tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post7555996218242031103..comments2024-03-28T10:31:55.774-07:00Comments on The Passing Tramp: Bringing Down the Hammer: Crack of Doom (1963), by Leo Bruce The Passing Tramphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-53756614085242153732014-11-11T11:29:34.995-08:002014-11-11T11:29:34.995-08:00I have received a reply from CRP; publisher Cynthi...I have received a reply from CRP; publisher Cynthia Sherry wrote (<i>inter alia</i>) that, for the moment, she is not interested in granting me licence to publish limited editions: “Right now I am working on producing e-books and republishing and repackaging titles. We are trying to find an affordable, hardcopy of Death on Romney Marsh and Death on the Black Sands to use as production materials for reprints. As soon as we get copies we will republish them.”<br />I offered to lend her my books.Deadmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05012725254441170657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-62111562147258285392014-11-07T18:26:18.769-08:002014-11-07T18:26:18.769-08:00CPR seems as reluctant to answer e-mails as Academ...CPR seems as reluctant to answer e-mails as Academy Chicago.<br />Since posting my comment in June, I have managed to purchase (at great expense) copies of <i>Death on Romney Marsh</i> and <i>Death by the Lake</i> as well as (for a much more reasonable price) <i>Death on the Black Sands</i>.<br />i have already posted the text of <i>Death by the Lake</i> at <a href="http://booksofleobruce.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/death-by-lake-chapter-one.html" rel="nofollow">The Books of Leo Bruce</a> and, I intend to post the texts of <i>Romney Marsh</i> and in December this year and January next year. (This month I’m posting <a href="http://booksofleobruce.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/a-bone-and-hank-of-hair-chapter-one.html" rel="nofollow"><i>A Bone and a Hank of Hair</i></a>.Deadmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05012725254441170657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-12557026816227049902014-07-05T01:06:07.189-07:002014-07-05T01:06:07.189-07:00I think he's great. A few clunkers later on, ...I think he's great. A few clunkers later on, but usually quite enjoyable.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-61775894554888943622014-06-27T07:36:57.690-07:002014-06-27T07:36:57.690-07:00Yet another Bruce title I haven't read. I have...Yet another Bruce title I haven't read. I have half a dozen on the shelf, and have enjoyed every one, but it seems I'll need to seek out more.Rick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978136287154214297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-20244569199693054542014-06-26T12:25:01.366-07:002014-06-26T12:25:01.366-07:00From my Masters of the Humdrum Mystery:
"Wha...From my Masters of the Humdrum Mystery:<br /><br />"What John Street’s novels most typically offer is an engaging grounding in solidly English settings, especially the great institution of the British public house, which to Street, like to G. K. Chesterton and H. G. Wells, was a locus of all that was good in his native land."The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-46504668913550034032014-06-26T06:12:18.661-07:002014-06-26T06:12:18.661-07:00Don't forget Chesterton. Loads of pubs in his ...Don't forget Chesterton. Loads of pubs in his detective stories. The Flying Inn even revolves around a pub. What's Wrong With The World features a whole chapter on pubs. Carr may be a case to consider, too; the initial pub scene in The Hollow Man is memorable.Henrique Vallehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16626159490843432538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-84845849418844461972014-06-23T23:50:18.579-07:002014-06-23T23:50:18.579-07:00On pubs, the views expressed over the years by Sgt...On pubs, the views expressed over the years by Sgt. Beef and Mr. Carolus Deene are not so far from those expressed by the author in his <i>Darts</i> (London, 1936); I have reproduced online Chapter 14 therefrom, “<a href="http://booksofleobruce.blogspot.com.au/p/on-pubs-and-darts.html" rel="nofollow">The Social Aspect</a>”.<br />Deadmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05012725254441170657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-70822272101261131802014-06-23T23:42:47.788-07:002014-06-23T23:42:47.788-07:00Yes, I would like to work with Academy Chicago to ...Yes, I would like to work with Academy Chicago to get these reprinted, but they have never been very good about actually answering emails. Maybe it will be different now that they've been acquired by CRP.