When the wealthy amateur detective Philo Vance first emerged from the pen of writer S.S. Van Dine in 1926, he was 35 years old. He comes from one of the most respected and distinguished families in the United States and studied at the University of Oxford, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world in the UK. He has also completed his intellectual formation through extensive literature and art studies in Europe.

The highly intelligent Vance is of strong stature and has gaunt features that give his long and sharp facial features a slightly Nordic appearance. The wide-set grey eyes, his straight oval chin and his mouth make a clear-cut face, not exactly pretty, but can certainly be perceived as strong and attractive. It is the face of a thinker - a man who can become absorbed by solving a problem using mind power.

The death of his aunt, who left him her fortune, made Philo Vance a financially independent man who may afford a spacious and luxurious apartment with a roof garden in a townhouse (a so-called Brownstone) on East 38th Street in New York. Private detective Nero Wolfe is also residing in such a Brownstone, using all rooms of the house and the roof garden for his orchid nursery. Vance regularly travels to Switzerland for engaging into winter sports and moves to France each year during the spring.

His way of talking and his lifestyle fits the elitist understanding of high society of the 1930’s. By nature, Philo Vance is timid and used to suppress emotions due to his British education.

Following his habits, Vance reads or works until dawn. He therefore wakes up very late, is served breakfast by his old English butler, Currie, and otherwise lives from day to day. Vance finds great joy in the research and intellectual adventure activities have a strong attraction to him, for his mind loves to tackle very complicated problems and work out a solution.

The heavy smoker is a dedicated lover of the art, being regarded as an authority figure in the field of Chinese and Japanese prints. He also has extensive, sometimes even expert knowledge,e in areas such as polo, fencing, golf and archery. Likewise, his knowledge in the fields of history, chess and poker is very comprehensive.

Just like Lord Peter Wimsey, Philo Vance also has excellent connections to the police. Through district attorney F.-X. Markham, with whom Vance has been close friends for over 15 years, the amateur detective becomes involved in new adventures; also Sergeant Ernest Heath of the Homicide of the New York Police Department (NYPD) is looking for assistance in Vance.

Similar to a challenging game of chess or a complicated puzzle, the unmarried amateur detective sees the resolution of a detective mystery as an intellectual challenge, which he is only too happy to attempt to solve. Vance is exclusively focused on the collection of facts and evidence and maintains a distance from the crime. The human suffering that lies behind such an act, and thus causes the action, as well as the feelings of the people concerned, hardly get through to him.

His adventures are told by his friend and legal adviser S.S. Van Dine, a kind of financial manager and director who lives in a bachelor apartment in a hotel on the West Side. Van Dine spends most of his time at the home of his friend Philo Vance. The narrative style is similar to the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle manner in which Dr. Watson tells the stories of the adventures of his friend, Sherlock Holmes.

Novels by S.S. Van Dine about Amateur Detective Philo Vance

The Benson Murder Case

The Canary Murder Case

The Greene Murder Case

The Bishop Murder Case

The Scarab Murder Case

The Kennel Murder Case

The Dragon Murder Case

The Casino Murder Case

The Garden Murder Case

The Kidnap Murder Case

The Gracie Allen Murder Case

The Winter Murder Case