<b>Philo Vance</b> is a fictional amateur detective originally featured in 12 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_novel" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">crime novels</a> by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._S._Van_Dine" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">S. S. Van Dine</a> in the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, Vance was immensely popular in books, films, and radio. He was portrayed as a stylish—even foppish—<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandy" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">dandy</a>, a New York <i>bon vivant</i> possessing a highly intellectual bent. "S. S. Van Dine" was the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pen_name" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">pen name</a> of Willard Huntington Wright, a prominent art critic who initially sought to conceal his authorship of the novels. Van Dine was also a fictional character in the books, a sort of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Watson_(Sherlock_Holmes)" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Dr. Watson</a> figure who accompanied Vance and chronicled his exploits.