The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:13th Sep '90
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
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.
'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
ISBN: 9780192141873
Dimensions: 224mm x 147mm x 41mm
Weight: 927g
576 pages