Much has been written regarding the parentage and origins of Nero Wolfe. Below are links to some of them. Rex Stout's presentation, Watson Was a Woman, at the January 31, 1941 Baker Street Irregulars (BSI) meeting may have started the commotion. His tongue-in-cheek humour did not fare well in that venue, so various BSI members over the course of time have investigated the parentage of Nero Wolfe. For full coverage of the phenomena, see: Wolfe's Parentage page.

Click here to read the transcribed speech of Watson Was A Woman. It was also published in:

• The Saturday Review of Literature, Vol 23, No. 19 (March 1, 1941)
• Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Issue #29, April, 1946
• Misc. BSI and Sherlockian publications

Other references to Rex Stout's Baker Street Irregular activities:

• invested in the BSI in 1949 with the "investiture" of The Boscombe Valley Mystery. [Baker Street Irregulars are given a name when they are invested with membership, hence "investiture."]
• Rex Stout reviews "Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" (May, 1960)
• In 1963, the BSI Toast was to another "The Woman," Pola (Mrs. Rex) Stout. Here is the transcribed toast in the BSI publication.
• Publicity photo of five BSI members at a meeting (Rex Stout, far right)
• Read an article in the BSI ARCHIVES regarding "What is the history of Rex Stout and the BSI?"
• See below for Rex Stout's recreation of a probable letter from the Shetland Pony Breeders to Dr. Watson.