The golden age of murder : the mystery of the writers who invented the modern detective story

Winner of the 2016 EDGAR, AGATHA, MACAVITY and H.R.F.KEATING crime writing awards, this real-life detective story investigates how Agatha Christie and colleagues in a mysterious literary club transformed crime fiction. Detective stories of the Twenties and Thirties have long been stereotyped as cosily conventional. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Golden Age of Murder tells for the first time the extraordinary story of British detective fiction between the two World Wars. A gripping real-life detective story, it investigates how Dorothy L. Sayers, Anthony Berkeley, Agatha Christie and their colleagues in the mysterious Detection Club transformed crime fiction. Their work cast new light on unsolved murders whilst hiding clues to their authors’ darkest secrets, and their complex and sometimes bizarre private lives. Crime novelist and current Detection Club President Martin Edwards rewrites the history of crime fiction with unique authority, transforming our understanding of detective stories, and the brilliant but tormented men and women who wrote them. A real-life detective story, investigating how Agatha Christie and colleagues in a mysterious literary club transformed crime fiction, writing books casting new light on unsolved murders whilst hiding clues to their authors darkest secrets. Now an Edgar Award Nominee! This is the first book about the Detection Club, the worlds most famous and most mysterious social network of crime writers. Drawing on years of in-depth research, it reveals the astonishing story of how members such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers reinvented detective fiction. Detective stories from the so-called Golden Age between the wars are often dismissed as cosily conventional. Nothing could be further from the truth: some explore forensic pathology and shocking serial murders, others delve into police brutality and miscarriages of justice; occasionally the innocent are hanged, or murderers get away scot-free. Their authors faced up to the Slump and the rise of Hitler during years of economic misery and political upheaval, and wrote books agonising over guilt and innocence, good and evil, and explored whether killing a fellow human being was ever justified. Though the stories included no graphic sex scenes, sexual passions of all kinds seethed just beneath the surface. Attracting feminists, gay and lesbian writers, Socialists and Marxist sympathisers, the Detection Club authors were young, ambitious and at the cutting edge of popular culture some had sex lives as bizarre as their mystery plots. Fascinated by real life crimes, they cracked unsolved cases and threw down challenges to Scotland Yard, using their fiction to take revenge on people who hurt them, to conduct covert relationships, and even as an outlet for homicidal fantasy. Their books anticipated not only CSI, Jack Reacher and Gone Girl, but also Lord of the Flies. The Club occupies a unique place in Britains cultural history, and its influence on storytelling in fiction, film and television throughout the world continues to this day. The Golden Age of Murder rewrites the story of crime fiction with unique authority, transforming our understanding of detective stories and the brilliant but tormented men and women who wrote them. A real-life detective story, investigating how Agatha Christie and colleagues in a mysterious literary club transformed crime fiction, writing books casting new light on unsolved murders whilst hiding clues to their authors' darkest secrets. This is the first book about the Detection Club, the world's most famous and most mysterious social network of crime writers. Drawing on years of in-depth research, it reveals the astonishing story of how members such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers reinvented detective fiction. Detective stories from the so-called "Golden Age" between the wars are often dismissed as cosily conventional. Nothing could be further from the truth: some explore forensic pathology and shocking serial murders, others delve into police brutality and miscarriages of justice; occasionally the innocent are hanged, or murderers get away scot-free. Their authors faced up to the Slump and the rise of Hitler during years of economic misery and political upheaval, and wrote books agonising over guilt and innocence, good and evil, and explored whether killing a fellow human being was ever justified. Though the stories included no graphic sex scenes, sexual passions of all kinds seethed just beneath the surface. Attracting feminists, gay and lesbian writers, Socialists and Marxist sympathisers, the Detection Club authors were young, ambitious and at the cutting edge of popular culture - some had sex lives as bizarre as their mystery plots. Fascinated by real life crimes, they cracked unsolved cases and threw down challenges to Scotland Yard, using their fiction to take revenge on people who hurt them, to conduct covert relationships, and even as an outlet for homicidal fantasy. Their books anticipated not only CSI, Jack Reacher and Gone Girl, but also Lord of the Flies. The Club occupies a unique place in Britain's cultural history, and its influence on storytelling in fiction, film and television throughout the world continues to this day. Nominated for CWA NON FICTION DAGGER, 2016 A Real-life Detective Story, Investigating How Agatha Christie And Colleagues In A Mysterious Literary Club Transformed Crime Fiction, Writing Books Casting New Light On Unsolved Murders Whilst Hiding Clues To Their Authors' Darkest Secrets.