The body in the library An exhibition of from the Rare Books Collection Introduction 15 March to 8 June 2012 Level 1, ISB Wing, An unpleasant thing in real life, crime takes on another life in our imagination. A skilled Sir Louis Matheson Library, storyteller preys on our hopes and fears, providing all manner of excitement in a compelling Clayton campus, , narrative seemingly made for the sleepless small hours of the morning. Television and film Wellington Road, Clayton take it as their stock in trade, with producers constantly looking for new angles, new locations and, above all, new villains. It is the same with books. This is what makes this Curator: Richard Overell Rare Books exhibition so interesting, particularly as crime in its myriad cultural forms feeds Assistant Curator: Stephen Herrin off itself. Web Design: Rosemary Miller Gangsters and standover men follow the Borsalino screen heroes of a previous generation. Thank you to John Loder, author of We see the tilt of homage to the supreme lady novelist of the genre, , in the Australian : a bibliography, television murder mystery set in the totally unreal English village of Midsomer. Philip 1857-1993 for speaking at the exhibition Marlowe, Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled private detective, reappears in every imaginable opening. post-modern twist of gender, location and identity. Without crime our contemporary fiction – and our writers – would be the poorer. Note: the title of this exhibition comes from an Agatha Christie novel (item 41). Australia was founded by transported criminals. Following hard on their manacled heels were importers of books. The Victorian period writers Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe, For more images and full information on Wilkie Collins and Arthur Conan Doyle all dealt in crime. Soon after he emerged from each of the items visit: London’s Baker Street fog, Sherlock Holmes was in Australian bookstores and lending www.lib.monash.edu.au/exhibitions/ libraries. Byways explored in this exhibition include local evocations and parodies of crime literature. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by a New Zealander, Fergus Hume, set in in the boom decade of the 1880s became a best seller. Then as now, crime paid. Publishers became adept at sending coded visual messages. ‘Yellowbacks’, so-called because of their yellow boards, were cheap sensational novels, mass-produced and beloved by collectors today. They preceded ‘pulp fiction’ usually associated with the United States but also published in Australia. Young men in the 1950s were struck by the lurid images of scantily clad women in compromising situations on the covers of novels by the Australian writer, Alan Yates, better known to the world as Carter Brown. Dip into this exhibition and you will discover not only the delights enjoyed by readers of popular fiction in former times but also some of the key templates of the literature of crime. You will discover anew that crime is an almost irresistible prospect in a book. Dr David Dunstan Dr Dunstan, Senior Lecturer with the National Centre for Australian Studies at Monash University and co-ordinator of its Graduate Publishing program, taught a course in crime fiction and has edited a criminal autobiography, Owen Suffolk’s Days of Crime and Years of Suffering (2000). Main Case Dickens’ Bleak House 6. Morford, Henry, 1823-1881. John Jasper’s secret : being a narrative of certain 1st shelf: and Edwin Drood events following and explaining “The mystery of Edwin Drood”. (London : Wyman & Sons, 1872) Pulp Fiction Magazines 4.Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870. This is the best-known of the contemporary Bleak House / by Charles Dickens ; with continuations. It appeared anonymously and 1. Real detective tales (Nov. 1930) illustrations by H.K. Browne. (London : was thought at the time to have been written by Cover design by A. Redmond. Bradbury and Evans, 1853) Dickens’s son, Charles Dickens jr., and Wilkie Although detective fiction began as a genre Bleak House includes one of the first detectives Collins. in the mid-nineteenth century, its most iconic in English fiction, Inspector Bucket. He is called images appeared in the American large-format upon to investigate the murder of a lawyer. 7. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir, 1859-1930. pulp magazines of the 1930s. “The adventure of the final problem,” in Strand 5. Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870. Magazine, v. 6, p. 559, Dec. 1893. The mystery of Edwin Drood / by Charles Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective, Dickens ; with illustrations. (London : Chapman Sherlock Holmes, first appeared in, “A Study in & Hall, 1870) 6 parts issued from April to Scarlet,” Beeton’s Christmas Annual 1887. The September, 1870. character’s popularity was sustained with Doyle Dickens’ last novel. He died, having completed producing another novel in 1890 and a series of only six parts of a planned twelve. Edwin short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891. Drood is murdered but his killer’s identity is However, the author believed that detective fiction not revealed. The illustrations on the covers of was impeding his development as a serious the parts are thought to be significant as they novelist and he tried to kill the character in “The show incidents which were to be described Final Problem.” He sends him plummeting to his in the novel’s later chapters. According death over the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, to his friend with his , Professor Moriarty. 2. Detective action stories (Dec. 1936) and biographer, 8. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir, 1859-1930. Cover illustration by A. Nelson. John Forster, the murderer was to be “The Hound of the The graphics used to illustrate crime fiction John Jasper, Edwin Baskervilles,” in The Strand often relied on shadows to convey menace. Drood’s uncle. Both Magazine, v. 22, p. 243, Drood and Jasper Sept. 1901 3. Detective book magazine (Fall 1943) were in love with the The public demand for Gypsy Rose Lee was a well-known burlesque same woman. Sherlock Holmes was star who also wrote two detective novels, such that Doyle had to The G-String Murders, (1941) – published in resurrect him and wrote England as The Striptease Murders – and “The Hound of the Mother Finds a Body, (1942) seen here in Baskervilles,” setting it magazine format. prior to “Final Problem.”

