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Gertrude Stein And Alice B. Toklas Mystery #1
Murder Is Murder Is Murder
After a bloody battle between royal cousins squabbling over the English throne, Brother Cadfael, performing funeral rights, discovers an extra body, that of a murder victim, and sets out to find the murderer
189 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1985
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75 people want to read
About the author
Samuel M. Steward
18 books15 followersAlso published under the pseudonym Phil Andros,
Sam M. Steward.
Sam M. Steward.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 19, 2011
Late in life Sam Steward wrote two light 'mysteries' involving Gertrude Stein, Alice Toklas and his own alter ego Johnny Andrews. These little books tend to get dissed by the mystery crowd for not being serious mysteries, by the Stein crowd for not being serious books about her and by the Sam Steward/Phil Andros crowd for not being intelligent erotica. Well, I like them. They are intelligent fun reads for a summer evening and meant as that and they do provide a domestic glimpse of the two great ladies and their friendship with Steward that is warm and humorous. And there is even a sexy policeman in the 'Shawl' who has his rather s/m way with Johnny. What's not to like?! Where the 'Shawl' is set in Paris, this one takes place in the Stein-Toklas summer residence in Biligny in Ain Province where they annually rented a château.
October 28, 2023
FUCKING FINALLY ER HÚN BÚIN! Jeah svo ekki lesa hana. Hún er ógeðslega skrýtin, það er amk einn kynlífs brandari á hverri blaðsíðu, sem kemur lika sögunni ekkert við, bara allir hlutir í sögunni eru klámvæddir. Sögurþraðurinn er ekki einu sinni svo góður og svo eru aðal konurnar tvær alltaf að kalla hvor aðra “kisulóra.” Ógeðslega skrytið, sérstaklega því að á ensku eru þær pottþett alltaf að kalla hvor aðra “pussy.”
DO NOT READ
DO NOT READ
February 29, 2016
Nas traseiras da velha casa apalaçada onde passam o verão, na pequena aldeia rural de Bilignin, em França, Gertrude Stein e Alice B. Toklas têm um pequeno jardim com vista para o vale e, lá ao longe, para o Monte Branco. Um dia, sentada sobre o muro do jardim, Alice é testemunha de uma cena inusitada nos campos em frente. Grand Pierre, o pai Petit Pierre, o apolíneo rapaz surdo-mudo que é o seu jardineiro, dirige-se, furioso, ao homem mais detestável da aldeia, Monsieur Debat. Quando regressa de casa, onde foi chamar a sua Lovey (Gertrude) para assistir ao que ela julga será uma briga violenta, Alice (a Pussy de Gertrude), depara-se apenas com Debat, lavrando as suas terras como se nada tivesse acontecido. No dia a seguir, Petit Pierre chega, preocupado com a ausência do pai, que não dormiu em casa, coisa que nunca acontecera antes, o que faz com que as duas mulheres, com a ajuda de Johnny-jump-up, um amigo americano acabado de chegar a Bilignin para as visitar, partam numa aventura policial que os levará a descobertas surpreendentes...
Este livro é um interessante romance policial, com muitos dos ingredientes habituais: um crime, um suspeito, um corpo em falta, uma série de indícios que levam à descoberta da verdade e à prisão do criminoso, e um final inesperado. Mas afasta-se do género quando faz com que as heroínas-detetives sejam sejam as famosas Gertrude Stein e Alice B. Toklas, o casal de expatriadas americanas que fizeram do seu salão parisiense um centro de arte e cultura por onde passaram Picasso, Paul Bowles, Cecil Beaton, Thornton Wilder, Lord Alfred Douglas e outros, e porque mistura a ficção policial com as memórias do autor, Samuel Steward, ele próprio um personagem do enredo (Johnny), que se correspondeu com as famosas escritoras e as visitou em Bilignin, Paris e Roma.
O enredo está salpicado de sexualidade, sexo e desejo sexual, o que também lhe dá uma feição especial em relação aos romances do género. Johnny-jump-up, que dificilmente distinguimos do narrador e do autor, é um pinga-amor gay (daí o "jump-up"?), que se sente atraído pela beleza escultural do jardineiro, sempre em tronco nu, que gosta de fazer trocadilhos de cariz sexual nas suas conversas com Alice e Stein, elas próprias um casal de lésbicas, e que seduz o secretário da polícia, a pedido das suas amigas detetives, para obter informações valiosas para desvendar o mistério do crime que, por coincidência, inclui uma componente de sodomia.
