from the skies, and discover a new world which, from that day to this, I have found utterly spellbinding.
Notes
Even in a book of this length, it is impossible to explore in detail every issue touched on in the text. The notes provided at the end of each chapter, inevitably selective, seek to amplify some facets of the story of the Golden Age and its exponents, and to encourage further reading, research – and enjoyment.
Members of the Detection Club elected 1930–49
1930
G. K. Chesterton 1874–1936
H. C. Bailey 1878–1961
E. C. Bentley 1875–1956
Anthony Berkeley 1893–1971
Agatha Christie 1890–1976
G. D. H. Cole 1889–1959
M. Cole 1893–1980
J. J. Connington 1880–1947
Freeman Wills Crofts 1879–1957
Clemence Dane 1887–1965
Robert Eustace 1871–1943
R. Austin Freeman 1862–1943
Lord Gorell 1884–1963
Edgar Jepson 1863–1938
Ianthe Jerrold 1898–1977
Milward Kennedy 1894–1968
Ronald A. Knox 1888–1957
A. E. W. Mason 1865–1948
A. A. Milne 1882–1956
Arthur Morrison 1863–1945
Baroness Orczy 1865–1947
Mrs Victor Rickard 1876–1963
John Rhode 1884–1965
Dorothy L. Sayers 1893–1957
Henry Wade 1887–1969
Victor L. Whitechurch 1868–1933
Helen Simpson (Associate Member) 1897–1940
Hugh Walpole (Associate Member) 1884–1941
1933
Anthony Gilbert 1899–1971
E. R. Punshon 1872–1956
Gladys Mitchell 1901–1983
1934
Margery Allingham 1904–66
1935
Norman Kendal 1880–1966
R. C. Woodthorpe 1886–1971
1936
John Dickson Carr 1906–77
1937
Nicholas Blake 1904–72
Newton Gayle (Muna Lee 1895–1965 and Maurice Guinness 1897–1991)
E. C. R. Lorac 1894–1958
Christopher Bush 1888–1973
1946
Cyril Hare 1900–58
Christianna Brand 1907–88
Richard Hull 1896–1973
Alice Campbell 1887–1976
1947
Val Gielgud 1900–81
Edmund Crispin 1921–78
1948
Dorothy Bowers 1902–48
1949
Michael Innes 1906–94
Michael Gilbert 1912–2006
Douglas G. Browne 1884–1963
On a summer evening in 1937, a group of men and women gathered in darkness to perform a macabre ritual. They had invited a special guest to witness their ceremony. She was visiting London from New Zealand and a thrill of excitement ran through her as the appointed time drew near. She loved drama, and at home she worked in the theatre. Now she felt as tense as when the curtain was about to rise. To be a guest at this dinner was a special honour. What would happen next she could not imagine.
Striking to look at, the New Zealander was almost six feet tall, with dark, close-set eyes. Elegant yet enigmatic, she exuded a quiet, natural charm that contrasted with her flamboyant dress sense and artistic taste for the exotic. Fond of wearing men’s clothes, smart slacks, a tie and a beret, this evening she had opted for feminine finery, her favourite fur wrap and extravagant costume jewellery. In common with her hosts, she had a passion for writing detective stories. Like them, she guarded her private life jealously.
Until tonight, she had only known these people from reading about them – and from reading their books. Many were household names, distinguished