1 9. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir, 1859-1930. is notable in the development of the crime novel Melbourne, beginning on St. His last bow : some for the appearance of a detective, Sergeant Cuff. Kilda Road, with a man found reminiscences of Sherlock dead in a hansom cab. Much Holmes / by Arthur Conan 12. Fletcher, Henry, 1856-1932. of the action takes place in the Doyle. (London : G. Bell, The North Shore mystery / by Henry Fletcher. city’s slums. Detective Gorby of 1917) (Melbourne : George Robertson, 1899) the Victorian Police solves the crime. A collection of short An example of an Australian “yellowback.” This stories from The Strand murder mystery is set in Sydney’s Lavender Bay. 16. Ferguson, W. Humer. Magazine. “His Last Bow” is set just before the 13. Herman, Henry, 1832-1894. The mystery of a wheel-barrow, or, Gaboriau Gaborooed : an idealistic story of a great and First World War and has The crime of a Christmas toy rising colony / W. Humer Ferguson (London : Holmes and Watson called ; a detective story / by Henry Walter Scott, 1888) back from retirement, capturing a German spy. Herman ... with illustrations by Geo. Hutchinson. Colonial The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was an 10. Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849. edition. (London, Ward, Lock immediate success. An adaptation for the Tales of mystery & imagination / by Edgar Allan & Bowden, Ltd. [1900]) stage appeared in 1888 as did this parody. The sub-title Poe ; illustrated by Arthur Rackham. (London : First published in Beeton’s refers to Gaboriau (1832-73), G.G. Harrap, 1935) Christmas Annual 1893. a French novelist and pioneer Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Murders in The plot involves the of detective fiction. the Rue Morgue,” is often referred to as the first murder of a nobleman by detective fiction written in English. It appeared in parcel-bomb. A detective is employed Graham’s Magazine in 1841. The crime involves to solve the crime. 2nd shelf: the murder of two women in a fourth-floor room, locked from the inside. The main character, 14. Finn, Edmund, d. 1922. 17. Eberhardt, Walter F., 1891?-1935. Dupin uses his powers of deduction, setting the A priest’s secret : under seal of confession / by tone for later amateur investigators. He also has Edmund Finn. 6th edition. (Melbourne : Alex, The jig-saw puzzle murder / by Walter F. a friend who acts as narrator. The crime was M’Kinley & Co, 1888) Eberhardt. (Covent Garden : Puzzle Books, committed by an orang-utan, owned by a sailor, [1933]) Edmund Finn jr. was the son of the Melbourne who had brought the animal back from Borneo. historian, “Garryowen.” He wrote two Accompanied by a box containing a 204 piece He had escaped from his master, taking with him pantomimes and at least two murder mysteries. jig-saw revealing the solution to the crime. the sailor’s razor. This he used to slit the throat of A Priest’s Secret is set on the Victorian goldfields. When completed, the puzzle shows the murder one of the women while trying to shave her. scene. We see a gaming table with an “oriental” 15. Hume, Fergus, 1859-1932. shooting the victim with a gun disguised as a 11. Collins, Wilkie, 1824-1889. clarinet. The 1930s saw a revival of interest in The mystery of a hansom cab / by Fergus W. The moonstone : a novel / by Wilkie Collins. jigsaw puzzles; it was also the heyday of the Hume. (London : The Hansom Cab Publishing (New York : Harper, 1900) detective novel. Co., [1888?]) First published in 1868, the plot revolves around Originally published in 1886, this was the first the theft of a large diamond looted from India. It detective novel set in Australia. The scene is

2 18. Detective outfit [game]. England : 20. Waddington’s cluedo [game] / 23. Curtis, J. (James), fl. 1828-1835. J. & L. Randall Ltd., [195-?]. Waddington Games Ltd. (Woodlesford, An authentic and faithful history of the 1 game (1 book, handcuffs, 7 booklets, 3 Leeds : John Waddington, c1965) mysterious murder of Maria Marten : with fingerprint cards, 1 notice board, 14 notices, 1 [Donor: Meredith Sherlock] a full development of all the extraordinary fingerprint powder, 1 stamp pad, 1 crayon, fake An Australian version of the popular detective circumstances which led to the discovery of her moustache material) : ill. ; Box (21 x 36 x 3 cm.) game called Clue in the USA. The original version body in the Red Barn.../ the whole compiled The kit includes a “Secret Code Book,” a appeared in England in 1949. The characters and arranged, with upwards of three hundred “Fingerprint Record Book,” search and arrest include Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, etc., and explanatory notes, by J. Curtis, and embellished warrants, and an illustrated book of detective the clues include, a gun, a knife, a length of lead with many highly interesting engravings. fiction: “Nick Bailey and the Maxwell Case” by piping and a piece of rope. (London : T. Kelly, 1834) Basil Dawson. The Murder in the Red Barn was a notorious 21. Corder, William, 1803-1828. case which took place in Polstead, Suffolk in The trial of William Corder, at the Assizes, Bury May 1827. William Corder and Maria Marten had St. Edmunds, Suffolk, August 7th and 8th,1828, arranged to meet in the red barn and then to for the murder of Maria Marten, in the Red elope. Instead Corder killed his lover and buried Barn, at Polstead : including the matrimonial her. He then left the town and pretended they advertisement, and many other curious and had married and were living on the Isle of Wight, important particulars, obtained exclusively even writing letters to her mother supposedly by the editor. (London : Printed for Knight & from Maria. The mother dreamt her daughter’s Lacey, 55, Paternoster-Row; and sold by all body was buried in the barn and when she booksellers, 1828) asked her husband to dig there, Maria’s remains were discovered, with Corder’s handkerchief 19. Wheatley, Dennis, 1897-1977. tied around her throat. The local constable was able to trace Corder and arrest him. He was Herewith the clues / Dennis Wheatley ; planned by running a boarding house with his new wife who J. G. Links. (London : Hutchinson & Co., [1939] had responded to a matrimonial advertisement Wheatley and Links produced a set of four, File he had placed in The Times. He was tried and on Bolitho Blane (US title: Murder Off Miami) found guilty. The execution took place on 11 (July 1936); Who Killed Robert Prentice? (June August 1828 in front of 7000 people. 1937); The Malinsay Massacre (April 1938); Herewith the Clues! (July 1939). Copies of each 22. Corder, William, 1803-1828. are on display. They are presented as a police Fairburn’s edition of the trial of William Corder, dossier with documents, photographs and for the murder of Maria Marten, in the Red Barn, clues, such as spent cartridges, and strands at Polstead in Suffolk. Including the evidence, of hair. Who Killed Robert Prentice? includes a speeches of counsel, charge to the jury, torn-up pornographic postcard, “Produced at prisoner’s defence, &c. at full length : tried at inquest: found in dustbin under kitchen sink.” Bury St. Edmund, August 7, 1828, and following The solutions are in a sealed section at the day, before Chief Baron Alexander. (London: back of each book. Printed and published by John Fairburn ... sold by Cowie and Strange ..., [1828?])

