Fans of British Writers discussion

We've mentioned various British mystery writers on a couple of our other threads, so I thought a thread devoted to the genre might be interesting. Although I like mysteries, I haven't read as much in that area as I have in some others, so I might pick up some reading suggestions here. :-)

Though the literary mystery was the creation of an American, Edgar Allan Poe, it was in late Victorian and Edwardian England that the genre was first truly popularized, in the hands of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His fictional sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, is of course a world famous archetype of the fictional detective, immortalized not only in Doyle's own Holmes canon, but in countless pastiches. Less well-known, but well worth a mention, is the work in this field of Doyle's contemporary, G. K. Chesterton, whose most famous series detective is the prototypical clerical sleuth, Father Brown. (I've read --and recommend-- all of the Holmes novels and many of the stories; my acquaintance with Father Brown is limited to a single story, but I hope to remedy that later this summer!)

Some people regard the period between the World Wars as the Golden Age of the mystery genre. British authors were at the forefront of that trend, and none was more deservedly famous than Agatha Christie, creator of, among others, Hercules Poirot and Jane Marple. Titled detective Lord Peter Wimsey, the creation of Christie's contemporary Dorothy Sayers, is a worthy fictional peer of the latter two. I've read some (though nowhere near all) of the adventures of each of these three, and can recommend them, too!

In the generations following World War II, too many British mystery writers have flourished to name them all in a single post. Perhaps one whose achievement stands out more than at least some others (and whom I can also claim to have read :-)) is Dame Edith Pargeter, whose mystery writing was done as Ellis Peters. The whole burgeoning field of the historical mystery, a combination of the mystery and historical fiction genres, owes its existence (as something other than a pastiche of older classics) to her medieval Brother Cadfael novels, beginning with the excellent A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977).

Consider this thread your launching pad for comments, questions, and general discussions of any and all British mystery writers and their works! Who are some of your favorites, or recommendations? For those of you who like this genre, what are some of the features that draw you to it? And what are some of the qualities and characteristics that appeal to you in particular writers?

One correction to the above --I've read two Father Brown stories! I was thinking of "The Blue Cross;" but I'd forgotten that I read "The Invisible Man" some years earlier. That one is in a very thick anthology called Great English Short Stories, which I've been dipping into over the years at the library where I work. That book's a treasure trove, and I hope to finish it and review it here on Goodreads by sometime next year.

I am currently reading A Taste For Death by PD James......an Adam Dalgliesh mystery. I consider James one of the finest British mystery writers of the last 40 years.
I am also a great fan of the "golden age" of Christie and Sayres and have read a multitude of their books. I recently started re-reading the Holmes canon and found that I was not as enthralled by those stories as I was previously. (I expect to be banned from this group for that statement!!!!)
Edmund Crispin is another author whose books I enjoy as well as those by Ngaio Marsh (although she is from New Zealand I think she still qualifies to be included here).

No, Jill, we don't ban anybody over what books they don't like (or like)! Diversity is the spice of life, and of literary discussion. :-)

Like many lads and lassies from Down Under, Marsh lived in England for several years as a young woman. (That's a common practice that keeps the connection with the mother country strong, and gives young people a chance to see more of the world.) All or most of her novels are set in England, and feature British characters.

Werner wrote: "No, Jill, we don't ban anybody over what books they don't like (or like)! Diversity is the spice of life, and of literary discussion. :-)

Like many lads and lassies from Down Under, Marsh lived i..."

I have been struggling with the fact that the Holmes stories are not as appealing to me as they once were. They are such a linchpin of the British mystery genre and I read them voraciously and with delight many years ago. But now, when Holmes says things such as "I see that you were writing a letter at 3:00 while visiting your son in Bath, who was wearing a brown suit, has a slight limp and was once a student at Balliol where he enjoyed playing bezique", I groan. I don't feel half as guilty admitting that I don't always enjoy Henry James but I am swimming against tide of popular opinion in the case of Conan Doyle. But as you stated, diversity of opinion makes for good discussion.

Well, our literary tastes can change over time, as we change with broadening perspectives and developing interests. Personally, I rather like Holmes' flair for deduction from close observation of minute details (though the chain of conclusions in your example is a bit extreme). I'm with you on Henry James, though!

Werner wrote: "Well, our literary tastes can change over time, as we change with broadening perspectives and developing interests. Personally, I rather like Holmes' flair for deduction from close observation of ..."


I have tried to readThe Turn of the Screw on three different occasions but just can't seem to get involved. Since I have so many books on my "to read or re-read" list, I have given up on James
I am now taking a break from history and am in my British mystery/police procedural phase which I am enjoying immensely. But The Boer War by Pankenham is waiting in the wings.

