The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards

This non-fiction book won all sorts of awards when it came out in 2016, including the prestigious Edgar and Agatha awards.  It’s easy to see why.  I’ve dabbled in reading a few golden age detective novels, mostly Agatha Christies but a few others here and there. But I’ve never felt like I had a good handle on that era and how and why this sub-genre came to be so popular.  I was also interested in learning more about the authors involved.

The Golden Age of murder mysteries or detective novels is usually considered to be those years between the two world wars.  Big name authors were Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, G.K Chesterton (Father Brown mysteries), John Dickson Carr, John Road, Anthony Berkley, and many others. In the year 1930 a small group of these authors formed “The Detection Club”:

    an elite social network of writers whose work earned a reputation for literary excellence, and earned     a profound long-term influence on storytelling in fiction, film, and television.

This was a group of young writers from Britain (almost all living in London), whose impact continues to be felt even today.  This book focuses on their early years, from 1930 through 1949, which only involved a total of 39 members.   

The book does an excellent job of not only delving into their biographies and work, but also provides a solid understanding of how they influenced each other, criticized each other, and came to each other’s defense. I really felt like I got to know them, warts and all. Many of them got ideas from real-life murders, details to which we are also treated. But the real treasure here is in understanding how their work came to be so important and influential for later authors, whether in the mystery genre or beyond.  The author is, himself a crime writer as well as a noted authority on detective fiction which is very evident throughout the book.

Best of all, I feel like I absorbed all of the information that a textbook could offer and yet this doesn’t read like a textbook at all. In some ways, it is like reading a mystery story, especially considering all of the secrets these authors kept to themselves. Very entertaining to read.

The bad news is that I now have a whole list of authors I want/need to try and a much longer list of their books to get my hands on.

Highly recommended.