The Medbury Fort Murder

Some months back, Bob Adey recommended a ‘locked room’ mystery to me dating from 1929 and called The Medbury Fort Murder; he also supplied me with a copy. The book was written by George Linnelius, a writer of whom I’ve never heard, and so far I’m afraid I have failed to get round to reading it.

But I was reminded to dig it out of the to-be-read pile by the arrival of the latest issue of Arthur Vidro’s excellent fanzine Give Me That Old-Time Detection. The cover reproduces, in black and white, the dust jacket of the book and it looks rather entertaining (‘Lieutenant Lepean had loved too many women so early one morning…’ ‘At least a dozen men wanted to kill Lt. Lepean – which one murdered him in a locked room?’)

The book features in a fascinatinglist of favourite impossible crime stories which Bob himself has contributed to the magazine. As ever, his comments are concise and instructive. There are plenty of other good things in this issue, which is perhaps the best I’ve seen to date. There are some pithy reviews, including several by Charles Shibuk, a demanding but perceptive commentator, and a long instalment in Marv Lachman’s series of articles about stage plays with a criminal element. There’s also a very welcome piece by the Agatha Christie expert John Curran.

This type of publication is a labour of love, and Arthur Vidro, whom I had the pleasure of meeting briefly when I was in the States a year ago, is really getting into his stride now as editor. Along with its British cousin CADS, this magazine flies the flag for otherwise forgotten Golden Age mysteries with great enthusiasm (and intelligence, as you would expect from a publication associated with Mensa.) Long may it continue to flourish.

GMOTD

The latest issue of Arthur Vidro’s crime fanzine Give Me That Old-Time Detection has just arrived. It is similar to CADS, although being less well-established, it is shorter and tends to include more reprinted contributions and fewer original pieces of research. There is, among many other items, a piece of mine which originated in this blog.

A short piece by Francis M. Nevins announces a forthcoming documentary about Ellery Queen (although, since it is being produced for Japanese TV, I’m not sure whether it will be available in an English-speaking version.) The next issue of the magazine will focus on Ellery Queen.

Among many pleasing items, there is another instalment of Marvin Lachman’s study of mystery stage plays. A Charles Shibuk review heaps praise on a book called A Funeral in Eden by Paul McGuire (1938) - I have never heard of either book or author, but it sounds intriguing. And the merit of magazines such as this is that they lead one to fresh and fascinating discoveries.

The cover is marvellous. It was drawn by the Golden Age crime novelist Stuart Palmer, author of The Penguin Pool Murder, and features a variety of penguins posing as famous detectives. A 1950 article by Palmer, ‘Some of My Best Friends’ entertainingly describes his enthusiasm for penguins and describes Sherlock Holmes as a ‘super-penguin’.

With that teaser, I shall say no more. I hope it encourages one or two people to seek out the magazine, because Arthur Vidro’s enterprise and enthusiasm for classic crime fiction deserves support.