The Golden Age of Murder

by Martin Edwards

  Meredith, Anne, Three-a-Penny (London: Faber, 1940).

  Morgan, Janet, Agatha Christie: A Biography (London: Collins, 1984).

  Newnes, Stan, Arthur Morrison (Loughton: Alderton, 2008).

  Osborne, Charles, The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie (London: Collins, 1982).

  Pike, B. A., The Short Stories of Margery Allingham: A Definitive Listing (CADS magazine supplement 15; Benfleet: CADS, 2013).

  Powell, Violet, The Life of a Provincial Lady: A Study of E. M. Delafield and Her Works (London: Heinemann, 1988).

  Prichard, Mathew, ed., Agatha Christie: The Grand Tour (London: HarperCollins, 2012).

  Rahn, B. J., ed. Ngaio Marsh: The Woman and Her Work (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow, 1995).

  Reynolds, Barbara, Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul (London: Hodder, 1993).

  Reynolds, Barbara, ed., The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers (vol. i, London: Hodder, 1995; vols. ii to v, Swavesey: Dorothy L.Sayers Society, 1997–2000).

  Robyns, Gwen, The Mystery of Agatha Christie: An Intimate Biography of the First Lady of Crime (New York: Doubleday, 1978).

  Rooney, David, The Wine of Certitude: A Literary Biography of Ronald Knox (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2009).

  Sarjeant, William A. S., Punshon’s Policemen: The Two Detective Series of E. R. Punshon (CADS magazine supplement 6; Benfleet: CADS, 1995)

  Stanford, Peter, C. Day-Lewis: A Life (London: Continuum, 2007).

  Stewart, A. W., Alias J. J. Connington (London: Hollis & Carter, 1947).

  Stone, Alzina, ed., Dorothy L. Sayers: The Centenary Celebration (New York: Walker, 1993).

  Thompson, Laura, Agatha Christie: An English Mystery (London: Headline Review, 2007).

  Thwaite, Ann, A. A. Milne: His Life (London: Faber, 1990)

  Turnbull, Malcolm J., Elusion Aforethought: The Life and Writing of Anthony Berkeley Cox (Bowling Green, Ohio: Popular Press, 1996).

  Van Hoeven, Marianne, ed., Margery Allingham: 100 Years of a Great Mystery Writer (London: Lucas, 2003).

  Vernon, Betty D., Margaret Cole, 1893–1980: A Political Biography (London: Croom Helm, 1986).

  Ward, Maisie, Gilbert Keith Chesterton (London: Sheed & Ward, 1944).

  Real-Life Crime

  Alan, A. J., et al., Great Unsolved Crimes (London: Hutchinson, 1935).

  Beales, Martin, Dead, Not Buried (London: Hale, 1995).

  Borowitz, Albert, Blood & Ink: An International Guide to Fact-Based Crime Literature (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2002).

  Browne, Douglas G., and E.V. Tullett, Bernard Spilsbury: His Life and Cases (London: Harrap, 1951).

  Clarke, Kate, Lethal Alliance (Hay-on-Wye: Carrington Press, 2013).

  Connell, Nicholas, Walter Dew: the Man Who Caught Crippen (Stroud: Amberley, 2005).

  Cyriax, Oliver, The Penguin Encyclopedia of Crime (London: Penguin, rev. ed. 1996).

  Flanders, Judith, The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime (London: HarperCollins, 2011).

  Gaute, J. H. H., and Robin Odell, The New Murderers’ Who’s Who (London: Harrap, 1989).

  Goodman, Jonathan, The Slaying of Joseph Bowne Elwell (London: Harrap, 1987).

  Haste, Steve, Criminal Sentences: True Crime in Fiction and Drama (London: Cygnus Arts, 1997).

  Jesse, F. Tennyson, Murder and its Motives (London: Harrap, rev. ed. 1952)

  Jones, Christopher, The Maybrick A to Z (Birkenhead: Countyvise, 2008).

  Normanton, Helena, Notable British Trials: Alfred Arthur Rouse (London: Hodge, 1931).

  Rhode, John, The Case of Constance Kent (London: Bles, 1928).

  Rose, Andrew, Lethal Witness: Sir Bernard Spilsbury, Honorary Pathologist (Stroud: Sutton, 2007).

  Rose, Andrew, The Prince, the Princess, and the Perfect Murder (London: Coronet, 2013).