3 his work-mates could offer a solution. Snowy Examples are also included of the Penguins Arthur Upfield, Rowles was working with Upfield at the time published by Lothian in Melbourne during The Sands of Windee and was part of these discussions. He later World War II. Monash has a large collection of and The Murchison killed three of the men he worked with and these, as well as some examples of wartime used the method to cover his crime. However, Penguins published in Egypt and New Zealand. Murders he kept a ring from one of the victims and was The Sydney firm Horwitz published Penguins arrested, tried, convicted and executed, on 13 in 1961with their own pulp covers. These are 24. Upfield, Arthur W. (Arthur William), June 1931. Upfield gave evidence in court that also on display. 1890-1964. the discussions about the “perfect murder” had The sands of Windee / by Arthur W. Upfield. taken place with Rowles present. (London : Hutchinson, [1931]) [with facsimile The Sands of Windee, published in 1931, was Wall Cases: dustwrapper] the novel which included the details about No. 1 disposal of the body and The Murchison 25. Upfield, Arthur W. Murders (1934) was the account Upfield Sexton Blake (Arthur William), produced of the events which surrounded it. 1890-1964. Also on display is the first Australian edition 28. Sexton Blake library (London : (1958). The sands of Windee / by Fleetway House, 1915-1968) Arthur W. Upfield. (Sydney Each issue has a : Angus & Robertson, distinctive title. “Four new 1958) Bottom shelf: volumes ... are issued on the first Friday of every 26. Upfield, Arthur W. 27. Penguins month.” (Arthur William), 1890-1964. Among the first ten Penguins published The Sexton Blake The / by Arthur Upfield ; in July 1935 were Dorothy L. Sayers’ The Library ran from 1915 edited by Bernard Cronin. (Sydney : Midget Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, (no. 5) to 1968 through Masterpiece Publishing, [1934]) and Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles (no. 6). Because of copyright difficulties five series. Sexton Arthur Upfield is best known for his series the Agatha Christie title was withdrawn, to be Blake was a private of novels featuring Bony, the part-Aboriginal re-issued later as no. 61, and her Murder on detective, a detective. Bony made his first appearance in the Links substituted as no. 6a. The “Green character based on Upfield’s second novel, The Barrakee Mystery in Penguins” have always been popular with crime Sherlock Holmes. 1929. For his new novel, The Sands of Windee, buffs. The variety of titles on display shows the The stories were written by he had to solve the problem of how to dispose development in cover design from the early a syndicate of authors. of a body without leaving a trace. Upfield was typographical style with horizontal bands, to On display is a copy of The Man Who Wouldn’t working as a boundary rider on the rabbit-proof the more recent illustrated covers. The authors Quit, by Gilbert Chester, new series, no. 74. fence in Western Australia in 1929 when he include English and American authors as well as (1944), with the original art work by Eric Parker. discussed this problem with one of his mates, continental crime writers such as Simenon. who suggested that the body be burnt, the bone fragments be pounded to dust and then dispersed by the wind. He offered £1 if any of

4 No. 2 No. 3 32. The floating admiral / by certain members of The Detection Club. Film posters and the The Detection Club (London : Hodder and Stoughton, [1931]) original stories The Detection Club was formed by a group 31. The best detective stories of the of British crime writers in 1930. The names year 1928 / edited by Father Ronald 29. Wallace, Edgar, 1875-1932. included, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Knox and H. Harrington ; with an Freeman Wills Croft, Baroness Orczy, Arthur Number six / by Edgar Wallace.1st ed. (London introduction by Father Ronald Knox. Morrison, John Rhode, Anthony Berkeley and : G. Newnes, [1927]) (London : Faber & Gwyer, 1929) Ronald Knox. G. K. Chesterton was the first Edgar Wallace was one of the The rules of the crime fiction were codified in President. They agreed to write a series of most prolific thriller writers of 1929 by Ronald Knox in his introduction to the novels using Knox’s rules, with each member his time. He wrote the original Best Detective Stories of the Year 1928. writing a chapter in turn. Seven volumes screenplay for King Kong but Knox’s “Ten Commandments” are as follows: appeared from 1931 to 1939. died on the set before the 1. The criminal must be mentioned in the early movie was completed. part of the story, but must not be anyone whose 33. Ask a policeman / Number Six was an English thoughts the reader has been allowed to know. by Anthony Berkeley, movie directed by Robert 2. All supernatural or preternatural agencies are Milward Kennedy, Tronson who later made ruled out as a matter of course. Gladys Mitchell, John episodes of The Bill. 3. Any secret room or passage is forbidden. Rhode, Dorothy L. Sayers & Helen 4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long Simpson. (London 30. Cheyney, Peter, 1896-1951. scientific explanation at the end. : Arthur Barker, Meet Mr. Callaghan / Peter Cheyney. (London : [1933]) 5. No Chinaman must figure in the story. Collins, 1953) 6. No accident must ever help the detective, nor Helen Simpson, an Australian novelist Peter Cheyney was a police reporter who must he ever have an unaccountable intuition living in London, was an Associate member of turned to writing crime novels in 1936. His first which proves to be right. the Detection Club and contributed to two of the novels, Ask a Policeman, and The Anatomy Slim Callaghan novel appeared in 1938, and he 7. The detective himself must not commit the of Murder (1936). featured as the hard-boiled crime. detective in many of 8. The detective is bound to declare any clues Cheyney’s later works. 34. Six against Scotland Yard : in which which he may discover. Margery Allingham, Anthony Berkeley, Meet Mr. Callaghan was 9. The stupid friend of the detective, the an English movie directed Freeman Wills Crofts, Father Ron- Watson, must not conceal from the reader any ald Knox, Dorothy L. Sayers, Russell by Charles Joel Saunders thoughts which pass through his mind: his Thorndike commit the crime of murder in 1954. intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, which ex-Superintendent Cornish, C.I.D., below that of the average reader. is called upon to solve. (Garden City, N.Y. 10. Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must : The Sun Dial Press, Inc., [1937]) not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them. Originally published in London as Six Against the Yard. (1936)

