H.C. Bailey's Reggie Fortune and the Golden Age of Detective Fiction

H.C. Bailey's Reggie Fortune and the Golden Age of Detective Fiction
Author: Laird R. Blackwell
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2017-07-07
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476629587

H.C. Bailey's detective Reggie Fortune was one of the most popular protagonists of the Golden Age of detective fiction. Fortune appeared in nine novels yet it was in a series of 84 short stories that were published from 1920 to 1940 where he truly shone, combining elements of several popular archetypes--the eccentric logician, the forensic investigator, the hard-boiled interrogator, the psychological profiler, the defender of justice. This critical study examines the Fortune stories in the context of other popular detective fiction of the era. Bailey's classics are distinguished by well-clued puzzles, brilliant sleuthing, vivid description and social critique, with Fortune evoking images of Don Quixote and the Arthurian Knights in his pursuit of truth and justice in an uncaring world.

Call Mr. Fortune

Call Mr. Fortune
Author: H. C. Bailey
Publisher: Standard Ebooks
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2024-03-15T18:29:43Z
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Call Mr. Fortune is the first set of short stories featuring Reggie Fortune, a detective who solves mysteries using his medical talent and “unequaled sanity of judgment.” The first case finds him suspecting that his patient might have been a victim of a failed assassination. In “The Hottentot Venus,” Mr. Fortune’s investigation into some incidents at his acquaintance’s all-girls school leads him into a predicament; meanwhile, what seems to be an ordinary leak scandal in “The Business Minister” is soon complicated by the discovery of a dead body, which seems to be unrelated to the leak, yet holds the key to the truth. Each of the cases in the collection characterizes Mr. Fortune as not only an extraordinary detective, but also an excellent doctor. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

Bodies from the Library 4

Bodies from the Library 4
Author: Ngaio Marsh
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2021-09-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0008380988

This annual anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a short novel by Christianna Brand.

H.C. Bailey's Reggie Fortune and the Golden Age of Detective Fiction

H.C. Bailey's Reggie Fortune and the Golden Age of Detective Fiction
Author: Laird R. Blackwell
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2017-07-14
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476670692

H.C. Bailey's detective Reggie Fortune was one of the most popular protagonists of the Golden Age of detective fiction. Fortune appeared in nine novels yet it was in a series of 84 short stories that were published from 1920 to 1940 where he truly shone, combining elements of several popular archetypes--the eccentric logician, the forensic investigator, the hard-boiled interrogator, the psychological profiler, the defender of justice. This critical study examines the Fortune stories in the context of other popular detective fiction of the era. Bailey's classics are distinguished by well-clued puzzles, brilliant sleuthing, vivid description and social critique, with Fortune evoking images of Don Quixote and the Arthurian Knights in his pursuit of truth and justice in an uncaring world.

The Metaphysical Mysteries of G.K. Chesterton

The Metaphysical Mysteries of G.K. Chesterton
Author: Laird R. Blackwell
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2018-08-03
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476631379

G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories are widely considered to be some of the finest detective short stories ever published, offering vivid writing, brilliant puzzles, biting social criticism, and metaphysical explorations of life's great questions. This book presents the first in-depth analysis of his works both as classics of the detective genre and as meaningful philosophical inquiries. The Father Brown stories are examined along with Chesterton's less well known fiction, including the short stories about Mr. Pond, Gabriel Gale, Basil and Rupert Grant, Horne Fisher, Dr. Adrian Hyde and Philip Swayne, and the novels The Man Who Was Thursday and Manalive.

Doctor-Detectives in the Mystery Novel

Doctor-Detectives in the Mystery Novel
Author: Howard Brody
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 375
Release: 2021-01-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1527564800

This is the first book to offer a critical analysis of one variant of the mystery story or novel—the use of a physician as the major detective. There is little difference between a medical “case study” and a mystery story. The book reviews the works of major authors, from R. Austin Freeman, Helen McCloy, Josephine Bell, and H.C. Bailey, to Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs, Aaron Elkins, and Colin Cotterill, with briefer reviews of minor authors. It also addresses historical (fictional) physician detectives, psychological detectives, and physician detective nonfiction. Physicians and health workers are avid readers of detective fiction and will welcome this volume, which addresses their specific interests. Its critical analysis of books that have long been viewed as central to detective fiction will also appeal to fans of the mystery story.

Frederic Dannay, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story

Frederic Dannay, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story
Author: Laird R. Blackwell
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2019-02-21
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476635617

Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) was--with his partner Manfred Lee--the creator of the Ellery Queen detective novels and short stories. Dannay was also a literary historian and critic, and the editor of the renowned Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Queen--both a pen name and the fictional protagonist of the stories--was also a vital force behind the continuing popularity of crime fiction in the early to mid-20th century, after the deaths of Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Melville Davisson Post, and other Old Masters of the genre. This book presents the first critical study of Ellery Queen's role in the preservation of the detective short story. Many of the writers, characters and stories EQMM championed are covered, including such celebrated authors as Allingham, Ambler, Ellin, Innes, Vickers, and even William Butler Yeats.

Twelve Englishmen of Mystery

Twelve Englishmen of Mystery
Author: Earl F. Bargainnier
Publisher: Popular Press
Total Pages: 340
Release: 1984
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9780879722500

There are hundreds of satisfactory and satisfying British mystery writers whose works should be studied both for their own individual accomplishments and for their comments on the society in which they were published, in the last 150 years, but who have not received any critical comment lately. This volume is designed to correct that fault in a dozen of those unjustifiably neglected British authors: Wilkie Collins, A.E.W. Mason, G.K. Chesterton, H.C. Bailey, Anthony Berkeley Cox, Nicholas Blake, Michael Gilbert, Julian Symons, Dick Francis, Edmund Crispin, H.R.F. Keating, and Simon Brett.

The Supernatural and Fantastic in Short Detective Fiction

The Supernatural and Fantastic in Short Detective Fiction
Author: Laird R. Blackwell
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2020-11-23
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476681287

Although fantasy and supernatural literature have long and celebrated histories, many critics contend that the fantastic and the supernatural have no place in the logical, rational, world of the detective story. This book is the first extensive study of the fantastic in detective fiction and it explores the highly debated question of whether detective fiction and the fantastic can comfortably coexist. The "locked room" mystery--which often uses the fantastic as a red herring to eventually be debunked by reason and logic--has long been among the most popular subgenres of detective fiction. This book also explores stories featuring almost supernaturally gifted detectives, stories where the supernatural is truly encountered, and stories with ambiguous endings. Close to 500 detective stories from 1841 to 2000, in which the fantastic or supernatural plays a central role, are discussed and analyzed. Although not all the stories are judged to be successful as detective tales, in the great majority, the fantastic enlivens the tale and deepens the mystery without weakening the detective elements.

Settling Scores: Sporting Mysteries

Settling Scores: Sporting Mysteries
Author: Martin Edwards
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2020-07-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1464212856

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder "The detective story is a game between two players, the author...and the reader."—Ronald Knox From the squash court to the golf links, the football pitch to the swimming pool and the race course to the cricket square, no court, grounds, stadium or stand is safe from skullduggery. Entering the arena where sport clashes with crime, this spirited medley of short stories showcases the greatest deadly plays and criminal gambits of the mystery genre. With introductions by Editor Martin Edwards and stories by some of the finest writers in the field—including Celia Fremlin, Michael Gilbert, Gladys Mitchell, and Leo Bruce—this new anthology offers a ringside view of the darker side of sports and proves that crime, naturally, is a game for all seasons.