The golden age of murder : the mystery of the writers who invented the modern detective story
(Book)

Includes facsimile reproductions of the 1932 Constitution and Rules of the Detection Club (pages 441-449).

Includes bibliographical references (pages 450-458) and indexes.

"A real-life detective story, investigating how Agatha Christie and colleagues in a mysterious literary club transformed crime fiction, writing books casting new light on unsolved murders whilst hiding clues to their authors' darkest secrets."--Publisher's description.

Detective stories of the twenties and thirties have long been stereotyped as cozily conventional. Nothing could be further from the truth: some explore forensic pathology and serial murders, others delve into police brutality and miscarriages of justice; occasionally the innocent are hanged, or murderers get away scot-free. Golden Age novelists faced up to the Depression and the rise of Hitler and fascism, and wrote books agonizing over guilt and innocence, good and evil, and explored whether killing a fellow human being could ever be justified. Though their stories included no graphic sex scenes, sexual passions of all kinds seethed just beneath the surface. The gifted authors who formed the Detection Club included feminists, gay and lesbian writers, Socialists and Marxist sympathizers. Most were young, ambitious and at the cutting edge of popular culture. Fascinated by real-life crimes, they cracked unsolved cases and threw down challenges to Scotland Yard, using their fiction to take revenge on people who hurt them, to conduct covert relationships, and even as an outlet for homicidal fantasy. Their books anticipated not only CSI, but also Lord of the Flies. The Club occupies a unique place in Britain's literary history, and its influence on storytelling in fiction, film and television throughout the world continues to this day. In this book, crime novelist and Detection Club archivist Martin Edwards rewrites the story of crime fiction with unique authority, transforming our understanding of detective stories and the brilliant but tormented men and women who wrote them.--Adapted from dust jacket.