English Country House Murders

by Thomas Godfrey (Editor), Margery Allingham (Contributor), Robert Barr (Contributor)

Nothing could seem more civilized, more orderly and sedate than a weekend at one of Great Britain's country estates. Yet these staid, conservative houses play host to a wider variety of murders than do the mean streets of America's darkest cities.

Contents:
The adventure of the Abbey Grange / Sir Arthur Conan Doyle --
A marriage tragedy / Wilkie Collins --
Lord Chizelrigg's missing fortune / Robert Barr --
The Fordwych Castle mystery / Emmuska, Barroness Orczy --
The blue scarab / R. Austin Freeman --
The doom of the Darnaways / G.K. Chesterton --
The shadow on the glass / Agatha Christie --
The queen's square / Dorothy L. Sayers --
Death on the air / Ngaio Marsh --
The same to us / Margery Allingham --
The hunt ball / Freeman Wills Crofts --
The incautious burglar / John Dickson Carr --
The long shot / Nicholas Blake --
Jeeves and the stolen Venus / P.G. Wodehouse --
Death in the sun / Michael Innes --
An unlocked window / Ethel Lina White --
The wood-for-the-trees / Philip MacDonald --
The man on the roof / Christianna Brand --
The death of Amy Robsart / Cyril Hare --
Fen Hall / Ruth Rendell --
A very desirable residence / P.D. James --
The Worcester enigma / James Miles.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, British Literature, Historical, Mystery Thriller

348 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1988

Reviews

[Carol, She's so Novel ꧁꧂ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5★

I bought this book (in hard cover!) many years ago. I read The Usual Suspects, but couldn't get into the authors that had fallen into obscurity. I'm now an enthusiastic Golden Age mystery reader, so I thought I'd give these stories another try.

The Adventure of Abbey Grange by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Not every story in this book is Golden Age - and what collection of mysteries would be complete without a Sherlock Holmes! This isn't one of Doyle's best, but it certainly gives some interesting insights into Holmes' character and his relationship with the faithful Dr Watson! 3★

A Marriage Tragedy by Wilkie Collins. I tried (& failed) to read The Moonstone many years ago. Maybe I would be more open to it now. I was definitely intrigued enough to finish to find out what had happened to husband from Hell, James Smith. This is by far the longest selection in this book (most of the others are less than 20 pages) and it did drag in a couple of places and the ending was somewhat gloomy. 3.5★

Lord Chizelrigg's Missing Fortune by Robert Barr. Entertaining but very improbable. Lord Valmont is like an early version of Hercule Poirot! 3★

The Fordwych Castle Mystery by Baroness Orczy. Looks like it wasn't just the obscure writers I was disappointed by! Silly, improbable, melodramatic and didn't make much sense. I was really disappointed as Lady Molly was one of the first female detectives. 2★

The Blue Scarab by R. Austin Freeman. Competent mystery with workmanlike writing. Similar in style to Conan Doyle, but less engaging. 3★

The Doom of the Darnaways by G.K. Chesterton. Now this was very engaging writing with a cleverly constructed mystery. The clues are there for you - you just need to know where to look! 4★

The Shadow on the Glass by Agatha Christie. I read this last year in The Mysterious Mr. Quin I thought this was one of the slighter stories in that collection. I still think that 3★

The Queen's Square by Dorothy L. Sayers. This was just too short to carry all the ideas & potential this mystery had. Bit of a shame. 3.5 ★

Death on the Air by Ngaio Marsh. Dame Ngaio didn't write many short stories & (if this is representative of her skill with them) that is a pity because this one is ingenious & puts her normal snobbishness (which normally drives me crazy!) to good use. Unusually for Marsh this one shows a contempt for young female servants - in this case, insensitive & heartless. Still 4★

The Same to Us by Margery Allingham. Witty & entertaining, with a sly dig at some racist assumptions. My favourite so far. 4.5★

The Hunt Ball by Freeman Wills Crofts. A very fine example of what Thomas Godfrey (the editor of this collection) calls an "inverted" mystery where the reader knows who commits the crime & waits for the story to play out. 4★

The Incautious Burglar by John Dickson Carr. A satisfying mystery even though there were very few suspects. 5★

The Long Shot by Nicholas Blake Well written, but a bit improbable. 4★

Jeeves and the Stolen Venus by P.G. Wodehouse Funny (Of course - it's Wodehouse!) But I was confused. 3.5★

