Major Works
- Let the Night Cry, 1953, Abelard Press, Inc.
- The Last Kill, 1955, Signet
Biography
Mississippi writer Charlie Wells was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1923. Before trying his hand at writing pulp fiction, Wells held several jobs including draftsman, bank messenger, and drummer. In World War II, he served in an anti-aircraft battalion and a field artillery unit.
Like Mississippi writer Earle Basinsky, Wells worked on his writing with Mickey Spillane (then retired from writing novels). Wells was a childhood friend of Spillane’s wife and he lived with the couple for a short period of time. Spillane worked with Wells for over a year before Wells’s first novel was published.
In 1953 Abelard Press published Let the Night Cry, the story of a New Orleans ex-con seeking vengeance. Wells stated that it was Mickey Spillane who showed him how to ‘pack guts, gore, and hot, suspenseful action into a mystery yarn.’
In 1955, The Last Kill was published by New American Library. It is the story of a Memphis detective who tracks the murderer of a friend. This was the last book that Wells wrote.
Related Websites
- Vintage Hardboiled Reads discusses Charlie Wells in 2008 by August West.
- Ole Miss Archives and Special Collections includes Wells.
Bibliography
- Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers: The Essentail Guide to More Than 200 Pulp Pionees and Mass-market Masters, by Lee Server.
- Ole Miss Archives and Special Collections