Story summary
"And That's How It Was, Officer" summary
- 8 min read
- 7 parts
- Audio soon
A wedding reception fills with gangsters, and one by one they go pop while a bride and groom chase the culprit.
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"And That's How It Was, Officer" at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 45 min35 min fast, 55 min slow
- Length
- 10,700 words
- Pages
- 32 pages48 in large print
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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"And That's How It Was, Officer" in short
Homer Nicholas writes to the police chief to explain why the city's gangsters have gone. The answer begins in his uncle Peter's basement laboratory, moves through a disastrous wedding reception and a chase to a tavern, and returns to the laboratory before Homer seeks his bride. Along the way Cement Mixer Zinsky and others go pop, and Uncle Peter ticks off each one in a small book.
What "And That's How It Was, Officer" is about
What would you do if the guests at your wedding reception began to burst, one after another, into puffs of dust, and the man behind it was your own uncle? That is the problem of Homer Nicholas, a rich, kindly and cheerfully oblivious young man who has been married for barely twenty-four hours. He sits in the back room of a tavern and writes to David Nixon, chief of police of Morton City, to explain why the city's gangsters have vanished.
And That's How It Was, Officer is a screwball science fiction comedy by Ralph Sholto, set in the years after the Second World War. Homer tells it all in a polite, stuffy voice, and he can describe a disaster like a bus timetable. You get a quick, bright farce with a mad scientist, a bride full of surprises, and a boxer who hears bells.
Who it’s for. You will love this if you enjoy fast, silly comedy, old gangster slang, mad scientists with bubbling flasks, and narrators who miss the obvious. It suits listeners who like a whole story in one sitting.
The story in 7 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A husband writes to the police chief
A letter begins the tale. Homer Nicholas addresses it to David Nixon, chief of police of Morton City. He says the chief and his men must be bewildered. They have probably lost weight wondering where all the gangsters went. The underworld has vanished like a bucket of soap bubbles.
Homer feels the chief deserves to know what has been happening in his city. The chief has never met Uncle Peter, Bag Ears Mulligan, the gorgeous Joy or Homer himself. When the letter reaches its destination, Homer and Joy will be heading to Europe for the honeymoon he says keeps slipping away. Uncle Peter will travel to Tibet for interviews with several prominent figures. Bag Ears will probably be off looking for his bells.
A great deal of good has been done at no cost to the taxpayers, Homer adds, so the chief should read the letter and then forget the whole thing.
This frame sets the tone. Homer is polite, proper and sure he is a model citizen. He explains things so calmly that the wildest events sound like a minor misunderstanding. The reader soon learns to see more than he does. Enjoy the gap between what Homer says and what is really going on, because the whole book lives in that gap.
- 2Start free to read
An uncle with a serum and a closet
Homer and Joy go to see Uncle Peter Nicholas in his laboratory.
- 3Start free to read
A wedding where the guest list goes wrong
The reception is held at Aunt Gretchen's big house on Shore Drive after a wedding at City Hall.
- 4Start free to read
The crooks' convention in the living room
Aunt Gretchen returns in tears with news that a startling variety of people are crowding into the house.
- 5Start free to read
A masked gunman and a very odd massacre
The room is suddenly frozen by a cold voice.
- 6Start free to read
A chase through town and a stick of gum
Joy takes charge.
- 7Start free to read
A narrator who always misses the point
What is the book really about?
Read all 7 key ideas now
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Check yourself
Why does Homer write to the police chief?
Right. “Homer Nicholas writes to the police chief to explain why the city's gangsters have gone.”Not quite. “Homer Nicholas writes to the police chief to explain why the city's gangsters have gone.”
What is Uncle Peter doing while serving drinks at the reception?
Right. “When a man like Uncle Peter works as a bartender, the drinks are the experiment.”Not quite. “When a man like Uncle Peter works as a bartender, the drinks are the experiment.”
What makes Homer's account comic?
Right. “The comedy comes from the gap between the polite way Homer sees people and who they really are.”Not quite. “The comedy comes from the gap between the polite way Homer sees people and who they really are.”
Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Homer Nicholas The young, rich and cheerfully oblivious groom who writes the letter, believes in democracy, and tries to do his duty as a citizen and a nephew.
- Joy Nicholas Homer's bride, a Vassar graduate and pianist with a taste for brawls, who thrives on danger and sees what her husband misses.
- Uncle Peter Nicholas Homer's uncle, a genius with the mind of a child, who has perfected a serum and needs to test it right away.
- Bag Ears Mulligan A punch-drunk former boxer with drooping ears and a kind heart, who hears bells that exist only in his head.
- Cora Courtney Uncle Peter's blonde assistant, once a burlesque queen, who keeps his notebook and knows the underworld.
- Aunt Gretchen Homer's snobbish aunt, who holds the family purse strings and hosts the wedding reception at her house on Shore Drive.
- Cement Mixer Zinsky A mob boss with social ambitions, who arrives at the reception with his gang and has a rival, Hands McCaffery.
How it ends (spoiler)
Uncle Peter's serum does not kill anyone. It moves people to a chosen spot, and the vanished gangsters have all been sent to a monastery in Tibet, with two policemen to keep them in order. Hands McCaffery drinks the vial rather than be arrested. Uncle Peter packs for Tibet with Cora, to meet the yogis. When Homer goes back to the tavern, Joy has gone off to help Bag Ears find his bells, and Homer finishes his letter.
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Questions about "And That's How It Was, Officer"
What is And That's How It Was, Officer about?
It is a comic science fiction story told as a letter. Homer Nicholas explains to the Morton City police chief why the city's gangsters have vanished, and how his uncle's serum and a wild wedding reception are involved.
Who is Bag Ears Mulligan?
Bag Ears is Homer's friend, a former boxer who once chased the lightweight title. He took so many punches that his mind sometimes stops, and he hears bells that nobody else hears. He is kind and cheerful.
Who writes the letter and who gets it?
Homer Nicholas, a newly married young man, writes to David Nixon, the chief of police of Morton City. He writes from the back room of a tavern, to explain events he thinks the chief deserves to know.
What does the name Cement Mixer Zinsky mean?
Zinsky is a mob boss who earned his nickname by inventing a way to get rid of rivals. He put their feet in a tub of cement and threw the whole tub into the lake.
Is it easy to follow?
Yes, in its own way. It is a short story in one voice, told in order from a single letter. The jokes, the quick dialogue and the plain, lively slang carry you from scene to scene.
Cite this edition
Sholto, Ralph. "And That's How It Was, Officer". Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/and-that-s-how-it-was-officer.
Sholto, R. (2026). "And that's how it was, Officer". Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/and-that-s-how-it-was-officer
Sholto, Ralph. "And That's How It Was, Officer". Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/and-that-s-how-it-was-officer.
@book{sholto2026thats,
author = {Sholto, Ralph},
title = {"And That's How It Was, Officer"},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/and-that-s-how-it-was-officer}
}
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