History YMMV / NeroWolfe

* EpilepticTrees: Guest characters Hattie Annis and Tammy Baxter swap roles as the murder victim in the only short story Stout substantially rewrote (with the second draft being published as ''Counterfeit For Murder'' in one anthology and the first draft ''Assault on a Brownstone'' coming out in a posthumous anthology), with the plots otherwise being similar enough to feel like they take place in {{Alternate Universe}}s with a small but crucial point of divergence. This can make it interesting to wonder if there is a hypothetical Wolfe multiverse with other worlds where a different person was the main victim (or the second or third victim, since NeverOneMurder is common in the series) for many stories with a victim who at least some of the readers wouldn't have minded seeing live ([[spoiler:Harlan Scovil, Mike Walsh, Clyde Osgood, Ann Amory, Dazy Perrit, Bess Huddleston, Phoebe Gunther, Cynthia Brown, Jean Wellman, Rachel Abrams, Priscilla Eads, Sarah Jaffee, Leo Heller, Pete Drossos, Carla Lovchen, Vernon Assa, Johnny Keems, Kurt Bottweil, Maria Perez, Jane Ogilvy, Sam Peacock]], etc.).

* EpilepticTrees: Guest characters Hattie Annis and Tammy Baxter swap roles as the murder victim in the only short story Stout substantially rewrote (with the second draft being published as ''Counterfeit For Murder'' in one anthology and the first draft ''Assault on a Brownstone'' coming out in a posthumous anthology), with the plots otherwise being similar enough to feel like they take place in {{Alternate Universe}}s with a small but crucial point of divergence. This can make it interesting to wonder if there is a hypothetical Wolfe multiverse with other worlds where a different person was the main victim (or the second or third victim, since NeverOneMurder is common in the series) for many stories with a victim who the readers wouldn't have minded seeing live ([[spoiler:Harlan Scovil, Mike Walsh, Clyde Osgood, Ann Amory, Dazy Perrit, Bess Huddleston, Phoebe Gunther, Cynthia Brown, Jean Wellman, Rachel Abrams, Priscilla Eads, Sarah Jaffee, Leo Heller, Pete Drossos, Carla Lovchen, Vernon Assa, Johnny Keems, Kurt Bottweil, Maria Perez]], etc.).

* EpilepticTrees: Guest characters Hattie Annis and Tammy Baxter swap roles as the murder victim in the only short story Stout substantially rewrote (with the second draft being published as ''Counterfeit For Murder'' in one anthology and the first draft ''Assault on a Brownstone'' coming out in a posthumous anthology), with the plots otherwise being similar enough to feel like they take place in {{Alternate Universe}}s with a small but crucial point of divergence. This can make it interesting to wonder if there is a hypothetical Wolfe multiverse with other worlds where a different person was the main victim (or the second or third victim, since NeverOneMurder is common in the series) for many stories with a victim who the readers wouldn't have minded seeing live ([[spoiler:Harlan Scovil, Clyde Osgood, Ann Amory, Dazy Perrit, Bess Huddleston, Phoebe Gunther, Cynthia Brown, Jean Wellman, Rachel Abrams, Priscilla Eads, Sarah Jaffee, Leo Heller, Pete Drossos, Carla Lovchen, Vernon Assa, Johnny Keems, Kurt Bottweil, Maria Perez]], etc.).

* HarsherInHindsight: the discussions in ''Death of a Doxy'' about whether [[spoiler: Orrie could be guilty of a crime, as he is innocent there but guilty in a later
book]].

** ''A Family Affair'' isn't universally acknowledged due to [[spoiler:Having a long-time character as the killer]] and being seen as an unnecessarily grim final novel by some.

* HarsherInHindsight: the discussions in ''Death of a Doxy'' about whether [[spoiler: Orrie could be guilty of a crime]].

** ''Literature/TooManyWomen'' has been out of print for decades, due to the title, and Archie being just a bit ''too' casual with his affections.

** HyperCompetentSidekick recurring subcontractor Saul Panzer is wuite well-liked. Yes, there ''is'' enough of a fandom for this trope to apply.

