September Books: 1900s

 I've been reading a lot of older novels and short stories lately. Most of these are from the earlier part of the 1900s, although there is one that was published in 1999.

The Clue by Carolyn Wells

This was the author’s first book with her series detective Fleming Stone, who does not actually appear until a few chapters before the end, when he swoops in and solves the case. This is an author I learned about from reading a LitHub article, I think, so I went to Project Gutenberg and got the book, which was originally published in 1909. I enjoyed the book enough to get more of the books in the series. I think there is something of a resurgence of interest in her work.

The book takes place in New Jersey, where Wells was born. In this book, people are gathered in a large home to celebrate the wedding of the young woman who has inherited it from her uncle. The night before the wedding, the groom finds her dead. Who could have done it? Suspicion falls on the people in the house, since it was always locked up tight at night. The groom’s friend and a friend of the bride investigate, but eventually Fleming Stone is called in.

Death at the Dolphin by Ngaio Marsh

I was in the mood for a mystery, so turned to the Golden Age and continued with the Roderick Alleyn series. I only have a few books left to read. It will be sad when I am done, but I still have Margery Allingham's Campion series and the works of Josephine Tey to explore.

In this book, an old legendary theatre called The Dolphin is literally crumbling. A playwright and director goes to look at the ruin and harbours dreams of it being restored. These are dreams, not plans, until a weird set of circumstances makes his dream a reality. He writes a play inspired by a glove that was made for Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, which had been in the possession of a strange rich guy. Of course, there are a lot of personality clashes, relationships, and, well dramas between the actors. Things take a very ugly turn when the watchman is found dead and a child actor is injured. Alleyn is called in.

Murder at Christmas by various authors, edited by Cecily Gayford

This is part of a series of similar books, most of them Christmasy, but one is a collection of summer stories. This one came out last year, but when it popped up in the e-book section of the library website there was already a queue and I knew it wouldn’t be available until after Christmas, when I don’t care to read Christmas stories. I got in early this year. These are good collections. Here’s the description. 

A rich collection of classic Christmas mysteries

    ' Christmas is a season of overindulgence. For most of us, that means an extra mince pie, a second helping of turkey, or perhaps a third glass of mulled wine. But for some among us, the festive season is a time to settle old scores, dispatch new enemies and indulge ... in murder.

Here, ten masters of the genre serve up mystery and mayhem aplenty. From a dowager's missing diamonds to a Christmas party gone horribly wrong, these classic crime stories will delight, puzzle and satisfy long after the last strands of tinsel have been packed away.'

I'm including it in this post because all of the stories were originally published in the 1900s.

A Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton (audiobook read by David Monteith)

This is a seasonal novella featuring the author’s series detective Hamish McBeath. It is set in the north of Scotland and is filled with quirky characters and village hi-jinks. As the story opens, Hamish is facing a solitary Christmas, because his family (siblings, aunt, etc) have gone on a trip which his aunt won in a contest in which people were asked to submit a slogan for washing powder. One of Hamish’s superiors was taken ill and he had to take over. He needn’t have worried, however, because there was plenty to keep him busy. Who stole the town Christmas lights and tree? What happened to Mrs. Gallagher’s cat? Will Morag’s parents lighten up?

This was a pleasant book to listen to while I knitted and the reader was quite good.

Crime at Christmas by C.H.B. Kitchin

I was recently reading an article in a CrimeReads email about forgotten authors of the Golden Age. This author was included. I thought I’d seen his name in the e-book section of the library website, so I clicked over to look. This book came up and was available, so I borrowed it. It is the second of four mysteries that Kitchin wrote, published in 1934. They feature Malcolm Warren, a stockbroker, who finds himself in the middle of unexpected situations.

In this book, he goes to spend Christmas at the large home of a wealthy client, Mr Quisberg. He is good friends with the client’s wife and so is looking forward to seeing her. This is the wife’s third marriage and her children are from the previous two. They are there, as are a doctor friend of Quisberg, Quisberg’s personal assistant, and the assistant’s mother. There are also servants. It’s a full house and Warren is given a small room with a shared balcony. One morning, he wakes up to find the body of the assistant’s mother hanging over the railing. There are tensions between people in the family. Suffice it to say, it’s not a very merry Christmas.

I enjoyed the book, although the ending was rather abrupt. This was followed by a strange ending chapter, in which ‘reader’ interviews ‘Malcolm Warren’ who narrates the book throughout. It is in this chapter that loose ends are tied up and details are provided.

Tomorrow, I move into the current century.😊 Happy reading!

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