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-62265694241131678362014-06-23T23:41:23.955-07:002014-06-23T23:41:23.955-07:00Some people have complained about the Bruce myster...Some people have complained about the Bruce mysteries (especially the Deenes) being so dialogue dependent, but the dialogue is so good I have no trouble with that. Croft-Cooke was not just a good clueer but a good writer, as you say,<br /><br />I have the hardcover first ed. and the guy on the cover looks like a vampire. Very Goth, or Punk. RCC made some attempt to keep up with the times in the later books in the series, but the cover is really discordant.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-59875091766184321562014-06-23T23:34:33.914-07:002014-06-23T23:34:33.914-07:00Can't wait to see how many books show up on th...Can't wait to see how many books show up on the list!<br /><br />Love pubs in mysteries. Among Golden Age authors I think Leo Bruce and John Street are the great pub crawlers.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-30029537391538686062014-06-23T23:16:00.061-07:002014-06-23T23:16:00.061-07:00noah-stewart: Not so much a case of some misconstr...noah-stewart: Not so much a case of some misconstruing the plot line, as someone deliberately misrepresenting the book in order to trick kids into buying it! In the early 70s there was a series of paperback books from NEL beginning with SKINHEAD by the house name "Richard Allen". Nasty, brutish and short, with loads and loads of casual violence, these were enormously popular amongst adolescent kids at the time. Even the cover is a deliberate attempt to mirror the photo covers of the SKINHEAD series. I wonder how long it took the average reader that they were targetting to realise that they had been thoroughly conned?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-83677136102921150702014-06-23T22:34:11.336-07:002014-06-23T22:34:11.336-07:00Well, I hope that CPR will soon publish the first ...Well, I hope that CPR will soon publish the first three Carolus Deene books because I have been unable to locate second-hand copies of <i>At Death’s Door</i>, <i>Dead for a Ducat</i> or <i>Death of a Cold</i>, and several others in the series—namely <i>Louse for the Hangman</i>, <i>Death on the Black Sands</i>, <i>Death on Romney Marsh</i> and <i>Death by the Lake</i>—are almost impossible to find except, in a few cases, for extremely exorbitant prices.Deadmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05012725254441170657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-27582612139511990892014-06-23T15:57:55.995-07:002014-06-23T15:57:55.995-07:00I've been a Carolus Deene fan since Academy br...I've been a Carolus Deene fan since Academy brought them out in paper and have tracked them all down over the years. I am happy to see a critic with your level of knowledge and appreciation say that he comes close to Christie in sheer readability and subtlety; I agree completely, and I'll add that it's a sad shame he wasn't better known. As well as the ideas you mention, I find great pleasure in his ability to depict people from various levels of society so economically, in little word sketches that sum them up and let you know their social level instantly, and his wonderful skill with clever dialogue. Carolus Deene talks like we all wish we could, I think! I agree with you that he was good at depicting a certain kind of stuffy matron -- like Mr. Gorringer LOL. And I agree with you that a good place to start is (other than at the beginning) with "Furious Old Women", which I think will interest the connoisseur immediately. <br /><br />"Bovver Boy"'s first paper edition, from Mews in the UK in 1976, is a delightful example of book misdesign; someone thought they were working on a different sort of novel entirely and misconstrued the whole "elderly schoolmaster and juvenile delinquent" plot line. Have a look and see if you don't agree. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-84213143974079682132014-06-23T13:21:07.695-07:002014-06-23T13:21:07.695-07:00Thanks for joining in my 1963 thing Curt. So far n...Thanks for joining in my 1963 thing Curt. So far no duplicate books, which is good....<br /><br />I only know Bruce from the Sergeant Beef books, which I always recommend to people (so much so that I find I have precisely zero Sergeant Beef books on my bookshelves), but it's good to know there are more series to check out. And I'm glad you found one with a pub in it - I think you should begin a 'pubs in crime novels' list.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com