Overview

The complete collection of published short stories of Edmund Crispin, together in one volume for the first time. ‘Detective stories are anti-social. It’s quite impossible to suppose that criminals don’t collect useful information from them, fantastic and far-fetched though they usually are.’ Gervase Fen disagrees with such a pompous assessment. If criminals studied detective stories properly, they would get away with . . . well . . . murder. Forty-six detective stories by the great Edmund Crispin – a splendid hoard! Most of them feature his Oxford don, Gervase Fen, and Inspector Humbleby of Scotland Yard, and the cases turn upon a fine assortment of clues – dandelions and hearing aids, a bloodstained cat and a Leonardo drawing, a corpse with an alibi and a truly poisonous letter . . . there seems no limit to the intricacy of Edmund Crispin’s invention or the sparkle of his wit. Compiled from Beware of the Trains, Fen Country and other disparate sources, and concluding with the recently discovered Christmas novella The Hours of Darkness, this is a long-overdue treasury of original, often startling and invariably entertaining tales by one of the acknowledged masters of the detective story. Erudite and complex, succinct yet leisurely, it is classic crime at its finest.

Full Product Details

9780008530662

Table of Contents

Reviews

'Both the mature and the discerning young choose to pick up one of Crispin's beautifully turned crime novels' The Times 'Crispin isn't in it for the mystery, but for the enigmas' Guardian 'His books are full of high spirits and excellent jokes, with constant literary allusions and an atmosphere of bibulous good humour. But at times the mood turns darker, and Crispin is capable of passages of both genuine suspense and ingenius deduction' Daily Telegraph 'Crispin is noted for an ability to embellish clever story lines with Marx Brothers touches' New York Times 'Rightly elevated to classic status' New York Sun

‘A terrific book. If you haven't read Crispin before, and in particular if you're a fan of short stories, you're in for a treat.’ MARTIN EDWARDS ‘The ideal bedside book: read for ten minutes, go to sleep with a smile and a shiver—thanks to the immense wit and effortless storytelling knack of Edmund Crispin.’ Kirkus Reviews ‘The neatest dirty tricks since Poirot packed it in … The least of these fables are expert; the best gleam with an effortless wit and cheeriness.’ Philadelphia Inquirer ‘His books are full of high spirits and excellent jokes, with constant literary allusions and an atmosphere of bibulous good humour. But at times the mood turns darker, and Crispin is capable of passages of both genuine suspense and ingenious deduction.’ Daily Telegraph ‘Crispin is noted for an ability to embellish clever story lines with Marx Brothers touches.’ New York Times ‘Rightly elevated to classic status.’ New York Sun

Author Information

Robert Bruce Montgomery was born in Buckinghamshire in 1921, and was a Golden Age crime writer as well as a successful concert pianist and composer. Under the pseudonym Edmund Crispin, he wrote 9 novels featuring Oxford detective Gervase Fen and 46 short stories. A member of the famous Detection Club and neighbour of Agatha Christie, he was a renowned crime reviewer and contributed to many periodicals and newspapers, and a noted sci-fi anthologist. After the golden years of the 1950s he retired from the limelight to Devonshire until his death in 1978.

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