Stamp Collecting In Novels

I thought there must already be a thread on this but I could only find one on movies. I apologize if I'm reinventing the wheel.

I saw this in Barnes & Noble and just had to have it:











The main character is a precocious little girl whose father collects stamps. One day a bird with a Penny Black stuck on its beak is left on their doorstep. The next day she finds a murder victim in her garden and she decides to investigate.(Yes, that's an orange Penny Black on the cover but that's a part of the story.)

The characters are quirky and and there are plenty of plot twists. I liked it but it may be too G-rated for some. The author says he wrote this for adults but it would be suitable for young readers.

Any other good philately novels?

A 1936 Classical novel, from Robert Graves: "The Antigua Penny Puce".

Thomas Pynchon (1937) - The Crying of Lot 49, published in 1965. Love his profession of the magic of stamps.

Am I allowed to say this?

http://www.jeffstage.com/

Hey Jeff,

I enjoyed your website. I like that you show the stamps you like and why, rather than simply showing stamps and Scott numbers.

I will out myself as the third SCFer (after Terence Collins & petrucellij) to be enjoying The Blue Mauritius, novel though it is not.

Lots of fun factoids in there, like the first published insult directed at our hobby ... in 1842!. Crikey, they were quick.

I had thought that Dr Chase invented plating, but Ms Morgan cites a journal article on plating from ... uh, elder moment ... 1862, if memory serves.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

The Scarlet Ruse, John D. MacDonald (1972)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Ruse

Philately and vintage crime. What more could one want? Knock yourselves out.

Terry

Hit Man, Lawrence Block
The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogey, Lawrence Block
The Case of the One Penny Orange, E.V. Cunningham
Bloodhounds, Peter Lovesey
The Chinese Orange, Ellery Queen
The Adventure of the One Penny Black, Ellery Queen
The Mandarin Mystery, Ellery Queen
Big Money, Peter Turnbull
Black Mail, Doris Disney
Mrs. Meeker's Money, Doris Disney
Unappointed Rounds, Doris Disney
Cancelled in Red, Hugh Pentecost
Darling Corey's Dead, Maurice Welk
Death of a Postman, John Creasy
The Great Mail, Clarence Budgington Kelland (Crackerjack name, eh?)
The Postage Stamp Murder, George C. Bester
Stolen Stamps, J. Bruce Chiltenden
Chalon Heads, Barry Maitland
Dead Lettters, Sean McGrady
Town Without a Zip, Sean McGrady
Sealed With a Kiss, Sean McGrady
Dutch Blue Error, William Tappley
The Fourth Postman, Craig Rice
McNally's Secret, Lawrence Sanders
The Mystery Box, Frederick Highland
Return of the Jenny, Dick Stark
Solomon's Seal, Hammond Innes
The Stamp Collectors, David Benedictus
The Scarlet Ruse, John D. MacDonald
The Antigua Stamp (Antigua, Penny, Puce in UK), Robert Graves
and of course......
Going Postal, Terry Pratchett


PS. There are a few more, but I can't lay my hands on all my notes. TC

Edited for typo. TC.

Wow TC!

Thank you, kehess! I have not updated the website lately. Been busy with this and that, but hope to soon.

Great list! Thank You.

It's been years since I read a Travis McGee novel. Had a buddy back in my service days that was from Fort Lauderdale and he got me started with that series. I added it to my "to read" list.

Just spent the big bucks ($3.95) and downloaded Jeff's book to the Kindle. Based on the opening chapters I think I will enjoy this adventure.

Hi rascal,

No stamp references as far as I remember, but back when I was 18 (yeah, I know) I got hooked on Mickey Spillane's "Mike Hammer" books. Stacey Keach's portrayal of Mike had to be the best realisation of the character on screen. And Lindsay Bloom as Velda, WOW.

Terry

Also these

Both by Dennis Wheatly

To the Devil a Daughter

The Haunting of Toby Jug.


The main character in "Toby Jug" collects stamps of Cyprus, as does one of the characters in To the Devil a Daughter.
Regards
Horamakhet

For those interested, Going Postal by Terry Pratchett: in addition to being a very funny satire it has led to the creation of a whole series of Cinderellas.

Here in Australia I have been watching Phoenix, an excellent crime series produced by the ABC in the early '90s. In the second series, an ongoing thread in the whole series is the theft of a monogram block of 6 of the first watermark 1913 £2 'Roo.

The old loose-leaf Australian Commonwealth Specialists' Catalogue is shown and the block is also shown through a glassine sheet in an album.

I don't know if the block is genuine but they refer to a value of $150,000.

There are a few PG Wodehouse books (and short stories) which revolve around stamp collecting. Names escape me.