5 35. Murder pie / by J.L. first appeared as the evil mastermind in The to find in all of her works. The parallel with the Ranken ... [et al] ; edited Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu (1913) and continued Belgian, Poirot, is made obvious. by J.L. Ranken, Jane to feature in Sax Rohmer’s novels, many of Clunies Ross. 3rd ed. which were made into movies. In the 1940s he 40. Christie, Agatha, 1890-1976. (Sydney : Angus & created Sumuru, the female counter-part of the Death on the Nile / [by] Agatha Christie. (London Robertson, 1936) evil Doctor. She began her adventures in a BBC : Published for the Crime Club by Collins, 1938) By the mid-thirties a group radio serial in 1945 and appeared in five novels [with facsimile dustwrapper] from 1950 to 1956. of Sydney writers attempted One of Agatha Christies’s most famous titles. their own joint detective On the wall are reproductions of covers from It was first published in 1937. Her second novel. The result was two of our large-format pulp magazines, husband, , was an archaeologist Murder Pie which appeared in 1936. Amazing Detective Tales (Dec. 1930) and and took her with him to digs in Egypt. She Mystery, the Illustrated Detective Magazine used her experiences there and in the middle- No. 4. (Oct. 1933), which exploit the oriental theme. east for settings in various of her novels. The Threat from Flat Case 1 41. Christie, Agatha, 1890-1976. the Orient The body in the library / by Agatha Christie. Agatha Christie and (London : Published for the Crime Club by Collins, 1942) 36. Rohmer, Sax, 1883-1959. Dorothy L. Sayers A story, this is a conscious working The quest of the sacred slipper / by Sax According to The Guinness Book of Records, over of the detective novel cliché – a body Rohmer. (New York : A.L. Burt, 1914) Agatha Christie is the world’s best-selling found in a library. Agatha Christie stated in the novelist, and is certainly the most famous crime “Foreword” for a later edition that the library 37. Rohmer, Sax, writer. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at should be a completely conventional one while 1883-1959. Styles was published in 1920. She wrote 80 the body would be a highly The mask of Fu Manchu detective books, many featuring Hercule improbable and sensational / by Sax Rohmer. (New Poirot or Miss Marple. one. The library was in the York : A.L. Burt, [1932]) house of a retired Colonel in 39. Christie, Agatha, 1890-1976. a quiet country village. The 38. Rohmer, Sax, Cards on the table / by Agatha Christie. body appears to be that 1883-1959. (London : Collins, for the Crime Club, 1936) of an 18 year old girl, a The bride of Fu Manchu / by [with facsimile dustwrapper] professional dancer. In fact it Sax Rohmer. 5th ed., reset. (London : A story but notable for the turns out to be that of a 16 Cassell, 1957) Originally published 1933. inclusion of another recurrent character, year old Girl Guide and the Colonel was not the killer. Despite Fr. Knox’s fifth commandment, many , a semi-humourous, self-effacing crime writers specialised in creating figures projection of Agatha Christie herself. Ariadne of Asian menace, none more so than “Sax is a successful crime writer, who has written Rohmer,” the pen-name of English author, 32 novels, many featuring a Finnish detective, Arthur Ward. His character, Doctor Fu Manchu, whom she does not like, but her readers expect

6 42. Christie, Agatha, 1890-1976. Flat Case 2 47. Hammett, Dashiell,1894-1961. Lord Edgware dies / by Agatha Christie. The thin man / by Dashiell Hammett. (New York (London : published for the Crime Club by Dashiell Hammet and : A.A. Knopf,1934) Collins, 1953) Raymond Chandler This copy of the first American edition includes Lord Edgware Dies, was first published in 1933 extensive manuscript amendments to spelling by William Collins through their Crime Club 45. Hammett, Dashiell, 1894-1961. and phrasing. This was used by Penguin in imprint. Collins introduced it as a marketing 1935 in preparing the English edition. The Maltese falcon / by Dashiell Hammett. exercise in 1930 and it continued until 1994. All (London : Pan, 1951) 48. Chandler, Raymond, 1888-1959. except five of Agatha Christie’s books appeared Serialised in The Black Mask, The Maltese under the Crime Club banner. The big sleep / Raymond Falcon first appeared in book-form in 1930. Chandler. (London : Hamish 43. Sayers, Dorothy L. The main character, Sam Spade, set the tone Hamilton, 1949) (Dorothy Leigh), 1893- for the hard-boiled, wise-cracking American Raymond Chandler is the 1957. private eye, developed by Raymond Chandler best-known of the American in his Philip Marlowe novels. The Maltese Falcon detective fiction writers. He Whose Body ? / Dorothy L. is best-remembered for the movie adaptation began to publish short stories Sayers. (London : Literary of 1941, which starred Humphrey Bogart. in The Black Mask magazine Press, [1930]) in 1933 and his first novel, Between the wars Dorothy 46. Hammett, Dashiell, 1894-1961. The Big Sleep appeared in L. Sayers was as popular a 1939. The classic film noir A man called Spade : and other stories / by crime writer as Agatha Christie. version, starring Humphrey Bogart Dashiell Hammett. (New York : Dell, [1949?] Educated at Oxford and as Philip Marlowe, was released in 1946. c1944) employed as a copywriter, she Sam Spade appeared in only one novel, and deliberately set herself to analyse 49. Chandler, Raymond, 1888-1959. three short stories. The stories were first and master detective fiction. Whose Body? The long good-bye / by Raymond Chandler. published in magazines in 1932 and are here (1923) was her first novel. It introduced her (London : [Hamish Hamilton for] The Thriller collected in book-form, in a “Dell Mapback.” detective, Lord Peter Wimsey. Book Club, [1954]) This was a series of American paperback novels First published in 1953, this is another of the published from 1943 to 44. Sayers, Dorothy L. (Dorothy Leigh), Philip Marlowe stories. It includes the character, 1951. They featured, on 1893-1957. Roger Wade – a drunken author Marlowe is the back covers, a map hired to track down, then to keep sober. Have his carcase / by Dorothy L. Sayers. of the area in which the (London : Gollancz, 1940) action takes place or a 50. Chandler, Raymond, 1888-1959 First published in 1932. Have His Carcase plan of the crime scene. Playback / by Raymond Chandler. (London includes the character, Harriet Vane, a mystery A Man Called Spade :Hamish Hamilton,1958) writer who is used by Dorothy Sayers as shows the plan of This was the last novel Chandler completed. It is a projection of the author, and a means of “Max Bliss’ Apartment, based on a screenplay he wrote during his time commenting on the genre. Scene of Murder.” in Hollywood. A photograph of the author, lacking his ubiquitous pipe, is featured on the back cover.

