Golden Age Books for Christmas

Following on from my last post, today I'll focus on books for Christmas with a strong Golden Age connection. And a good place to start is Agatha Christie's Golden Age by John Goddard, sub-titled: "An Analysis of Poirot's Golden Age Puzzles". It's a meaty tome, with a short intro from Christie expert John Curran. Publishing non-fiction books traditionally isn't easy these days, because publishers are wary about the reams of factual information freely available on the internet. So John Goddard produced this book himself, via the Stylish Eye imprint, but that should certainly not put you off. The analysis is extremely cogent. It's best to read the book when you are already familiar with the stories, because John Goddard explores the plots in great detail. I have been dipping into the book over the past few months, perhaps the best way to tackle a densely written volume of this kind, and I've very much enjoyed so doing.

Now for fiction. I have to start, of course, with the British Library's Crime Classics, a series which continues to lead the market. This year, once again, there has been a diverse range of stories. Among the Golden Age mysteries, I'm especially fond of those by E.C.R. Lorac, which are in the orthodox mould, such as Murder by Matchlight, and those by Richard Hull, such as Excellent Intentions, which are anything but.

Harper Collins have continued with their nicely produced Detective Story Club hardback series, and among the titles for which I've contributed an intro is Donald Henderson's A Voice Like Velvet, which I found delightful and gripping. It's such a shame that Henderson died young. The diverse mix of titles to have appeared in the series this year include Freeman Wills Crofts' The Pit-Prop Syndicate and Vernon Loder's The Shop Window Murders, both of which I've reviewed on this blog, and Lynn Brock's The Deductions of Colonel Gore, which I hope to cover in due course. Brock was another very interesting writer; although his books are variable in quality, I find his ambition as an author generally admirable.

Then there is Dean Street Press, which continues to do splendid work in producing a large number of books in ebook and print on demand format. Thanks to their efforts, many of the books written by the prolific and capable Christopher Bush, among others (for instance, the long-neglected Francis Vivian), are now available at a reasonable price.

Finally, an anthology of a different sort, a handsome collection of five anotated American classics from Les Klinger, whose company I enjoyed when visiting New York in January to deliver the annual lecture for the Baker  Street Irregulars. Les is a leading Sherlockian, but his full range of interests is extensive. Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s includes books by Queen, Van Dine, Biggers, Hammett and Burnett. On the back cover are endorsements from A.J. Finn and a number of leading American novelists - plus myself. And we all agree that it's a splendid volume.   

Forgotten Book - The Sixteenth Stair

E.C.R. Lorac published The Sixteenth Stair in 1942. As usual, it features her low-key but appealing cop, Inspector Macdonald, and as so often in books written during the first part of her career, it is set in central London. A family called the Hazelys are at the heart of the action, along with a house in St John's Wood called the Villa Eugenie, which has an intriguing history..

Timothy Hazely, an American member of the family, comes to London and is tempted by the stories he's heard to take a look at the Villa Eugenie, which has been left unoccupied for many years, but his visit takes an unexpected turn when at the foot of the stairs, he discovers the body of a man with his neck broken. It turns out that the victim is a member of the family.

The house may not have been lived in for a long time, but it hasn't been entirely deserted. Macdonald and his team soon find out that it has been used as a rendezvous for an illicit love affair. A doctor has become involved with one of his patients, and one possibility is that he may be the culprit. Another is that he may have been framed by his lover's husband.

The Hazelys are a complex family in more ways than one, and I would have found a family tree helpful to enable me to keep in mind all the different family members. One reason why Lorac may not have supplied a tree is that it would have spoiled one of her surprises, but I still think it would have been worthwhile. It's an interesting and fairly distinctive story, and although I prefer some of Lorac's other books, such as Murder by Matchlight and Bats in the Belfry, it is a decent, and at times atmospheric read..

Forgotten Book - Murder by Matchlight

E.C.R. Lorac was not one of the Golden Age's most famous Crime Queens, but she was, perhaps, a Crime Princess. Not quite Christie, Sayers, or Allingham, but a very good writer of detective fiction nonetheless. My parents enjoyed her books in the Fifties, and I used to buy old copies for them when I came across them in catalogues or shops. Having eventually inherited the books, I'm now working my way through them. Fellow Lorac fan Geoffrey McSkimming told me that Murder by Matchlight is one of his favourites, and it's my Forgotten Book for today.

The first thing to say is that Geoffrey is a good judge. This short and snappy novel is a very good read indeed. A well-structured detective story in its own right, it also gains immeasurably from its wonderful presentation of life in wartime London during the blackout. Lorac wasn't the only crime writer to make good use of the blackout as a setting for murder, but I doubt it was often better done, and better integrated into the plot, than here. (So do let me know if you have any favourite rival candidates.)

A young analytical chemist is at a loose end one evening after his girlfriend is unavoidably detained elsewhere. He wanders into Regent's Park, and when someone strikes a match to light up the darkness for a moment, in the matchlight he sees a man with an unusual face. He also hears a thud - and guess what? Someone turns out to have been murdered.

Lorac's regular cop, the amiable but persistent Macdonald, leads the investigation, and finds that the deceased was himself a man of mystery, masquerading under an assumed name. A varied cast of suspects includes a conjuror called Rameses, who lived in the same building as the dead man; fellowtenants also come under Macdonald's microscope. Suspicion shifts around from nne person to another until a satisfying solution is put together. A good mystery.