I've blogged ,previously about the Detection Club's collaborative novel Ask a Policeman, and now I'm delighted to say that this fascinating book is to enjoy a new life in an edition to be published by Harper Collins on 30 August. This edition is reproduced from a first printing and beneath the appealing new dust jacket (see above) the binding replicates that of the original edition. It follows on from Harper Collins' extremely successful reissue last year of The Floating Admrial.
I'd be glad to see the book reappear in any circumstances, but there are a couple of features that I'm especially happy about. First, this edition contains an essay written by Agatha Christie about her fellow detective novelistss, which is truly insightful, especially as she writes with an unexpected candour (the essay was written for publication in Russia and did not appear in the UK at the time).
And second, the book contains a brand new introduction, commissioned by Harper Collins - and written by me! Regular readers of this blog will not be surprised to find that this truly was a labour of love. I'm delighted to be associated with a book that is a classic of its kind and which will, I hope, amuse a new generation of readers as much as it did on its original appearance.
The contributors to the narrative, by the way are some of the great names from the Golden Age: Anthony Berkeley, Dorothy L. Sayers, Gladys Mitchell, Helen Simpson, Milward Kennedy and John Rhode.
Am I the only one who can't see the post? Perhaps I should ask a policeman what happened to it--ha-ha.
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful - both the original idea and the new edition.
ReplyDeleteDeb, nicely put!! Thanks - I started drafting the post and when other things got in the way pressed the wrong button! The sort of technoincompetence that afflicts me from time to time, and one of the reasons I'm so grateful that regular readers like you keep bearing with me. I'm hoping to improve my IT skills a bit before long - overdue, of course.
ReplyDeleteI am eager to read both your new introduction and Christie's comments. I have the US (Morrow, 1933) edition, and I find it one of the cleverest of Detection Club collaborations -- each author adopting the sleuth of one of the other authors.
ReplyDeleteI have that 1983 Macmillan hardcover reprint, but this looks like it would be worth buying again...
ReplyDeleteMind if I intervene with a very negative response? I love the news itself, since this is a book I've long wanted to read... but damn it all, Harper Collins!!! This is a book by *The Detection Club*... Why is *Agatha Christie* getting top billing and the biggest text on her name when she didn't actually write anything but the introduction-- oh, wait. Her name sells books and we're all about making money. Carry on!
ReplyDeleteAnd it doesn't say "Martin Edwards" at all--what's wrong with those people??? :-)
ReplyDeleteHace to agree with Patrick a bit. At least when they did the same thing with The Floating Admiral Christie had actually written a (very short) chapter for it. The piece by Christie that Martin mentions is a nice one, originally rediscovered by Tony Medawar and reprinted in CADS, I believe, but hardly worth top billing one would have thought. I hope Christie fans won't feel cheated. They might enjoy it if they read it. I hope John Rhode's name actually is mentioned somewhere in the book however!
ReplyDeleteYeah, just checked the amazon.co.uk page and no hint is given about John Rhode or Milward Kennedy being major contributors.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Berkeley and Helen Simpson get a listing, but I think amazon is confused about which Helen Simpson this is! John Rhode and Milward Kennedy don't have any books in print (unless you count the Evelyn Elder with Ramble House), but neither does DC Club Helen Simpson as far as I'm aware.
I suppose you can't expect a modern mass market publisher to be too concerned about crediting authors who aren't even in print, even if the authors' old editions are hot on the collectors' market.
I've about given up that the John Rhode books ever will be reprinted, unfortunately. The literary agent seems to have no interest in it. Maybe he's waiting for HarperCollins' to come knocking! Not bloody likely, sadly. It's such a frustrating situation, when there is some interest, but an agency would rather let the author languish rather than accept a good faith offer to reprint his books POD.
So at least this way with the Ask a Policeman reprint I suppose the mass market Christie fans will learn someone named "John Rhode" existed! I'll certainly be interested to see what Martin's intro has to say (first I've heard of it).
J, yes, Martin's name should be mentioned, but as I recall they didn't mention Simon Brett on the cover of The Floating Admiral either and he wrote the intro!
ReplyDeleteOh, well, the important thing is it's been reprinted, but it does amuse me about the "Agatha Christie" bit. Such is fame!
Thanks very much for these comments. There's no doubt that the Christie name sells books and I am fairly sure that is why the publishers were very keen to include Christie material in this one, in the hope of building on the great success of The Floating Admiral last year. My hope is that the book will introduce readers to some very worthwhile writers and that this may spark interest in some of those who are much less well known than Christie.
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