Rex Stout was very much a family man. He built the family home, High Meadow, near Brewster, NY, around the time of his marriage to Pola Weinbach in 1932. He had many varied hobbies that centered around his home and, except during World War II, when he devoted himself to war-related endeavors, he worked primarily from High Meadow. This section contains links to a wealth of information about Rex Stout, his family, and his many hobbies. Thank you Becky and Pola Stout for saving much of this material.

Use the orchid menus across the top of this page to locate pages regarding his Early Life, two of his siblings, his wife, Pola, and their home High Meadow. There is also a separate page regarding his affiliation with the Baker Street Irregulars.

Below is information concerning a myriad of his other hobbies and interests, which included:

• raising virtually all of the family's produce and poultry
• cooking
• keeping various pets, including a pony,
• maintained over 300 house plants as well as large and admired iris beds (almost 200 varieties of bearded irises and over 100 varieties of day lilies)
• extensive reading (think Nero Wolfe—virtually all of the books Wolfe read were read by Rex Stout and many of the authors were Rex Stout's friends—see Nero Wolfe's reading list)
• building his own furniture
• baseball (first the Giants, then, after their move, the Mets)
• social & political activism (see separate section using menus above)
• very active social life in NYC, at his home, and in the neighborhood
• acting as Archie Goodwin's literary agent for 47 books
• acting as bookkeeper/accountant for Pola Stout's textile/design business

Gardening

• Iris Bulb Order (Rex Stout's garden passion—note that the iris bulb order for $51.64 in 1937 would cost about $860 in 2015 according to usinflationcalculator.com and aier.org/cost-living-calculator)
• Why Does Rex Stout Garden (New York Times, March 8, 1953)
• Diary of a Plant Detective (House & Garden magazine, October, 1953)
• "Do orchids have the right to privacy? Damn right, says the author of Nero Wolfe. Here's why." by Rex Stout (Holiday magazine, Sept-Oct, 1970)

Interviews & Media Coverage of his personal life

• Rex Stout states he is "over hobbied" (Saturday Evening Post, July, 1958)
• Rex Stout "Alive and Arguing in Fine Fashion" (Washington Post, October 5, 1969)
• Photo op and interview by an Italian magazine (Domina, March, 1969)
• Happy 85th Birthday (New York Times, December 1, 1971)
• Happy 85th Birthday (Bridgeport, CT, December 1, 1971)
• At Home with Rex Stout (NY Post, August 25, 1973)
• Walnut Pudding Nero's Way (Parade Magazine, October 29, 1973)
• Rex Stout describes his most extraordinary meals (Harper's Magazine, July, 1973)

Other Interests and Friends

At his 75th birthday celebration, the 17 guest speakers each covered one of the many "Aspects of Rex" as the presentation was entitled. See Page 8 of the Birthday Tribute document.

Here are a very few glimpses into his active personal life:

• Baseball scorecard (Dodgers)
• Baseball scorecard (Yankees)
• Seventy Fifth Birthday Tribute (1961) (photos, program, etc.)
• Seventy-Ninth Birthday Tribute (1965)
• Stout as speaker at Lewis Gannett award ceremony (Lewis Gannett was one of many of the Stouts' long-time neighbors and friends. He introduced Rex to Pola Hoffman while Rex was building High Meadow.)
• Stout's Ten Favorite Mysteries
• Let's Take the Mystery Out of Cooking Rex Stout Interview and photo op at High Meadow (American Magazine, August, 1956)