The news media, television, and nonfiction and fiction books all disseminate and perpetuate many stereotypes of the archival profession. This article is a study of the images of archives and archivists based on a reading of 128 novels. It is divided into four parts: how authors define the term "archives," perceptions of the archivists themselves, the issues of dust and the images of death regularly associated with archives, and the importance of archives and archival holdings. The images of archives and archival work presented in these books are discussed in the context of archivists' long-standing concern about their professional image.

Ackroyd, Peter. Chatterton. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1987; New York: Grove Press, 1988.
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Chatterton
Ackroyd, Peter. The House of Dr. Dee. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1993.
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The House of Dr. Dee
Aird, Catherine. The Stately Home Murder. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1970.
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The Stately Home Murder
Anthony, Piers. Centaur Aisle. New York: Ballantine, 1981.
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Centaur Aisle
Anthony, Piers. Night Mare. New York: Ballantine Books, 1982.
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Night Mare
Archer, Jeffrey. Honor Among Thieves. Hammersmith, London, England: HarperCollins, 1993; New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
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Honor Among Thieves
Ballinger, John. The Williamsburg Forgeries. New York: St Martin's Press, 1989.
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The Williamsburg Forgeries
Barnard, Robert. The Case of the Missing Brontë. New York: Scribner, 1983. First published in England as The Missing Brontë. London: Collins, 1983.
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The Case of the Missing Brontë
Benford, Gregory and Arthur C. Clarke. Beyond the Fall of Night. New York: Ace/Putnam, 1990.
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Beyond the Fall of Night
Bird, Sarah. Alamo House: Women without Men, Men without Brains. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1986.
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Alamo House: Women without Men, Men without Brains
Brockway, Connie. My Dearest Enemy. New York: Dell Publishing, 1998.
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My Dearest Enemy
Brookner, Anita. Look At Me. London: J. Cape, 1983; New York: Pantheon Books, 1983.
Brown, Rita Mae. Murder at Monticello, or, Old Sins. New York: Bantam Books, 1994.
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Murder at Monticello, or, Old Sins
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tarzan of the Apes. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1914.
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Tarzan of the Apes
Byatt, A. S. Possession. London: Chatto & Windus, 1990; New York: Random House, 1990.
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Possession
Card, Orson Scott. "The Originist." In Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1990.
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The Originist
Card, Orson Scott. Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus. New York: TOR, 1996.
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Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
Carkeet, David. I Been There Before. New York: Harper and Row, 1985.
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I Been There Before
Carr, Caleb. The Alienist. New York: Random House, 1994.
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The Alienist
Castle, Jayne. Zinnia. New York: Pocket Star Books, 1997.
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Zinnia
Clarke, Arthur C. Earthlight. New York: Ballantine Books, 1955.
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Earthlight
Cooley, Martha. The Archivist. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1998.
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The Archivist
Cornwell, Patricia. Cruel and Unusual. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1993.
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Cruel and Unusual
Crichton, Michael. Disclosure. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.
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Disclosure
Crichton, Michael. Sphere. New York: Knopf, 1987.
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Sphere
Cussler, Clive. Treasure. New York: Simon and Shuster, 1988.
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Treasure
David, Peter. Imzadi. New York: Pocket Books, 1992.
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Imzadi
Davies, Robertson. The Lyre of Orpheus. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1988.
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The Lyre of Orpheus
David, Peter. Murther and Walking Spirits. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1991; New York: Viking, 1991.
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Murther and Walking Spirits
David, Peter. The Papers of Samuel Marchbanks. Toronto: Irwin, 1985; New York: Viking, 1986.
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The Papers of Samuel Marchbanks
David, Peter. The Rebel Angels. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1981; New York: Viking Press 1981.
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The Rebel Angels
Deighton, Len. Faith. London: HarperCollins, 1994; New York: Harper-Collins, 1994.
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Faith
Deighton, Len. Spy Hook. London: Hutchinson, 1988; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.
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Spy Hook
Dickens, Charles. Bleak House. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1852; New York: Harper & Brothers, 1853.
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Bleak House
Dickson, Gordon R. The Final Encyclopedia. New York: T. Doherty Associates, 1984.
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The Final Encyclopedia
Doctorow, E. L. Welcome to Hard Times. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1960.
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Welcome to Hard Times
Doherty, Robert. Area 51. New York: Dell Publishing, 1997.
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Area 51
Duane, Diane. My Enemy, My Ally. New York: Pocket Books, 1984.
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My Enemy, My Ally
Duane, Diane and Peter Morwood. The Romulan Way. New York: Pocket Books, 1987.
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The Romulan Way
Eco, Umberto. Foucault's Pendulum. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989.
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Foucault's Pendulum
Eco, Umberto. The Name of the Rose. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983.
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The Name of the Rose
Engel, Marian. Bear. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1976; New York: Atheneum, 1976.
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Bear
Erdrich, Louise and Michael Dorris. The Crown of Columbus. New York: HarperCollins, 1981.
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The Crown of Columbus
Erickson, Steve. Arc d'X. New York: Poseidon Press, 1993.
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Arc d'X
Erickson, Steve. Days Between Stations. New York: Poseidon Press, 1985.
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Days Between Stations
Erickson, Steve. Rubicon Beach. New York: Poseidon Press, 1986.
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Rubicon Beach
Forsyth, Frederick. The Odessa File. London: Hutchinson, 1972; New York: Viking Press, 1972.
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The Odessa File
Fraser, George MacDonald. Flashman and the Dragon. London: Collins Harvell, 1985; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986.
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Flashman and the Dragon
Fraser, George MacDonald. Flashman and the Mountain of Light. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.
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Flashman and the Mountain of Light
Fraser, George MacDonald. Flashman and the Redskins. London: Collins, 1982; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982.
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Flashman and the Redskins
Fry, Stephen. The Hippopotamus. London: Hutchinson, 1994; New York: Random House, 1994.
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The Hippopotamus
Fry, Stephen. Making History. London: Hutchinson, 1996; New York: Random House, 1997.
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Making History
Gibson, William. Neuromancer. New York: Ace Books, 1984.
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Neuromancer
Gifford, Thomas. The Assassini. New York: Bantam Books, 1990.
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The Assassini
Gifford, Thomas. The Wind Chill Factor. New York: Putnam, 1975.
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The Wind Chill Factor
Gill, Bartholomew. The Death of an Ardent Bibliophile: A Peter McGarr Mystery. New York: Marrow, 1995.
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The Death of an Ardent Bibliophile: A Peter McGarr Mystery
Goodrum, Charles A. The Best Cellar. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987.
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The Best Cellar
Goodrum, Charles A. Carnage of the Realm. New York: Crown Publishers, 1979.
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Carnage of the Realm
Goodrum, Charles A. Dewey Decimated. New York: Crown Publishers, 1977.
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Dewey Decimated
Goodrum, Charles A. A Slip of the Tong. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992.
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A Slip of the Tong
Granger, Bill. Hemingway's Notebook. New York: Crown Publishers, 1986.
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Hemingway's Notebook
Haldeman, Joe. The Forever War. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1975.
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The Forever War
Harris, Robert. Fatherland. London: Hutchinson, 1992; New York: Random House, 1992.
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Fatherland
Heinlein, Robert A. Time Enough for Love, The Lives of Luzarus Long. New York: Putnam, 1973.
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Time Enough for Love, The Lives of Luzarus Long
Hellenga, Robert. The Sixteen Pleasures. New York: Soho, 1994.
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The Sixteen Pleasures
Herbert, Frank. Chapterhouse: Dune. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1985.
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Chapterhouse: Dune
Herbert, Frank. God Emperor of Dune. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1981.
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God Emperor of Dune
Herbert, Frank. Heretics of Dune. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1984.
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Heretics of Dune
Hillerman, Tony. Coyote Waits. New York: Harper & Row, 1990.
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Coyote Waits
Hillerman, Tony. The Fly on the Wall. New York: Harper & Row, 1971.
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The Fly on the Wall
Høeg, Peter. Smilla's Sense of Snow. Translated by Tiina Nunnally. New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1993.
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Smilla's Sense of Snow
Holland, Isabelle. The deMaury Papers. New York: Rawson Associates, 1977.
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The deMaury Papers
Hynd, Noel. The Sandler Inquiry. New York: Dial Press, 1977.
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The Sandler Inquiry
James, Henry. "The Aspern Papers." In The Aspern Papers Louisa Pallant The Modern Warning. London & New York: Macmillan, 1888.
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The Aspern Papers
James, P. D. Original Sin. London: Faber and Faber, 1994; New York: Knopf, 1995.
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Original Sins
Kennedy, Eugene. Fixes. New York: Doubleday, 1989.
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Fixes
Krahn, Betina. The Princess and the Barbarian. New York: Avon Books, 1993.
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The Princess and the Barbarian
Krentz, Jayne Ann. Sweet Starfire. New York: Time Warner Books, 1986.
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Sweet Starfire
Kurtz, Katherine. The Deryni Archives. New York: Ballantine Books, 1986.
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The Deryni Archives
Kyle, Duncan. The Dancing Men. London: Collins, 1985; New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1986.
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The Dancing Men
L'Amour, Louis. The Haunted Mesa. New York: Bantam Books, 1987.
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The Haunted Mesa
le Carré, John. A Small Town in Germany. London: Heinemann, 1968; New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1968.
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A Small Town in Germany
le Carré, John. The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. London: Gollancz, 1963; New York: Coward-McCann, 1964.
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The Spy Who Came In From the Cold
le Carré, John. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1974; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974.
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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Le Guin, Ursula K. Always Coming Home. New York: Harper & Row, 1985.
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Always Coming Home
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness. New York: Walker, 1969.
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The Left Hand of Darkness
Leroux, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1911.
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The Phantom of the Opera
Lessing, Doris. The Making of the Representative for Planet 8. London: Cape, 1982; New York: Knopf, 1982.
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The Making of the Representative for Planet 8
Lessing, Doris. The marriages between zones three, four, and five (as narrated by the chroniclers of zone three). London: J. Cape, 1980; New York: Knopf, 1980.
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The marriages between zones three, four, and five (as narrated by the chroniclers of zone three)
Lessing, Doris. Shikasta; re, colonised planet 5. London: Jonathan Cape, 1979; New York: Knopf, 1979.
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Shikasta; re, colonised planet 5
Lessing, Doris. The Sirian Experiments. London: J. Cape, 1981; New York: Knopf, 1980.
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The Sirian Experiments
Lodge, David. The British Museum is Falling Down. London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1965; New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967.
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The British Museum is Falling Down
Ludlum, Robert. The Chancellor Manuscript. New York: Dial Press, 1977.
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The Chancellor Manuscript
Marquand, John P. The Late George Apley: A Novel in the Form of a Memoir. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1937.
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The Late George Apley: A Novel in the Form of a Memoir
McDonald, Frank. Provenance. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1979.
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Provenance
McInerny, Ralph. On This Rockne: A Notre Dame Mystery. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.
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On This Rockne: A Notre Dame Mystery
Medeiros, Teresa. Breath of Magic. New York: Bantam Books, 1996.
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Breath of Magic
Miller, Walter M. A Canticle for Leibowitz. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960.
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A Canticle for Leibowitz
Monahan, Brent. The Blood of the Covenant: A Novel of the Vampiric. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
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The Blood of the Covenant: A Novel of the Vampiric
Monahan, Brent. The Book of Common Dread. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993.
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The Book of Common Dread
Moskovit, Andre. The Judgment Day Archives. Translated by Robert Bowie. San Francisco: Mercury House, 1988.
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The Judgment Day Archives
Neville, Katherine. A Calculated Risk. New York: Ballantine Books, 1992.
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A Calculated Risk
Neville, Katherine. The Magic Circle. New York: Ballantine Books, 1998.
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The Magic Circle
Nicholson, Geoff. Footsucker. London: Gollancz, 1995; Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press, 1996.
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Footsucker
Norfolk, Lawrence. Lemprière's Dictionary. London: Sinclair Stevenson, 1991; New York: Harmony Books, 1991.
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Lemprière's Dictionary
Parker, Robert B. The Godwulf Manuscript. London: Deutsch, 1974; Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974.
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The Godwulf Manuscript
Peters, Elizabeth. Borrower of the Night. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1973.
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Borrower of the Night
Pratchett, Terry. Small Gods: A Novel of Discworld. London: Gollancz, 1992; New York: HarperCollins, 1992.
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Small Gods: A Novel of Discworld
Pratchett, Terry. The Last Continent. London, New York: Doubleday, 1998.
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The Last Continent
Preston, Carolin. Jackie by Josie. New York: Scribner, 1997.
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Jackie by Josie
Purtill, Richard. Murdercon. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co., 1982.
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Murdercon
Reeves-Stevens, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Star Trek: Federation. New York: Pocket Books, 1994.
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Star Trek: Federation
Rudorff, Raymond. The Dracula Archives. London: David Bruce and Watson Ltd., 1971; New York: Arbor House, 1972.
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The Dracula Archives
Salinger, Pierre and Leonard Gross. The Dossier. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1984.
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The Dossier
Sayers, Dorothy L. and Robert Eustace. The Documents in the Case. London: Benn, 1930; New York: Brewer & Warren, Inc., 1930.
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The Documents in the Case
Scarborough, Elizabeth Ann. Nothing Sacred. New York: Doubleday, 1991.
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Nothing Sacred
Scarborough, Elizabeth Ann. Phantom Banjo. New York: Bantam Books, 1991.
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Phantom Banjo
Scarborough, Elizabeth Ann. The Unicorn Creed. New York: Bantam Books, 1983.
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The Unicorn Creed
Schutte, James E. The Bunyip Archives. Dallas: Baskerville Publishers, 1992.
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The Bunyip Archives
Shatner, William. Star Trek Avenger. New York: Pocket Books, 1997.
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Star Trek Avenger
Shields, Carol. Swann: A Mystery. Toronto: Stoddart, 1987; New York: Viking, 1989.
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Swann: A Mystery
Smith, Julie. Huckleberry Fiend. New York: Mysterious Press, 1987.
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Huckleberry Fiend
Trollope, Joanna. The Choir. London: Hutchinson, 1988; New York: Random House, 1995.
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The Choir
van Rjndt, Philippe. The Tetramachus Collection. Toronto: Lester and Orpen, 1976; New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1976.
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The Tetramachus Collection
Volsky, Paula. The Wolf of Winter. New York: Bantam Books, 1993.
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The Wolf of Winter
Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. The Sirens of Titan. New York: Delacorte Press, 1959.
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The Sirens of Titan
Wallace, Irving. The Word. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972.
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The Word
Warren, Robert Penn. All the King's Men. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1946.
,
All the King's Men
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