Death in the Sun by Michael Innes Just too improbable for me! 3★

An Unlocked Window by Ethel Lina White. Yes I did guess where it was going but the journey was wonderfully thrilling! 5★

The-Wood-For-The-Trees by Philip MacDonald. I have been looking for The Rasp for quite some time, as I know reviewers who really love it. This short story made me want to look even harder. I'm quite sure I've read it before, a few too many characters, & if I hadn't read it before I did a very good job of guessing everything that was going to happen! 4.5★

The Man on the Roof by Christianna Brand. Not so this one, although I normally like Brand's work. Occasionally witty, but a confused/confusing mish-mash. I'm wondering if I should read again, but provisionally 2.5★

The death of Amy Robsart by Cyril Hare. In case you are wondering if this Golden Age author wrote a historical murder mystery - he didn't. Very entertaining murder mystery with a film setting. There is a plot hole but I enjoyed this very much. 4★

Fen Hall by Ruth Rendell. The first thing I have read by Rendell. Well written but another plot hole & this one isn't a whodunnit. Still very well written & I now want to read some more Rendell. 3.5★

A very Desirable Residence by P.D. James Well written but improbable. I found the end quite satisfying though! 3.5★

The Worcestershire Enigma by James Miles. "Who?" you might well ask. I couldn't find any other trace of this author who uses another author's creations (Conan Doyle's) & a real life person. (I won't spoil this for you) very badly. It isn't quite as bad as the Orczy one but I am still giving this 2★

So, as always with short story collections, a very mixed bag! I would still recommend reading if you want a 'taster' of some of the less well known writers. Most of them I want to read some of their full length books!

https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...

[Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginning in the 19th century, British authors contributed substantially to the development of the mystery genre, and a number of mystery novels and stories are set in the British Isles. In the 1800s, and well on into the 1900s, a class of landed gentry in Great Britain, as well as some of the nobility, still derived their wealth from agriculture, by farming their land directly and/or by renting it to tenant farmers. The rural countryside was dotted with their mansions. These might house a single landowner or a large immediate or even extended family, or anything in between; employ multiple servants (especially without modern labor-saving devices, the upkeep of buildings this large required a staff); and play host for extended periods to upper-class guests, sometimes quite a few at a time. As editor Godfrey notes in passing in his Introduction, “economic reality” (which he doesn't analyze here) after World War II swept these establishments out of existence for the most part. But in their heyday, they furnished many an author with fictional settings for crime; and even today provide historical mystery writers with similar possibilities.

A medical doctor who's also a mystery buff, Thomas Godfrey has here collected 22 short stories which illustrate this subset of the genre, the oldest published in 1858. Despite the title of the collection, not all of them involve murder; and a couple, "Death on the Air" and “The Hunt Ball,” aren't actually set even partly in a country house, though the characters occupy the same social strata. (The former takes place in London, and the latter in a provincial town hall; Godfrey wryly suggests that here we picture Town Hall as “the residence of Lord and Lady Town.” :-) ) Most of the represented authors are British (the two exceptions lived in England for long periods). Though American and Canadian mystery writers have produced tales using this kind of setting, in the editor's estimation you have to be an "authentic" English writer to be sufficiently immersed in the setting and culture to bring it to really realistic life. Some of the biggest names in the genre are included among the 22 authors, such as Conan Doyle, Christie, Chesterton, Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham, as well as newer giants Ruth Rendell and P. D. James. Arrangement of the selections is mostly, but not completely, chronological, though publication dates aren't always given. The roughly five-page Introduction mostly provides Godfrey's discussion of what he feels are the defining characteristics of the sub-genre in terms of fan expectations; he thinks, for instance, that character development should be decidedly secondary to plot (actually, the stories themselves vary in that respect --the Chesterton and Christie selections in particular present good character development with rewarding interpersonal reactions, while the characterizations as such in the Sayers story aren't as sharp, IMO), and that engagement with serious social or philosophical issues should be avoided. He also offers his half tongue-in-cheek "Rules of the House” for how these mysteries should be written, though he allows for exceptions. What he stresses is the evocation of an atmosphere and the preservation of genre tropes; his treatment is humorous, poking gentle fun at the tradition –but his fun is indeed gentle rather than caustic, since he clearly likes this whole milieu. Four of the included authors --Doyle, Wilkie Collins, Baroness Orczy, and Robert Barr-- are also represented in the anthology Victorian Tales of Mystery and Detection, but by different stories. Each selection has a short (a paragraph or two) introduction to the author and his/her work.

