Exact textual stateSynopsis
Untitled synopsis (Steve Harrison received a wire from Joan Wiltshaw.)
Part of Untitled synopsis (Steve Harrison received a wire from Joan Wiltshaw.)
Textual identity is not textual authority. “Catalogue primary/default” selects the default catalogue representation; it does not mean that this wording is automatically Howard’s most authoritative text.
Characters in this exact text
Brax WiltshawBrax Wiltshaw — Joan Wiltshaw's husband, jailed and framed for the Richardson murdersMentionedfirst: Opening Lost Knob setup.EsauEsau Richardson — eldest Richardson brother who inherited most of the family propertyOn Pagefirst: Harrison talks with the Richardson brothers.IsabelIsabel Richardson — Richardson sister later murdered during the Lost Knob caseMentionedfirst: Richardson family description.Joan WiltshawJoan Wiltshaw — Brax Wiltshaw's wife who summons Harrison to Lost KnobOn Pagefirst: Opening sentence.Doctor Dick EllisJoe Barwell — last Barwell son living under the identity Doctor Dick Ellis and carrying out revenge on both feuding familiesOn Pagefirst: Harrison interviews the town doctor.the last of that line, a grim, gaunt womanJoe Barwell's mother — unnamed last adult Barwell who left Lost Knob with her infant son thirty-five years earlierMentionedfirst: Backstory of the Wiltshaw–Richardson–Barwell feud.John RichardsonJohn Richardson — Richardson brother murdered before Harrison's investigation beginsMentionedfirst: Opening explanation of Brax's arrest.the jailerLost Knob jailer — unnamed jailer found murdered when Harrison comes to question Brax WiltshawOn Pagefirst: Harrison reaches the jail at dusk.SaulSaul Richardson — Richardson brother later murdered during the Lost Knob caseOn Pagefirst: Harrison talks with the Richardson brothers.Steve HarrisonSteve Harrison — private detective and central protagonist of Lord of the DeadOn Pagefirst: Opening sentence.WilliamWilliam Richardson — one of the surviving Richardson brothers in Lost KnobOn Pagefirst: Harrison talks with the Richardson brothers.
Surviving manuscript evidence
The records below describe surviving physical typescripts, carbons, manuscript material and documentary catalogue evidence for this exact textual state. TSS numbers identify physical catalogue units; they are not story or draft IDs.
Synopsis — surviving complete Howard typescriptHoward synopsis typescript
Extent2 pagesCompletenessComplete
Physical extent: Complete two-page untitled synopsis
TSS: 26031–26032
Single known surviving Howard synopsis typescript for this untitled Steve Harrison story.
Additional documentary notes
- Untitled Witness: The surviving synopsis bears no Howard title. (witness level)
- Sole Known Surviving Text State: Volume 2 v0.77 states that no typescript draft of the story is known to survive. (source inventory level)
Source: Hardboiled Manuscripts, Volume 2 v0.77, Editorial Notes p. 131; synopsis pp. 133–134