Bodies from the Library

Selected Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense by Masters of the Golden Age

By: Tony Medawar, Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer, A. A. Milne, NIcholas Blake, Christianna Brand, Philip Bretherton

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together a selection of tales by masters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Agatha Christie crime story that has not been seen since 1922.

At a time when crime and thriller writing has once again overtaken the sales of general and literary fiction, Bodies from the Library unearths lost stories from the Golden Age, that period between the World Wars when detective fiction captured the public’s imagination and saw the emergence of some of the world’s cleverest and most popular storytellers.

This audio anthology brings together the majority of forgotten tales from the book Bodies from the Library, from the 1920s to the 1950s, by masters of the Golden Age including Cyril Hare, Freeman Wills Crofts and A.A. Milne,

Most anticipated of all are the contributions by women writers: the first detective story by Georgette Heyer, unseen since 1923; an unpublished story by Christianna Brand, creator of Nanny McPhee; and a dark tale by Agatha Christie published only in an Australian journal in 1922 during her ‘Grand Tour’ of the British Empire.

With other stories by Detection Club stalwarts Anthony Berkeley, H.C. Bailey, J.J. Connington and John Rhode, plus Vincent Cornier, Leo Bruce, Roy Vickers and Arthur Upfield, this essential collection harks back to a time before forensic science – when murder was a complex business.

©2018 Half-Eaten © Nikesh Shukla; Thicker Than Blood © Erin Kelly (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"A veritable treasure trove of classic short stories. The star line up includes Agatha Christie, Cyril Hare and Georgette Heyer, but the best of the bunch are the second rank authors." (Daily Mail)

Great read!!!!!

I love the "Golden Age" Mystery. Some these authors are new to me and some I've been reading their books for ages. I can't wait for the second volume. It has been pre-ordered. I have written down the names of the new to me authors. I will be looking for their books

wow. fun read or should I say listen

all those wonderful writers in the Golden Age of Mysteries in one place is a treat. Hope there are more of these anthologies to come. I was mad for Lord Peter upon my first reading of Dorothy Sayers and his friends and fifty + years later nothing has changed.

HOW GOOD? I NEVER USE ALL CAPS, THAT’S HOW GOOD.

To rescue lost tales of malfeasance penned in crime fiction’s Golden Age is, in and of itself, highly laudable. Listening to them is like floating on a cotton candy cloud over an ocean of bliss. But beyond the unadulterated enjoyment of these 14 stories, Tony Medawar has done people like me another very great service.

I enjoy a good Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie or Josephine Tey. However, once familiar with each writer, I pine for other voices. Problem is, those other voices, though prominent in their time, aren’t very well known now (at least not to me); selecting from their works is, to use an appropriate metaphor, a shot in the dark.

Now I know better. Bodies from the Library is a sort of criminal sampler, wherein we get a good taste of John Rhode, Christianna Brand, Arthur W. Upfield, Freeman Wills Crofts, Georgette Heyer, Anthony Berkley, A. A. Milne (yes, that A. A. Milne) and C. Day Lewis, writing under the name of Nicholas Blake (like P. G. Wodehouse’s Percy Gorringe, Lewis found that crime paid better than verse). It's not just the story, of course, that sets these stories apart. It's the writing, the characters, the good humor, the overall sense of serious fun. And the best part? Specimens from each author named are available on Audible. And if that wasn’t enough, Phillip Bretherton’s performance behind the mic is pretty darn near perfection. He is a reader to whom it is a joy to listen.

The only fly in this grade-A ointment is an occasional but silly political correctness. Before one story we are warned, for example, of offensive attitudes about race. Ironically, the offending passage gives credit to Aborigines and Europeans for their salient strengths as detectives (diversity, right?). More, it is spoken by a man descended from both races, explaining his own superior powers of detection. If not forewarned, I don’t think I’d have noticed it.

Light but a pleasurable look into this genre from the paxt.

Nothing too profound, but great writing and fun stories. I also loved the narrator whose voice is soothing and f
has a variety of accents. There are also short bios of the site after each story. Just a delight!

Good Stories. Great Narration!

The last two stories were hard to play...but I was able to listen to them eventually. The narrator was truly wonderful. Enjoy with a cuppa!