Atomic Renaissance: Women Mystery Writers of the 1940s & 1950s by
Jeffrey Marks
hbk out September 03
Published by Delphi Books
at £13.99
After his enjoyable biography of Craig Rice, Who Was That Lady?, Jeffrey Marks has
produced a collection of essays about seven American female mystery writers of the
1940s and 1950s. The odd title of his new book stems from the proposition that, with
the coming of the nuclear age, 'an element of experimentation in American detective
fiction flourished, especially among women authors who found themselves excluded
from the private eye and spy fiction establishments. These women authors took the
crime novel in new and innovative directions.' Marks' magnificent seven 'moved the
genre forward into its rebirth', although he notes that 'their influences on later authors
are almost all that remains.' It must be said that the there is a considerable gulf in
literary quality between the best of the writers considered – to my mind, they are
unarguably Margaret Millar, Patricia Highsmith and Dorothy B. Hughes – and the
others. Nevertheless, it is fascinating to learn more about Leslie Ford, Phoebe Atwood
Taylor, Charlotte Armstrong and Mignon G. Eberhart. Taylor wrote several of her
best books before the 1940s and Highsmith was one of those who kept writing
successfully long after the 1950s. At least her flame continues to burn brightly thanks
to movie adaptations of her novels. Marks offers various interesting snippets. For
instance, I was intrigued to learn that the once-prolific Taylor married at 42 and soon
gave up writing for good. All too often books about crime fiction follow the same
well-trodden paths and Marks is to be congratulated on his fresh perspective, even if
Highsmith's career has now been chronicled in extraordinary depth in the biography
Beautiful Shadow. I would question his claim that 'English mystery writing changed
little after 1945'. Julian Symons, Margot Bennett and Shelley Smith were among
those who broke as much new ground as most of Marks' chosen authors. But he has
done crime fans a service by reminding us of the contribution made to the genre by
several under-estimated practitioners of conspicuous talent.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
Atomic Renaissance: Women Mystery Writers of the 1940s & 1950s by
Jeffrey Marks
