Bodies from the Library
Selected Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense by Masters of the Golden Age
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Narrated by:
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Philip Bretherton
About this listen
This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together a selection of tales by masters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Agatha Christie crime story that has not been seen since 1922.
At a time when crime and thriller writing has once again overtaken the sales of general and literary fiction, Bodies from the Library unearths lost stories from the Golden Age, that period between the World Wars when detective fiction captured the public’s imagination and saw the emergence of some of the world’s cleverest and most popular storytellers.
This audio anthology brings together the majority of forgotten tales from the book Bodies from the Library, from the 1920s to the 1950s, by masters of the Golden Age including Cyril Hare, Freeman Wills Crofts and A.A. Milne,
Most anticipated of all are the contributions by women writers: the first detective story by Georgette Heyer, unseen since 1923; an unpublished story by Christianna Brand, creator of Nanny McPhee; and a dark tale by Agatha Christie published only in an Australian journal in 1922 during her ‘Grand Tour’ of the British Empire.
With other stories by Detection Club stalwarts Anthony Berkeley, H.C. Bailey, J.J. Connington and John Rhode, plus Vincent Cornier, Leo Bruce, Roy Vickers and Arthur Upfield, this essential collection harks back to a time before forensic science – when murder was a complex business.
Continue the series
Critic reviews
‘A veritable treasure trove of classic short stories. The star line up includes Agatha Christie, Cyril Hare and Georgette Heyer, but the best of the bunch are the second rank authors’ Daily Mail
‘I think I've learned more from [Tony Medawar’s] researches than from the research of any other Golden Age fan’ Martin Edwards, doyouwriteunderyourownname.blogspot.co.uk
‘A stunning array of lost stories’ Puzzle Doctor, classicmystery.wordpress.com
‘An interesting and varied collection of short stories. It is impossible to select just one favourite … It was also great to enjoy stories by writers I had not previously liked.’ CrossExaminingCrime
New and Old
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Unfortunately, I cannot say that of the stories themselves. I'd say the hit rate was 50/50 and by the end I realised why some of these stories were 'lost' or not previously available; they aren't particularly good. They also display their magazine short-story origins when available content rather than quality was probably the order of the day, hence the 3*** review.
However, within this collection there are some excellent stories. Probably ideal for long walks.
Recommended for only those who love 'Golden Age'.
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24 Carat Golden Age
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Collecting storys from authors of the golden age of mystery, ones that maybe haven't been heard before or only published in one or two places many years ago.
It's a great way to find authors you haven't heard of before and to listen to some of the lesser known works by other more famous authors.
The summary of the authors lives and works is also really interesting as it's given me insight into them and also made me realise just how prolific in different areas a lot of them were.
Highly recommended and will be getting the others in the series, and listening to again and again.
Fantastic
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Excellent
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