The Hand Of Mary Constable

Alexander Hero

by Paul Gallico

Are the spiritual manifestations of Professor Constable's dead daughter Mary genuine or is someone trying to sabotage his work? The only hard evidence is a wax hand bearing a set of Mary's fingerprints, but the truth must be uncovered as the apparent spirit is sapping the Professor's will with each passing hour.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

489 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Paul William Gallico was born in New York City, on 26th July, 1897. His father was an Italian, and his mother came from Austria; they emigrated to New York in 1895.

He went to school in the public schools of New York, and in 1916 went to Columbia University. He graduated in 1921 with a Bachelor of Science degree, having lost a year and a half due to World War I. He then worked for the National Board of Motion Picture Review, and after six months took a job as the motion picture critic for the New York Daily News. He was removed from this job as his "reviews were too Smart Alecky" (according to Confessions of a Story Teller), and took refuge in the sports department.

During his stint there, he was sent to cover the training camp of Jack Dempsey, and decided to ask Dempsey if he could spar with him, to get an idea of what it was like to be hit by the world heavyweight champion. The results were spectacular; Gallico was knocked out within two minutes. But he had his story, and from there his sports-writing career never looked back.

He became Sports Editor of the Daily News in 1923, and was given a daily sports column. He also invented and organised the Golden Gloves amateur boxing competition. During this part of his life, he was one of the most well-known sporting writers in America, and a minor celebrity. But he had always wanted to be a fiction writer, and was writing short stories and sports articles for magazines like Vanity Fair and the Saturday Evening Post. In 1936, he sold a short story to the movies for $5000, which gave him a stake. So he retired from sports writing, and went to live in Europe, to devote himself to writing. His first major book was Farewell to Sport, which as the title indicates, was his farewell to sports writing.

Though his name was well-known in the United States, he was an unknown in the rest of the world. In 1941, the Snow Goose changed all that, and he became, if not a best-selling author by today's standards, a writer who was always in demand. Apart from a short spell as a war correspondent between 1943 and 1946, he was a full-time freelance writer for the rest of his life. He has lived all over the place, including England, Mexico, Lichtenstein and Monaco, and he lived in Antibes for the last years of his life.

He was a first-class fencer, and a keen deep-sea fisherman. He was married four times, and had several children.

He died in Antibes on 15th July, 1976, just short of his 79th birthday.

Reviews

[Ricky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and even though it was a bit dated in some respects with regards to the dialogue it kept my attention throughout. The characterisation was good and you got a good sense of the different personalities and how they operate. The main character, Hero was a good character and was also a likeable, honest investigator. The plot was interesting and evoked clear images in the minds eye. I was leaning towards 3 stars until the end of the book, but after I finished on reflection I felt it deserves 4. I changed my view for it's inventiveness and well thought out plot and Hero's summing up and personal thoughts at the end, which finished the book off nicely.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Alexander Hero book. This time, he is sent to New York, where a scientist is convinced that he is in touch with his dead daughter through a medium. The evidence is a cast of a hand, with the fingerprints of the dead girl in it. An exciting story set in the cold war era. I read this first about 45 years ago and always wanted to read Paul Gallico again as he was my favourite teenage years writer - read many of his books. Very cleverly done story

[Jennifer Morefield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very clever novel that combined mystery and intrigue with the occult. Hero is hired to investigate a medium and her husband because a scientist who is working on a project is being swayed to sell his secrets to the Russians. Hero's job is to find out and debunk how they created a hand of Constable's late 10 yr. old daughter after she had been cremated. A good story from beginning to end. I liked it.

[Melissa Hedges- Rankin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was part of my inherited library and I enjoyed it. A mystery spy detective crime story, touching on the occult, tied into one storyline. Looked up other works by this author, he has dabbled in several different genres as well as screenwriting. The first 20% of the book was a little slow, but then got more interesting. Thought the author did a great job with character development, as well as maintaining suspense until the end.

[Marilyn Mansfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book featuring the psychical investigator Alexander Hero. Like the first, Too Many Ghosts, this is an entertaining read and I really like the main character who is open minded and objective while maintaining a detached skepticism. You learn about how magicians and fake psychics fool their patrons it's an interesting howtheydidit instead of whodinit

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after I saw the movie back in the '70s. Like his other book, Too Many Ghosts, this isn't a spine-chiller, full of horror, but a creepy, quiet little ghost story full of seances, hauntings, and the materialization of the hand mentioned in the title.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was much better than the movie.

[Margareth8537 · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of his longer books and quite a good story

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I have been wanting to read more Paul Gallico books as my Mum liked his work. I am surprised by his diversity. He is not stuck in one genre. This book was unique and compelling.

[Alloys Khoabane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent read.

[W. Ganley]

One of my favorite Paul Gallico books, with a nice occult twist. I first read it years ago, but it was just as enjoyable the second time.

[Edith · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars Not a patch on Too Many Ghosts, Gallico's previous novel with protagonist Alexander Hero, ghost hunter. In this novel, he must find the fakery before a top scientist is persuaded by the ghost of his daughter to defect to the Russians. (I am not making this up, but Gallico did.). No charm, no eeriness. Hero's over-romanticized propensity for falling for the nearest good-looking female is on display, as well as a lot of mid-century stereotypes. Interesting for information about fraudulent spiritualists and how they do their tricks, and the snapshot of New York in the 1960s. No human interest at all. And Hero still can't figure out that he's actually in love with his stepsister Meg, who unfortunately makes no actual appearance in the novel.

Disappointing.

[Ginny Thurston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though some of the language and attitudes are definitely dated, this is an interesting and suspenseful read. It recalls a time of the first Cold War with Russia, the love people had for Oujia boards and James Bond.It was very suspenseful and somewhat scientifically based. There were some questionable
racist language and characters, but people were not that woke during 1964. It was full of twists and turns with many surprises at the end! Hero made a good a Hero.

[LuAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, Paul Gallico does it again! His books are so well-conceived and written. The detailed descriptions, plotting, characterizations all make them come alive. This one would be great as a movie though seances are rather outdated though Russian plots aren’t.

I was glad to have another Alexander Hero story but sorry his step-sister Meg wasn’t in it.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is a bit dated since it was written the 1960s it’s still a good story.

[eden]

I havent actually finished it it was just insanely difficult to read the one page i did read was pretty good