Champagne for One

Champagne for One
AuthorRex Stout
Cover artistBill English
LanguageEnglish
SeriesNero Wolfe
GenreDetective fiction
PublisherViking Press
Publication dateNovember 24, 1958
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages184 pp. (first edition)
OCLC8604606
Preceded byAnd Four to Go 
Followed byPlot It Yourself 

Champagne for One is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1958. The back matter of the 1995 Bantam edition of this book includes an exchange of correspondence between Stout and his editor at Viking Press, Marshall Best. A letter from Stout to Best, dated July 1958, shows that Stout suggested as a title both "Champagne for One" and also "Champagne for Faith Usher." Best's reply states that Viking was quite satisfied with "Champagne for One."

Plot introduction

She danced cheerfully, and of course that was no good. You can't dance cheerfully. Dancing is too important. It can be wild or solemn or gay or lewd or art for art's sake, but it can't be cheerful. For one thing, if you're cheerful you talk too much.

— Archie, missing a dancing partner as good as Celia Grantham, in Champagne for One, chapter 3.

Archie Goodwin fills in for a friend at a charity dinner dance for unwed mothers, and one of the guests drops dead on the dance floor.

Plot summary

Archie Goodwin receives a phone call from an acquaintance, Austin "Dinky" Byne, asking for a favor. Byne routinely acts as a chevalier, one of four male guests, for an annual dinner hosted by his aunt, Louise Grantham Robilotti. The dinner is given in honor of four young unwed mothers living at Grantham House, a charity supported by her late husband. Byne claims to have a cold and is unable to attend. Although skeptical of that cold, Archie agrees to stand in for him, despite Mrs. Robilotti's being a former client who bears him a personal dislike. During the dinner, Archie learns from one of the young women, Rose, that another, Faith Usher, has a bottle of cyanide in her purse. Faith has been talking of suicide during her pregnancy, and Rose fears that she might attempt suicide. Archie promises to watch over Faith. Towards the end of the evening Faith collapses and dies from cyanide poisoning after drinking a swallow from a glass of champagne.

Alone of the guests, Archie maintains that Faith Usher did not commit suicide, claiming that he observed her constantly throughout the evening and that she never had an opportunity to place the cyanide from her bottle into her glass. Although the authorities and the other guests pressure Archie into changing his story, Nero Wolfe believes him and decides to settle the matter by solving the case himself. He is given further incentive to do so when Edwin Laidlaw, another of the guests, approaches him to hire his services. Laidlaw says he is the father of Faith Usher's child after a brief affair they had the previous year. Ashamed of his conduct, he is desperate that his secret not be revealed.

Although Wolfe's investigation begins unpromisingly, his confidence that her death was murder grows when the police receive an anonymous tip revealing Laidlaw's secret. While the police are skeptical because it is anonymous, Wolfe says that someone else knows Laidlaw's secret and is agitated by the ongoing investigation. His investigations focus on both Faith Usher's estranged mother Elaine, herself an unwed mother, and Dinky Byne, whose reasons for canceling on the party look suspect given the event. He assigns Saul Panzer and Archie to follow the two respectively, leading to a break in the case when both Archie and Saul tail their respective targets to the same location: a restaurant where Elaine Usher and Dinky Byne are meeting with each other.

Speaking with Wolfe, both Byne and Elaine Usher lie to him. Their stories are inconsistent. Byne admits that he knew that Laidlaw was the father of Faith Usher's child, and says that he invited both to the dinner without their knowledge as a spiteful prank. During this conversation at the brownstone, Orrie Cather infiltrates Elaine’s hotel room and discovers a letter revealing that Mrs. Robilotti's deceased first husband, Albert Grantham, was the father of Faith Usher, and was supporting the mother and daughter via a trust managed by Byne. This, coupled with some comments from Byne, leads Wolfe to identify the murderer.

Summoning the hosts and the guests to his office, he has them reenact the circumstances under which Faith Usher received the poisoned champagne from Cecil Grantham multiple times. Mrs. Robilotti's son Cecil had a routine way of handing over a glass with his left hand, while taking for himself the glass in his right hand. A watchful person can see an opportunity in that.

Wolfe accuses Mrs. Robilotti of poisoning Faith Usher; Byne was perhaps blackmailing her with the knowledge that her former husband was Faith's father and invited Faith to the dinner as a threat. Mrs. Robilotti murdered Faith out of resentment over her husband's affair. Learning that Faith was in the habit of carrying cyanide, Mrs. Robilotti perhaps acquired some from another source to make it look like a suicide. The notion of the cyanide purchase is proved true by the police and Mrs. Robilotti is taken into custody, and found guilty in court. Archie is vindicated.

Themes

Changing sexual mores

The book reflects the transitional situation of American sexual mores at the time of writing, on the verge of the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Unwed mothers are a major issue in the book, and constitute a large part of its cast of characters. They are presented sympathetically, but still unwed motherhood is presented as "a problem" for which they need to be helped. The preferred solution is to provide a friendly and supportive environment during pregnancy and to have the baby given over to adoption immediately upon birth. The option of the unwed mother keeping and raising her child is presented as a far more problematic idea. Indeed—as it ultimately turns out—it has much to do with the circumstances that led to the murder being investigated.

