The Heirs of Anthony Boucher Marvin Lachman

Preface
tive in this history, but because I care about the mystery, both its past and its future,
I did not avoid expressing opinions on some subjects.
In 1967 Boucher’s advice and strong encouragement were major factors in Hubin’s
deciding to go ahead with The Armchair Detective. Boucher then enthusiastically
reviewed the first issue of The Armchair Detective on December 3, 1967. He spoke
for mystery fans when he described it as the kind of journal for which he had been
looking for many years. He wrote letters that were published in the second and third
issues of TAD.
We expected Boucher would play a major role in the newly born fandom, but that
was not to be. I can still recall the shock of reading Boucher’s obituary in the newspaper
on May 1, 1968. It was as if a friend had died. I had read his column on Sundays
for almost twenty years. Everything that has been done in mystery fandom since he
died is part of Anthony Boucher’s legacy.
The book you are reading had its roots in a brief article I wrote for CADS in 1992:
“An Informal (and Personal) History of American Fans.” I concluded by saying that
there will never be more than a relatively small number of people who enjoy reading
and talking about mysteries as much as they enjoy reading them. If you’re reading
this book, you’re one of them.
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Marvin Lachman
February 1, 2005