Doyle is represented by the lead story, and the only selection here that I'd previously read, “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange,” from the Sherlock Holmes canon. Other series characters besides Holmes are well represented here as well, with appearances by, among others, Chesterton's Father Brown, Marsh's Inspector Alleyn, Orczy's female series sleuth, Lady Molly from Lady Molly Of Scotland Yard (since that collection is on my "maybe-to-read" shelf, this story definitely whetted my appetite for it!), Barr's expatriate French detective Eugene Valmont, R. Austin Freeman's Dr. Thorndyke, M.D., Christie's Harley Quinn, and Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey. (I'd never encountered the Christie character before, and this is only the second Lord Peter story that I've ever read.) On the other hand, some equally well-known series sleuths, such as Allingham's Campion and Rendell's Inspector Wexford, are absent; their creators are represented, but by stories featuring different characters.

“A Marriage Tragedy” by Wilkie Collins, set mostly in Cumberland in northwestern England, is the oldest selection; and the main story actually takes place decades before the author's present (so, in the early 1800s), because he uses the device of a story related by an elderly man to the first narrator. It's an absorbing enough tale, though marred by the Victorian trope of the supposed inability of the nervous system of females (or at least virtuous females) to cope with strong emotional stress. (I still want to eventually read some of Collins' long fiction, despite my eye-rolling at that aspect of this story.) Freeman Wills Crofts is the author of “The Hunt Ball” (see above), and it features his series sleuth, Inspector French of Scotland Yard. This one is an example of what Godfrey calls an “inverted” mystery –we're shown the planning and committing of the crime, so the unexplained element isn't who did it, but how French will discover and prove the culprit's identity. One of my favorite selections is the Father Brown story, "The Doom of the Darnaways;" it's the most Gothic of them, with an intensely atmospheric tone and setting and the motif of a family curse --but at the same time, Chesterton's message is a ringing endorsement of rationality (his clerical detective also makes the point that Christianity is not about disparaging reason in The Innocence of Father Brown), and of human free will against both superstitious and materialistic ideas of determinism.

Christie's "The Shadow on the Glass" and Sayers' "The Queen's Square" are both satisfying tales with complex and challenging mysteries that have highly original solutions. (A weakness in the Christie story, though, is that the murder method has a significant logistical problem which isn't addressed; and there are also forensic aspects there which would have come to the fore even in 1930, but which aren't mentioned.) Perhaps the most challenging puzzle here was the one posed by Christianna Brand (a new-to-me author) in "The Man on the Roof," which was another of my favorites here. I also have to mention James Miles' wonderful "The Worcester Enigma" as an outstanding example of a Sherlock Holmes pastiche (I can't tell Miles' prose style from Doyle's!).

“Jeeves and the Stolen Venus” by P. G. Wodehouse (my first introduction to his work) is a purely humorous approach to the country-house mystery, and very much an exercise in dry British humor. Some American readers may find this hard to appreciate, and might find the also very British period slang used by Bertie and his aunt to be a challenge; but I liked the story. It reminded me in a way of J. M. Barrie's play The Admirable Crichton, because, like Crichton, Jeeves is quite obviously vastly smarter and more competent than his upper-crust employer. Among the other stories not featuring murders, Barr's "Lord Chizelrigg's Missing Fortune" and Freeman's "The Blue Scareb" are both suitably challenging hidden-treasure mysteries. Allingham's "The Same to Us," deals with a jewel robbery. It's notable as an exercise in dry English satirical humor, which also very effectively sends up and skewers the unconscious racism of many upper-crust Brits of that day. (Not having read much of Allingham's work, I found that an agreeable surprise!)

The selections by Rendell ("Fen Hall") and James ("A Very Desirable Residence"), as Godfrey notes, reflect a time when country houses are relics of the past, no longer viable to maintain, decaying and inhabited by newcomers who have no connection to or appreciation of their tradition. These two were my least favorite stories here, exuding a moral cynicism at odds with the vision that historically undergirded the British school of mystery fiction, although James admittedly gives her tale a brilliant twist, and ends on a note of almost (Henry) Jamesian irony. In keeping with her reputation, Rendell's story is the darkest of the two.