In chapter 2 Archie Goodwin is rather shocked to discover that one of the young women, Rose Tuttle, had given birth outside marriage not once but twice. He recounts at length his moral dilemma at hearing this: "I had on my shoulders the responsibility for the moral and social position of the community, at least in part (...). To list my objections would have been fine if I had been ordained, but I hadn't, and anyway she had certainly heard these objections before and hadn't been impressed. (...) While it was none of my business if she kept on having babies, I absolutely wasn't going to encourage her."

On the other hand, in chapter 6 Archie is surprised to learn that Edwin Laidlaw seriously expects his bride-to-be to remain a virgin until their wedding night. His reaction to this is scathing: "Laidlaw turned out to have an old-fashioned streak (...) an old fogey at thirty-one."

The unfamiliar word

In most Nero Wolfe novels and novellas, there is at least one unfamiliar word, usually spoken by Wolfe. Champagne for One contains but one example, apart from the legalese respondeat superior found in Chapter 9. (In Chapter 2 the reader is also treated to a discussion of the derivation of protocol from the Greek proto, "first," and kollon, "glue".)

On page 202 of the 1996 Bantam edition, in Chapter 16, Wolfe says, "You have trimmed long enough." The word "trimmed" is not itself unfamiliar, but the usage may be.

Characters

Reviews and commentary

Adaptations

Nero Wolfe (A&E Network)

Screenwriters Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin adapted Champagne for One for the second episode of the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001–2002), a Jaffe/Braunstein Films coproduction with the A&E Network. The second of four Nero Wolfe episodes directed by executive producer and star Timothy Hutton, "Champagne for One" made its debut in two one-hour episodes airing April 29 and May 6, 2001, on A&E.

Timothy Hutton is Archie Goodwin; Maury Chaykin is Nero Wolfe. Other members of the cast (in credits order) are Bill Smitrovich (Inspector Cramer), Colin Fox (Fritz Brenner), James Tolkan (Mr. Hackett). Marian Seldes (Louise Grantham Robilotti), Kari Matchett (Celia Grantham), Conrad Dunn (Saul Panzer), Nicky Guadagni (Elaine Usher), Kathryn Zenna (Helen Yarmis), Alex Poch-Goldin (Edwin Laidlaw), Robert Bockstael (Paul Schuster), R. D. Reid (Sergeant Purley Stebbins), Christine Brubaker (Rose Tuttle), Steve Cumyn (Cecil Grantham), Boyd Banks (Austin "Dinky" Byne), David Schurmann (Robert Robilotti), Michael Rhoades (Beverly Kent), Janine Theriault (Ethel Varr) and Patricia Zentilli (Faith Usher).

Based on music by Dmitri Shostakovich, the episode's signature waltz is a 1991 recording by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly. The soundtrack also includes music by Antonio Vivaldi, Danny Baker, Rick Krive Alan Moorhouse, and Luigi Boccherini. In North America, A Nero Wolfe Mystery was released on Region 1 DVD by A&E Home Video (ISBN 076708893X). "Champagne for One" is divided into two parts as originally broadcast on A&E.

"Champagne for One" is one of the Nero Wolfe episodes released on Region 4 DVD in Australia under license by FremantleMedia Enterprises. Nero Wolfe — Collection One (2008) presents "Champagne for One" as a 90-minute film with a single set of titles and credits. In 2009 the film was released on Region 2 DVD in the Netherlands, by Just Entertainment. In October 2012 a region-free set of the complete series was released by independent Australian DVD distributor Shock Entertainment, which also made the series available through Australian iTunes. All of these DVD releases present "Champagne for One" in 4:3 pan and scan rather than its 16:9 aspect ratio for widescreen viewing.

Nero Wolfe (Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A.)

Grazia Giardiello adapted Champagne for One for the second episode of the RAI TV series Nero Wolfe (Italy 2012), starring Francesco Pannofino as Nero Wolfe and Pietro Sermonti as Archie Goodwin. Set in 1959 in Rome, where Wolfe and Archie reside after leaving the United States, the series was produced by Casanova Multimedia and Rai Fiction and directed by Riccardo Donna. "Champagne per uno" made its debut April 12, 2012.

Publication history

Bookseller and publisher Otto Penzler describes the first edition of Champagne for One: "Black cloth, front cover and spine printed with purple; rear cover blank. Issued in a mainly black dust wrapper." In April 2006, Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine estimated that the first edition of Champagne for One had a value of between $200 and $350. The estimate is for a copy in very good to fine condition in a like dustjacket.