* EpilepticTrees: Guest characters Hattie Annis and Tammy Baxter swapping roles as the murder victim in the only short story Stout substantially rewrote (with the second draft being published as ''Counterfeit For Murder'' in one anthology and the first draft ''Assault on a Brownstone'' coming out in a posthumous anthology), with the plots otherwise being similar enough to feel like they take place in {{Alternate Universe}}s with a small but crucial point of divergence. This can make it interesting to wonder if there is a hypothetical Wolfe multiverse with other worlds where a different person was the main victim (or the second or third victim, since NeverOneMurder is common in the series) for many stories with a victim who the readers wouldn't have minded seeing live ([[spoiler:Harlan Scovil, Clyde Osgood, Ann Amory, Dazy Perrit, Bess Huddleston, Phoebe Gunther, Cynthia Brown, Jean Wellman, Rachel Abrams, Priscilla Eads, Sarah Jaffee, Leo Heller, Pete Drossos, Carla Lovchen, Vernon Assa, Johnny Keems, Kurt Bottweil, Maria Perez]], etc.).

* EpilepticTrees: Guest characters Hattie Annis and Tammy Baxter swapping roles as the murder victim in the only short story Stout substantially rewrote (with the second draft being published as ''Counterfeit For Murder'' in one anthology and the first draft ''Assault on a Brownstone'' coming out in a posthumous anthology), with the plots otherwise being similar enough to feel like they take place in {{Alternate Universe}}s with a small but crucial point of divergence. This can make it interesting to wonder if there is a hypothetical Wolfe multiverse with other worlds where a different person was the main victim (or the second or third victim, since NeverOneMurder is common in the series) for many stories with a victim who the readers wouldn't have minded seeing live ([[spoiler:Harlan Scovil, Clyde Osgood, Ann Amory, Dazy Perrit, Bess Huddleston, Phoebe Gunther, Cynthia Brown, Priscilla Eads, Sarah Jaffee, Leo Heller, Pete Drossos, Carla Lovchen, Vernon Assa, Johnny Keems, Kurt Bottweil, Maria Perez]], etc.).

* EpilepticTrees: Guest characters Hattie Annis and Tammy Baxter swapping roles as the murder victim in the only short story Stout substantially rewrote (with the second draft being published as ''Counterfeit For Murder'' in one anthology and the first draft ''Assault on a Brownstone'' coming out in a posthumous anthology), with the plots otherwise being similar enough to feel like they take place in {{Alternate Universe}}s with a small but crucial point of divergence. This can make it interesting to wonder if there is a hypothetical Wolfe multiverse with other worlds where a different person was the main victim (or the second or third victim, since NeverOneMurder is common in the series) for many stories with a victim who the readers wouldn't have minded seeing live ([[spoiler:Harlan Scovil, Clyde Osgood, Ann Amory, Dazy Perrit, Bess Huddleston, Phoebe Gunther, Sarah Jaffee, Leo Heller, Pete Drossos, Carla Lovchen, Vernon Assa, Johnny Keems, Kurt Bottweil, Maria Perez]], etc.).

* EpilepticTrees: Guest characters Hattie Annis and Tammy Baxter swapping roles as the murder victim in the only short story Stout substantially rewrote (with the second draft being published as ''Counterfeit For Murder'' in one anthology and the first draft ''Assault on a Brownstone'' coming out in a posthumous anthology), with the plots otherwise being similar enough to feel like they take place in {{Alternate Universe}}s with a small but crucial point of divergence. This can make it interesting to wonder if there is a hypothetical Wolfe multiverse with other worlds where a different person was the victim (or the second or third victim, since NeverOneMurder is common in the series) for many stories with a victim who the readers wouldn’t have minded seeing live ([[spoiler:Harlan Scovil, Ann Amory, Bess Huddleston, Phoebe Gunther, Leo Heller, Priscilla Eads, Sarah Jaffe, Pete Drossos, Johnny Keems, Kurt Bottweil, Maria Perez]], etc.).

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Saul Panzer. Yes, there ''is'' enough of a fandom for this trope to apply.