  Stashower, Daniel, The Beautiful Cigar Girl (New York: Dutton, 2006).

  Summerscale, Kate, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (London: Bloomsbury, 2008).

  Weis, René, Criminal Justice: The True Story of Edith Thompson (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1988).

  Whittington-Egan, The Ordeal of Philip Yale Drew (London: Harrap, 1972).

  Whittington-Egan, Richard, The Riddle of Birdshurst Rise (London: Harrap, 1975).

  Wilkes, Roger, Wallace: The Final Verdict (London: Bodley Head, 1984).

  Young, Filson, Trial of Frederick Bywaters and Edith Thompson (London: Hodge, 1923).

  Historical Context

  Gardiner, Juliet, The Thirties: An Intimate History (London: Harper, 2010).

  Graves, Robert, and Hodge, Alan, The Long Week-End: A Social History of Great Britain, 1918–1939 (London: Faber, 1940).

  Marr, Andrew, The Making of Modern Britain: From Queen Victoria to VE Day (London: Macmillan, 2009).

  Symons, Julian, The Thirties: A Dream Revolved (London: Cresset, 1960).

  Magazines, etc.

  The principal fanzines, magazines and journals to which I have referred are CADS (An Irregular Magazine of Comment and Criticism about Crime and Detective Stories), edited by Geoff Bradley; Clues: A Journal of Detection, currently edited by Janice M. Allan; and Give Me that Old-Time Detection, edited by Arthur Vidro. The newsletters of the Dorothy L. Sayers Society, together with other publications such as the ‘Sidelights on Sayers’ and the proceedings of its conferences, and the Margery Allingham Society’s newsletters, contain a wealth of material. Back issues of The Armchair Detective, founded by Allen J. Hubin but no longer published, remain a mine of information. Countless newspapers in the UK and overseas contain useful details, while many Wikipedia entries provided at least a starting point for further inquiry, often proving at least as reliable as conventional sources. The reviews contributed by Dorothy L. Sayers to the Sunday Times, and those written by Anthony Berkeley (usually under the name Francis Iles) for various newspapers and magazines, were of especial value. Some of the inscriptions in books discussed in the text are to be found in my personal library, as is Sayers’ annotated copy of The Trial of Constance Kent, while others have been shown to me by their owners. A happy development of the internet age is the proliferation of websites, discussion groups, and blogs which cover Golden Age books and writers. There are far too many to list, but the Golden Age Detection site is a very useful resource, while Allen J. Hubin’s monumental bibliography has been updated online. Links to many relevant blogs may be found at:

  www.doyouwriteunderyourownname.blogspot/

  Index

  The page numbers in this index relate to the printed version of this book; they do not match the pages of your ebook. You can use your ebook reader’s search tool to find a specific word or passage.

  Ackerley, J. R. 167–8, 169, 170, 171, 172, 246, 403

  Aird, Catherine 257n

  Alibert, Marguerite 335–6, 342n

  Alington, C.A. 394n

  Allen, Dr Hugh 17

  Allingham, Margery viii, xix, 31n, 138, 228, 235, 242–4, 245n, 250, 257n, 273, 279n, 285, 293, 313n, 363, 372–3, 390, 407, 408, 410, 443, 444, 445, 447

  Ambler, Eric 391–3, 395

  Amis, Kingsley 173n

  Antheil, Georges 115

  Archer, Jeffrey 186

  Ardizzone, Edward 436n

  Armstrong, Katherine 136

  Armstrong, Major Herbert Rowse 36, 135–6, 288, 356

  Auden, W. H. 105, 273–4, 275, 279n

  Bailey, H. C. xix, 83, 326, 387–9, 394n, 401, 407, 439

  Balchin, Nigel 257n

  Balcon, Jill 408

  Baldwin, Stanley 72, 158, 252, 267, 330, 337

  Balmer, Edwin 182

  Banville, John 233n, 433

  Bardot, Brigitte xiii, xiv

  Barker, Sidney 87

  Barnes, Julian 433

  Barrie, J. M. 332

  Bartlett, Adelaide 297

  Bayard, Pierre 380, 382n

  BBC 68, 89, 90, 126, 160, 161, 162, 163, 166–72, 173n, 198, 214, 227–8, 244, 246, 305, 314, 384–5, 403–4, 412n, 41
3n

