The Golden Age of Murder

The Golden Age of Murder is said to be the period of classic murder mystery novels – which was predominant in the 1920s and 1930s.  It was at the end of this period that Dame Agatha Christie and a number of fellow mystery writers decided to form the Detection Club.

Martin Edwards has chosen to investigate the mystery of the writers who invented the modern detective story with this excellent chronicle of the Detection Club. His investigation of the social and cultural history of the Detection Club is not told in a salacious manner. Instead traces the private and public lives of many writers and the way in which their behaviour had an effect on their writing and also their influences. The Detection Club, of course, occupies a unique place in the annals of Great Britain’s history of detective and mystery fiction.

Whilst it is clear that this book will appeal mostly to readers of Golden Age Classic novels, I would suggest that it is seen as much more than that.  This is a book that should be on the bookshelf of anybody who has an interest in the broader church of mystery and detective fiction.  It is full of information, illustrations and the minutiae that one has come to expect from Martin Edwards’ expertise.

This is a treasure trove and significant book that is bound to become a classic along the same lines of Julian Symons’s Bloody Murder. Whether or not you read classic golden age mysteries, The Golden Age of Murder is a fascinating read. Martin Edwards has written a rewarding and insightful book.  I for one am pleased to have a copy of my bookshelves.  It is simply brilliant!!