The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
2018 Macavity Award winner for Best Nonfiction
2018 Anthony Award nominee for Best Critical/Nonfiction Book
This book tells the story of crime fiction published during the first half of the twentieth century. The diversity of this much-loved genre is breathtaking, and so much greater than many critics have suggested. To illustrate this, the leading expert on classic crime discusses one hundred books ranging from The Hound of the Baskervilles to Strangers on a Train which highlight the entertaining plots, the literary achievements, and the social significance of vintage crime fiction. This book serves as a companion to the acclaimed British Library Crime Classics series but it tells a very diverse story. It presents the development of crime fiction—from Sherlock Holmes to the end of the golden age—in an accessible, informative and engaging style.
Readers who enjoy classic crime will make fascinating discoveries and learn about forgotten gems as well as bestselling authors. Even the most widely read connoisseurs will find books (and trivia) with which they are unfamiliar—as well as unexpected choices to debate. Classic crime is a richly varied and deeply pleasurable genre that is enjoying a world-wide renaissance as dozens of neglected novels and stories are resurrected for modern readers to enjoy. The overriding aim of this book is to provide a launch point that enables readers to embark on their own voyages of discovery.
Martin Edwards
Martin Edwards is an award-winning crime novelist whose Lake District Mysteries have been optioned by ITV. Elected to the Detection Club in 2008, he became the first Archivist of the Club, and is also Archivist of the Crime Writers’ Association. Renowned as the leading expert on the history of Golden Age detective fiction, he won the Crimefest Mastermind Quiz three times, and possesses one of Britain’s finest collections of Golden Age novels.
Read more from Martin Edwards
Gallows Court Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mortmain Hall Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAsk a Policeman Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girl They All Forgot Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dungeon House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Serpent Pool Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Coffin Trail Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cipher Garden Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Arsenic Labyrinth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Frozen Shroud Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Book of Extraordinary Impossible Crimes and Puzzling Deaths: The Best New Original Stories of the Genre Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hanging Wood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Golden Age of Murder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Waterloo Sunset Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Crime & Mystery Short Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll The Lonely People Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Cosy Crime Short Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Truly Criminal: A Crime Writers' Association Anthology of True Crime Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Agents & Spies Short Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBest Eaten Cold and Other Stories: A Murder Squad Anthology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed Glory: Manchester United and Me Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books
Related ebooks
The Golden Age of Murder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Scarweather Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Choice of Murders: Mystery Writers of America Presents: Classics, #7 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLeopold's Way: Detective Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Women of Mystery: The Lives and Works of Notable Women Crime Novelists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Belting Inheritance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thirteen Guests Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Malice Aforethought: The Story of a Commonplace Crime Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Female Detective Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Lost Gallows: A London Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Castle Skull Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Seen Wearing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Verdict of Twelve Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fog of Doubt Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Measure of Malice: Scientific Detection Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Corpse Steps Out Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Floating Admiral Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Sussex Downs Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Notting Hill Mystery Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Z Murders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Little Local Murder Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Lake District Murder Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Cornish Coast Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Foreign Bodies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Colour of Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Dead Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Six Against the Yard Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mystery in the Channel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Literary Criticism For You
As I Lay Dying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Reader’s Companion to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Verity: by Colleen Hoover | Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 48 Laws of Power: by Robert Greene | Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/512 Rules For Life: by Jordan Peterson | Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Man's Search for Meaning: by Viktor E. Frankl | Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Killers of the Flower Moon: by David Grann | Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer | Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Art of Seduction: by Robert Greene | Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.by Brené Brown | Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Circe: by Madeline Miller | Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lincoln Lawyer: A Mysterious Profile Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Great Alone: by Kristin Hannah | Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Hundred Years of Solitude: A Novel by Gabriel Garcia Márquez | Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Kids: A National Book Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret History: by Donna Tartt | Conversation Starters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain | Conversation Starters Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Book of Virtues Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Letters to a Young Poet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books
33 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is an enjoyable introduction to 100 mystery/crime novels or story collections, almost all British and almost all published between 1900 and 1950. Edwards does a great job of showing why the book is significant and why we might enjoy it. He does not provide spoilers, which I appreciate very much. You'll find yourself Googling lots of authors you didn't know or who you have heard of--such as seeing their titles at the used book store--but have never read. The book is divided into sections, such as locked room mysteries, country house mysteries, and so on, and Edwards does a good job of showing the history and evolution of each type of story. If you have an interest in mysteries, you should find this as enjoyable as I did.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't let the title mislead you. The book discusses far more than 100 mysteries. It does, however, provide a little more depth of coverage on about 100 titles. The book is intended as a companion volume to the British Library Crime Classics series. It arranges the mysteries into categories by the types of mysteries they are. (For example, locked room, vacation spots, manor houses, etc.) Mystery lovers are certain to find a few books they missed through the years to add to their to-be-read lists. Fortunately the British Library Crime Classics series is making many of these readily available for a new generation of readers to discover. I received an advance electronic galley of the title from the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I learned some interesting information about British Crime fiction and got lots of good recommendations, but reading this book from cover to cover was very dry. Better to think of it as a reference book for spot reading.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was sent to me by the publisher Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you.The subjects of this British Library Crime Classic book are the 100 novels Martin Edwards considers benchmarks in crime writing from the late 19th century to 1950. He divides his choices into categories:Chapter One A New Era DawnsChapter Two The Birth of the Golden AgeChapter Three The Great DetectivesChapter Four ‘Play Up! Play Up and Play the Game!’ (not about sports, but about playing by the rules of detective fiction)Chapter Five Miraculous Murders (locked room mysteries and impossible crimes)Chapter Six Serpents in Eden (the idyllic village)Chapter Seven Murder at the ManorChapter Eight Capitol Crimes (London)Chapter Nine Resorting to Murder (holiday crimes)Chapter Ten Making Fun of MurderAnd thirteen more chapters with equally delightful topics.At the beginning of each chapter Martin examines the subject and shows how it has been handled by various authors, both famous and little known. Here he is like the owner of the best candy shop in town, displaying his titles like so many treats. Before he discusses in depth six or seven novels, he mentions at least fifteen or twenty novels that are significant but did not make the cut. I kept making lists to check authors on Project Gutenberg, hoping that these often rare titles would be available in the public domain. And some were!This is a must have reference book for mystery lovers, if for nothing more than the 20+ page bibliography with the list of every book mentioned. I had so much fun reading this and I am pleased that a hardback, as well as the paperback, will be issued since the book is definitely a keeper.
1 person found this helpful