Re: RARA-AVIS: Day Keene

Laurent Lehmann (llehmann@club-internet.fr)
Tue, 18 Nov 1997 13:46:50 +0000 On 18 Nov 97 at 1:04, Joshua B Lukin wrote:

> Can anyone give me the stats on Day Keene--what were his birth and death
> dates, what are his most highly regarded novels, how do you spell his
> real name, &c.?

According to Mesplede/Schleret's _SN: Voyage Au Bout De La Noire_ :

Day Keene was born in Chicago (03/28/1904), and died in North Hollywood,
CA (01/09/1969). Keene was his mother's family name, his real name was
Gunnar Hjerstedt (how do you spell *that* one ?). Left school at 17 to
join the Chautaquas, some kind of itinerary shows. _Chautaqua_ is the
name of a semi-autobiographical novel (1960).

He's written theater scripts in the '30s, then for the radio, the pulps
in the '40s, and finally paperbacks (beginning in 1949). Some of his
novels have been published in France before the US.

He's written a few Westerns, and more than 40 mystery novels. Most
feature a classic 'femme fatale', and are classic '50s noir fiction. His
'most highly regarded novels' (I like all the ones I've read !) are,
according to my reference books :

- My flesh is sweet (1951)
- Sleep with the devil (1954)
- Joy House (1954)
- Forests of the night (1956)

Laurent
_______
"I'll read any private eye book and love it." (After Fred Willard)

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