Notes

  1. ↑ Dmitri Shostakovich and Levon Atovmyan, Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1. London 433 702-2, Shostakovich: The Jazz Album (track 13). This recording lists the work as Jazz Suite No. 2, a common mistake that resulted from its being misidentified in 1984. The suite is based on music by Shostakovich, arranged by Atovmyan.
  2. ↑ Antonio Vivaldi, Nulla in mundo pax sincera (excerpt), RV 630. Decca Records, Baroque Adagios (CD 1, track 19).
  3. ↑ Danny Baker, "Tom Tom Fever". OneMusic, Woody Jazz (track 1).
  4. ↑ Danny Baker, "Benny the Badman". OneMusic, Woody Jazz (track 9).
  5. ↑ Rick Krive, "Go Big Daddy". 5 Alarm Music, Swing (track 1).
  6. ↑ Alan Moorhouse, "In the Swing". KPM Music, KPM 91, Music of the 20s, 30s and 40s (track 20).
  7. ↑ Luigi Boccherini, Minuet in A, from String Quintet in E Major, Op. 11, No. 5. KPM Music, KPM CS 7, Light Classics Volume One (track 2).
  8. ↑ "Champagne for One" (disc 1), "Prisoner's Base" (disc 2) and "Over My Dead Body" (disc 3) are split into two parts as they originally aired on A&E. Three other telefilms originally shown as two-parters — "Motherhunt" (disc 5), "Too Many Clients" (disc 6) and "The Silent Speaker" (disc 7) — were issued by A&E Home Video as continuous films with a single set of titles and credits.
  9. ↑ Nero Wolfe — Collection One, August 13, 2008 EAN 9316797427038. Three-disc set includes "The Golden Spiders", "The Doorbell Rang" and "Champagne for One". Each 90-minute film is presented with a single set of titles and credits. Screen format is 4:3 full frame. The set is rated M (mild crime themes and mild violence) by the Commonwealth of Australia; "Champagne for One" itself is rated PG.
  10. ↑ A Nero Wolfe Mystery — Serie 1 (EAN 8717344739221) was released December 11, 2009, by Just Entertainment, under license by FremantleMedia. The three-disc Region 2 set includes "The Golden Spiders", "The Doorbell Rang" and "Champagne for One". Each 90-minute film is presented with a single set of titles and credits. Screen format is 4:3 full frame; optional Dutch subtitles.
  11. ↑ The far less valuable Viking book club edition may be distinguished from the first edition in three ways:
    • The dust jacket has "Book Club Edition" printed on the inside front flap, and the price is absent (first editions may be price clipped if they were given as gifts).
    • Book club editions are sometimes thinner and always taller (usually a quarter of an inch) than first editions.
    • Book club editions are bound in cardboard, and first editions are bound in cloth (or have at least a cloth spine).

References

  1. ↑ Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. A Catalogue of Crime. New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989. ISBN 0-06-015796-8
  2. ↑ Pearl, Nancy, Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason (Seattle, Washington: Sasquatch Books, 2003, ISBN 1-57061-381-8); p. 226
  3. ↑ "End Credits". Champagne for One – Part One, Part Two. Nero Wolfe: The Complete First Season (DVD). Vol. 1. New York: A&E Television Networks. 2004. ISBN 0-7670-5499-7.
  4. ↑ Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly (1993). Shostakovich: The Jazz Album (CD). London. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  5. ↑ Emma Kirkby, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood (2002). Baroque Adagios (CD). Decca Records. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Woody Jazz". Universal Music Group. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Woody Jazz". Universal Music Group. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Go Big Daddy". Apple Music. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Music of the 20s, 30s and 40s". KPM Music. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Light Classics Volume One". KPM Music. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  11. ↑ Tyner, Adam (April 25, 2006). "Nero Wolfe - The Complete Classic Whodunit Series". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on June 12, 2025. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  12. ↑ Tyner, Adam (July 27, 2004). "Nero Wolfe - The Complete First Season". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Champagne for One". Australian Classification. Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Champagne for One". eBay. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  15. ↑ "A Nero Wolfe Mystery — Serie 1". Just Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Retail Dealer Guide" (PDF). Shock Entertainment. October 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  17. ↑ Nero Wolfe, Casanova Multimedia; retrieved May 27, 2012
  18. ↑ Episodes, Nero Wolfe (TV series 2012), Italian Wikipedia; retrieved May 27, 2012
  19. ↑ Townsend, Guy M.; McAleer, John J.; Sapp, Judson C.; Schemer, Arriean, eds. (1980). Rex Stout: An Annotated Primary and Secondary Bibliography. New York and London: Garland Publishing, Inc. pp. 34–35. ISBN 0-8240-9479-4.
  20. ↑ Penzler, Otto (2001). Collecting Mystery Fiction #10, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part II. New York: The Mysterious Bookshop. p. 9.
  21. ↑ Smiley, Robin H. (April 2006). "Rex Stout: A Checklist of Primary First Editions". Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine. Vol. 16, no. 4. Tucson, Arizona: Firsts Magazine, Incorporated. p. 34.
  22. ↑ Penzler, Otto (2001). Collecting Mystery Fiction #9, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part I. New York: The Mysterious Bookshop. pp. 19–20.