1 h 18 minAudiobook5 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 32 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 32 pagesAbout this book
How do you explain a honeymoon tangled up with gangsters, wild gadgets, and a mad scientist?
In Ralph Sholto’s “And That's How It Was, Officer,” a newlywed pair cannot get a moment’s peace. Gangsters bring threats and schemes, strange inventions invite trouble, and a tangled account needs a willing listener. This comic science fiction tale puts a marriage in the middle of chaos, where even the truth can sound like a desperate excuse.
Sholto draws on the quick, inventive spirit of pulp science fiction. Fast talk meets shady characters, and explanations become part of the joke rather than a way out. The fun lies in watching misunderstandings pile up around people who already have enough trouble. It is farce that moves at a run, with little room to pause and catch your breath.
What you’ll discover
- A honeymoon without peace Follow a newlywed pair whose marriage gets no breathing room amid the surrounding chaos.
- Crooks with comic potential Meet gangsters whose threats and schemes add another layer of trouble to the farce.
- Science let loose Enter a world where wild gadgets and a mad scientist make absurd events feel at home.
- Explanations that make trouble Enjoy the uneasy gap between an unbelievable account and the wish to be believed.
- Pulp storytelling at speed Find quick invention, fast talk, and humour that keeps the story moving through confusion.
Who will love it
Readers who love screwball comedy, vintage gangster slang and pulp-style science fiction, and anyone who enjoys a fast, funny tale told by a narrator who misses what is plainly in front of him.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A scientist, a bride and a closet
- The reception fills with uninvited crooks
- A gunman arrives and guests go pop
- Comedy of manners, slang and misunderstanding
Who’s who
- Homer NicholasThe polite, earnest narrator and groom, who keeps friends among the so-called bums and wants only to begin his honeymoon.
- Joy NicholasHomer's bride, a Vassar graduate and pianist with a ju-jitsu secret, who loves excitement and wants to catch Uncle Peter.
- Uncle PeterHomer's uncle, a brilliant, childlike scientist who wants to test his new serum and meet some wise men far away.
- Bag Ears MulliganA kind, punch-drunk former boxer with drooping ears who hears bells and mostly wants to get away from trouble.
- Cora CourtneyUncle Peter's blonde assistant, a burlesque queen, who keeps notes for him and knows the gangster Hands McCaffery.
- Aunt GretchenHomer's snobbish aunt, who holds the family purse strings and wants only a respectable reception.
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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"And That's How It Was, Officer"
by Ralph Sholto
A bride, a mad scientist uncle and a crowd of gangsters who go pop at a wedding reception in Morton City.
Easy readUnder 2 hours to readEspañol
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In short
And That's How It Was, Officer is a comic science fiction story by Ralph Sholto, set in Morton City in the years after the Second World War. It comes as a letter from a newly married man, Homer Nicholas, to the town's police chief, David Nixon.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A scientist, a bride and a closet
Homer begins with his uncle, Peter Nicholas, a man who is part genius and part child. Some of his mind could out-think Einstein, while other parts never left third grade. His home is a small bungalow on the edge of town, and his laboratory sits below it behind a steel door. Homer and his bride-to-be, Joy, pound on that door for three days before it finally opens.
Homer announces that he is getting married, and Uncle Peter first scolds him for travelling with a woman he is not wed to. Joy bristles, and Homer smooths things over. Then Uncle Peter says he has perfected a serum that will change the course of civilization and must be tested at once. He asks to be left alone.
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A bride, a mad scientist uncle and a crowd of gangsters who go pop at a wedding reception in Morton City.
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Details
- Language
- Español
- Reading time
- 50 min
- Level
- Easy read
- Paperback
- 32 pages · 6 × 9 in
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- 32 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 48 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
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What is And That's How It Was, Officer about?
It is a comic letter from Homer Nicholas to the Morton City police chief, explaining why the city's gangsters vanished. It follows his wedding day, his scientist uncle Peter, a mob boss named Cement Mixer Zinsky and a strange serum.
Who is Bag Ears Mulligan?
Bag Ears is a former lightweight boxer and one of Homer's dearest friends. Years in the ring left him punch-drunk, with drooping ears and a habit of hearing bells that exist only in his mind. He is loyal and warm.
Is And That's How It Was, Officer a true story?
No, it is a work of comic fiction by Ralph Sholto, written in the style of mid-century American pulp and screwball comedy. Its jokes borrow from gangster stories, radio news, detective magazines and talk of flying saucers.
The author
Ralph Sholto
Science fiction pseudonym
Ralph Sholto is the byline on And That's How It Was, Officer, a science fiction story from the mid-century pulp era, written in the punchy, twist-loving style that made those publications irresistible reading for a generation.
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