Deep Waters - Publication Day!

Today sees the publication of my latest anthology for the British Library. Deep Waters is subtitled Mysteries on the Waves, and boasts a rather good cover which for me represents a pleasant reminder of my recent Atlantic crossing. I've talked about cruise mysteries on this blog recently, and there's no doubt that stories set around the sea, or indeed rivers, canals or lakes offer a lot of potential for the crime writer. 

This is, I think, the chunkiest of all my British Library anthologies, running to no fewer than 364 pages, and I'm pleased about this. I do think that it's good to offer readers plenty of value, and my only regret is that it wasn't possible to find space for a long-time favourite of mine, "Three Miles Up" by Elizabeth Jane Howard, a terrific story. I have to admit, however, that it's a bit of a stretch to call it a crime story, even though it's very mysterious indeed.

So what of the stories that did make the cut? We kick off with a case for Sherlock Holmes, and other eminent detectives who are featured include Reggie Fortune, Dr Thorndyke, John Appleby, and Gervase Fen. There are also some little-known names in the list of contributors, including Kem Bennett; I was introduced to his story, and another by Christopher St John Sprigg, by Jamie Sturgeon, one of a small group of friends who have given me valuable advice about possible stories for inclusion.

There is a story by Andrew Garve, a writer whose love of sailing is evident in many of his novels, and another by Phyllis Bentley, who is perhaps best remembered for her Yorkshire-based family saga novels. As usual, I'm aimed for variety in my selection, and I like to think that Deep Waters is a book which, whatever your preference in terms of classic crime, will offer plenty to enjoy.

 

Forgotten Book - Missing from their Homes

Missing from their Homes, my Forgotten Book from today, is a very interesting themed anthology that I've recently come across, and which dates from 1936. Unfortunately, it lacks any editorial material, but plainly the inspiration came from the announcements that the BBC used to make quite regularly about missing people. The BBC website suggests that such appeals are still sometimes made, though I can't recall ever having heard one. As an anthology theme, it's a good one (and, though I wasn't aware of this book at the time, over a decade ago I edited an anthology called Missing Persons - another reminder that there aren't as many original ideas out there as one would like to believe!)

Although the book is not specifically a crime fiction anthology, a number of the stories do fit neatly within the genre, while others are on its fringes.What is striking, however, is the quality of the contributors. So we have the young Graham Greene, with a very dark story indeed, as well as such notable and diverse writers as Arthur Machen, R.H. Mottram and H.E. Bates.

Two of my favourite stories were "The Gruesome Fit" by A.E. Coppard, and "Where is Mr Manetot?" by Phyllis Bentley. Coppard was a very accomplished short story writer, as his contribution demonstrates. Bentley was renowned as an author of Yorkshire family sagas such as Inheritance, but she dabbled in detective fiction for many years. Her story is unusual and appealing.

This is not a well-known anthology, and several of the stories in it seem never to have been reprinted. This is, I think, true of the contributions by that very interesting pair, E.M. Delafield, best known as a humorous writer and creator of the "Provincial Lady", and Anthony Berkeley. I was excited to see that the book contained a long story by Berkeley which I'd never come across elsewhere. However, having read "Publicity Heroine", I am afraid I can see why it has faded from view - it definitely falls short of his usual high standards. This was a disappointment, but overall I found the book extremely entertaining, and several of the stories were of real quality.