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The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories Patricia Craig

The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories By Patricia Craig

The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories by Patricia Craig


$26.99
Condition - Very Good
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Summary

A collection of 33 English detective stories, dating from the Sherlock Holmes stories of the 1890s to the present day. The authors include A.Conan Doyle, G.K.Chesterton, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L.Sayers, P.D.James, Ruth Rendell and many more.

The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories Summary

The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories by Patricia Craig

The detective story, with its roots in Poe's Chevalier Dupin mysteries and Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone, first achieved mass popularity in the 1890s with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Its success has a good deal to do with its pungency, and with its power to intrigue and absorb the reader while abiding by the rules of the genre (however flexible these have become). Every age has produced a kind of detective fiction which exemplifies its distinctive manners and customs, from the sedate tales which began to appear in the wake of Sherlock Holmes to the debonair detection of the 1920s and after. The sleuth short story took off in many directions, with such writers as Anthony Berkeley, Freeman Wills Crofts, Carter Dickson, and Edmund Crispin bringing the upmost expertise and ingenuity to bear on the detective theme. An increasing realism is apparent in the post-war era, though with no diminution in entertainment value, and as we come up to the present, the detective story has been adapted further to accommodate sexual comedy and other facets of modern life. This collection of 33 stories shows the scope, vigour, and enduring fascination of the detective story, as well as indicating its importance as a barometer of social attitudes and literary practices. It gathers together a wide range of stories, many unfamiliar by writers of the calibre of Agatha Christie, Julian Symons, Ngaio Marsh, G. K. Chesterton, P. D. James, Ruth Rendell, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Nicholas Blake, Michael Innes, and H. R. F. Keating.

The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories Reviews

'highly entertaining' John Mortimer, Mail on Sunday
'Essential for all armchair detectives, this collection of the cream of crime includes stories by Agatha Christie and P D James.' Publishing News
'According to W.H. Auden, reading detective stories is an addiction like tobacco or alcohol ... and this new collection of 33 stories will satisfy the most desperate of cravings.' Evening Advertiser
'in terms of sheer enjoyment ... a great deal to offer ... excellent introduction' Jeremy Lewis, New Statesman & Society
'Only la creme de la creme of detective fiction here ... a whole autumn's worth of the most enduringly popular stories with brief notes on each author.' Keith Taylor, Bristol Evening Post
'addicts should find plenty in this collection to keep them happy ... enjoyable book' Books
'an eminently representative volume ... a nice balance between Golden Age and Modern Age' Stephen Walsh, Oxford Times
'highly entertaining' John Mortimer, Mail on Sunday
'an anthology to set the pulse racing ' Barry Forshaw, Islington Gazette
'remind the reader of old favourites while introducing unfamiliar stories that may well become favourites of the future' Ion Trewin, Hampstead & Highgate Express
'In Patricia Craig's collection, covering roughly a century, there is something for everyone already addicted to the genre plus a risk of chronic intoxication for those who come new to it.' Matthew Coady, Guardian
'a selection that covers the history, development and best examples of some branch of writing ... There is no better anthology of this kind in existence.' F.E. Pardoe, Birmingham Post
'Thirty-six of the top writers entertain with fascinating and intriguing stories. Ideal to settle down with in a comfortable armchair in front of a roaring fire.' Yorkshire Gazette & Herald
'One can but raise a glass of mulled wine in salutation to the indefatigable Ms Craig for the assiduity and perspicacity of her gleanings and for the tender loving care with which she has presented them ... there are some classics of the genre to be found among these pages.' Michael Painter, Irish Times
'the collection affords an interesting overview of the development of the genre ... All these gems appear in other collections; unique to this one is the charm of finding them bound like a bible in OUP's august covers.' Michael Dibdin, Independent on Sunday
'meaty anthology' Rachel Laurence, Daily Post
'She has done well ... to include more or less every conceivable variation of plot and point of view.' Times Literary Supplement

About Patricia Craig

Freelance critic, reviewer and writer; author of You're a Brick, Angela! and The Lady Investigates (OPB 1986) both with Mary Cadogan

Table of Contents

The stir outside the Cafe Royal, Clarence Rook; silver blaze, Arthur Conan Doyle; the mysterious visitor, R.Austin Freeman; the case of Laker, absconded, Arthur Morrison; the oracle of the dog, G.K.Chesterton; the genuine tabard, E.C.Bentley; the dead leaves, H.C.Bailey; the mystery of the sleeping car express, Freeman Wills Crofts; the purple line, John Rhode; solved by inspection, Ronald Knox; the henpecked murderer, Roy Vickers; superintendent Wilson's holiday, G.D.H.Cole and M.Cole; the witness for the prosecution, Agatha Christie; the avenging chance, Anthony Berkeley; murder at Pentecost, Dorothy L.Sayers; death on the air, Ngaio Marsh; Miss Burnside's dilemma, Cyril Hare; Daisy Bell, Gladys Mitchell; three is a lucky number, Margery Allingham; the assassins' club, Nicholas Blake; the house in Goblin Wood, Carter Dickson; the furies, Michael Innes; the hornets' nest, Christianna Brand; the murderer, Julian Symons; the killing of Michael Finnegan, Michael Gilbert; murder at St.Oswald's, Michael Underwood; Great Aunt Allie's flypapers, P.D.James; Baker dies, Edmund Crispin and Geoffrey Bush; a dangerous thing, H.R.F.Keating; thornapple, Ruth Rendell; the Oxford way of death, Robert Barnard; bring back the cat, Reginald Hill; how's your mother?, Simon Brett.

Additional information

GOR001738711
9780192141873
0192141872
The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories by Patricia Craig
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Oxford University Press
19900913
576
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

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