** An area where Stout does seem to have been a bit behind the times was with regards to changing sexual mores regarding casual sex; several of his stories involve characters clearly reinforcing the idea that sex outside of marriage is [[DefiledForever a big no-no, at least for the woman]], and several female characters remark that they intend to keep their virtue until marriage. While this is certainly understandable in the earlier works published between the 1930s-1950s, it can be pretty eye-opening for a modern reader when it appears in some of his later works set during the sexual revolution of the 1960s-1970s. For example, "Kill Now - Pay Later" features a young woman who, when confronted with a slanderous rumour that she has slept with an older man, calmly retorts that it couldn't be true because if it were, she would have killed herself out of shame. The story was published in 1964 -- for context, this was the year that ''The Feminine Mystique'' became a bestseller, so while it would be exaggerating to say that the sexual revolution was in full swing at that point, attitudes were clearly shifting away from such a prescriptive view of sex outside of marriage.

* FanonWelding: An OlderThanCableTV example. There is a theory that Wolfe is the son of Literature/SherlockHolmes and Irene Adler. This idea, first voiced by sci-fi author John D. Clark in the '50s, is so popular in both fandoms that it has made into William S. Baring-Gould's fictional biography of Holmes and Nicholas Meyer's ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'' and was the basis for two novels by John Lescroart (''Son of Holmes'' and ''Rasputin's Revenge''). A variation is that Wolfe was sired by Holmes' smarter older brother Mycroft. He certainly shares a lot of Mycroft's characteristics (physical laziness and obesity, a fondness for unbreakable routines and the finer things in life, a slightly misanthropic reclusive tendency, etc).

* FanonDiscontinuity: ''A Family Affair'' isn't universally acknowledged due to [[spoiler:Having a long-time character as the killer]] and being seen as an unnecessarily grim final novel by some.

** ''Literature/ChampagneForOne'' revolves around a charitable home for poor unwed mothers where they can stay until their pregnancy comes to term and their baby is ready to be given up for adoption. Several of the mothers display a rather casual attitude toward the reasons why they're there, and it's hinted that it is not the first time they have had such a stay; while Archie is consistently polite and friendly towards them, he is clearly disapproving of their flippancy regarding premarital sex. And, of course, [[GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion a certain other potential solution to their little problem which the modern reader might suggest]] ''never'' comes up (it being very illegal at the time, of course -- which is not the same thing as saying it never happened).

** ''Literature/ChampagneForOne'' revolves around a charitable home for poor unwed mothers where they can stay until their pregnancy comes to term and their baby is ready to be given up for adoption. Several of the mothers display a rather casual attitude toward the reasons why they're there, and it's hinted that it is not the first time they have had such a stay; while Archie is consistently polite and friendly towards them, he is clearly disapproving of their flippancy regarding premarital sex. And, of course, [[GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion a certain other potential solution to their little problem]] ''never'' comes up (it being very illegal at the time, of course -- which is not the same thing as saying it never happened).

** In ''Literature/OverMyDeadBody'' when the prospect of Wolfe having a daughter ''out of wedlock'' arises, Archie tells his boss he'll have to resign his position, which Wolfe smoothes over by saying he adopted her. Nowadays, such a thing probably wouldn't rise an eyebrow.

* FanonWelding: An OlderThanCableTV example. There is a theory that Wolfe is the son of SherlockHolmes and Irene Adler. This idea, first voiced by sci-fi author John D. Clark in the '50s, is so popular in both fandoms that it has made into William S. Baring-Gould's fictional biography of Holmes and Nicholas Meyer's ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'' and was the basis for two novels by John Lescroart (''Son of Holmes'' and ''Rasputin's Revenge''). A variation is that Wolfe was sired by Holmes' smarter older brother Mycroft. He certainly shares a lot of Mycroft's characteristics (physical laziness and obesity, a fondness for unbreakable routines and the finer things in life, a slightly misanthropic reclusive tendency, etc).

** ''TooManyWomen'' has been out of print for decades, due to the title, and Archie being just a bit ''too' casual with his affections.

* FanonWelding: The theory that Wolfe is the son of SherlockHolmes and Irene Adler. This idea, first voiced by sci-fi author John D. Clark in the '50s, is so popular in both fandoms that it has made into William S. Baring-Gould's fictional biography of Holmes and Nicholas Meyer's ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'' and was the basis for two novels by John Lescroart (''Son of Holmes'' and ''Rasputin's Revenge''). A variation is that Wolfe was sired by Holmes' smarter older brother Mycroft. He certainly shares a lot of Mycroft's characteristics (physical laziness and obesity, a fondness for unbreakable routines and the finer things in life, a slightly misanthropic reclusive tendency, etc).