7 Flat Case 3 53. Rockwood, Harry, 1832-1873 Flat Case 4 Donald Dyke : the down-east detective / 1880s-1890s by Harry Rockwood (New York : American 1900s-1910s Publishers Corporation, [189-?]) This was the era of gaslight crime, set against Edwardian detective Harry Rockwood was the pseudonym of Ernest the background of the London fog. A. Young. This work also includes the stories, fiction “Clarice Dyke, the Female Detective,” and “Nat 51. Lynch, Lawrence L. Foster, the Boston Detective.” Clarice Dyke was 57. Morrison, Arthur, 1863-1945. Madeline Payne, the expert’s daughter / by Donald’s wife and was one of the first female The green diamond / by Arthur Morrison ; Lawrence L. Lynch. (Chicago : Alex. T. Loyd, detectives in fiction. 1884, c1883) illustrated by F.H. Townsend. (Boston : L.C. Page & Co., 1904) “Lawrence L. Lynch,” was the pen-name of a 54. Danvers, Milton. Arthur Morrison was an English journalist brought female novelist, Emma Murdoch van Deventer, The doctor’s crime : or, Simply horrible! A up in the East End of London. He published who wrote many detective novels in the 1880s detective story told by the coroner / by Milton several books of crime stories featuring his and 1890s. Danvers. (London : Disprose & Bateman, [1891]) detective, Martin Hewitt, a more self-effacing The forensic aspects of murder and the 52. Pinkerton, A. Frank. version of Sherlock Holmes. The Green Diamond importance of “medico-jurisprudence” form the centres on the theft of a large Indian diamond, Dyke Darrel the railroad background to this novel. reminiscent of Wilkie Collins’ Moonstone. detective : or the crime of the midnight express / by 55. Donovan, Dick, 1843-1934. 58. Kernahan, Coulson, 1858-1943. A. F. Pinkerton. (Chicago : From clue to capture : a series of thrilling Laird & Lee, 1887, c1886) The dumpling : a detective love detective stories / by Dick Donovan ; with story of a great labour Although the era is numerous illustrations by Paul Hardy and rising / by Coulson characterised in the others. (London : Hutchinson & Co., [1893] Kernahan ; illustrated by public mind by Sherlock Joyce Emmerson Muddock, wrote under the Stanley L. Wood. (London ; Holmes and the streets pseudonym “Dick Donovan.” The novels are in New York : Cassell, 1906) of London, detective the first person, with Dick Donovan relating his Kernahan’s arch-villain, “The fiction was also popular own exploits as a detective of police. in the United States. This Dumpling,” is shown on the cover in a pose recalling novel, set in Illinois, is part of “The Pinkerton 56. Underhill, George F. Conan Doyle’s Moriarty, “the Detective Series.” The Pinkerton Detective (George Frederick) Agency, with their motto, “we never sleep,” Napoloen of crime.” He leads An inheritance of crime : or, was established in the US in 1850. By 1900 an anarchist uprising of the workers in London, the children of Satan / by G. it was the largest private detective agency storms Buckingham Palace, captures the King, F. Underhill. (London : Diprose in the world. but finally receives summary justice from the hero. and Bateman, [1899]) Kernahan claimed in conducting research for the “Bad blood” was often used to novel to have, “at great personal risk … contrived explain the villain’s behaviour in to gain entrance to anarchist meetings, so as not early detective stories. to be ignorant of their methods.”

8 59. Hume, Fergus, 1859-1932. Flat Case 5 64. Horton, Mileson, 1899- The red skull / by Fergus Hume ... with Photocrimes / by Mileson Horton and Thomas illustrations by Louise Rogers. (New York : The Golden Age Pembroke. (London : Arthur Barker, [1936]) Dodge, [1908]) 1920s-1930s This book was an attempt to attract those Fergus Hume is famous for his first novel, engrossed in the 1930s crossword craze. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886), set This was the period when Agatha Christie and “Solving these problems will, we believe, provide in Melbourne where he was living at the time. Dorothy Sayers were the dominant names in you with an enjoyable occupation, and at least In 1888 he returned to England and continued detective fiction and the time when many of a temporary relief from counting up letters and to write, 140 novels in all, most of which were the conventions of the genre were set. The filling in squares.” Readers are presented with detective stories. action typically took place in rural, idyllic settings 26 crimes, with the facts and clues given in or, if urban, in locations such as Oxford. The pictures. Solutions are provided at the back of 60. Pidgin, Charles Felton, 1844-1923. characters often lived in vicarages or were the book. staying at country houses. The chronicles of Quincy Adams Sawyer, detective / by Charles Felton Pidgin and J.M. 65. Lorac, E. C. R. 1894-1958 62. Jenkins, Herbert, 1876-1923. Taylor ; illustrated by Harold James Cue. Murder in Chelsea / E. C. R. Lorac. (Boston : L.C. Page & Co., 1912) Malcolm Sage, detective / by Herbert (London : Sampson Low, Marston & Jenkins. (London : Herbert Jenkins, Charles Felton Pidgin created a small town, Co., Ltd., [1934]) [1921]) Mason’s Corner, near Boston, where he set a “E. C. R. Lorac” was the pseudonym series of novels. Sawyer is a young lawyer who Herbert Jenkins was a successful of Edith Caroline Rivett. solves local crimes. publisher, most notably of P. G. Edith Rivett wrote around 70 Wodehouse’s books. He was also a detective novels under two 61. Chesterton, G. K. popular novelist. His detective, Malcolm pen-names, “E. C. R. Lorac,” (Gilbert Keith), 1874- Sage, is modelled on Sherlock Holmes. and “Carol Carnac.” Murder 1936. in Chelsea features one of 63. Brandon, John G. her main protagonists, Chief The innocence of (John Gordon), 1879-1942. Inspector Macdonald. He Father Brown / G. K. operates with a partner in a style Chesterton. (London : The big heart : a present-day adventure – similar to modern TV detectives such as Morse Cassell, [1915]) without a moral / by John G. Brandon. and Lewis. (New York : Brentano’s, 1923) This was the first of Chesterton’s “Father Though born in Australia, John G. Brandon Brown” books, first achieved success as an author in England. He 66. Connington, J. J., 1880-1947. published in 1911. Father Brown is wrote many of the Sexton Blake stories. The The ha-ha case / J.J. Connington. (London : a Catholic priest, perhaps the earliest of the Big Heart was his first novel. It tells of a soldier, Hodder & Stoughton, 1936) “clerical sleuths.” The character has an air demobilized after the First World War, who finds A “ha-ha” is a feature in landscape gardening of unworldliness which enables him to solve work as a detective unravelling a blackmail plot. where a ditch is concealed from view, yet forms crimes while both the criminal and the Police a barrier, to stop livestock from entering the ignore him. garden. The plan on the cover is in a style later taken up by the Dell “Mapbacks.”

