Nero Wolfe: "Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth."
Archie, after watching a police interrogation where they slapped the suspect for hours: "They say it works sometimes, but even if it does, how could you depend on anything you got that way? Not to mention that after you did it a few times any decent garbage can would be ashamed to have you found in it."
Both from The Red Box, published in 1936
Comments
(* These would be the same people who think that PG Wodehouse just wrote silly books.)
I have always felt a lack in my "have read" list because there is no Nero Wolfe on it. What I know about the series has mostly been observed by popular culture references to it. I feel even more lacking have read those quotes, because those are awesome.
Rereading the books, I was noticing how they don't read like books written in the 30s, 40s, etc, they read a lot more like novels written now but set in those time periods.
Stout was a real interesting guy, too. He was on the original board of the ACLU, among other things.
I heard of the Timothy Hutton adaptations but never managed to see them. I'm glad to hear they were good, because in 2 weeks when my current work project finally stops consuming my life, I will need something good to enjoy. Netflix, here I come! I should probably check the library for some books, too.
V. interesting about Stout and the ACLU. The quotes in that context are not surprising.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doorbe