  Beard, Dr William 86–7

  Beaverbrook, Lord 252

  Beeding, Francis 258n

  Belcher, Major 61, 63, 64

  Bell, Dr Joseph 189

  Bell, Josephine 375

  Bell, Harold 253

  Bellairs, George 425

  Belloc, Hilaire 102, 164

  Benjamin, Walter 223, 232n, 390

  Benn, Ernest 21, 27, 138

  Bentley, E. C. xix, 5, 20, 21, 62, 84, 91, 92, 102, 104–6, 107n, 111, 134, 162, 166, 169, 171, 196, 253, 254, 259n, 262, 265–6, 296, 303, 304, 307, 371, 409, 412n, 420, 442

  Bentley, Nicolas 412n

  Beresford, Elisabeth 402n

  Beresford, J. D. 400, 402n

  Berkeley, Anthony viii, xiv, xvii, xix, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 29, 37–50, 51n, 52n, 63, 66, 68, 69, 71, 74, 77, 78, 82, 83–9, 90–2, 93, 94n, 99, 106, 113, 116, 120, 126, 127, 128, 131–45, 146n, 147n, 148, 150, 156, 158, 160, 162, 165, 166, 167, 169, 171, 185, 187, 192, 193, 196, 197, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 206–7, 212, 218–19, 220, 222, 226, 235, 236, 238, 240, 241, 242, 244, 248, 250, 252, 253, 257n, 267–9, 284, 285, 286, 287–8, 293, 294, 295–6, 297, 298, 299, 301, 302n, 304, 305, 312, 318, 320, 326, 332–3, 334n, 335, 338–40, 343, 344, 350, 351,354, 355, 357, 358, 359–63, 370–1, 373, 375, 377, 378, 387, 389, 391, 392, 393, 398, 399–400, 401, 403–4, 406, 409, 411, 417, 423–33, 434, 436n, 443, 445, 447

  Berkeley, Margaret (Peggy) 41, 83, 139, 253

  Best, George 53

  Bishop, Alice 180–1, 182, 183, 184

  Bishop, Bernard 181

  Bishop, Dorothy 180–1, 182, 183

  Bishop, Gerald 182

  Blake, Nicholas xx, 72, 218, 222, 223, 240, 273–6, 279n, 303–4, 373, 375, 376, 378, 389, 390, 401, 408

  Bletchley Park 418–19

  Blitz, The xiv, 404, 435

  Book Guild, The 126

  Borden, Lizzie 321

  Borges, Jorge Luis 223, 231–2n, 359, 380

  Boutell, Anita 139

  Bowers, Dorothy xx, 403, 405, 412n

  Brand, Christianna xx, 12n, 40, 52n, 84, 86, 237–8, 240, 248, 370–1, 377, 405, 406, 408, 436n, 442

  Brandel, Marc 402n

  Bravo case 256n, 349

  Brecht, Bertolt 223, 232n, 390

  Brett, Simon vii, xiv, 432

  Bristed, Ned 192

  British Union of Fascists 328–9

  Brittain, Vera 17

  Brock, Lynn 146n, 302n

  Broome, Adam 279n

  Browne, Denis 215, 216n, 285, 286, 383

  Browne, Douglas G. 412n

  Buchan, John 92, 236

  Buchman, Frank 385

  Bude, John 80n

  Burrows, Father Eric 417

  Bush, Christopher viii, xx, 194, 204–5, 209n, 261, 375, 408

  Bush, Geoffrey 204

  Byatt, A. S. 433

  Byrne, Muriel St Claire 229, 271, 272, 277, 285, 307, 376, 383, 423

  Bywaters, Frederick 35–7, 39, 47, 51n, 125, 212, 257n, 288, 297, 302n, 320, 359, 374, 427, 446

  Cain, James M. 116

  Camelot Press 353

  Campbell, Alice xx, 377

  Cannan, Joanna 146n

  Canterbury Festival 383–4

  Čapek, Karel 223, 232n

  Carr, Clarice Dickson 49, 305, 314–15, 316, 369, 370, 371–2, 373, 397, 407

  Carr, John Dickson xx, 49, 67n, 94n, 96, 201, 203, 206, 209n, 227, 228, 233n, 238, 250, 253, 254, 302n, 312, 313, 314–21, 322n, 369–73, 374, 375–6, 377, 379, 380, 381n, 385, 387, 389, 395–6, 397, 398, 399, 405, 407–8, 443