Jill, believe it or not, The Turn of the Screw is actually one of James' better writings (which gives you an idea of what the worst ones might be like!). I'm a sucker for supernatural fiction, so I liked it pretty well --but I'd be the first to admit that James' stylistic drawbacks aren't everybody's cup of tea, and I suspect I'd have liked it better if somebody with a more straightforward style had taken his idea and done the actual writing. :-)

Well, yesterday I finished reading Chesterton's The Innocence of Father Brown, the first of several of his story collections featuring his clerical detective, and I'm increasingly impressed with his contribution to this genre! For those interested, my review of this collection can be read at http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... .

Werner wrote: "Well, yesterday I finished reading Chesterton's The Innocence of Father Brown, the first of several of his story collections featuring his clerical detective, and I'm increasingly impressed with hi..."

This link didn't work for me. I tried it twice. I can probably get there some other way tho.

Alice, that link works now --I'd left out a slash, and the computer is very unforgiving of little typos like that! Thanks for bringing this to my attention; I'd meant to test the link after I first posted it, but obviously I forgot to!

OK! Got it and was able to read it thanks. Father Brown sounds intriguing. I was not able to get to the review from your page as I thought I would be able to do but you know me...

Brain Fog

I just created a quiz, "Classic Mysteries of the Golden Age". Give it a try.........its not very hard but it is fun to remember those British writers who gave us such joy.

Jill, do you have a link? (I know, I'm lazy! :-) )

It's a lazy Sunday for us all............go to "quizzes" on top under "explore" and look for the quiz name. That should take you there. If not, let me know and I will create a link.

Found it, Jill! Duh-- I've used the "explore" feature before to find lists; I should have figured to look there for quizzes, too. :-) I'll try to take the quiz sometime tomorrow.

Well, Jill, I took your quiz and correctly answered all the questions I attempted! The problem was that I had to skip seven out of ten, for a correct score of 30% (which on any normal grading scale would be a F). I'd say it's "not very hard" if you're much better read in the classic British mysteries than I am; but if you're a tyro like me, it's pretty challenging. :-) So, come on, fellow Fans of British Writers --with the benchmark I set, you won't have much trouble beating my score!

The golden age British mystery is one of my favorite genres and I always have one book by the bed for that type of reading.........but I'm certainly not learned, just an addict!!!! I got a little sick of the "Twilight" quizzes that seem to abound on the quiz boards (everyone to their own taste) and wanted to add something a little different. I also have a Nero Wolfe quiz on there as well and am planning to add a British history related quiz.

Good work, Jill! (And though I'm a Twilight series fan, I don't get into the plethora of Twilight-related quizzes, either. :-) )

I just finished The Man in the Queueby Josephine Tey. I believe it was her first mystery and although I enjoyed it, the identification of the killer was just a little too pat for me.....one of those "the murderer is revealed to be someone who confesses in the last chapter and has no part in the story to that point". That type of solution became cliched over the years but I guess it was novel at the time the book was written. I like Tey's books, so I'll give her a pass on this one.

Jill wrote: "I just finished The Man in the Queueby Josephine Tey. I believe it was her first mystery and although I enjoyed it, the identification of the killer was just a little too pat for me...."

Hi Jill:
yup, her first mystery is a fairly stodgy one, but she gets LOTS better in the second SHILLING FOR CANDLES 1936. *Trust* me...! (grin) Alfred Hitchcock made a rather strange movie from SHILLING in the late 1930s, but he used minor characters almost completely (no Grant) and it was awfully close in feeling to 39 STEPS - not one of his successes. Book is far better. (IMDB says the movie was THE GIRL WAS YOUNG, 1937).

Oh yes.....love A Shilling for Candles and just about everything she wrote. I think when we look at the very early books from our favorite mystery writers, some of the methods used seem like a cliche.....but were not at the time of the writing. They were innovators and set the bar for those to follow.

Many members of this group have probably been following (via your daily group updates) the discussion thread for Murder on the Orient Express, one of our common read alternate selections this month. (Though so far, it's a "discussion" with only one person posting. :-( ) But even so, I thought the book deserves a mention, and high recommendation, on this thread, too! It's definitely one of Christie's best works, and justly considered a classic of the genre.

My favourite mystery writers are mostly the classic British mystery authors- Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Josephine Tey, and I have just begun to read the Father Brown.

Yes, then there's Jasper Fforde! I have given myself a personal challenge to read the books mentioned in his works. It should take me a few years! I have just started rereading his books this spring.