Great Irish Detective Stories.

by Peter Haining (Editor / Contributor), William Trevor (Contributor), Gerald Griffin (Contributor)

26 tales from many of Ireland's leading writers not normally associated with detective fiction, such as William Trevor, Elizabeth Bowen, James Joyce and many others. "Did you know that an Irishman wrote a detective story fourteen years before Edgar Allan Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue?"

Genres: Short Stories, Ireland, Fiction

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Peter Alexander Haining was an English journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk. Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library.

Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.

In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).

He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a sometimes resident and frequent visitor to Ireland, and a big fan of several mystery novelists associated with Ireland by birth, residency, or fictional geography, this book was instantly appealing. Most importantly, it promised to introduce me to a group of new to me authors of mystery/detective stories with the hope that at least one of them would appeal enough to pursue their other works.

Editor Peter Haining has done great work in gathering together stories from more than two dozen authors whose work reflects both the birth years of modern crime fiction in the 19th Century right up to the 1990s when the anthology was published. He has gathered them together under four headings: Foul Play: Stories of Murder and Death; Law Breaking: Cases of Theft and Robbery; Crime Passionel: Tales of Jealousy and Revenge; and, The Detectives: Police and Private Investigators. This gives the reader a pretty complete array of mystery/crime genres from police procedurals to the almost supernatural (which even the great Conan Doyle dabbled with in several stories). The writers whose works are presented here include James Joyce, Nicholas Blake, Flann O’Brien, Brendan Behan, Sean O’Faolain, Liam O’Flaherty, Peter Tremayne, and Cathal O Sandair.

I did follow up on at least one author included here with only mixed success in that the Victorian period novel did not in my opinion hold up well in the 21st Century – as interesting as it was to sample that era’s state of the art! Still looking to explore a few of the others further but I certainly have no complaints about the opportunities presented to again visit Ireland and its numerous interesting locales and historical periods reflected in these pages.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good assortment of short detective fiction by Irtish writers. Some good stories, some drag on, some easy to see the case, some very good indeed; especially the longer story which challenges the reader to solve the crime.

[Julie Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book introduced me to a lot of great authors who will be added to my list to read more of.

[Jolie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The usual mix. Some good, some not.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this excellent group of Irish Detective stories. Will be looking for books by some of these authors. Definitely recommend.