tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post8601869302675287089..comments2024-03-27T11:26:20.466-07:00Comments on The Passing Tramp: Worsleying Around with the Golden Age of Detective Fiction: A Very British Murder: The Story of a National Obsession (2013), by Lucy Worsley, Part OneThe Passing Tramphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-44258902185203641502018-12-17T14:56:41.761-08:002018-12-17T14:56:41.761-08:00She might want to check actual book sales, because...She might want to check actual book sales, because they don’t support her averted eyes claim. Example: All Quiet on the Western Front was an enormous seller (and became a hugely successful prestige movie). Example: Journey's End set theatrical records. Even in music, the biggest sensation of the 30s was The Threepenny Opera, which is not escapist fluff! Ken Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08207803092348071005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-77432051574892884252014-04-27T17:54:30.098-07:002014-04-27T17:54:30.098-07:00But, in any event, to what extent are Graham Green...But, in any event, to what extent are Graham Greene and Ian Fleming the prime culprits in the alleged killing off of the classical English detective novel? :)neerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01986509319841061021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-1068637587979325572014-02-07T06:14:35.320-08:002014-02-07T06:14:35.320-08:00I do like Ngaio Marsh's Artists in Crime too, ...I do like Ngaio Marsh's Artists in Crime too, one of her best I think. And her deb book too, Death in a White Tie.<br /><br />There were quite a lot of American spinster detectives! It makes it a shame, then, when an author thinks that American crime writers were all men who wrote hard-boiled stuff.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-49692869962295513402014-02-07T01:48:45.919-08:002014-02-07T01:48:45.919-08:00Thanks for putting me off LW's book. These ten...Thanks for putting me off LW's book. These tenth-hand opinions are so irritating! Try Ngaio Marsh's Artists in Crime for an uncosy interwar mystery. And isn't there a subtext: these books are BY women and ABOUT old ladies so they can't be any good? <br /><br />Spinster detectives had a longer history. There was Hildegarde Withers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegarde_Withers<br />And Miss Silver (Patricia Wentworth), and Miss Pym (Josephine Tey).<br /><br />And let's not forget Hetty Wainthropp.Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-18577768028454331212014-02-06T16:59:51.982-08:002014-02-06T16:59:51.982-08:00John, yes, it is disappointing to see the same old...John, yes, it is disappointing to see the same old secondary sources keep cropping up, time and time again, especially when there is interesting new research being done.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-16404748868975284832014-02-06T16:58:01.486-08:002014-02-06T16:58:01.486-08:00TomCat, I can tell!
When it comes to academia and...TomCat, I can tell!<br /><br />When it comes to academia and "fandom" I'm reminded of the E. M. Forster line "Only connect!" It is my wish the two can be brought together more. Lucy Worsley actually writes popular history, whcih I respect her for doing (it's becoming a lost art), but her research for the Golden Age portion of the book was insufficient. So much more could have been done and stereotypes and misconceptions corrected. Sadly, it's yet another lost opportunity, in my view.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-2457480484162969052014-02-06T07:25:17.853-08:002014-02-06T07:25:17.853-08:00I made this comparison before, but these genre “hi...I made this comparison before, but these genre “histories” are basically professionally written, high-school book reports. You pick a few of the well-known classics from the list, thumb through them, read what others have written about them and than find a different way to say it. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. <br /><br />Curt’s throw-away line about the academic writer sure put a finger on a sore spot! <br /><br />TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-64805619992809679612014-02-05T17:15:50.741-08:002014-02-05T17:15:50.741-08:00What a surprise! Another specious view of the hist...What a surprise! Another specious view of the history of the genre. A big pass for me.<br /><br />When one of these books is published and the bibliography is something along the lines of your book on the "Humdrums", then I'll read it. These people cranking out these genre "histories" are not reading any of the books themselves only regurgitating previously written criticism and opinions.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.com