A escrita é escorreita e rica em referências culturais, em expressões idiomáticas do francês, no esboço dos personagens de Stein e Toklas, cujos diálogos nos aparecem nos estilos próprios de cada uma, bem como nas reflexões dos três personagens principais que o narrador nos vai deixando aqui e além, como a que o meu amigo Miguel Botelho sublinhou e que não resisto a transcrever: "Isn't it wonderful," she [Gertrude] said, "how all animals know that the ultimate end of life is to enjoy it."
Tendo lido recentemente Dear Sammy: Letters from Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, o livro em que Sam Steward descreve as suas visitas ao casal Stein/Toklas e colige as cartas que delas recebeu, percebe-se o quanto a realidade é utilizada como material para a ficção, e é fácil compreender que este livro é sobretudo uma homenagem, uma bela declaração de profunda amizade e admiração do autor às suas duas amigas.
Este livro é um interessante romance policial, com muitos dos ingredientes habituais: um crime, um suspeito, um corpo em falta, uma série de indícios que levam à descoberta da verdade e à prisão do criminoso, e um final inesperado. Mas afasta-se do género quando faz com que as heroínas-detetives sejam sejam as famosas Gertrude Stein e Alice B. Toklas, o casal de expatriadas americanas que fizeram do seu salão parisiense um centro de arte e cultura por onde passaram Picasso, Paul Bowles, Cecil Beaton, Thornton Wilder, Lord Alfred Douglas e outros, e porque mistura a ficção policial com as memórias do autor, Samuel Steward, ele próprio um personagem do enredo (Johnny), que se correspondeu com as famosas escritoras e as visitou em Bilignin, Paris e Roma.
O enredo está salpicado de sexualidade, sexo e desejo sexual, o que também lhe dá uma feição especial em relação aos romances do género. Johnny-jump-up, que dificilmente distinguimos do narrador e do autor, é um pinga-amor gay (daí o "jump-up"?), que se sente atraído pela beleza escultural do jardineiro, sempre em tronco nu, que gosta de fazer trocadilhos de cariz sexual nas suas conversas com Alice e Stein, elas próprias um casal de lésbicas, e que seduz o secretário da polícia, a pedido das suas amigas detetives, para obter informações valiosas para desvendar o mistério do crime que, por coincidência, inclui uma componente de sodomia.
A escrita é escorreita e rica em referências culturais, em expressões idiomáticas do francês, no esboço dos personagens de Stein e Toklas, cujos diálogos nos aparecem nos estilos próprios de cada uma, bem como nas reflexões dos três personagens principais que o narrador nos vai deixando aqui e além, como a que o meu amigo Miguel Botelho sublinhou e que não resisto a transcrever: "Isn't it wonderful," she [Gertrude] said, "how all animals know that the ultimate end of life is to enjoy it."
Tendo lido recentemente Dear Sammy: Letters from Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, o livro em que Sam Steward descreve as suas visitas ao casal Stein/Toklas e colige as cartas que delas recebeu, percebe-se o quanto a realidade é utilizada como material para a ficção, e é fácil compreender que este livro é sobretudo uma homenagem, uma bela declaração de profunda amizade e admiração do autor às suas duas amigas.
June 18, 2020
It is actually Alice who is the chief mover in this story and it is told mostly from her point of view. She is described as intelligent, down-to-earth, and resourceful. Gertrude, on the other hand, is a petulant and mostly in Alice’s way, not that Alice minds. After all, Gertrude is the famous one, the one that celebrities from all over the world come to see. But actually being the one in charge—even though few people realize it—gives Alice her own importance.
The story begins in Stein’s country residence in 1937 and the mystery is a simple one. Alice sees the father of their gardener confronting an unpleasant farmer while the latter is plowing. She goes into the house to tell Gertrude of the altercation, but when the two get back to the garden, only the farmer is still in sight, plowing as before. But their gardener’s father does not return home that night—or the next.
Whether the man has been killed or not, and by whom, is not as important as the characters, the style, the milieu, and the conversations. What we see are a couple of sixtyish busybodies who just happen to be literary icons. Gertrude seems to be more worried about her dogs and what Alice is preparing her to eat than she does about writing. Just two fairly normal elderly women living as best they can and looking for adventure when they can find it. The language is unusual although, not being a Stein scholar, I’m not sure whether Steward—who was a friend of Stein and Toklas—is trying to imitate her or not. Certainly, though, we get a fairly vivid portrait of Gertrude through her own conversation—slangier than the more proper Alice, who tells her “Vulgarity is for others.”