Overall, this is an excellent gathering of mystery fiction, which should please genre fans, and especially those who appreciate the traditional approach and the "Golden Age" classics.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent compilation of 22 shorts featuring the quintessential writers of the genre. If you want a taste of what makes these authors so good at their craft, this is a nice reference book to begin with. Many of these (Ethel White, Christianna Brand and Nicholas Blake) were new to me, but after a sampling of their work, I'll be looking into longer books from them.

Personal favorites include Ethel White's The Unlocked Window (deliciously creepy), Philip MacDonald's The Wood-for-the-Trees (a great ending), Agatha Christie's The Shadow on the Glass (duh, Agatha Christie, hello...), Wilkie Collins' A Marriage Tragedy (more modern then I expected from this Victorian writer) and finally Christianna Brand's The Man on the Roof (great twist). Really, there wasn't a dud in the bunch.

My only quibble (and it's a minor one) is that I don't consider the book's title and premise was completely true. While the majority of the shorts did feature both a country house with a murder, some of the stories quite frankly did not (either no country house or no murder). A minor thing, but still false advertising.

Otherwise, highly recommended reading for mystery lovers.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my third time through this collection, and for me this is an example of the sum being much greater than the individual parts. (And after 26 years, this dog-eared paperback is kept together by clear tape, paper clips and dreams, ready for another read.) The highlight here is the presence of the "Quartet of Golden Age Mistresses" (a term perhaps coined by editor Thomas Godfrey): Dame Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Dame Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham.
"The Adventury of the Abbey Grange" - 3.6 stars - Sir Arthur Canon Doyle.
"A Marriage Tragedy" - 2.4 - Wilkie Collins. Tellingly, Thomas Godfrey has little to say in his introduction about this work other than it takes place in "the auspicious setting of Darrock Hall." But even Collins can't conjure up anything thrilling from Darrock Hall.
"Lord Chizelrigg's Missing Fortune" - 4.2 - Robert Barr - A highlight of this collection.
"The Fordwych Castle Mystery" - 2.4 - Baroness Orcyz Emmuska - Lacking in atmosphere.
"The Blue Scarab" -2.2 - 1924 - R. Austin Freeman. If anyone out there can explain to me how the hieroglyphics here are translated into a message, please let me know! (Weakest story in collection.)
"The Doom of the Darnaways" - 4.4 - G.K. Chesterton - The Darnaway's home is the creepiest in this collection. And it's close to perfect but the author withholds a clue that is needed for everything to fall into place.
The Quartet:
"The Shadow on the Glass" - 4.6 - Agatha Christie. Dame Agatha struts her stuff here, this is the best short in this collection. Oddly, it's a twist much like "The Doom of the Darnaways". But it's so much fun here relative to the rest of this collection as it is placed right after "Darnaways" and still Christie manages to deceive.
"The Queen's Square" - 3.0 - Dorothy L. Sayers - A costume party IN an English Country House.
"Death On The Air" - 2.8 - Ngaio Marsh - A dead body is found beside a wireless. Do we have a WW2 spy? It's Christmas in London, but we don't have an English Country House, and it need not even be Christmas.
"The Same to Us" - 2.2 - Margery Allingham - Perhaps unique for the genre but overall a missed oportunity.
"The Man on the Roof" - 3.8 - 1940s - Christianna Brand. Duchess Hawksmere fabulous here.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

