Seven
Annie Haynes Golden Age mystery titles now have been reissued by Dean Street Press, respectively Haynes's four detective novels featuring Inspector Stoddart and her three featuring Inspector Furnival. They are available on Amazon in the US, UK and Canada. (Haynes's five standalone mysteries are forthcoming from DSP.) All the reissues have a general introduction by me about Haynes's life and writing, and the four Stoddarts each have an individual introduction by me as well. (The publication for the three Furnivals was moved up, so I was not able to provide individual introductions for those.)
Some blog reviews are out now, to which I am posting links. I found these reviewers quite insightful about Haynes's writing and am so pleased to see that the books are connecting with readers. It's great to see the books get such thought-provoking consideration from our blogging community.
http://preferreading.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-crystal-beads-murder-annie-haynes.html
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress.com/tag/annie-haynes/
http://moonlight-detective.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-devil-in-summer-house.html
Additionally, new information has come to light about Annie Haynes's mysteriously absconding father, and this in itself is like something out of a Golden Age mystery. I will discuss this in a post to come about Haynes's family background. It's been a lot of fun researching the interesting life of this Golden Age mystery author, about whom nearly nothing seemingly was known until this year.
Thanks for the mention in your post. I've really enjoyed working my way through the Inspector Stoddart novels by Haynes with The Crime at Tattenham Corner and Who Killed Charmian Karslake? probably being my favourites. Do you have a favourite? Looking forward to starting the trio of Inspector Furnival novels by Haynes soon. I also really enjoyed reading your introductions to the novels, finding out about Haynes' own life and interest in real life crimes, as well as seeing what contemporary reviewers thought of her novels as well. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kate. I probably tend to agree with your choices. There's a lot I grade highly about Beads too, though like you I wish Haynes had been able to finish it herself. (I'm intrigued with the idea it may have been completed by Anthony Gilbert, however.)
DeleteDark Beard definitely had more "sensation" elements, as you note, but this too is interesting to me. The Abbey Court Murder was originally serialized as "Lady Carew's Secret," which should remind us all of a certain book, though AH takes her own path. The other two Furnivals are more "modern." I reviewed the second one, Charlton Crescent, here and talked about the how part of it was based on a real life crime that took place at Haynes and Heather-Bigg's house in the nineteenth-century and was investigated by Inspector Whicher! I will talk more about the books on the blog. I was sorry there wasn't time for me to write individual intro for the Furnivals, but the production schedule was moved up by the publisher.
It's been interesting researching into Haynes life and more is coming!
The Furnival novels sound really intriguing, especially the one you say was based on a real life crime in Haynes' own home. I think the only reason Dark Beard worked less well for me is that although I found the sensation elements interesting, their dominance in the text meant that I had solved the case as it were before I was a third of the way through, which left the remainder of the book less engaging. I think I like my mysteries to stay mysterious a bit longer! Also looking forward to the Harriet Rutland reprints coming out next month, as this is another author I had never heard of before.
DeleteI agree, Beard, definitely shifts, at least for a modern audience, from "whodunit?" to seeing that the culprit gets comeuppance. But I enjoyed following it all,as I thought Haynes had a good knack with narrative. I was impressed with the sheer readability of her fiction.
DeleteI enjoyed the Furnivals. Charlton Crescent is fantastically rare in its hardcover edition, so am especially glad to see that one reaching a broader audience again.
I would prefer reading the police procedurals, that's for sure. Thanks for the introduction. I'd never heard of Annie Haynes before now.
ReplyDeleteWell, some of the stand alones have police, though some also strong Gothic elements, which is really interesting to me in the GA period. Think of it as Jazz Age Gothic. ;)
DeleteI think Haynes adopted Furnival as a series detective because she had used him in the serialized version of The Abbey Court Murder, but then decided to switch to Stoddart and Harbord and would have kept that series going for a decade or more had she lived a longer life. She might easily have kept writing well into the 1940s, but her heart gave out, with her being afflicted with severe rheumatoid arthritis.
Thank you for linking to my blog. I've enjoyed the Haynes novels I've read so far & have two more Inspector Stoddarts to read next. It's amazing how quickly authors are forgotten if their books aren't kept in print. Thanks for all the detective work on your part to rediscover AH.
ReplyDeleteYes, as the ongoing revivals show there are a lot of eminently readable forgotten genre fiction authors out there. I'm so glad publishers finally are starting to take more of an interest. It's something some of us have been working toward for the last fifteen years or so, really ever since the rise of the internet opened up so many possibilities.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the books, there's more authors to come!