On Amazon I looked at excepts from the book, which had fourteen contributors. Naturally I was curious to see which authors made the cut, so to speak. And naturally I was especially interested in authors of classical Golden Age detective fiction.
Here they are (all these authors were alive and publishing in the Golden Age, c. 1920-1939, even though Arthur B. Reeve, for example, is considered more pre-GA):
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| 100 crime writers in under 400 pages |
Mignon Eberhart
Erle Stanley Gardner
C. Daly King
Ellery Queen
Arthur B. Reeve
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Rex Stout
S. S. Van Dine
Carolyn Wells
Conveniently, they number to ten (William Faulkner shows up too, though his contribution to genuine mystery/crime genre writing is slight relative to his overall body of work). There are about the same number of hard-boiled/noir writers from the same period (no George Harmon Coxe though).
So what do you think? Would these be your choices, were you limited to ten?
Exclusively pre-Golden Age, by the way, we have Jacques Futrelle (d. 1912) and Edgar Allan Poe (d. 1849). Among more recent writers I was glad to see our crime fiction power couples Margaret Millar and Ross Macdonald and Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini.
I also was pleased, incidentally, to see how many of these writers I have written about on this blog:
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| John Dickson Carr one of the 100 |
John Dickson Carr
John Dickson Carr (and John Street)
Mignon Eberhart
Ellery Queen
Mary Roberts Rinehart
William Faulkner
William Faulkner
Ross Macdonald
Bill Pronzini
Bill Pronzini
Not bad for a ten-month-old blog, I think! There's also my Carolyn Wells pieces on Mystery*File, those were great fun. Anyway, as is evident from these pieces, I have my own opinions of the GA authors included in 100 American Crime Writers, but what about you?
No Craig Rice? No Phoebe Atwood Taylor? Just goes to show that comedy is not respected :(
ReplyDeleteJeff, thanks much for the comment.
ReplyDeleteMike Ripley mentioned the omission of Rice in his review of the book. I think you make a good point about PA Taylor too. She was not just a humorist but a regionalist as well: I think that was important.
What... what's this? Margaret Millar *existed*??? They've heard of C. Daly King??? John Dickson Carr counts as American??? O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, for a book that limits itself to 100 American crime authors, it's really a stupdendous feat for so much space to be devoted to these writers. I'm particularly glad to see Margaret Millar included. But egad, the price!!! That's more than I paid for a print copy of your book *and* a Kindle edition (of which, BTW, I'm finally coming near the end)!
I wonder if they mentioned Anna Katherine Green? Pre-GAD but her stories hold up very well!
ReplyDeletePatrick,
ReplyDeleteYes, talk about sticker shock! Even the Kindle version is nearly seventy.
I was pleased too to see Margaret Millar, but it seems Charlotte Armstrong didn't make it, a significant omission I would say.
Wow, you bought the paperback and the Kindle of my book, that really is going above and beyond!
Jeff,
Nope, no Anna Katharine Green, it appears. That omission is rather a whopper. I often complain about the omission of male classical detection writers, but there's no denying the importance of AKG in the 19th century especially.
The news speaks for itself: it is a list and as such is subject to the judgment of the author. It is therefore relative. In addition, any list of authors is always relative. So, it is better not to give importance to these lists, and try to formulate a rather personal, after reading as much as possible. I, for example, beyond important writers as Daly King, I would have noticed the absence of Rex Stout in your blog. Point out that the book I bought (but I do not even care to do so, for the reason already given). Also, my judgment is relative, as expressed by me, a judgment can be diametrically opposed. In other words, each of us creates his lists!
ReplyDeleteFor example, Curt, Rufus King is mentioned in this list? Abbot? Latimer? I do not know.
ReplyDeletePietro,
ReplyDeleteThere are about a dozen hard-boiled authors from the 1930s-1940s as I recall, including Latimer. No Rufus King, no Abbot. C. Daly King seems to be the only real surprise of sorts on the list, but it does seem sort of odd to me to include C. Daly and not Rufus King, for example. But C. Daly was written about by Symons! I'm not meaning to dismiss C. Daly King, I just wonder why he was singled out over all the others.
Carolyn Wells seems to be enjoying something of a revival, at least as far as mentions in academic books go (but do these people actually read her?). She seems to have had a certain popularity in her day, which I find inexplicable. I've reviewed a number of her books elsewhere and all but one of them were appallingly bad. Of course Bill Pronzini includes her in his collection of "alternative" classics--quite justly in my view!
Lists book seem to be popular though. There's another out now, done by mystery writers rather than academics.
Curt, I deleted my comment, which was then reinserted slightly changed, because I realized that my thoughts on Stout although you had understood well, could not be understood by others. And then I pointed out the location.
