Jacques Futrelle
Jacques Futrelle | |
|---|---|
North Atlantic Ocean | |
| Occupation | Mystery writer, journalist |
| Period | 1905–1912 |
| Genre | Detective fiction, science fiction |
| Spouse | Lily May Peel (1895–1912) (his death) |
| Children | 2 |
Jacques Heath Futrelle (April 9, 1875 – April 15, 1912) was an American journalist and
RMS Titanic
.
Career
Futrelle was born in
Boston Post and the Boston American, where, in 1905, his Thinking Machine character appeared in a serialized version of the short story, "The Problem of Cell 13
".
Futrelle left the Boston American in 1906 to write novels. He had a harbor-view house built in Scituate, Massachusetts, which he called "Stepping Stones" and spent most of his time there until his death in 1912.[1] His last work, My Lady's Garter, was published posthumously in 1912. His widow inscribed in the book, "To the heroes of the Titanic, I dedicate this my husband's book", under a photo of him.[1]
Personal life
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In 1895, he married fellow writer Lily May Peel with whom he had two children, Virginia and Jacques "John" Jr.[1]
Death
Returning from Europe aboard the
RMS Titanic, Futrelle, a first-class passenger, refused to board a lifeboat, insisting Lily do so instead, to the point of forcing her in. She remembered the last she saw of him: he was smoking a cigarette on deck with John Jacob Astor IV. He perished in the Atlantic and his body was never found.[2][3] On July 29, 1912, Futrelle's mother, Linnie Futrelle, died in her Georgia home; her death was attributed to grief over her son.[4]
In popular culture
Futrelle is used as the protagonist in Max Allan Collins' disaster series novel The Titanic Murders (1999), about two murders aboard the Titanic.[5]
Selected works
Novels
- The Chase of the Golden Plate (1906)[6]
- The Simple Case of Susan (1908)[7]
- The Diamond Master (1909)film serials The Diamond Queen (1921) and The Diamond Master(1929)
- Elusive Isabel (1909)
- The High Hand (1911)[10]
- My Lady's Garter (1912)[11]
- Blind Man's Buff (1914)[12]
Short story collections
- The Thinking Machine (1907)
- "The Flaming Phantom"
- "The Great Auto Mystery"
- "The Man Who Was Lost"
- "The Mystery of a Studio"
- "The Problem of Cell 13" (1905)
- "The Ralston Bank Burglary"
- "The Scarlet Thread"
- The Thinking Machine on the Case (1908), UK title The Professor on the Case
- "The Stolen Rubens"
Short stories
See Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen and JacquesFutrelle.com for more stories.
- "The Problem of Cell 13" (1905)
- The Gray Ghost (Perth Daily News, 30 September 1905)
- The Man Who Found Kansas (Metropolitan Magazine, April 1906)
- "The Phantom Motor"[13]
- "The Grinning God" (The Sunday Magazine)[14]
- I. "Wraiths of the Storm", by May Futrelle
- II. "The House That Was", by Jacques Futrelle
In this literary experiment, The Thinking Machine provides a rational solution to the seemingly impossible and supernatural events of a ghost story written by Mrs. Futrelle.[14][15]
References
- ^ a b c Marks, Jeffrey A. "No Escape: Jacques Futrelle and the Titanic". Mystery Scene magazine. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
- ^ "Biography: Jacques Futrelle". Encyclopedia Titanica.
- ^ "Futrelle Refused to Enter Lifeboat; His Wife Tells How He Parted with Her on Titanic, Commanding Her to Save Herself". The New York Times. April 19, 1912. p. 6.
- ^ "Futrelle's Mother is Dead; Sinks from Grief Following Loss of Son on the Titanic". New York Times. July 30, 1912. p. 1.
- ^ Pierce, J. Kingston (April 1999). "A Case to Remember". January Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ "The chase of the golden plate | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "The simple case of Susan | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ The Diamond Master title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
- ^ During February 1914 Variety reports the 3-reeler done, quoted here (Feb 13, p. 23), and ready for March 4 (Feb 27, p. 22)
- ^ "The high hand | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "My lady's garter | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "Blind Man's Buff | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ Futrelle, Jacques. "The Phantom Motor". Jacques Futrelle. Archived from the original on February 26, 2016.
- ^ a b Futrelle, Jacques. "The Grinning God". Tales of the Thinking Machine. University of Adelaide. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2021. A note at the head of Part II implies publication in The Sunday Magazine (undated online): "Editor's Note. – Mrs. Futrelle undertook to set up a problem which The Thinking Machine could not solve. 'Wraiths of the Storm', in The Sunday Magazine last week, presented what she thought to be a mystery story impossible of solution. Printer's proofs of the story were submitted to Mr. Futrelle, who, after frequent consultations with Professor Van Dusen – The Thinking Machine – evolved 'The House that Was' as the perfect solution."
- ^ "The Grinning God by May & Jacques Futrelle". P.J. Bergman. The Locked Room (blog). April 27, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
Further reading
- "Jacques Futrelle". Contemporary Authors. Infotrac, Gale Group Databases. 2000. Retrieved August 1, 2003.
- "Survivor Says Ismay Ruled in Titanic's Boats; Managing Director Had Charge Of Their Launching, Testifies Karl H. Behr". The New York Times. June 26, 1915. p. 6.
- Wilkes Jr., Donald E. (April 21, 1994). "Georgians Died on Titanic". The Athens Observer.
- Wilkes Jr., Donald E. (April 21, 1994). "On the Titanic: Jacques Futrelle". The Athens Observer.
- Wilkes Jr., Donald E. (April 21, 1994). "May Futrelle Survived Titanic". The Athens Observer.
External links
- Jacques Futrelle (archived 2005-01-11) – stated official website Futrelle.com; c. 1999–2004 Joe, Robert and Carolyn Futrelle
- Jacques Futrelle at IMDb
- Works by Jacques Futrelle at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Works by Jacques Futrelle at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Jacques Futrelle at Internet Archive
- Jacques Futrelle at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Jacques Futrelle at Library of Congress, with 16 library catalogue records
