Uncle Abner, by Melville Davisson Post: A Review by Warren Bull

Uncle Abner, by Melville Davisson Post: A Review by Warren Bull

Starting in 1911, Melville Davisson Post published a series of short stories about an unusual sleuth he named Uncle Abner. Post wrote the stories for magazines. When they were collected in book form seven years later, he was acknowledged as an author of classic mysteries.  Ellery Queen described Post as one of the founders of the genre along with Edgar Allan Poe, G.K. Chesterton and Arthur Conan Doyle.

The setting of the stories is Virginia. It is not the Virginia of in the time of Thomas Jefferson depicted with plantations, slaves, and hot-tempered duelists. It is the hardscrabble land west of the Allegheny Mountains during that era. Cattlemen, river men and farmers have their own way of dealing with things. Their way has more of the flavor more of the Old Testament than of law books.

Those who live in the country described know Uncle Albert. He is a man living by the morals of the Bible who uses his own skill at observation and his reasoning ability to solve mysteries.  In some stories he comes across as almost the voice of the Lord. He is not a vengeful man. Sometimes he calls upon the local system of law. At other times he is content to leave matters in the hands of God. Many of the stories are told from the point-of-view of Abner’s young nephew whose youth and innocence contrast with the thoughts and actions of the villains.

The protagonist is unlike any other fictional detective I have encountered. The setting is similarly unique. I recommend these to those interested in the history of crime fiction. I also recommend them to fans of short stories like me.