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The Author
Rex Todhunter Stout (See Sub-menus on each page) |
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| Stout, the Family Man | ||||
Rex Stout was very much a family man. He built the family home, High Meadow, near Brewster, NY, around the time of his marriage to Pola Weinbach in 1932. He had many varied hobbies that centered around his home and, except during World War II, when he devoted himself to war-related endeavors, he worked primarily from High Meadow. Following are links to a wealth of information about Rex Stout and his family. Thank you Becky and Pola Stout for saving much of this material.
Section Index: Rex Stout's Immigrant Ancestors
Rex Stout comes from a large family and a long line of ancestors from both his mother's and father's
sides of the family whose arrival dates back to the very earliest European immigrants arriving in "the New World." Click one of the icons to read or listen to Bob Gatten's the presentation given at the 2011 Black Orchid Weekend Assembly:
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In 1916, Stout married Fay Kennedy of Topeka, Kansas. They divorced in 1932 and in the same year Stout married Pola Weinbach Hoffmann, a designer who had studied with Josef Hoffmann in Vienna, Austria. Pola Stout is a renowned textile designer. She worked from her studio at High Meadow as well as from her own offices in Manhattan and a factory in Pennsylvania. In 1957 their daughters gave them a surprise 25th wedding anniversary at High Meadow. Rex Stout was not pleased with the subterfuge used to surprise Pola and him, but enjoyed the party and attention. Click here to read the press coverage in the NY Post of December 23, 1957. |
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Pola Stout Textile photos: |
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| From the YouTube site of the granddaughter of John McAleer (official Stout biographer), a Pola Stout scarf: |
| Rex Stout was the sixth of nine children. In 1916 he started the Educational Thrift System with his brother Robert. The business did well enough that Rex Stout was able to retire from it in 1927 to fulfill his dream of writing as his full time occupation. Following the 1929 stock market crash he lost a great deal of the money he had saved. He continued to write serious novels for a few more years, but in 1934 published his first Nero Wolfe novel, Fer-de-Lance. Click here for Robert Stout's obituary from The New York Times. And click here to view Rex Stout's letterhead from the Educational Thrift Service! Note the address was The Woolworth Building, then the tallest building in New York City. |
Ruth Stout   Rex Stout's sister Ruth was an author and lecturer. She invented or refined a "no work" method of gardening that involved a year-round mulch to eliminate weeding and pesticides in the garden. She also made a video, Ruth Stout's Garden, which won a Red Ribbon, American Film Festival in 1976. It is well worth viewing to appreciate her humor and lack of orthodoxy on a wide range of subjects, including gardening. It is available for sale (VHS only) at: http://www.gardenworks.cc/2.html. Click here to read an excellent article regarding Ruth's methodology. Ruth Stout provided so much material (and entertainment) to John McAleer for the Stout Biography, that he published Queen's Counsel, Conversations with Ruth Stout on Her Brother Rex Stout (Pontes Pres, 1987). Also: Ruth Stout Interviews Rex Stout regarding "Why does he Grow Irises?" (June, 1956 Popular-Gardening) |
Rex Stout built High Meadow in 1932. It was very contemporary at the time and was noted as the first house of its kind in the U.S. Stout built it himself with the help of local farm boys so that he would have control over the design and building materials. It is build into the high hill on the Eastern edge of western Westchester County, NY, straddling the Connecticut and NY state line.
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Rex Stout was born in Noblesville, IN. When Rex was an infant, the Stout family moved to Kansas, living in a few locations in and around Topeka. In addition to achieving Kansas state spelling bee champion at the age of 13, he was a math prodigy and graduated from High School at the age of 16. For further details, read the material referenced on the main page of this section. Here is some additional information about his early life:
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Rex Stout was "over hobbied" as he said in an interview. Besides political and social issues he championed or vilified (see the activist section), he grew virtually all of his own produce, kept various pets, including a pony, maintained over 300 house plants and large and admired iris beds (almost 200 varieties of bearded irises and over 100 varieties of day lilies), avidly followed the New York Giants and later the Mets, built his own furniture as time permitted, and maintained an active social life both at his home, in the neighborhood, and in NYC..
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Rex Stout was "over hobbied" as he said in an interview. Besides political and social issues he championed or vilified (see the activist section), he grew virtually all of his own produce and poultry, kept various pets for the family, including a pony, maintained over 300 house plants and large and admired iris beds, avidly followed the New York Giants and later the Mets, built his own furniture as time permitted, was active in The Baker Street Irregulars (Holmes literary society) and maintained an active social life both at his home, in the neighborhood, and in NYC. He was also the literary agent for Archie Goodwin, handling the entire business affairs of his publications (book, anthology, magazines, reprints, etc.) world-wide. At his 75th birthday celebration, the 17 guest speakers each covered one of the many "Aspects of Rex" as the presentation was entitled. See Page 8 of the Birthday Tribute document.
Interviews
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| A small selection of personal correspondence from the Stout family archives: |
Thanks to Steve Grande for donating
to The Wolfe Pack the domain www.nerowolfe.com |
©The Wolfe Pack 2000-2013
Last updated
February 6, 2013 |
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