Queens of Crime – The Golden Age of Mystery

I mentioned in a previous post a few of the reasons why I love reading mystery novels so very much. I thought I’d follow that up with a brief introduction to a few of my favourite mystery authors – consider this a bit of a primer for anyone who’s considering dipping their toes into the genre. And because I’m a feminist, I’m going to start with the so-called “Queens of Crime”, four British (well, three British and one Kiwi) women who dominated the crime fiction genre in the 1920’s and 1930’s. These four women challenged cultural norms, asserted themselves in a predominantly male-dominated world, achieved incredible success in a traditionally masculine field, and also happened to write very enjoyable mystery novels, in addition to other literary works. In other words, these were some pretty fierce trailblazing ladies.

Agatha Christie

Need I say more? Ms. Christie remains one of the best-selling novelists in the English language, and her impressive catalogue includes novels, short stories and plays. Two of her best-known characters are Miss Marple, an elderly spinster with an eye for clues, and Hercule Poirot, a quirky Belgian detective who relies on the superior deductive powers of his “little grey cells”. Christie’s characters tend to rely on observation and psychological understanding rather than hard evidence to solve crimes, and the mysteries are often resolved with the help of a dramatic “drawing room” scene, in which the hero gathers all the suspects into a room before revealing the identity of the criminal. Her works represent the classic who-dunnit at its most entertaining, if not necessarily its most intellectually challenging, and are a perfect starting point for new mystery readers.

Where to start:

Ngaio Marsh

New Zealander Ngaio Marsh was the author of 32 mystery novels starring British policeman Roderick Alleyn. Though she achieved international success as a writer, Marsh’s true passion was the theatre. A strong, fiercely independent woman who never married, it seems fitting that Inspector Alleyn’s wife, Troy, is herself a highly independent, well-educated and capable woman who achieves her own considerable success independent of her husband as a respected artist. This is no case of insta-love – Troy resists Alleyn’s advanced for a considerable period, and even after her marriage she is commonly referred to as “Troy”, which is actually her maiden name (her first name is Agatha!). Definitely a series that deserves much more love.  

Dorothy L. Sayers

Feminist, academic (she was one of the first women to graduate from Oxford), noted wit and successful mystery writer – Dorothy L. Sayers is truly a woman worth knowing. Like Marsh, her novels feature a male protagonist and a strong, intelligent and independent female partner, who share a relationship based on mutual respect and admiration. While Lord Peter Wimsey is the star of Sayers’ mystery novels, and is a very likeable character in his own right, it is his eventual wife, Harriet Vane, who is my personal favourite. Like Sayers, Harriet is a mystery writer, which was a bit of a scandalous career for a woman at the time. She’s also university graduate, and is thrown into Wimsey’s world when she becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her lover – oh my!

Where to start:

Margery Allingham

I’ll have to admit that of all the Queens of Crime, Allingham is the one I’m the least familiar with. I’ve seen a few adaptations of her novels on television, but I’ve only read one or two of her novels. Like Wimsey and Alleyn, Allingham’s protagonist Albert Campion is an upper-crust sleuth, who stars in 17 novels. Campion is a mysterious character whose slightly dim-witted exterior masks a highly intelligent mind.

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I hope I’ve inspired you to get better acquainted with these great ladies of mystery, and to explore the writings of a group of trailblazing women who dominated their field and left an indelible literary legacy.