Blog Post
Fast Fact Friday: What in the world is a red herring?
Tracey from Rhyme and Reason Books • February 13, 2021
Uncovering the origin of this staple of detective literature
When I was a tween, I devoured mystery novels. Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, the Bobbsey Twins, Cherry Ames, the Happy Hollisters, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Tommy and Tuppence, and Miss Marple were part of my daily life. And so was the distinctive and sometimes confusing vocabulary found in old detective books — words like henchmen, confederates, inquest, and most baffling of all, red herring.
Red herrings appeared frequently, especially in British mysteries. I knew a herring was a gull, so as a child I thought England must be teeming with red sea gulls. I can still recall the mental image I created of all the crimson birds flocking around Soldier Island when reading Agatha Christie’s “And Then There were None,” which I think is the first time I encountered the term. What I couldn’t understand was what a bird had to do with the story! But a herring, I later found out, is also a type of fish. And a red herring is one that has been smoked and has a very pungent scent — which cleared up nothing. Why would detective novels be so rife with smoked fish? Well, they’re not. The term red herring actually refers to a clue that is intended to be misleading. In a mystery novel, it’s false evidence planted by the culprit (or author) to lead the detective (or reader) away from the truth.
How exactly did a smoked fish come to be associated with a suspect’s throwing detectives off his trail? According to pieces in the journal “Comments on Etymology,” it’s a misinterpretation of British hunting practices first mentioned in the fifteenth century. A 1697 horsemanship text first suggested dragging a dead animal — preferably a cat but in a pinch a red herring — behind a hunting party to train horses to follow their trail without getting spooked by the gunshots. But 214 years ago, on February 14, 1807, radical journalist William Cobbett gave that a twist. In a piece castigating the traditional British press for allowing itself to be misled about a purported defeat of Napoleon, he compared the deluded reporters to a hunting hound who had been confounded by someone dragging a red herring across a rabbit’s trail and thus thrown off the hare’s scent. Apparently, he and later his son used the term this way so often that the meaning stuck.
Mystery solved. If red herrings and the other hallmarks of vintage detective stories are your thing too, check out the Rhyme and Reason Books shop
and take a trip down memory lane with my vintage children’s mysteries and mystery-themed vintage craft supplies.
About the author: Tracey fell in love with old children's books when she was nine, and that was that. Her shop, Rhyme and Reason Books, sells vintage children's books and ephemera on Etsy for collectors, crafters, and decorators. As a writer, literacy instructor, and library volunteer, she donates a portion of every sale to children's literacy initiatives to foster the next generation of readers.
I haven't posted for Fast Fact Friday in a long time, but while researching the origins of these antique cartes de visite this week, I learned about a fascinating early photographer and had to share! Cartes de visite are small photographs mounted on heavy card stock that were used in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as calling cards -- comparable to the business cards of today but for social purposes. The backs often featured the name and address of the photographer. I'm always curious about the items I buy for my vintage shop and try to learn as much about them as I can before I post them on Etsy. I noticed the photographer's name at the bottom of the photos. So I turned over the portrait of the couple. Nothing but the name of the woman in the photo, an ancestor of the person from whom I bought the photos. I checked the back of the portrait of the girl. Nothing. Then I turned over the photo in the center and found the most gorgeous business card for Maria Tesch's portrait studio. Don't you love the typography?
Save money with these quick and easy ways to tell when a book isn’t really a first edition without having to do any research.
Library catalog cards have really made a comeback. Banished from libraries in the 1990s in favor of digital catalogs, the cards have recently made a resurgence, especially at weddings. But what does that code in the top left corner mean?
This Jersey shore town saw the founding of a prestigious book award
A closer look at the career of children's author Helen Palmer, wife of Dr. Seuss
From Peter Pan to Curious George to Nancy Drew, some of the most beloved characters in children’s literature are notably motherless. So for Mother’s Day, let’s salute that most elusive of all fictional characters — the children’s book mom — with this quiz.
On this National Hairstyle Appreciation Day, we may be feeling not-so-appreciative of our current styles given the closure of hair salons in many places. Here are seven characters from vintage children's books who remind us to love the hair we're in.
When I became an adult, I was shocked to realize how non-kid-friendly the nursery rhymes I had loved as a child actually were. I know many of them have deeper meanings — more on that in a future post — but why on earth would people read these poems about violence and death to children? I still can’t answer that, but surprisingly, when the world gets turned upside down by a pandemic, nursery rhymes seem like they just might contain a lesson after all.
The children’s book world lost one of its most prolific author/illustrators today with the passing of Tomie dePaola, 85. You love his books, but how much do you know about him? Let’s review a few facts, starting with how to say his name.
Can you name the beloved children's book that opens with each of the lines below?