* {{Fanon}}: The theory that Wolfe is the son of SherlockHolmes and Irene Adler. This idea, first voiced by sci-fi author John D. Clark in the '50s, is so popular in both fandoms that it has made into William S. Baring-Gould's fictional biography of Holmes and Nicholas Meyer's ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'' and was the basis for two novels by John Lescroart (''Son of Holmes'' and ''Rasputin's Revenge''). A variation is that Wolfe was sired by Holmes' smarter older brother Mycroft. He certainly shares a lot of Mycroft's characteristics (physical laziness and obesity, a fondness for unbreakable routines and the finer things in life, a slightly misanthropic reclusive tendency, etc).

* FairForItsDay: As noted below, there's a lot of ValuesDissonance in the earlier stories especially, but Rex Stout was a fairly progressive man for his day and often attempts to show the foolishness of a lot of the racist and misogynistic attitudes he was surrounded by. It's also possible in reading the stories at times to get a sense that Stout is ashamed or embarrassed by attitudes he displayed as a younger man that he's grown out of and is making a conscious effort to repudiate them. Wolfe himself is a bit of a complex example, in that he ''is'' openly misogynistic but he tends to treat women respectfully when he's directly interacting with them and many of his more ridiculous attitudes towards women are treated with an eye-roll by Archie's narration, so there is a question about how seriously we're supposed to take him.

** An area where Stout does seem to have been a bit behind the times was with regards to changing sexual mores regarding casual sex; several of his stories involve characters clearly reinforcing the idea that sex outside of marriage is [[DefiledForever a big no-no, at least for the woman]], and several female characters remark that they intend to keep their virtue until marriage. While this is certainly understandable in the earlier works published between the 1930s-1950s, it can be pretty eye-opening for a modern reader when it appears in some of his later works set during the sexual revolution of the 1960s-1970s. For example, "Kill Now - Pay Later" features a young woman who, when confronted with a slanderous rumour that she has slept with an older man, calmly retorts that it couldn't be true because if it were, she would have killed herself out of shame. The story was published in 1964.

** An area where Stout does seem to have been a bit behind the times was with regards to changing sexual mores regarding casual sex; several of his stories involve characters clearly reinforcing the idea that sex outside of marriage is [[DefiledForever a big no-no, at least for the woman]], and several female characters remark that they intend to keep their virtue until marriage. While this is certainly understandable in the earlier works published between the 1930s-1950s, it can be pretty eye-opening for a modern reader when it appears in some of his later works set during the sexual revolution of the 1960s-1970s. For example, "Kill Now - Pay Later" features a young woman who, when confronted with a slanderous rumour that she has slept with an older man, calmly retorts that it couldn't be true because if it were, she would have killed herself out of shame. The story was published in 1964.

** In ''The Second Confession'', after Wolfe gives Lon a good story, a grateful Lon tells him [[Main/SantaClaus "All you need is long whiskers and a red suit"]], to which Wolfe replies he's too fat. [[spoiler: in ''Christmas Party'' Wolfe does briefly dress up as Santa and it's mostly played for laughs]].

* HarsherInHindsight: the discussions in ''Death of a Doxy'' about whether [[spoiler: could be guilty of a crime, particularly the statement that knowledge of a man can exclude him as a blackmailer]].

* HarsherInHindsight: [[spoiler: the discussions in ''Death of a Doxy'' about whether Orrie could be guilty of a crime, particularly the statement that knowledge of a man can exclude him as a blackmailer]].
* HilariousInHindsight: One of the characters in "Murder is Corny" is named [[Series/{{Highlander}} Duncan McLeod]]. [[spoiler: Towards the story's end, he blows himself up with dynamite, resulting in his decapitation.]]

** In ''The Second Confession'', after Wolfe gives Lon a good story, a grateful Lon tells him "All you need is long whiskers and a red suit", to which Wolfe replies he's too fat. [[spoiler: in ''Christmas Party'' Wolfe does briefly dress up as Santa and it's mostly played for laughs]].