Vintage Mystery & Detective stories

2 Reviews

• 

  A mixed collection

  I bought this book because I wanted to complete my collection of stories set in the "Gaslight" Era ( let just say Victorian to early Edwardian) and I thought that it was a sort of canon of the genre.
  I must say that I was not completely satisfied with my choice for some reasons.
  First of a ... (continue)

  I bought this book because I wanted to complete my collection of stories set in the "Gaslight" Era ( let just say Victorian to early Edwardian) and I thought that it was a sort of canon of the genre.
  I must say that I was not completely satisfied with my choice for some reasons.
  First of all the book seems to be lacking in terms of historical information because there are no biographical and chronological notes before any single story.
  Some information are dispersed on the introduction but it is not easy to flip a book of 1260 pages just to search the exact spot in the preface where the editor spoke about the author you are just reading.
  It seems also that the stories are not put in chronological order ( but I'm not certain since there are no clear indication) and so sometimes I stumbled upon a naive story and did not know to ascribe it to the infancy of the genre or to the ineptitude of the writer.
  Also the choice of the stories is somewhat baffling because it's not easy to understand the method. If it was aimed to give an historical overview of the different angle from which the genre was approached that would explain the entries of some really dull stories (like the Stacy Aumonier's entry: funny and well written but frankly not detective and even less mystery), but if it was aimed to show the best of what's was around at that age, in some cases has missed its mark.
  Nevertheless the book is huge and so has its merit and its gems (like the two Chesterton's entries, the Prince Zaleski's stories, Robert Barr's stories about Eugene Valmont and some unusual Wallace's). So my suggestion is that if you want a first introduction to this world try before something less imposing and then if you like the genre switch to this book knowing that sometimes you will get a dull story or you'll search wikipedia to know more about an author.

  Is this helpful?

  Andrea Dalek said on Nov 10, 2009 | Add your feedback

• 

  Contiene:
  1. The purloined letter - Edgar Allan Poe ****
  2. Silver Blaze - Conan Doyle *****
  3. The gosth of Fountain Lane - C. L. Pirkis***
  4. Who Kill Zedebee - Wilkie Collins*****
  5. The great Ruby Robbery - Grant Allen*****
  6. The murder of the Mandarin - Arnold Bennett**
  7. The purple de ... (continue)

  Contiene:
  1. The purloined letter - Edgar Allan Poe ****
  2. Silver Blaze - Conan Doyle *****
  3. The gosth of Fountain Lane - C. L. Pirkis***
  4. Who Kill Zedebee - Wilkie Collins*****
  5. The great Ruby Robbery - Grant Allen*****
  6. The murder of the Mandarin - Arnold Bennett**
  7. The purple death - William Le Queux
  8. The White Pillars Murder - G. K. Chesterton
  9. The sapient Monkey - Headon Hill
  10. Clues - Edgar Wallace
  11. The Curzon Street Conundrum - David Stuart Davis
  12. The Trial for murder - Charles Dickens
  13. The black diamond - Arthur B. Revee<br />14. The vanished Crown - Ernes Bramah<br />15. The Lost Special - Conan Doyle<br />16. The Dollar chasers - Earl Derr Biggers<br />17. The amber beads - Fergus Hume<br />18. Tha affair of a German Dispatch-Box - Victor L. Whitechurch<br />19. The Stone of de Edmundsbury Monk - M. P. Shiel<br />20. The Manor House Mystery - J. S. Fletcher<br />21. Abel Crew - Mrs. Henry Wood<br />22. The Wells - W. W. Jacobs<br />23. Cheating the Gallows - Israel Zangwill<br />24. The return of Imray - Rudyard Kipling<br />25. The Treasure Hunt - Edgar Wallace<br />26. The Problem of the Cell 13 - Jacques Futrelle<br />27. The Murder at the Duck Club - Hesketh Prichard<br />28. Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty - Stacy Aumonier<br />29. The Secret of the Fox Hunter - William Le Queux<br />30. A Schoolmaster Abroad - E. W. Hornung<br />31. The Missing Millionaire - Harry Blyth<br />32. The Invisible Man- G. K. Chesterton<br />33. The Riddle of the Visiting Angel - David Stuart Davis<br />34. In the Grip of the Green Demon - Robert Barr<br />35. The Murdered Cousin - J.S. Le Fanu<br />36. The Shadow in the Corner - M. E. Braddon<br />37. The Problem of Dead Wood Hall - Dick Donovan<br />38. The Invisible Ray - Arthur B. Revee<br />39. The Black Cross -Arthur B. Revee<br />40. The Tragedy at Brookbend Cottage - Ernest Braham<br />41. The Secret of Headlam Height - Ernest Braham<br />42. The Secret Garden - G. K. Chesterton<br />43. The Stolen White Elephnat - Mark Twain<br />44. The Absent -Minded Coterie - Robert Barr<br />45. The Mistery at Number Seven - Mrs Henry Wood<br />46. The Green Mamba - Edgar Wallace<br />47. The Accusing Shadow - Harry Blyth<br />48. The Gylston Slander - Herbert Jenkins<br />49. The Curse of the Griswold Phantom - David Stuart Davis<br />50. The Mystery of the Hansom Cab - Fergus Hume

  Is this helpful?

  Aliesa de Ponthieu said on Aug 23, 2009 | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
  (2)
  • 5 stars
  • 4 stars
  • 3 stars
  • 2 stars
  • 1 star
• English Books
• Paperback 1276 Pages
• Edition: 1
• ISBN-10: 1840220651
• ISBN-13: 9781840220650
• Publisher: Wordsworth Edition
• Pub date: Jan 01, 2006

Prices Change currency & sellers