ReplyDeleteBeyond this and what I have already said, I prefer to read novels, short stories and critical essays, because light on gender: the classifications are of little use. Could serve only to those who have never approached the kind and which therefore could draw the advantage of knowing immediately of the authors, provided that this only serves as a springboard to learn other authors not mentioned.
All this reminds me: I do need to blog Rex Stout!
ReplyDeleteI guess I won't ask you, Pietro, what you thought of Todd Downing's list (earlier post)!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the book on Downing has been sent to the publisher, finally. Just read your piece on him, by the way, so glad you appreciate his qualities as a detection writer.
Have you read Clifford Knight (while we're talking Americans)?
Ouch, that price really, really hurts - truly prohibitve - shame because Palgrave do all publish mass market paperbacks at much lower prices. Later rather sooner methinks on this one ...
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book Curt - but the price!
ReplyDeleteYes, Curt. I have got three novels by Knight: "THe Affair of the Crimson Gull", "Hangman's Choice" and "Death and the Little Brother".
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago was published by a web italian magazine (Sherlock Magazine) a my article about Knight. He's a writer who as other crime writers, before Second World War wrote in a manner, after War he wrote in another manner. Before the war he wrote mystery substantially, after the war he moved on thriller.
He is an author very little known in Italy, I would even unknown, although his novels are extremely interesting. I do not think, however, that even in your part, he is well known.
Your article about the list of Downing, had escaped me. Well, what I have to say? At least it's a list that includes great names. Just leave me alone puzzled Anthony Wynne. I have a novel Wynne, very nice: "The Case of the Gold Coins." Nevertheless, I do not think we can put him on the same footing as the other novelists mentioned, which I think really are on another planet. It leaves me astonished, however, that he had not entered Berkeley,at this cheerful group: his first novel, The Layton Court Mystery, is a small masterpiece.
ReplyDeletePietro,
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'm going to do a piece on Knight soon.
In Italy Charlotte Armstrong was much translated and published. I would say one of the most published writers women (Christie was it entirely). After a few years of neglect, a bit 'of time is undergoing a renaissance of Armstrong, a writer very much alive, that could writing. These days, a few months later by another novel republished, is selling one of the few novels Armstrong that I have not read, that is, "Lay on, Mac Duff!", proposed by Mondadori (guess who pulled it out from the archives of the publisher?)
ReplyDeleteThis is a book I've known about since Jeff Pierce of The Rap Sheet started writing about it during its various stages of compilation and editing. He's a contributor I'm sure. Isn't this yet another book in which the contributors were mystery writers? This one may be a mix of reviewers, novelists and academics now that I think of it. But the overwhelming majority are British contributors, aren't they? That might explain the absence of Craig Rice who is better known in the US and not often talked about in UK critiques. Anyway, this is the book I have been waiting for and despite the price I will be buying a copy and not BOOKS TO DIE FOR which is nothing more than 1001 Midnights redux, IMO.
ReplyDeleteMore space was devoted to ethnic and Black writers so I can understand why Armstorng, Rice, Taylor and others might have been eliminated. Humor was not overlooked: Norbert Davis is there as is Barbara Neely, though she is a contemporary writer. Also, the title is 100 Crime Writers so it had to be more inclusive rather just sticking to detective fiction. But I have to say it's *very* heavy on noir and hardboiled writers more than any other subgenre.
There were only three writers I've never heard of: Viola Brothers Shore, George Schuyler and Ernest Tidyman. Had to look up each one using Google and other searches. There was one utter surprise - Elizabeth Linington, aka Dell Shannon, et al.! How she gets in over Armstrong or Elisabeth Sanxay Holding is beyond me. Both Helen McCloy and Helen Reilly are also absent though both were pioneers. Oh well. Had our panel ever made it to Bouchercon a lot more people would know about Helen McCloy as I intended to talk about her and the criminal shame it has been that her books have been out of print for decades.
And can I chime in on Clifford Knight? Read one book of his -- THE AFFAIR OF THE CIRCUS QUEEN and was bored to tears. Never finished it. I have only one other of his -- the prizewinning AFFAIR OF THE SCARLET CRAB, but I'm hesitant to attempt it. If you must write about another American detective novelist, and an unsung one at that, I suggest A. B. Cunningham whose books are never boring and are often unusual insights into crime in rural post WW2 America. I've found all of them fascinating both as good mysteries and time capsules of a portion of American life not often talked about in fiction OR non-fiction.
John,
ReplyDeleteI like Helen McCloy a lot. Yet another writer I need to blog about, like A. B. Cunningham. Which of his books have you done? I agree with you he has some significance in mystery genre history.
I will give you my opinion on the Knight book tomorrow, I hope!