-The Adventure of the Abbey Grange by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 2*
-A Marriage Tragedy by Wilkie Collins, 2*: Overly long and melodramatic
-Lord Chizelrigg's Missing Fortune by Robert Barr, 3*
-The Forwich Castle Mystery by Emmuska, Baroness Orczy, 3*
-The Blue Scarab by R. Austin Freeman, 2*
-The Doom of the Darnaways by G.K. Chesteron, 4*: This was way more my style; dripping with a Gothic aesthetic, but with a wickedly humourous twist of modern dialogue (very modern really, considering this was written almost 100 years ago!)
-The Shadow on the Glass by Dame Agatha Christie, 4*
-The Queen's Square by Dorothy L. Sayers, 3*
-Death on the Air by Dame Ngaio Marsh, 4*
-The Same to Us by Margery Allingham, 4*
-The Hunt Ball by Freeman Wills Crofts, 4*
-The Incautious Burglar by John Dickson Carr, 3*
-The Long Shot by Nicholas Blake, 4*
-Jeeves and the Stolen Venus by P.G. Wodehouse, 4*: Pretty funny
-Death in the Sun by Michael Innes, 3*: Interesting
-An Unlocked Window by Ethel Lina White, 5*: Super atmospheric & gothic. Wonderfully chilling!!
-The Wood-for-the-Trees by Philip MacDonald, 4*
-The Man on the Roof by Christianna Brand, 2*
-The Death of Amy Robsart by Cyril Hare, 4*
-Fen Hall by Ruth Rendell, 4*: Spooky
-A Very Desirable Residence by P.D. James, 4*
-The Worcester Enigma by James Miles, 3*

[Ana Cristina Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Estás atrapado en un bloqueo lector? ¿Has estado leyendo demasiado Philip Roth? ¿Te has hecho un combinado de Mishima y Pynchon y se te ha quedado el cerebro empanao? Está tu mente pidiendo vacaciones mientras que tu cuerpo quiere seguir leyendo y pide: más, más!

La solución es muy simple, pasa un fin de semana en una mansión inglesa con sus jardines y su mayordomo y, a poder ser, un criminal suelto. El título original es 'English country house murders', que da una idea más exacta del contenido. En general, la traducción, empezando por el título, es pésima, si es posible es mejor leerlo en versión original.

Esta antología tiene el tema general de misterios en mansiones inglesas y hace un repaso a los autores británicos clásicos, la mayoría de la primera mitad del siglo XX. Empieza - cómo no! - con un relato de Sherlock Holmes, continua con Chesterton -el creador del Padre Brown - sigue con Agatha Christie y muchos otros hasta llegar a autores como Ruth Rendell y P.D. James.

En general son relatos breves y muy entretenidos que se leen fácilmente. Están llenos de todos los estereotipos del género: el detective aficionado que colabora con la policía, las familias complicadas con muchos intereses económicos, mansiones llenas de cuadros valiosos, cenas de gala, invitados de fin de semana, paseos por el campo...

Me ha sorprendido un relato de Wodehouse 'Jeeves y la Venus robada', ya que es un autor que normalmente escribe relatos de humor y aquí lo mezcla con éxito con el género detectivesco.

También me ha gustado 'Una ventana sin cerrar' de Ethel Lina White, que tiene un toque gótico que bordea el género de terror.

Finalmente mencionar a Ngaio Marsh, una autora que no conocía y que me ha cautivado con su 'Muerte en el aire'.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of mysteries of the English Country House variety. I knew many of the authors like Dorothy L Sayers, Ruth Rendell, PD James, etc, but many of the authors I hadn't heard of. Lots of fun.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good mystery short stories with a British country estate setting. I preferred some more than others. Thought it would be a good way to read new authors in this genre.

[Linda C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of 22 murder mysteries draws together one of the best collections of stories representing classic authors of this genre including Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers, P. G. Wodehouse, P. D. James and G. K. Chesterton. Thomas Godfrey's introduction defines the English Country House Mysteries in 14 criteria and then goes on to describe the 'rules of the house' ie the characteristics of the house, the atmosphere and the characters that give it that classification. The stories are presented in "developmental, roughly chronologic, sequence". For many of the writers it was an introduction to their work for me. Some I liked better than others but I enjoyed all of them. And although I didn't always guess the outcome I could guess the direction of the tale based on similar things I have read using these techniques. I look forward to reading more.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm generally not a short story lover - except for O. Henry that is! However, I chose this book of short stories because of it's amazing list of mystery writers. I wasn't disappointed at all! I enjoyed the editor's choices which varied in story construction and tone. There is nothing too gory for the squeamish reader. My most surprising discovery is that my least favorite story was by P. D. James who is usually a favorite author. I can't seem to decide on a favorite story. Two strong possible choices for favorite are by Agatha Christie and Ruth Rendell. Enjoy this great read!