9 The Ha-Ha case was first published in 1934. 69. Oppenheim, E. 72. Charteris, Leslie, 1907-1993. The author’s real name was Alfred Walter Phillips (Edward Follow the Saint / Leslie Charteris. (London : Stewart and he was Professor of Chemistry Phillips), 1866-1946. Hodder & Stoughton, 1950) at Queens University, Belfast. His plots involve The great impersonation poisons, blood tests and other forensic details. Leslie Charteris began publishing the Simon / E. Phillips Oppenheim. Templar, “Saint” stories in 1930. In 1935 (London : Hodder and 67. Inspector Wade of Scotland Yard in Charteris moved from England to America and Stoughton, [192-?]) the mystery of the red aces. (Racine, WI many of the later novels are set in the U.S. : The Whitman Pub. Co., c1937) Another of the major Follow the Saint, a collection of three novellas, names in the series, E. The “Big Little Book” series began in 1932, with The was first published in 1938. Phillips Oppenheim, wrote Adventures of Dick Tracy. The format was extremely His novels appeared in the Yellow jacket format 150 novels, mostly crime popular in the 1930s. It featured illustrations on each and spy thrillers, from 1887 to 1944. He from 1928, and he became Hodder’s biggest right-hand page facing text on left. made a fortune and lived on the Riviera. All of name. his Yellow jackets had on the cover, “The prince Flat Case 6 of storytellers,” and many had the slogan, 73. Witting, Clifford. “Switch off the wireless – it’s an Oppenheim.” Midsummer murder / by Clifford Witting. Yellow jackets (London : Hodder & Stoughton, 1953) 70. Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward First published in 1937, and set in the English Produced by Hodder & Stoughton, “Yellow Woodley), 1865-1948. country-side. The novel opens with a man jackets” were a feature of the 1920s and The prisoner in the opal / by A. E. W. Mason. [8th murdered in broad continued to be published into the 1950s. ed.]. (London] : Hodder and Stroughton, [1933]) daylight, shot through As well as detective fiction and thrillers, the titles A. E. W. Mason was unusual among English the head while cleaning included romances and westerns. writers in that he set his novels in France, and the statue in the town square. 68. Wallace, Edgar, 1875-1932. featured the detective M. Hanaud of the French Sûreté. The strange countess / Edgar Wallace. (London : Hodder & Stoughton, 1950) 71. Sapper, 1888-1937. Edgar Wallace was Bulldog Drummond / by Sapper [pseudonym one of the major of Herman Cyril McNeil]. (London : Hodder and authors in “Yellow Stoughton, 1953) jackets.” The Strange Originally published in 1920, this was the first Countess was first Bulldog Drummond novel. In the opening published in 1925. chapter he places an advertisement in the newspaper, “Demobilised Officer finding peace incredibly tedious would welcome diversion. Legitimate if possible; but crime of a humorous description, no objection. Excitement essential.” A keen golfer, “Sapper” likened a good short story to “the perfect iron shot.”

10 Flat Case 7 76. Marsh, Ngaio, 1895-1982. 79. Iams, Jack, Died in the wool / Ngaio Marsh. (London : 1910-1990. The 1940s Published for the Crime Club by Collins, 1946) Death draws the line / Ngaio Marsh was a New Zealand author, one by Jack Iams. The 1940s saw an increase in reading in of the “Queens of Crime” from the Golden Age (New York : William general, especially during the war. People of Detective Fiction. Her first novel appeared Morrow, 1949) sought mainly escapist fare and detective fiction in 1934. Her strength was in characterisation, Iams mainly wrote figured strongly. “I invariably start with people … I must involve comedies of manners one of them in a crime of violence … I have to and was referred 74. Walsh, J. M. (James Morgan), ask myself which of these persons is capable of to as the “American 1897-1952 such a crime … and under what circumstances Wodehouse.” Death Draws the Line, Something on the stairs / by Stephen Maddock. would he or she commit it.” Died in the Wool however, is a serious crime novel although it (London : Collins, 1944) is set on a New Zealand sheep property and involves a comic strip artist. It is set in the world “Stephen Maddock” was a involves a body found in a bale of wool. of magazine publishing. pseudonym of J. M. Walsh. Walsh was born in Geelong 77. Blake, Nicholas, 1904-1972. but moved permanently Minute for murder / by Nicholas Blake. (London Flat Case 8 to London in 1925 and : Published for the Crime Club by Collins, 1947) became a writer of “Nicholas Blake” was the pseudonym used detective fiction under his The 1950s by the poet Cecil Day-Lewis when writing own name and various detective fiction. Minute for Murder is set pseudonyms. 80. Box, Edgar, 1925- in the “Ministry for Morale” during the war, Death likes it hot / by Edgar Box. (London : and involves Blake’s usual detective, Nigel Heinemann, 1955) Strangeways. The novel is partly based on the author’s experiences working in the Ministry of “Edgar Box” was the pseudonym of Gore Vidal. 75. Pim, Sheila, 1909- Information. He wrote three detective novels published from Common or garden crime : a detective story / 1952 to 1954, all featuring a young upper-class by Sheila Pim. (London : 78. Rowland, John, 1907- American, Peter Cutler Sargeant II. They are most notable for their high society settings. In Hodder and Stoughton, The orange-tree Death Likes it Hot the action takes place at a 1945) mystery / by John Long island house party. This was Sheila Pim’s Rowland. (London : first novel, a mixture of Herbert Jenkins, [1949]) gardening and crime, The plot centres on the set in a suburb of deaths of people on the Dublin. staff of “that brilliant new magazine, the London Circus.”

