Much has been written regarding the parentage and origins of Nero Wolfe. Below are links to some of them. Rex Stout's presentation, Watson Was a Woman, at the January 31, 1941 Baker Street Irregulars (BSI) meeting may have started the commotion. His tongue-in-cheek humour did not fare well in that venue, so various BSI members over the course of time have investigated the parentage of Nero Wolfe. For full coverage of the phenomena, see the page regarding Wolfe's Parentage.
Click here to read the transcribed speech of "Watson Was A Woman." It was also published in:
- The Saturday Review of Literature, Vol 23, No. 19 (March 1, 1941)
- Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Issue #29, April, 1946
- Other miscellaneous BSI and Sherlockian publications
Other references to Rex Stout's Baker Street Irregular activities:
- he was invested in the BSI in 1949 with the "investiture" of The Boscombe Valley Mystery. [Baker Street Irregulars are given a name when they are invested with membership, hence "investiture" is the name given to their "application."]
- Rex Stout reviews Vincent Starrett's novel, "Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" (May, 1960)
- In 1966, the BSI Banquet Toast to "The Woman" was to Pola (Mrs. Rex) Stout. Hereare links to:
- the transcribed toast to Pola from the BSI publication
- Pola's gracious acceptance of the honour to be bestowed at the dinner
[Thank you, BSI Trust, for permission to post BSI material. Visit them at http://www.bsitrust.org.]
- Read an article in the BSI ARCHIVES regarding "What is the history of Rex Stout and the BSI?"
- Publicity photo of five BSI members at a meeting (Rex Stout, far right)
- Photo of Stout at a BSI meeting: from Life Magazine, May 1, 1944
- See below for Rex Stout's creation of a probable letter from the Shetland Pony Breeders to Dr. Watson.
