S. S. Van Dine

Born Willard Huntington Wright in 1888, he later wrote detective fiction under the name S. S. Van Dine. He grew up in Virginia, studied art in California, and first became known as a critic and editor, especially through his work on modern art and literary magazines.

After a long illness, he turned to mystery writing and introduced Philo Vance, an amateur sleuth whose cases became major bestsellers. Novels such as The Benson Murder Case and The Greene Murder Case made Van Dine one of the most popular crime writers of his time, and his ideas about fair-play detective fiction were widely discussed.

Van Dine died in 1939, but his influence on classic detective stories lasted well beyond his lifetime. His books combine drawing-room style, intellectual puzzles, and the fast-growing fascination with modern crime-solving that defined the Golden Age of mystery.