter are a couple of elements adding color to this final story.
This is a very enjoyable collection of short mysteries which is a good introduction to Miss Withers for those new to Stuart Palmer’s creation, especially since it contains both early and later stories. Overall, great fun!
Palmer then wrote over a dozen novels featuring the popular Miss Withers. He also penned a slew of short Miss Withers stories, some of them for a magazine called Mystery which was exclusive to Woolworth’s. Palmer teamed with the fabulous Craig Rice at one point, combining his Miss Withers with Rice’s hard drinking attorney/detective J.J. Malone for a collection of short stories.
Here we get five Miss Hildegarde mysteries, and they are very enjoyable. There isn’t a load of character development here, but the pacing of these rather cozy mysteries is reminiscent of the whiz-bang pulp style. Brisk and breezy in narrative and brief in length, these are perfect for bedtime when you don’t want to get into anything heavy or long. Of the five stories, I can’t say I have a definite favorite, because they are all enjoyable. Miss Withers is not endearing like her British counterparts, Miss Marple and Miss Silvers, but neither is she unlikable, and the whiz-bang pacing leaves the reader little time to be annoyed with her occasionally quick and caustic manner.
THE PUZZLE OF THE SCORNED WOMAN was first published in The New York Sunday News of 1942, so is a later Miss Withers story. Someone uses a girl’s attempted suicide to exact revenge, and Miss Withers makes some very clever deductions to solve the case. When Oscar’s nab goes south, however, it is some quick thinking by the alert school teacher that saves the day.
THE RIDDLE OF THE YELLOW CANARY was first published in 1934 in the aforementioned Mystery, the slick-papered magazine where she appeared in short form from 1933-1935. If I did perhaps have a favorite among the five stories, I’d probably have to say it was this one. A music publisher plans to get rid of a little problem he has with the help of poison, but Miss Withers, as usual miles ahead of her police pal Oscar Piper, deduces a suicide was no suicide at all. There is a lot of atmosphere in this one, from a yellow canary and a tune called May Day, to some fun business on a train as Miss Withers attempts to keep the murderer from getting away.
A FINGERPRINT IN COBALT was first published in the New York Sunday News of 1938 and starts off with a bang when an old wardrobe at an auction is discovered — quite dramatically — to contain a body. A painting, a glass sliver, and young love all come into play in this enjoyable little mystery.
THE RIDDLE OF THE DOCTOR’S DOUBLE has the grizzled but generally happy Inspector and the angular sleuth enjoying a night of music when on the stroll home they hear a scream from a window above. Toy horses, secret passages and young love all make this one another fun one.
GREEN FIRE was first published in The Chicago Tribune in 1941. A smash and grab at a jewelry store leaves an officer dead, and Oscar is in jeopardy of losing his job when the emerald ring left behind is returned for and taken by the thieves. A witness very smitten with a young copper and a crazy — literally — painter are a couple of elements adding color to this final story.
This is a very enjoyable collection of short mysteries which is a good introduction to Miss Withers for those new to Stuart Palmer’s creation, especially since it contains both early and later stories. Overall, great fun!
August 1, 2014
Although the novels are better, these short stories featuring Miss Withers are fun reads. Plenty of humor and a nice sense of NYC in the 1930s.
September 16, 2019
If you love Miss Marple and Miss Silver, you shouldn't miss Hildegarde.
One of the reasons I like older mysteries is that the writers wrote short-stories in addition to novel-length books. A good writer (and Palmer was top-notch) can put a lot of punch and fun into a short story and in the early to mid-1900's magazines and even newspapers paid well for them. It was a fine time to be a mystery writer.
I cut my teeth on Miss Marple and now I'm discovering Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver and working my way through that series. Miss Hildegarde Withers is right up there with the best of them. She sprung from the type-writer of former ad-man Stuart Palmer in 1931 and the first novels featuring her were so popular they were quickly made into movies.
This is a collection of five short stories which appeared between 1934 and 1942. Miss Hildegarde Withers is a spinster school teacher with a fondness for solving crimes. Her pal Inspector Oscar Piper of the NYPD is an acerbic Irish cop who has mixed emotions about being told his business by a civilian. And a female at that! He takes Hildegarde out to dinner and occasionally (reluctantly) accompanies her to a concert, but the sight of her at a murder scene causes his blood-pressure to rise. The fact that she always beats him to the solution doesn't help.
Unlike Miss Silver, Hildegarde (notice that I feel comfortable using her first name, Americans being more informal than Brits) isn't a professional detective, but she's gotten a reputation as a women who can figure out puzzles and people call on her when they don't want the police around.
Ironically, the illustrations depict her as ugly and the book blurbs call her "elderly," but the texts say that she's about 40 and not that bad looking. The author says that she has a long face like a horse and a long slender nose, but there's no indication that she breaks cameras or causes small children to burst into tears.
In "The Puzzle of the Scorned Woman", a society woman calls in Miss Withers because a former girlfriend of her daughter's fiance is threatening the family. The threat is too vague to interest the police, but Hildegarde is happy to masquerade as a relative to keep an eye on things. Of course, there's a murder and Inspector Piper nabs the murderer. Unfortunately, he's got the wrong guy, as Miss Withers quickly shows him.
