Bodies from the Library
Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense by Agatha Christie and Other Masters of the Golden Age
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- 6,99 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 16 rare tales by masters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Agatha Christie crime story that has not been seen since 1922.
At a time when crime and thriller writing has once again overtaken the sales of general and literary fiction, Bodies from the Library unearths lost stories from the Golden Age, that period between the World Wars when detective fiction captured the public’s imagination and saw the emergence of some of the world’s cleverest and most popular storytellers.
This anthology brings together 16 forgotten tales that have either been published only once before – perhaps in a newspaper or rare magazine – or have never before appeared in print. From a previously unpublished 1917 script featuring Ernest Bramah’s blind detective Max Carrados, to early 1950s crime stories written for London’s Evening Standard by Cyril Hare, Freeman Wills Crofts and A.A. Milne, it spans five decades of writing by masters of the Golden Age.
Most anticipated of all are the contributions by women writers: the first detective story by Georgette Heyer, unseen since 1923; an unpublished story by Christianna Brand, creator of Nanny McPhee; and a dark tale by Agatha Christie published only in an Australian journal in 1922 during her ‘Grand Tour’ of the British Empire.
With other stories by Detection Club stalwarts Anthony Berkeley, H.C. Bailey, J.J. Connington, John Rhode and Nicholas Blake, plus Vincent Cornier, Leo Bruce, Roy Vickers and Arthur Upfield, this essential collection harks back to a time before forensic science – when murder was a complex business.
Reviews
‘I think I've learned more from [Tony Medawar’s] researches than from the research of any other Golden Age fan’ Martin Edwards, doyouwriteunderyourownname.blogspot.co.uk
‘A stunning array of lost stories’ Puzzle Doctor, classicmystery.wordpress.com
‘An interesting and varied collection of short stories. It is impossible to select just one favourite … It was also great to enjoy stories by writers I had not previously liked.’CrossExaminingCrime
About the author
Editor Tony Medawar is a detective fiction expert and researcher with a penchant for tracking down rare stories. His other collections of previously uncollected stories include WHILE THE LIGHT LASTS (Agatha Christie), THE AVENGING CHANCE (Anthony Berkeley), THE SPOTTED CAT (Christianna Brand) and A SPOT OF FOLLY (Ruth Rendell).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The bulk of the 17 selections in Medawar's excellent fourth anthology of traditional crime fiction were either unpublished or never collected. Highlights include Shadowed Sunlight, a brilliant Christianna Brand novel unavailable for more than 75 years, and the previously unpublished script of a radio play by H.C. Bailey, "The Only Husband," featuring his series sleuth Reggie Fortune, who inspired S.S. Van Dine's better-known Philo Vance. Every story is top-notch, including six originally published in a British newspaper from authors who had to base short mysteries linked to cryptic drawings containing clues, such as an image of a goblet on top of an anvil. But the standout is a never before seen gem from Edmund Crispin, "Child's Play," in which the four charges of a newly hired governess include an orphan who recently moved in with her three cousins after her parents died. The crime at its heart—and Crispin's way of disclosing it—is a genuine gut punch that will linger long after the book's finished. This is a treasure trove for golden age fans.