  Carter, Philip Youngman 242, 273, 279n, 372, 407, 408–9, 442

  Castor, Anthony 49

  Catton, Eleanor 433

  Cecil, Henry 364n

  Chamberlain, Neville 158, 284, 337, 346, 390–1, 403

  Chamberlain, Sir Austen 284

  Chancellor, John 62, 258n

  Chandler, Raymond 31n, 103, 116, 181, 226, 293, 313n, 340, 382n, 405

  Chart, Winifred 204

  Chekhov, Anton 63, 64

  Chesterton, G. K. xix, 6, 17, 21, 23, 62, 73–4, 88, 89, 91–2, 93, 94n, 97, 101–4, 105, 107n, 119–20, 122n, 179, 182, 217–18, 219, 220, 231n, 232n, 239, 244, 248, 284, 304–5, 311–12, 351, 359, 370, 384, 385, 387, 411, 419, 432, 441, 443

  Cheyney, Peter 379

  Child, Lee: One Shot 432

  Christie, Agatha vii, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xix, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10–11, 12n, 37, 38, 39, 43, 51n, 52n, 53–66, 67n, 68, 69, 71, 74, 83, 84, 86, 88, 91, 92, 99, 101, 104, 106, 131, 132, 140, 148, 149, 150–8, 159n, 160, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167, 169–72, 187–8, 192, 202, 203, 204, 205, 212, 216n, 224–7, 228, 232n, 234, 235, 239, 242, 247, 250, 254, 258n, 263, 265, 269, 275, 278, 293, 299, 304, 305, 308, 309, 311, 312, 314, 325–6, 330, 331–2, 343–50, 357, 358, 372, 373–4, 377, 380, 382n, 384, 387, 388, 390, 392, 394n, 397–9, 410–11, 412–13n, 417–23, 431–5, 436n, 437n, 442, 443, 444

  Christie, Campbell 65

  Christie, Colonel Archie 43, 53, 54, 55, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 84, 150, 151, 152, 314, 420, 421

  Christie, Rosalind 53, 60, 61, 64, 65, 151, 152, 153, 170

  Churchill, Winston 71–2, 228, 267, 274, 280n

  Clarendon Press 72

  Cluedo 194

  Cole, Douglas xix, 17, 18, 68–78, 79n, 80–1n, 83, 84, 89, 91, 92, 102, 113, 156, 158, 161, 164, 196, 204, 217–19, 220, 221, 222–3, 231n, 240, 247, 261–2, 263, 264, 266, 267, 268, 288, 303, 305, 310, 311, 328, 360, 379, 391, 406, 431

  Cole, Margaret xix, 18, 69–78, 79n, 80–1n, 83, 84, 91, 92, 102, 156, 158, 196, 217–19, 220, 221, 222–3, 231n, 235, 239, 240, 247, 250, 251, 261–2, 263, 264, 266, 288, 293, 297, 302n, 303, 326, 328, 360, 379, 402n, 405, 406, 431, 442, 445

  Collins 75, 90, 200, 220, 237, 309, 310, 379, 394n, 400, 402n, 439

  Collins Crime Club 90, 200, 310, 379, 394n, 439

  Collins, Wilkie 27, 32n, 98–9, 124, 126, 299, 341, 408

  Communism 68–9, 75, 196, 262, 266, 268, 274, 310, 311, 313n, 330, 402n

  Connington, J. J. xix, 51n, 178, 180, 184–9, 190n, 192, 236, 240, 264–5, 311, 357, 374–5, 388, 407, 444

  Conservative Party 77, 157–8, 328

  Constable & Co. 304

  Cook, John Parsons 143

  Copland, Aaron 381n

  Cork, Edmund 5, 62, 151, 171

  Cornish, Superintendant G. W. 285–6, 302n

  Cornwell, Patricia 10, 223, 242

  Cournos, John 20–3, 96, 128, 234, 422

  Cox, Stephen 47, 430

  Crime Writers’ Association 147n, 424

  Crimes Club 83, 85

  Crippen, Dr 36, 55, 136, 146n, 148, 187, 288, 350, 356–7, 359, 365n, 445

  Crispin, Edmund xx, 173n, 200, 204, 209n, 405

  Crofts, Freeman Wills xix, 75, 80n, 88, 89, 91, 92, 113, 168, 169, 170, 171, 187, 190n, 191n, 195, 196, 203, 220, 221, 226, 244, 247–8, 250, 253, 254, 258n, 262–3, 288, 293, 297, 302n, 303, 304, 311, 344, 371, 375, 384, 385–7, 389, 392, 400, 402n, 407, 442

