The Canary Murder Case

The Canary Murder Case (1927) is a murder mystery novel which deals with the murders of a sexy nightclub singer known as "the Canary," and eventually, that of her boyfriend. S. S. Van Dine's subject here is sexual love, symbolized by the Canary and her boyfriend, and its destruction at the hands of American Puritanism.

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The Canary's relationship, and love nest living quarters, are described with Van Dine's remarkable skillful prose, and form an ideal archetype of romantic, sexual love. Philo Vance is able to identify the Canary's killer, but unable of course to bring her or her boyfriend back to life. The killer is motivated by the Puritanism that has had such a chilling effect on American life.

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The Canary Murder Case contains beautiful descriptions of the Canary's luxurious surroundings; it also emphasizes the romantic physical appeal of both the Canary and her boyfriend. It is the most sensual novel ever to appear as a Golden Age mystery story, in the full meaning of that term. The novel is a powerful, romantic portrait of both the beauty of physical love, and its snuffing out in the icy American climate of romantic repression. This is the book that made Van Dine famous, becoming an immense best seller; it also started a popular series of films, with William Powell as Philo Vance.

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A differing view suggests that this novel is primarily of interest as a classic puzzle mystery with an interesting mechanical solution that was strikingly original at the time. This writer has read the novel more than once, and suggests the subtext above may well be more in the author's mind than the reader's. Many readers will find the above writer's suggestion of Van Dine's "remarkable skillful prose" to be somewhat overstated. Van Dine has rather a pompous air and his descriptions are more usually thought to be florid and overblown. The protagonist sprinkles Latin, French and Greek tags throughout his conversation, footnoting the translations, and the action occasionally grinds to a halt while Vance sounds off for a few pages of research into something-or-other.

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