11 81. Vulliamy, C. E. (Colwyn 84. Easton, Nat. Flat Case 9 Edward), 1886-1971 One good turn / by Nat Don among the dead men : a satirical thriller / Easton. (London : T. V. Australian C. E. Vulliamy. (London : Michael Joseph, 1952) Boardman, 1957) The attraction of detective fiction for academics Nat Easton was an 86. Mackenzie, Kenneth, 1913-1955. is well-known. The genre presents a puzzle, English novelist who The refuge : a confession / Seaforth Mackenzie. somewhat similar to the crossword, which published with the (London : Cape ; Sydney : Angus and requires ingenuity to solve. Although he wrote Boardman stable Robertson 1954) several books on literary and historical subjects, of writers. The Vulliamy is best remembered for his crime novels. Boardman crime This was Mackenzie’s last and most ambitious books were noted for novel. It begins with the protagonist, a crime 82. Lacy, Ed. their striking graphic reporter, calling from the night desk at his newspaper office to confess to the murder of End to violence / by Ed design, as seen here his wife. The author presents a psychological Lacy. (Melbourne : Atlas, with the woman lit by torch-light. study, recalling Dostoyevsky’s Crime and [1954?]) Punishment, set against a background of Ed Lacy was an American 85. Rice, Craig, 1908-1957. European refugees and left-wing bohemian writer of hard-boiled circles in Sydney. The double frame / Craig Rice. (London : fiction. Although End to Hammond Hammond, 1958) Violence appeared in 87. Corrigan, Mark. Melbourne as “an original “Craig Rice” was the pseudonym of American Sydney for sin / Mark novel – not a reprint,” writer, Georgiana Ann Randolph. She worked Corrigan. (Sydney : it was in fact first as a script writer for radio in the 1930s and had Angus & Robertson, published in the United a prodigious output of detective fiction. She [1955]) States in 1953 as Strip is thought to have been the ghost-writer for for Violence. Gypsy Rose Lee. This novel first appeared in “Mark Corrigan” the U.S. in 1957 as Knocked For a Loop. was one of the pseudonyms used

by Norman Lee. He 83. Jessup, Richard, 1925-1982. was an English writer, The man in charge : a novel / by Richard but lived in Australia Jessup. (London : Secker & Warburg, 1957) during the 1950s, and set A novel with an honest cop whose many of his thrillers and crime novels here. investigations into a murder frame-up are hindered by political corruption.

12 88. North, Eric, 1884-1968. 91. Corris, Peter, 1942- 93. Brown, Carter, A chip on my shoulder / by Eric North. (London The dying trade / Peter Corris. (Sydney : 1923-1985. : Dennis Dobson, 1955) [with ms. inscription by McGraw-Hill, 1980) Curves for a coroner / by author] The two outstanding writers of detective fiction Peter Carter Brown. (Sydney : Horwitz Publications, “Eric North” was the pen-name of the Australian now in Australia are Shane Maloney and Peter c1955) “A Carter Brown novelist Bernard Cronin under which he wrote Corris. Peter Corris was a Teaching Fellow Lovely Mystery.” five detective novels. A Chip On My Shoulder is in History at Monash University between set in Melbourne where a murder is committed 1964 and 1966, and completed his MA on “Carter Brown” was the by members of a narcotics ring. The novel is set “Aborigines and Europeans in Western Victoria, pseudonym of Alan Yates. He wrote hundreds of pulp detective novels from in the underworld of night clubs and back alleys. from first contact to 1860”. The Dying Trade the 1950s to the 1980s. They were mostly set was the first of his crime novels. It is set in in America and featured lurid covers. Unlike 89. Murray, Max, 1901-1956. Sydney and introduces his hard-boiled P.I., the Larry Kents, the Carter Brown novels were Cliff Hardy, as the main character. Breakfast with a corpse / Max published locally and also in the U.S. Murray. (London : Michael Joseph, 1956) Flat Case 10 94. Terry, Joe Max Murray was born in Underworld lady / by Joe Terry. Australia and worked in Australian crime pulps (Sydney : Action Comics, [1955?]) Sydney as a reporter, before Another Australian pulp set in the U.S. “Joe 92. Kent, Larry. leaving to travel around the Terry” is probably a pen-name. The story world on tramp steamers. He Blind date / Larry Kent, detective. centres on “cub reporter Dale Morgan,” who spent the war in London as (Sydney : Cleveland, [1954]) goes under-cover as Della Jordan, “wicked- a screenwriter and began his A detective novel based on the Sydney radio eyed cabaret performer with an ear sensitive to career as a crime writer with series “Larry Kent,” created by Ron Ingleby. any gossip which might give her a lead”. The Voice of the Corpse in 1947. He Published monthly from April 1954, the wrote 12 detective novels, all with “corpse” 95. McCall, K. T. novelettes were written by various authors, in the title; and died in Sydney in 1956 while including Don Haring and The lady’s a decoy / by K.T. McCall. back in Australia on a visit. Des R. Dunn. Several (Sydney : Horwitz, 1957) hundred titles appeared “K. T. McCall” was a joint pen-name for two 90. Wright, June, 1919- in the series. All had Australian women writers, Audrey Armitage and Faculty of murder / June Wright. (London : John printed on the cover, Muriel Watkins. In his bibliography of Australian Long, [1961]) [with ms. inscription by author] “I hate crime.” They Crime Fiction, John Loder lists 22 titles by them, June Wright wrote six detective novels from were set in America, published in 1957 and 1958. The hero, Johnny 1948 to 1966, all set in Melbourne. Faculty of as was much of the Buchanan, is cast in the hard-boiled, wise- cracking mould and the stories are set in New Murder involves the death of a Professor’s wife pulp fiction written York. The Lady’s a Decoy involves a model who and the disappearance of a female student and published in has her legs insured for $100,000, “Now she from one of the colleges at the University of Australia. was missing. I knew she was dead – I had a leg Melbourne. to prove it.” The severed leg had been dumped on Johnny’s door-step wrapped in newspaper.