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of some of the best classic English mystery authors (Christie, Doyle, James, Rendell, Carr, Wodehouse, Allingham) doing the typical British Country House murder settings. Very fun. Only one I didnt really enjoy - so a very satisfying collection

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like all collections of short stories, this was uneven, but the items I liked best may be the ones you liked least. Godfrey certainly collects a number of fine mystery writers in this plump volume.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do enjoy short stories and these are written by some great authors, Doyle, Christie, Sayers, Collins.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very broad and interesting collection of British manor house mysteries, Edited by Thomas Godfry. A must for all lovers of the genre.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun! A collection of short stories by the masters of the genre. Great book to finish on Halloween. You never know what gems you might find in the inventory of a used book store, such as Bright Leaf Bookshop in Winston-Salem, NC. Not surprisingly, some of the selections are stronger than others. To my taste, I'd save the more contemporary writers (Hare, Philip MacDonald, James and Miles) for last.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy books of short stories because if there is a story you don't like, you can just go on to the next. While this book had one of these, there was only one that I found. In addition, you can also just put it down and read something else, coming back to it later, which I did. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

[Robert Vanneste · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable set of stories. I knew about half the authors and am looking forward to finding books by most of the others.

[Carolyn F.]

I swear I read this book! It looks so familiar.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another short story collection, but this one features the cream of the crop of mystery writers from the past and present: Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham, GK Chesterton, Wilkie Collins, Baroness Orczy, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Barr, R. Austin Freedman, John Dickinson Carr, Ruth Rendell, PD James, Michael Innes, PG Wodehouse, Nicolas Blake, Christianna Brand, Philip MacDonald, Cyril Hare, Ethel Lina White, Freeman Wills Crofts and James Miles. The stories are different but all defined by their Britishness and featuring murders in proper English houses. The Rules are: 1) The main setting must be a well defined residence, 2) The larger the house the better, 3) The house should be out of the city, 4) There must be sufficient grounds attached, 5) There must be servants present - at least one living in the house, 6) The house should be a character in itself, 7) It is a plus if the house has secrets, curses or prophecies attached, 8) The weather can be a factor, 9) Valuables such as artworks, jewelry or money should be available to be stolen, 9) There can be a party going on during the murder, 10) The telephone should not be working properly, 11) Someone is always lying about their past. This brings on an awesome book that contains new and old stories that are fun and fabulous. I highly recommend this book.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful anthology. In fact, I am writing this review after my second rereading. I am a fan of the older mystery writers and am using this as a way to remind myself of some authors I had frankly forgotten. So make a cup of tea, sit down by the fire and read a few stories. You'll be transported to a time when they didn't tell you in detail exactly how the corpse looked, or what happened after the romantic kiss. Not every story is perfect, but then that's the fun!
English Country House Murders: Classic Crime Fiction of Britain’s Upper Crust," edited by Thomas Godfrey, is just what the title suggests, an anthology of 22 mystery stories, all set in the country houses of the aristocracy in Britain, and all involving murder in one form or another. The nice thing about this anthology is the range of authors: we start with none other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and read chronologically up through Ruth Rendell and P.D. James, a period spanning as much as 150 years or so! In between there are stories by Wilkie Collins, Dame Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, John DIckson Carr, P.G. Wodehouse, Margery Allingham and G.K. Chesterton, to name but a few. An excellent selection of stories to read on cold winter nights; recommended!

[Arlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology includes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, P.D. James, and other famous English mystery writers in a series of delightful stories that take place in English country houses. I liked all of the stories in the book. I especially liked the one called "Death in the Sun" which has a corpse found nude on the roof of a villa and "The Man on the Roof" where everyone in the house and the village would benefit with the death of the Duke.
This book is to be recommended to all who like a satisfying little murder.

[Suzanne Bordwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book with short stories you can read each night before going to bed.

The Adventure of the Abbey Grange
A Marriage Tragedy
Lord Chizelrigg's Missing Fortune
The Fordwych Castle Mystery
The Blue Scarab
The Doom of the Darnaways
The Shadow on the Glass
The Queen's Square
Death on the Air
The Same to Us
The Hunt Ball
The inacutious Burglar
The Long Shot
Jeeves and the Stolen Venus
Death in the Sun
An Unloced Window
The Wood-for-the-Trees
The Man on the Roof
The Death of Amy Robsart
Fen Hall
A Very Desirable Residence
The Worcester Enigma

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid, enjoyable collection of mysteries, not all of them murders or taking place in English country houses, but enjoyable nonetheless. The plots and tones ranged all over the map, so if you're looking to pick up new authors, it's a good and varied showcase.

