Everyone has the equivalent of “comfort food” reading and mine is the British Mystery. In this blog, I will focus on British mysteries written before 1960.
Sir Basil Thomson – Inspector Richardson Series
Part of the fun of reading these books is first reading the biographical details of the author. I won’t spoil the fun, but suffice it to say that Sir Basil Thomson worked as a British intelligence officer, a police officer, a colonial administrator in Fiji, Tonga, and British New Guinea, a farmer in Iowa, a prison governor, and a writer. He was once arrested along with a young woman of questionable reputation for “committing an act in violation of public decency” in Hyde park. Though his life seems pretty complicated his books are not. There are some twists and turns in the plots, but the books flow along easily. Inspector Richardson is organized and generally likable. I read all of these books in pretty quick succession and was disappointed when there weren’t any more. In a few years I can read them again (as I age the number of years I need to forget a plot grows shorter) but Sir Basil himself passed away in 1939 so I won’t hold my breath for a new book in the series.
Dorothy Sayers – Lord Peter Wimsey Series
Lord Peter Wimsey is the prototypical aristocrat who dabbles in sleuthing. He is so good at solving crimes that Scotland yard calls him in when things get hairy, and he is apparently quite welcome to contaminate any crime scene in the British Empire. Lord Peter falls in love with a strong female character named Harriet Vane (a crime novelist). He spends many books wooing her with poetry while ruminating his way through solving the crimes which have baffled mere Scotland Yard detectives. Dorothy Sayers was a true scholar, not just a novelist, and is reported to have said that her best work was her translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy (I have not read any of her scholarly work). I enjoyed all of her Peter Wimsey books with the minor exception of The NineTailors – the plot of which revolves around the intricate art-form of “change ringing” church bells. I think that the math confused me! I am a big fan of the more contemporary author P.D. James and must comment on the similarities with her aristocratic, poetry writing sleuth Adam Dalgliesh. If you enjoy P.D. James you should try reading her predecessor Dorothy Sayers.
Dame Ngaio Marsh – Roderick Alleyn series
While some of Marsh’s books were written after 1960, most, and all of my favorites, were written before. A prolific author, Marsh penned over 30 crime novels featuring her star detective Roderick Alleyn. Her crimes and plots are usually complicated and many of her characters a bit off balance. Marsh’s other great passion was theatre, and the world of the stage is a frequent setting for her novels. I do not always love the books set in the theatre and I am not sure why. Perhaps because the authors love of the theatre somehow overshadows the crimes, or maybe because I am not a theatre buff. I enjoy most of her other books and am partial to the 1941 Death of a Peer. I also like her books set in New Zealand which have a slightly different tone and richly described scenery – but still feature Roderick Alleyn (the poor man is often on vacation, but crime follows him to ends of the earth). Colour Scheme which is set at a New Zealand hot springs resort during WWII is full of suspected Nazi’s and is a lot of fun.
Agatha Christie
I just couldn’t write about British crime fiction from this period without including the Queen of the Golden Age Mystery (and yes, Margery Allingham should get a nod here too). Christie’s books are not pure literature, but they are incredibly readable – she is still one of the best selling authors of all time. She is often criticized for having formulaic plots and stereotypical characters, but these were clearly formulas and stereotypes which appealed to the readers of the time. I grew up reading these books and I doubt that there are many that I have not re-read at least once. I admire Christie’s fortitude as an author, publishing 66 crime novels in addition to other work. She was obviously well read herself as she references literature constantly in her books and titles. Several works allude to Shakespeare. My mother always favored the Miss Marple series while I liked the Hercule Poirot books, but they are all good. I always keep a few of these on hand in my Kindle and read one as a pallet cleanser between other books. A couple of my favorites are And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express. Continue reading Old Fashioned British Mysteries