As you might expect, this book is a little more literary than most, with a good bit of namedropping (Hemingway, Picasso, etc.).Steward’s style is spare, almost clunky, but this is obviously deliberate. It is a welcome change from the melodrama of many mysteries. Both Gertrude and Alice have sharp minds and come to the solution of the mystery at the same time.
Although the entire book is kind of odd, Steward makes a chronological gaffe that defies belief. He has one of his characters talk about his use of a coin-operated photocopier—the invention of which was still decades away. It is almost as if he was daring his editor to find the anomaly or that he put in the reference as some kind of in joke. Or maybe that’s the real mystery.
High marks for originality and for recreating a milieu that was so important to literature. For reintroducing us to characters that make us want to leave our chairs and check out The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas or Tender Buttons from the library. And in the unlikely event that the library has the other book in this series, I will gladly read it, too. Give this one a 3.3.
Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 930 other lesbian mysteries by over 310 authors.
The story begins in Stein’s country residence in 1937 and the mystery is a simple one. Alice sees the father of their gardener confronting an unpleasant farmer while the latter is plowing. She goes into the house to tell Gertrude of the altercation, but when the two get back to the garden, only the farmer is still in sight, plowing as before. But their gardener’s father does not return home that night—or the next.
Whether the man has been killed or not, and by whom, is not as important as the characters, the style, the milieu, and the conversations. What we see are a couple of sixtyish busybodies who just happen to be literary icons. Gertrude seems to be more worried about her dogs and what Alice is preparing her to eat than she does about writing. Just two fairly normal elderly women living as best they can and looking for adventure when they can find it. The language is unusual although, not being a Stein scholar, I’m not sure whether Steward—who was a friend of Stein and Toklas—is trying to imitate her or not. Certainly, though, we get a fairly vivid portrait of Gertrude through her own conversation—slangier than the more proper Alice, who tells her “Vulgarity is for others.”
As you might expect, this book is a little more literary than most, with a good bit of namedropping (Hemingway, Picasso, etc.).Steward’s style is spare, almost clunky, but this is obviously deliberate. It is a welcome change from the melodrama of many mysteries. Both Gertrude and Alice have sharp minds and come to the solution of the mystery at the same time.
Although the entire book is kind of odd, Steward makes a chronological gaffe that defies belief. He has one of his characters talk about his use of a coin-operated photocopier—the invention of which was still decades away. It is almost as if he was daring his editor to find the anomaly or that he put in the reference as some kind of in joke. Or maybe that’s the real mystery.
High marks for originality and for recreating a milieu that was so important to literature. For reintroducing us to characters that make us want to leave our chairs and check out The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas or Tender Buttons from the library. And in the unlikely event that the library has the other book in this series, I will gladly read it, too. Give this one a 3.3.
Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 930 other lesbian mysteries by over 310 authors.
April 29, 2016
I wrote and presented a paper on this and
The Caravaggio Shawl
which can be found here:
“I Like Detectiving Almost as Much as Writing:” Detectives Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in the Work of Samuel M. Steward"
Justin Spring categorically dismisses the two Stein/Toklas mysteries in his biography of Steward, but I found lots to like about both.
“I Like Detectiving Almost as Much as Writing:” Detectives Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in the Work of Samuel M. Steward"
Justin Spring categorically dismisses the two Stein/Toklas mysteries in his biography of Steward, but I found lots to like about both.
December 26, 2022
Um, well, not quite what my friend led me to believe this was going to be - a light cozy mystery with Gertrude Stein as detective, one long out of print. It for sure is a cozy mystery set in France with a clever reveal (that my friend spoiled when recommending it to me). No matter, the entire mystery plot was so thin and the solution so obvious that we all knew what was going to happen and how it was going to be solved practically before the crime happened. In the minimal plot, we find ourselves in 1937 in Bilignin, the tiny village near the Swiss Boarder on southern France at the chateau inhabited during the summer by Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein. Gertrude supposedly has a tallent as a detective, solving various crimes. One day their neighbor, known as Gran' Pierre, is seen by Alice angrily approaching their disagreeable neighbor Debat who was plowing his fields. Alice runs to call the increasingly deaf Gertrude in the house to come with her binoculars, thinking they were going to have ringside seats to the confrontation. By the time they return to the garden, Gran' Pierre is not in sight and Debat is busy plowing away. Gran' Pierre never reappears and is reported as missing.