  Crommelin, Alfred 98

  Croydon mystery 148–50, 349

  Dane, Clemence xix, 91, 168, 171, 173n, 212–14, 243, 248

  Daniels, May 25, 26, 32n, 56

  Dannay, Frederic 116, 121n, 405

  Davies, Phyllis 352–3, 364n

  Day-Lewis, Cecil 72, 273–4, 275–6, 279n, 304, 375, 444

  Deighton, Len 52n, 434, 437n

  Delafield, E. M. 45–7, 48, 137–8, 139, 140, 302n, 425–9, 430, 436n, 444

  Detection Club xiii, xiv; Associate Members xix, 89, 93; British Golden Age of

  Detective Fiction and 106, 111, 112, 115, 116–17, 131–2, 135, 162, 182, 185, 187, 189, 328, 390; deception popular with members of 153–4; dinners 3, 66, 83, 84–5, 88, 91, 141, 148, 184, 206–7, 239, 244, 245n, 260, 283, 284, 296, 303–5, 311, 339–40, 369, 370, 371, 373, 374, 375, 385, 404, 406, 410, 411, 418, 420, 430, 434, 436n; election of members xiv, 5, 6, 85, 89, 90, 93, 94n, 120, 147n, 160, 205, 235, 241, 245n, 248, 250, 256n, 265, 274, 283, 284, 303, 311, 313n, 317, 358, 364n, 375, 391, 405–6, 40
9, 410, 413n, 434; escapists, members as 217; eugenics and see eugenics; founder members 88, 89, 127, 157, 205, 212, 250, 374, 400–1; fundraising 92, 95, 248; funds 246, 369, 404–5, 434, 436n; Gerrard Street, Soho premises 241, 244, 246, 249–50, 251, 254, 283–4, 331, 360, 369, 372, 374, 404–5, 420; Honorary Secretaries 89, 220, 236, 370, 410, 413n; influence of 6; initiation rituals 91–2, 119–20, 122n, 125, 199–200, 211–12, 239, 244, 264, 283, 311, 375, 377, 405, 409, 410, 420, 434, 437n; Kingly Street premises 409; library xiv, 246, 300, 373, 405, 436n; members elected, 1930–49 xix–xx see also under individual member name; members begin to reference each other in their works 134, 187; Minute Book xiv, 94n, 300, 404; missing papers xiv–xv; origin of 82–95; politics and 68–81, 157–8, 206, 218, 219, 261, 274 see also under individual party and ideology name; present-day 434; Presidency vii, xiv, 5, 6, 38, 44, 62, 82, 84, 89, 94, 119–20, 217, 304, 334n, 373, 409–11, 413n, 432, 434, 437n; publications and broadcasts see under individual publication and broadcast name; religion and 141, 384, 394n; Rules and Constitution 82, 89, 92–3, 157; scholarly leanings 272–80; Scotland Yard and 283–90; women as majority of founder members of 157; workaholics in 154 see also under individual member name

  Dew, Chief Inspector Walter 55, 148, 356, 445

  Dilnot, George 209n

  Dine, S. S. Van 28, 91, 113–15, 116, 117, 121n, 203, 258n, 398–9, 443

  Downing, Todd 115

  Doyle, Arthur Conan 10, 41, 55–6, 60, 83, 88, 89, 90–1, 98, 99, 104, 112, 118, 156, 162, 189, 230n, 357, 364n, 433

  Drew, Philip Yale 207, 208, 352–4, 355, 364n, 406, 446

  Duff family 148–50, 349

  Duse, Major Samuel August 63–4, 67n

  Dyson, George 297

  East, Roger 146n

  Edmunds, Christiana 86–8

  Edward VIII, King 38, 335–8, 341

  Elder, Evelyn 129n

  Eliot, T. S. 64, 67n, 75, 80n, 99, 113, 115, 121n, 146n, 186, 222, 274–5, 383

  Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine 405

  Ellis, Havelock 180

  Ellis, John 36

  Elwell, Joseph Bowne 114–15, 445

  Enigma machine 418–19, 436n

  Eric the Skull 5, 199–200, 212, 239, 244, 371, 377, 410, 434

  eugenics 102, 179–80

  Eustace, Robert xix, 123–7, 129n, 179, 220–1, 374

  Evans, C. S. 214

  Everton, Francis 190n

  Fabian Society 73–4

  Fahmy, Ali 335–6, 342n