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection of stories. Lots of fun reading the stories, and good intro into authors you may not heard of.

[Casey]

So far so good. Very enjoyable collection of short stories.

[Janette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection.

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

El libro en sí está bien, las historias están bien elegidas y ni siquiera las de Conan Doyle y Agatha Christie figuran entre sus obras más conocidas, lo que es de agradecer: creo que es más interesante descubrir historias nuevas. Hay un par de autores, para mí desconocidos, que han sido una agradable sorpresa, como Ethel Lina White o Cyril Hare. El último relato, un pastiche de Sherlock Holmes, género muy popular entre los aficionados, es simpático y muy fiel al personaje, lo que se agradece, pues abundan los pastiches mediocres y completamente ajenos al genuino Holmes. Naturalmente, al tratarse de una antología, hay relatos más flojos que otros, pero en conjunto es un libro interesante y ameno. Se merecería cuatro estrellas, en mi opinión, de no ser por la deficiente edición y la nefasta traducción.

La edición no sólo pasa por alto los incontables errores de traducción, lo que prueba un gran desinterés por la obra. El título original, English Country House Murders (Asesinatos en casas de campo inglesas) ha sido ignorado en la traducción; el editor es muy libre de elegir el título que considere apropiado para el mercado al que se dirige, pero creo que es un error el empleado, que prescinde del criterio de selección original de las obras (crímenes en casas de campo), resulta ambiguo (“cuentos” puede referirse a cualquier género, desde el folklore al relato histórico) y arriesga así pasar inadvertido por el público interesado en el género policíaco y atraer a amantes de otros géneros que se verán defraudados. La selección original incluía 22 obras; aquí se ha reducido a 16, por razones que competen al editor, pero lo mínimo que se puede exigir es que si en los prólogos del editor británico a cada uno de los relatos se hacen alusiones a otros que se han omitido en la edición española, se aclare dicha alusión en una nota o incluso que se elimine, pues resulta incomprensible.

En cuanto a la traducción, es una de las peores que he leído; no sólo demuestra falta de conocimiento de la lengua inglesa en muchos casos (numerosas palabras y expresiones traducidas erróneamente) sino un muy pobre dominio del castellano y una redacción torpe y ramplona que entorpece la lectura. La gramática no es un ideal arbitrario al que adherirse o no, o un tótem que deba ser venerado porque sí: es un instrumento que permite transmitir e interpretar un mensaje de manera clara y eficiente. Si está bien empleado, pasa inadvertido; nadie (o casi nadie) se maravilla porque se pongan bien las comas o porque el autor emplee correctamente los tiempos verbales. Naturalmente, siempre hay estilos mejores y que nos resultan más agradables, pero estamos hablando de corrección en la escritura, no de estilo o virtuosismo. En cambio, si la ortografía, la sintaxis o la gramática en general fallan, se nota de inmediato y el mejor relato se viene abajo, porque se dificultan la lectura y la comprensión. Es lo que ocurre aquí.

En suma, una obra muy recomendable en versión original. Si tienen paciencia o quieren jugar a “descubre el error de traducción”, pueden arriesgarse con esta edición española.

[Celia Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of short stories from many of the masters (and mistresses) of mystery stories, all of which qualify as English country house murder plots.

First, the introduction to this is fabulous, highlighting what the editor felt were the qualifications of a mystery in this category, and talking about variations (acceptable and otherwise...0

The stories in the collection have ups and downs for the individual reader, but getting a chance to read all of them in one place made it easy (and fascinating) to compare the way different authors handle the same basic elements (space, social structures, etc.) and the many ways those same core elements can come out.

If you like this particular corner of the genre, highly recommended reading.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is the case with many anthologies, there is something in here to please everyone. That also means any one reader is probably not going to love everything in here. And this was certainly true for me. There were many authors I had never heard of in this anthology but I enjoyed most of them to varying degrees. I appreciated his foreword on "defining" the English Country House mystery, though I found it humorous that many of the included stories seemed to deviate from his "rules". Overall, an enjoyable read. I liked that the stories were all short enough that one could read several at once or just pick and choose one at a time as a "palette cleanser" between other novels. Overall, this is a good collection and worth having/reading for any mystery lover.