Masters Of Mystery by
Martin Radcliffe
hbk out June 04
Published by Do Not Press
at £15
A large compendium of classical stories of crime and detection, compiled
by Martin Radcliffe, whose ten-page introduction is a worth-while read in
itself. He traces the mystery story back to the 18th century and beyond, for
one of the first such yarns was recounted by Herodotus.
This extensive collection is mainly Victorian in vintage, but creeps up
into the first quarter of the twentieth century to authors such as Arnold
Bennett, Austin Freeman and G K Chesterton.
Radcliffe agrees that Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 'Murders in the Rue
Morgue' is usually acknowledged as the first milestone in the genre, but
sets it an already existing context of other writers. In more than 500
pages, there is a wide spectrum of styles and themes, from Dickens to
Doyle, from Mark Twain to Baroness Orczy.
A jolly good read and if you value a book by its weight, it's a bargain,
worth half the price for the introduction alone. The last page is by
Monsignor Ronald Knox, the senior Catholic priest who not only re-
translated the Bible, but wrote many detective novels. In 1929, he
propounded the 'Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction' which remain
very relevant for writers and readers today - though perhaps Number Five
is a little politically incorrect, as it dictates that 'No Chinaman must
figure in the story'!
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
Masters Of Mystery by
Martin Radcliffe