--publisher's Description. Part One: The Unusual Suspects. The Ritual In The Dark ; A Bitter Sin ; Conversations About A Hanged Woman ; A Bolshevik Soul In A Fabian Muzzle ; Wearing Their Criminological Spurs ; The Art Of Self-tormenting -- Part Two: The Rules Of The Game. Setting A Good Example To The Mafia ; The Fungus-story And The Meaning Of Life ; Wistful Plans For Killing Off Wives ; The Least Likely Person ; The Best Advertisement In The World -- Part Three: Looking To Escape. Human Life's The Cheapest Thing There Is ; Echoes Of War ; Murder, Transvestism And Suicide During A Trapeze Act ; A Severed Head In A Fish-bag ; Have You Hear Of Sexual Perversions? ; Clearing Up The Mess ; What It Means To Be Stuck For Money ; Neglecting Demosthenes In Favour Of Freud -- Part Four: Taking On The Police. Playing Games With Scotland Yard ; Why Was The Shift Put In The Boiler-hole? ; Trent's Very Last Case ; A Coffin Entombed In A Crypt Of Granite -- Part Five: Justifying Murder. Knives Engraved With Blood And Honour ; Touching With A Fingertip The Fringe Of Great Events ; Collecting Murderers ; No Judge Or Jury But My Own Conscience -- Part Six: The End Game. Playing The Grandest Game In The World ; The Work Of A Pestilential Creature ; Frank To The Point Of Indecency ; Shocked By The Brethren -- Part Seven: Unravelling The Mysteries. Murder Goes On Forever. Martin Edwards. Includes Facsimile Reproductions Of The 1932 Constitution And Rules Of The Detection Club (pages 441-447). Includes Bibliographical References (pages 449-457) And Indexes. Detective stories of the twenties and thirties have long been stereotyped as cozily conventional. Nothing could be further from the truth: some explore forensic pathology and serial murders, others delve into police brutality and miscarriages of justice; occasionally the innocent are hanged, or murderers get away scot-free. Golden Age novelists faced up to the Depression and the rise of Hitler and fascism, and wrote books agonizing over guilt and innocence, good and evil, and explored whether killing a fellow human being could ever be justified. Though their stories included no graphic sex scenes, sexual passions of all kinds seethed just beneath the surface. The gifted authors who formed the Detection Club included feminists, gay and lesbian writers, Socialists and Marxist sympathizers. Most were young, ambitious and at the cutting edge of popular culture. Fascinated by real-life crimes, they cracked unsolved cases and threw down challenges to Scotland Yard, using their fiction to take revenge on people who hurt them, to conduct covert relationships, and even as an outlet for homicidal fantasy. Their books anticipated not only CSI, but also Lord of the Flies. The Club occupies a unique place in Britain's literary history, and its influence on storytelling in fiction, film and television throughout the world continues to this day. In this book, crime novelist and Detection Club archivist Martin Edwards rewrites the story of crime fiction with unique authority, transforming our understanding of detective stories and the brilliant but tormented men and women who wrote them.--Adapted from dust jacket A real-life detective story, investigating how Agatha Christie and colleagues in a mysterious literary club transformed crime fiction, writing books casting new light on unsolved murders whilst hiding clues to their authors darkest secrets.This is the first book about the Detection Club, the world s most famous and most mysterious social network of crime writers. Drawing on years of in-depth research, it reveals the astonishing story of how members such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers reinvented detective fiction. Attracting feminists, gay and lesbian writers, Socialists and Marxist sympathisers, the Detection Club authors were young, ambitious and at the cutting edge of popular culture some had sex lives as bizarre as their mystery plots. Fascinated by real life crimes, they cracked unsolved cases and threw down challenges to Scotland Yard, using their fiction to take revenge on people who hurt them, to conduct covert relationships, and even as an outlet for homicidal fantasy. The Club occupies a unique place in Britain's cultural history, and its influence on storytelling in fiction, film and television throughout the world continues to this day