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12 Facts About Vincent Starrett

1.

Charles Vincent Emerson Starrett, known as Vincent Starrett, was a Canadian-born American writer, newspaperman, and bibliophile.

2.

Charles Vincent Emerson Starrett was born above his grandfather's bookshop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

3.

Vincent Starrett's father moved the family to Chicago in 1889 where Starrett attended John Marshall High School.

4.

Vincent Starrett turned to writing mystery and supernatural fiction for pulp magazines during the 1920s and 1930s.

5.

Vincent Starrett retired after 25 years of the column in 1967.

6.

Vincent Starrett often mentioned Sherlock Holmes in these columns, which appeared in the book section of the Sunday newspaper.

7.

Vincent Starrett was one of the founders of The Hounds of the Baskerville, a Chicago chapter of The Baker Street Irregulars.

8.

Vincent Starrett had created his own detective character, Chicago sleuth Jimmie Lavender, whose adventures usually first appeared in the pulp magazine Short Stories.

9.

The name Jimmy Lavender was that of an actual pitcher for the Chicago Cubs; Vincent Starrett wrote to ask the ball player for permission to use his name for a gentleman detective, which the pitcher granted.

10.

Vincent Starrett was a major enthusiast of Welsh writer Arthur Machen and was instrumental in bringing Machen's work to an American audience for the first time.

11.

Vincent Starrett wrote Best Loved Books of the 20th Century, a collection of 52 essays discussing popular works, published in 1955.

12.

Vincent Starrett died in Chicago on January 5,1974, and was buried at Graceland Cemetery next to his wife, Rachel Latimer Starrett.