Tying in with the fourth Bodies From The Library conference on 16 June 2018, Tony Medawar has compiled this exciting new anthology of rare stories by Golden Age greats, bringing together 13 tales for the first time in book form.  These orphaned works come mainly from magazines and newspapers that are now almost impossible to find. 

The book will be available in hardback and features this stunning cover by Holly MacDonald. 

It is intended that copies will be available to buy at the conference, taking place once again at the British Library. 

So what are you waiting for? 

Book your tickets today while the Early Bird Discount is still available. 

There are now less than two weeks before the Early Bird discount on the purchase of tickets for the 2018 Bodies From The Library conference ends. Don’t delay and miss out on the reduced price. Tickets also make a super Christmas treat for the Golden Age Detective Fiction Fan in your life that they can look forward to long after the last mince pie has been digested and the last slice of turkey has been despatched.

It couldn’t be easier to take advantage of the offer while it still lasts. All you have to do is click on the Buy Tickets button next to this post.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
from
The Bodies From The Library Team

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is  eligible for its bus-pass as it is currently in its 65th year of its continuous run in the West End. Whether or not it should be pensioned off, as some unkind critics suggest, is a debate for another occasion but, I would argue strongly it is not the best Christie currently on the London stage. That honour I would unequivocally give to Witness for the Prosecution which is being staged in the old Council Chamber at London’s County Hall – the former seat of local government in the city.

This production, which has just been extended to run until September 2018, is a theatrical tour de force. The setting is redolent of the heated past debates which have taken place in the chamber and has been superbly transformed into the claustrophobic courtroom setting for the trial of Leonard Vole – played with appropriate mix of weakness and bravado by Jack McMullen. Catherine Steadman takes the eponymous role of Leonard’s wife Romaine and plays the audience with a powerful sense of drama through to the play’s shocking conclusion.

The experience was heightened for me by being Juror 12, and though I cannot give away the verdict (read out by Juror 1, another audience member, who stuck strictly to the script), it became clear that, for Christie, the barristers and judges in a courtroom are indeed very much like players in a theatrical production, addressing their pre-prepared lines to their audience – the jury – with every intention of swaying them emotionally to believe in their story, whether it be fact or fiction.

Even if you have seen the play before – or the excellent 1957 film (with Marlene Dietrich in the title role) – this production has tricks up its sleeve which make it, for me, a far better version than the recent TV adaptation and one that is much more true to the spirit of Christie.

I have been giving some thought to what Christmas presents to give to friends who are fans of Golden Age Detective Fiction. A big problem is trying to find something they haven’t already got on their bookshelves. With this in mind, here are the solutions I have come up with:

Fiction 

Foreign Bodies

A century before Scandi noir, writers across Europe and beyond were publishing detective stories of high quality. Often these did not appear in English and they have been known only by a small number of experts. These fascinating stories give an insight into the cosmopolitan cultures (and crime writing traditions) of diverse places including Mexico, France, Russia, Germany and the Netherlands.

Trent’s Last Case 

Called by Agatha Christie “one of the best detective stories ever written” and newly republished in hardback under Harper Collins Crime Club imprint (at a bargain price of £9.99).

Rogues’ Holiday

The first of the lost Margery Allingham thrillers written as serials under the pseudonym Maxwell March has now been republished by ipso Books. J K Rowling says “My favourite of the four Queens of Crime is Allingham.”

Ye Olde Book of Locked Room Conumdrums

  
If you like your rooms locked and your crimes impossible then this collection of some of the finest (and least frequently reprinted) stories is for you. Its stories span the period from 440BC to 1918 and, best of all, it is abailable to download absolutely free. What is stopping you?

Non-fiction

Agatha Christie’s Complete Secret Notebooks

A fascinating insight into the working methods of the most successful author of the Golden Age by arguably the leading authority on her works. It contains many revelations, not least the discarded endings from a number of her books, deleted scenes and even which famous Poirot novel started life as a Miss Marple adventure.

The Golden Age of Murder

Now out in paperback and updated this tells the history of the Detection Club and its members – the great writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It won the Edgar, Agatha, Macavity, H R F Keating and Oscar awards in the year of its first publication (ok, I lied about the Oscar).

No Spoilers!

Analyses Christie’s Poirot and Miss Marple stories to reveal key differences in their solutions (without ever giving away whodunnit), examines trends in locked room mysteries and considers Golden Age Detective Fiction as popular culture giving insights into society and culture between the wars.