That's the mystery and I won't tell you more in case you actually decide to read this. What was unexpected, shall I say, was the audience this book was written for - not your stereotypical cozy readers, especially not straight female ones. In fact, when I began to suspect the true audience, I looked up the author online -- Samuel M. Steward was a noted wirter of gay pornographic fiction, among other careers and no doubt is quite famous in the gay community. I laughed out loud -- because it so obviously was written to appeal to a gay male audience. The language is 'earthy', shall we say, in a very specific way. All the men are lusting after and seducing other men. The double-entendres had me snorting with laughter or rolling my eyes. Alas, it gets silly and irritating too soon. It's also quite obvious, after reading up on the author online that he placed himself in the book as the character Johnny Jump-Up (the American Ladies nickname for this character). The author knew both of them and in fact spent 2 summers at their chateau in Bilignin, in 1937 and 1939.
What is just wonderful in the book though is his protrayal of Gertrude and Alice, who are the heart and soul of this bit of gay frivolity. I like to think he wrote them as he found them in life. His mystery plotting might be pretty abysmal, but his character portrayals were generally quite good. One of the bits that made me laugh was his constant denigration of Hemingway via Gertrude's commentary. For example, The poor young man is still naif and unsophisticated, and as for being a Machiavelli or a Borgia or a Hemingway, ... Just priceless aligning Hem with the Borgias!
I also learned a priceless french phrase, one of the most denigrating you can say to a french person (or so Alice claims in the book) - "... found him to be tres peu gentil." Gentle? ... "'Gentil' means much more than that,' said Gertrude. "She cast him into the outer darkness. To say that of a person is the greatest condemnation, it means no breeding, no manners, no savoir faire, no nothing. ...
For all that I gave it 2.5 stars, but marked down because of the weak plotting and this being targeted to a very narrow audiience. It was written in 1985 and I believe OOP. I found a used paperback copy at ABEBooks.
That's the mystery and I won't tell you more in case you actually decide to read this. What was unexpected, shall I say, was the audience this book was written for - not your stereotypical cozy readers, especially not straight female ones. In fact, when I began to suspect the true audience, I looked up the author online -- Samuel M. Steward was a noted wirter of gay pornographic fiction, among other careers and no doubt is quite famous in the gay community. I laughed out loud -- because it so obviously was written to appeal to a gay male audience. The language is 'earthy', shall we say, in a very specific way. All the men are lusting after and seducing other men. The double-entendres had me snorting with laughter or rolling my eyes. Alas, it gets silly and irritating too soon. It's also quite obvious, after reading up on the author online that he placed himself in the book as the character Johnny Jump-Up (the American Ladies nickname for this character). The author knew both of them and in fact spent 2 summers at their chateau in Bilignin, in 1937 and 1939.
What is just wonderful in the book though is his protrayal of Gertrude and Alice, who are the heart and soul of this bit of gay frivolity. I like to think he wrote them as he found them in life. His mystery plotting might be pretty abysmal, but his character portrayals were generally quite good. One of the bits that made me laugh was his constant denigration of Hemingway via Gertrude's commentary. For example, The poor young man is still naif and unsophisticated, and as for being a Machiavelli or a Borgia or a Hemingway, ... Just priceless aligning Hem with the Borgias!
I also learned a priceless french phrase, one of the most denigrating you can say to a french person (or so Alice claims in the book) - "... found him to be tres peu gentil." Gentle? ... "'Gentil' means much more than that,' said Gertrude. "She cast him into the outer darkness. To say that of a person is the greatest condemnation, it means no breeding, no manners, no savoir faire, no nothing. ...
For all that I gave it 2.5 stars, but marked down because of the weak plotting and this being targeted to a very narrow audiience. It was written in 1985 and I believe OOP. I found a used paperback copy at ABEBooks.
October 29, 2023
Versta bók sem ég hef lesið, myndi gefa 0 stjörnur ef hægt. Do not read. Á að vera murder mystery en það var eiginlega meiri áhersla lögð á að gera allt klúrt og skrýtið en í söguþráðinn, sem var mjög fyrirsjáanlegur. Undirliggjandi rasismi, kvenfyrirlitning, nauðgunarmenning og fitufordómar voru svo ekki til að bæta þetta. Hefði gefist upp ef ég hefði ekki lesið hana fyrir bókaklúbb.
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