"The Riddle of the Yellow Canary" is a "locked door" mystery and Hildegarde has to take some lessons from a locksmith to solve it. It shows the shady side of the cut-throat song-writing industry and only the dead woman's canary knows who really wrote that hit song.
"A Fingerprint in Cobalt" starts innocently enough at an auction of fine furniture and art objects. Miss Withers has been called in by a worried wife who's missing both her pearls and her husband. One of them turns up in that mahogany wardrobe that's up for auction, but which one? And why?
In "The Riddle of the Doctor's Double", Miss Withers and Inspector Piper are headed home from a concert when a woman's scream draws them into a nearby house. Old John Wurtz isn't dead, but it looks like someone might be trying to kill him. His hapless nephew makes the mistake of pointing a gun at Hildegarde, but she simply says, "Stuff and nonsense!" and keeps going. Dirty Harry, move over.
In "Green Fire" Miss Withers wonders into a jewelry store robbery while apartment hunting. The thief not only gets away, but shoots a cop in the process. Inspector Piper is understandably upset and takes his anger out on his friend. There's some interesting information about lead-poisoning and the problems it caused for painters which I'll remember next time I start whining about modern lead-free paint.
These are great stories with careful plotting, good characters, and a big dose of humor. I've been buying this series as they go on sale and now I'm eager to get started on them. Stuart Palmer may be forgotten today, but he created a memorable detective in Miss Hildegarde Withers.
One of the reasons I like older mysteries is that the writers wrote short-stories in addition to novel-length books. A good writer (and Palmer was top-notch) can put a lot of punch and fun into a short story and in the early to mid-1900's magazines and even newspapers paid well for them. It was a fine time to be a mystery writer.
I cut my teeth on Miss Marple and now I'm discovering Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver and working my way through that series. Miss Hildegarde Withers is right up there with the best of them. She sprung from the type-writer of former ad-man Stuart Palmer in 1931 and the first novels featuring her were so popular they were quickly made into movies.
This is a collection of five short stories which appeared between 1934 and 1942. Miss Hildegarde Withers is a spinster school teacher with a fondness for solving crimes. Her pal Inspector Oscar Piper of the NYPD is an acerbic Irish cop who has mixed emotions about being told his business by a civilian. And a female at that! He takes Hildegarde out to dinner and occasionally (reluctantly) accompanies her to a concert, but the sight of her at a murder scene causes his blood-pressure to rise. The fact that she always beats him to the solution doesn't help.
Unlike Miss Silver, Hildegarde (notice that I feel comfortable using her first name, Americans being more informal than Brits) isn't a professional detective, but she's gotten a reputation as a women who can figure out puzzles and people call on her when they don't want the police around.
Ironically, the illustrations depict her as ugly and the book blurbs call her "elderly," but the texts say that she's about 40 and not that bad looking. The author says that she has a long face like a horse and a long slender nose, but there's no indication that she breaks cameras or causes small children to burst into tears.
In "The Puzzle of the Scorned Woman", a society woman calls in Miss Withers because a former girlfriend of her daughter's fiance is threatening the family. The threat is too vague to interest the police, but Hildegarde is happy to masquerade as a relative to keep an eye on things. Of course, there's a murder and Inspector Piper nabs the murderer. Unfortunately, he's got the wrong guy, as Miss Withers quickly shows him.
"The Riddle of the Yellow Canary" is a "locked door" mystery and Hildegarde has to take some lessons from a locksmith to solve it. It shows the shady side of the cut-throat song-writing industry and only the dead woman's canary knows who really wrote that hit song.
"A Fingerprint in Cobalt" starts innocently enough at an auction of fine furniture and art objects. Miss Withers has been called in by a worried wife who's missing both her pearls and her husband. One of them turns up in that mahogany wardrobe that's up for auction, but which one? And why?
In "The Riddle of the Doctor's Double", Miss Withers and Inspector Piper are headed home from a concert when a woman's scream draws them into a nearby house. Old John Wurtz isn't dead, but it looks like someone might be trying to kill him. His hapless nephew makes the mistake of pointing a gun at Hildegarde, but she simply says, "Stuff and nonsense!" and keeps going. Dirty Harry, move over.
In "Green Fire" Miss Withers wonders into a jewelry store robbery while apartment hunting. The thief not only gets away, but shoots a cop in the process. Inspector Piper is understandably upset and takes his anger out on his friend. There's some interesting information about lead-poisoning and the problems it caused for painters which I'll remember next time I start whining about modern lead-free paint.
These are great stories with careful plotting, good characters, and a big dose of humor. I've been buying this series as they go on sale and now I'm eager to get started on them. Stuart Palmer may be forgotten today, but he created a memorable detective in Miss Hildegarde Withers.
July 16, 2022
The Cases of Hildegarde Withers is a pretty good set of mystery short stories. I would give this book 3.6 stars. I would like to read some more of the books in the series.
February 18, 2014
Short stories of a Miss Silver or Miss Marple type.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews