to call H. H. Holmes a pseudonym of Anthony Boucher, since that itself is the pseudonym of William Anthony Parker White (1911–1968), who took the nom de plume when he realized there were seventy-five other authors named William White.
Born in Oakland, California, White received a B.A. from the University of Southern California and an M.A. in German from the University of California, Berkeley. He later became sufficiently proficient in French, Spanish, and Portuguese to translate mystery stories into English, becoming the first to translate Jorge Luis Borges into English.
As Anthony Boucher, he wrote five well-regarded fair-play detective novels, beginning with The Case of the Seven of Calvary (1937). His novel Nine Times Nine (1940) was voted the ninth best locked-room mystery of all time in a poll of fellow writers and critics; it was written under the pseudonym H. H. Holmes, taken from an infamous nineteenth-century serial killer.
Boucher wrote prolifically in the 1940s, producing at least three scripts a week for such popular radio programs as Sherlock Holmes, The Adventures of Ellery Queen, and The Casebook of Gregory Hood. He served as the longtime mystery reviewer of The New York Times (1951–1968) and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (1957–1968). He was one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America in 1946. The annual World Mystery Convention is familiarly known as the Bouchercon in his honor, and the Anthony Awards are also named for him.
Sister Ursula, who appeared in only two novels and a handful of short stories, is a member of the (fictional) Order of Martha of Bethany, which engages in hospital work, teaching, and even cleaning. She is noted for her kindliness. As the daughter of a police captain, she had decided to become a policewoman until her health sabotaged her plans. It comes as no surprise, then, when she declares, “I am going to find the murderer…you see, I am not inexperienced in detection.”
“Vacancy with Corpse” was originally published in the February 1946 issue of Mystery Book Magazine.