Story summary
Samenvatting van De Benson-moordzaak
- 8 min. leestijd
- 10 parts
- Binnenkort te beluisteren
A bored art lover tags along to a murder scene and bets he can name the killer from character alone.
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De Benson-moordzaak in het kort
Samenvatting: 8 min leestijd
- Leestijd
- Ongeveer 5 h 30 min4 h 25 min fast, 6 h 35 min slow
- Lengte
- 78.800 woorden
- Bibliotheekniveau
- Gemiddeld longer sentences, everyday words
- Voor het eerst verschenen
- 1926by S. S. Van Dine
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Hoelang het duurt om de klassiekers te lezen · Bijgewerkt
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De Benson-moordzaak in short
The Benson Murder Case follows six days in June after a wealthy broker is shot in his armchair. The police and the District Attorney build case after case from handbags, cigarette butts, threats and borrowed jewels. Philo Vance keeps saying the same thing: look at what kind of mind did this, and do not trust the clues laid before you.
What De Benson-moordzaak is about
What would you do if the District Attorney of New York asked a man who sleeps until noon to come and look at a corpse? On a bright June morning, Alvin Benson, a Wall Street broker, is found shot through the forehead in his own armchair. Philo Vance, an art collector who cares more for Cézanne than for crime, tags along out of idle curiosity.
The Benson Murder Case appeared in 1926 under the pen name S. S. Van Dine. Vance's lawyer friend tells the tale from his notes. You get a puzzle in which every clue points at someone, and a hero who says clues are just what a clever killer would arrange.
Voor wie is het?. This book suits readers who love a classic whodunit with a fair set of suspects, a witty amateur detective, and lively talk about art and human nature.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A breakfast interrupted by a murder
The story opens on a Friday morning in June in Philo Vance's apartment. The narrator, Van Dine, is his lawyer and friend, and he has come to talk about buying Cézanne watercolors. Vance sits in a silk dressing gown and complains about the plebeian hour.
We learn who Vance is before we learn of the crime. He owns Chinese prints, Greek vases and African masks, and he has studied psychology under famous teachers. He regards people the way a scientist regards a specimen, with interest but without sentiment.
Then the District Attorney, John Markham, arrives in a hurry and announces that Alvin Benson has been murdered. Vance says the dead man probably deserved it, yet he calls for his clothes faster than his friend has ever seen him move. Markham believes in facts and solid proof, while Vance believes in the signature a person leaves on every act.
The case begins as a quarrel between two friends about how truth is found.
- 2Begin gratis met lezen
The scene in the living room
At Benson's brownstone, the party finds a crowd of policemen and reporters.
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A lady's handbag points the wrong way
Heath pulls a small gold mesh handbag and a pair of long white gloves from his pocket.
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Vance argues against clues and confessions
At the Stuyvesant Club on Saturday, Vance delivers his first long lecture.
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Measuring the murderer with string
Vance's first proof is almost a magic trick.
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The Captain, the threat and the gray Cadillac
With Miss St. Clair set aside, Markham turns to Captain Leacock, her fiancé.
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A forged check, a secretary and borrowed jewels
On Tuesday, the dead man's brother brings his secretary, Miss Hoffman, to Markham's office.
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Psychology against circumstantial evidence
The book's central idea is stated at the club and tested for the rest of the story.
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Everyone is shielding someone else
A quieter theme runs under the detection: nearly everyone in the story is hiding something to protect another person.
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A lawyer's notebook told with a wink
Van Dine tells the story in the first person, but he is not the detective.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Philo Vance A wealthy art collector and cool observer of people who solves the case by reading character rather than clues.
- John F.-X. Markham The honest District Attorney of New York County, who trusts evidence and grudgingly lets his friend guide him.
- Sergeant Ernest Heath A tough, proud Homicide Bureau detective who wants the case solved by good police work and a quick arrest.
- Muriel St. Clair A young singer who dined with Benson on his last night and refuses to explain herself to the District Attorney.
- Captain Philip Leacock Her tall Southern fiancé, hot-tempered and chivalrous, who once threatened the dead man and owns an army pistol.
- Leander Pfyfe A perfumed, smooth-talking friend of Benson who hides his car and his dealings behind elaborate manners.
- Mrs. Anna Platz Benson's loyal housekeeper, who heard a bang that night and keeps a worried secret about her own family.
- Colonel Bigsby Ostrander A pompous retired officer and gossip who knows everyone in Benson's circle and talks endlessly about them.
How it ends (spoiler)
Vance names the dead man's brother, Major Anthony Benson, as the killer. He broke his alibi by showing how he slipped past the elevator boy, then found the pistol and the stolen jewels in the Major's apartment. Hagedorn matched the gun to the bullet, and the accountant found the Major's money troubles. When arrested, the Major fought wildly but was subdued. After a long trial he received twenty years to life.
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Vragen over De Benson-moordzaak
What is The Benson Murder Case about?
It follows the investigation into the shooting of Alvin Benson, a Wall Street broker, in his own living room. Art lover Philo Vance helps the District Attorney sort through suspects, clues and false confessions to find the real killer.
Who is Philo Vance?
Philo Vance is a rich, cultured amateur detective with a taste for art and psychology. He solves crimes by studying character, speaks in a drawling, witty style, and is his lawyer friend's chief interest. He first appears in this novel.
Who is S. S. Van Dine?
S. S. Van Dine is the pen name of the author, and also the name of the narrator, Vance's lawyer friend who records each case. The book appeared in 1926 and began the Philo Vance series of detective novels.
What is Vance's method for solving the crime?
Vance reads the crime like a work of art, asking what kind of mind would plan it in just this way. He treats clues, alibis and confessions as easy to fake, and relies on psychology instead.
Verwijs naar deze uitgave
Van Dine, S. S. The Benson Murder Case. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-benson-murder-case.
Van Dine, S. S. (2026). The Benson murder case. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-benson-murder-case (Original work published 1926)
Van Dine, S. S. The Benson Murder Case. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-benson-murder-case.
@book{vandine2026benson,
author = {Van Dine, S. S.},
title = {The Benson Murder Case},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-benson-murder-case},
note = {First published 1926}
}
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