13 96. North, Gerry. 99. Brody, Marc, d. 1986. 102. Action detective Gerry North collects / Gerry North. (Sydney : Rub out the redhead / magazine. Horwitz, 1959) Marc Brody. (Sydney : Action Comics, 1950-1956) “Gerry North” was another pseudonym for the “K. (Sydney : Horwitz T. McCall” writers. This was the first novel written Publications, 1960) Each issue had a by women to feature a female private investigator. “Marc Brody” was distinctive title and the pseudonym of the covers featured photographs of actors 97. Clay, E. Hamilton. Australian journalist W. H. Williams, editor rather than line art. Lady in black / by E. Hamilton of Truth. Brody, a Clay. (Sydney : Cleveland reporter on an American Publishing, [195-?]) newspaper, narrates the Possibly another novels in the first person. 103. Crime story magazine. pen-name. Clay begins his (Sydney : Blue Diamond Publishing description of the woman Company, [1952?-1953?]) seen on the cover, “The On display is no. 6, (October 1953). The first fingernail on the trigger was Flat Case 11 story, Mayhem for Micky, by Richard Deming, enamelled deep red. The has the moral spelled out in the opening face behind the gun was oval, smooth, Australian crime paragraph, “You should never toy with a loaded beautiful, framed in gleaming black hair”. pulp magazines Irishman”.

104. Detective stories : tales of murder, 98. Dudgeon, Robert, 1913-1975. 100. “How to write a best-seller,” romance, suspense, detection. Nude in nylon / Robert Dudgeon. (Sydney : by Carter Brown, in Male, July 1955, p. 29-31. (Sydney : Blue Diamond Publishing, Cleveland Publishing, [196-?]) [1952-1954]) Male was published by Horwitz in Sydney, “Robert Dudgeon” was On display is no. 7, (October the most successful of the Australian crime the pen-name of Frank S. 1953). Despite the lurid fiction imprints. This is a light-hearted piece Greenop, an Australian cover details, none of the which begins, “Essentials of the plot are: a journalist who wrote a stories seem to feature corpse – preferably blonde....” vast number of novels pearls hidden inside an under a variety of artificial leg taken from 101. American detective magazine. pseudonyms. He a corpse. is best known as (Sydney : Jatkins Publishing, the editor of Man 1951-1956) magazine. In the 1950s and early 1960s there were many Australian crime magazines. They were modelled on American pulp magazines and often had the word “American” in their titles or on the cover.

14 Small Upright Case 107. Harrison, Richard Motte. 108. Mystery, John, 1894-1974. Eagle book of police and detection / by Richard John Mystery’s detectives. (Sydney : Publicity Harrison. (London : Longacre Press, 1960) Press, [1945]) 105. Stranks, Alan [donor: Robert Johnson] “John Mystery,” whose real name was Lester P.C. 49 / by Alan Stranks ; with a forward by This book includes Sinclair, was an Australian phenomenon. He Brian Reece ; illustrated by F. G. Moorsom. factual information wrote or compiled hundreds of children’s books (London : Juvenile Productions, [1949]) on the work of the from his home, C.I.D., as well as Adventure Castle, in 106. Stranks, Alan chapters on “How Sydney during the P.C. 49 annual / by Alan Stranks ; illustrations science helps 1940s and 1950s. and introduction by John Worsley. (London : detectives,” and One of the stories Andrew Dakers Limited, [1955]) “Facts about in this book is Mark With a paper concertina character puppet of fingerprints.” Twain’s “Tom Sawyer, PC 49. detective.” PC 49 was a policeman who appeared in the weekly boys’ paper, Eagle, and in a wireless serial.

15 Corridor cases Screens Children’s detective Colour scans of the cover art from the Dell “Mapback” series. (1943-1951) stories Enid Blyton On display are sets of Enid Blyton’s best known mystery series, The Secret Seven (15 titles, 1949-1963); The Famous Five (21 titles, 1942-1963); The Five Find-Outers (15 titles from 1943-1961); and the Barney and Miranda Mysteries (6 titles, 1949-1959).

Annette Funicello The American firm, Whitman Publishing, produced three mystery novels featuring Annette from “The Mouseketeers.” They were written by Doris Schroeder and appeared from 1961 to 1963.

Ground Floor Case Publications of the Invincible Press (Sydney) and some of the original U.S. editions, with the definitive work on their output, Invincible Press Death in Five boxes is a typical mystery pulps / by John Loder (2008). from the Dell mapback series, with a crime map on the back cover (top). By John Dickson Carr, this edition was published New York in 1944.

16 Francis Sill Ware’s novel, Dangerous Ground, was published in 1947 by Invincible Press, Sydney. The original U.S. edition had been published in 1945.

17 accompanied bythisjig-sawrevealing thesolutiontocrime. Cover: Walter F. Eberhardt’s 1933mystery, Thejig-sawpuzzlemurder, was Please seewww.lib.monash.edu.au/friends formore information. exhibition openingsandtalksthrough theyear. donation, FriendsoftheLibraryare includedonamailinglistandinvitedtoour In additiontohelpingtheRare BooksCollectionacquire newitemswithasmall Have youconsidered becoming oneoftheFriendsMonashUniversityLibrary? visit www.lib.monash.edu/rare. and issupportedbyateamofrare bookslibrarians.Formore information on theClaytoncampus,collectionprovides areading room forresearchers age, uniquenessorphysicalbeauty. HousedintheSirLouisMathesonLibrary The Rare BooksCollection comprisesmaterialconsidered rare becauseof Director, CentralServices:JanetteBurke Director, Macmillan ClientServices(Science,HealthandEngineering):Wilna Director, ClientServices(HumanitiesandSocialSciences):LisaSmith Director, InformationResources: SuzanneClarke University Librarian:CathrineHarboe-Ree www.lib.monash.edu.Visit use oftechnology. and through leadershipin research skillsdevelopment,scholarlycommunication and providing outstandingscholarly resources andstudyfacilitiesatmultiplelocations As oneofAustralia’s leadingacademiclibraries,westrengthen theUniversityby www.lib.monash.edu

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