Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear.

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Creator

Ed McBain (pseud. Evan Hunter).

Title

Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear.

Publisher

London: Hodder & Stoughton,

Date

1996.

Description

Author Evan Hunter (Blackboard Jungle; screenplay for Hitchcock’s The Birds) wrote, under the pen name “Ed McBain,” two series of classic crime novels: the fabled 87th Precinct series and the lawyer Matthew Hope novels. According to Otto Penzler, proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York, McBain was “the greatest writer of police procedurals who ever lived.”

I was honored to be Hunter/McBain’s copyright and literary publishing lawyer. The plot of this Matthew Hope novel, Gladly, involves copyright and trademark issues. Evan, a meticulous craftsman in describing police procedure, told me he didn’t want to get letters from readers that he got the legal part wrong. And he didn’t!

Evan graciously dedicated Gladly to me. And Gladly represents a signature merger of vocation and avocation for this lawyer, whose book collection emphasizes author-presentation copies.

Source

Richard Dannay