ĭuring the opening scenes of Strangers on a Train (1951), Farley Granger appears to be reading a hardback copy of Alfred Hitchcock's Fireside Book of Suspense Stories (1947).Ī second wave of anthologies followed from 1957, predominantly released by Dell Publishing, to capitalise on the success of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series. It's uncertain if Hitchcock was actually involved in the book selection or just licensed his name for use by the book club. In February 1946, Hitchcock's was advertised as one of the "board of judges" for the Unicorn Mystery Book Club, along with Orson Welles, Arch Oboler, Lewis J. The first books to use his name were published in the 1940s, starting with The Pocket Book of Great Detectives (1941).Īccording to an advertisement in the New York Times Book Review (07/Mar/1943), Hitchcock provided an introduction to Intrigue: The Spy Novels of Eric Ambler. As with Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Hitchcock simply licensed his name for use by the publisher. Although many of the anthologies included an introduction from Hitchcock, most sources agree that the director had minimal, if any, involvement with the books and that the introductions were typically ghostwritten by the publisher's in-house editor assigned to compile each collection.
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