Gems lurk in dusty corners, and the recent revival of classic crime fiction has seen books scaling the bestseller charts after being out of print for up to three-quarters of a century, while many new novels pay tribute, with varying degrees of awareness, to their Golden Age predecessors. How many commentators (or publishers) had the vision to foresee that? Neglected crime authors have long written fiction as worthwhile as that produced by their better-known colleagues. Even deeply flawed books often possess interest and merit.
— from Martin Edwards’ introduction
The above is partly a rallying cry for readers of mysteries, old and current, and a statement of both belief – bolstered by an extensive titles index – and intent in bringing to the attention of readers authors and titles that have become obscure and sometimes forgotten over the course of more than two centuries of crime writing. But Edwards is not stuck on just older works; he does not skimp on investigating, discussing and sometimes celebrating (notably Ruth Rendall and P. D. James) more recent writers. Chapters cover pre-Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes and the “Silver Age” of his major influence, the Golden Age between world wars, American achievements, the mystery/crime/detective novels from other countries, and developments around the world post-WWII. Anyone daunted by the length of all that should know there are 622 pages of text, all arranged in easily digestible chapters (including chapter notes), plus a bit over 100 pages of select bibliography, acknowledgements and indices (names, titles, subject).
Though he doesn’t say so, this must be Edwards’ lifetime project, stemming from his reading of mystery, crime, detective, suspense, spy and thriller novels and their offshoots. For each chapter he selects an author whose life and work he summarizes as he discusses the type of story that author is known for, then moves on to other writers who have written similar work or extended the range and scope of that kind of fiction. For instance, chapter 30, “Waking Nightmares: Noir Fiction,” begins by looking at the work of Cornell Woolrich, then expands to discuss Joel Townsley Rogers’ The Red Right Hand, the collaborative work of Thomas Narcejac (a pen name) and Pierre Boileau like The Fiends (filmed as Diabolique) and The Living and the Dead (filmed as Vertigo). Another chapter (one of two) focusing on espionage begins with Ian Fleming before bringing in John Le Carre, among others. Chapter notes usually expand the range of information, for instance citing stage, film, opera (yes, opera) or television adaptations and, frequently, who adapted them and that persons’ connections to the mystery/crime genre. One of the fascinating aspects of the book is how often the lives of writers and their writings intersect with the lives of other writers and their writings, frequently in terms of Y writing the screen or stage play adaptation of X’s novel. Included with the history of the genre, is some detail on the history of the genre’s publishing, for instance the birth of the Collins Crime Club, under which imprint this book was published.
Edwards, through his reading and research, pulls together and compacts an amazing amount of information concentrating on novel length works, with occasional reference to short stories, making this an authoritative reference, perhaps the authoritative reference, for the foreseeable future for anyone beginning to research writers or works within the genre, or just looking to fill in a reading list. Being a fiction writer rather than an academic or professional critic, Edwards has a sense of pace and readability that makes this immersive and entertaining as well as informing.
There are a few hitches in the proceedings, some proofreading issues, though remarkably few for so long a book, and at least a couple of writers mentioned in the text but missed in the names index (I noted Elmore Leonard and H. P. Lovecraft), which I expect will be cleaned up in future editions.
For myself, I find two things about Edwards’ arguments intriguing: First, from the introduction he makes it clear that throughout he is in conversation with the last comprehensive history of the mystery story, now 50+ years-old, Bloody Murder by Julian Symons (which is about half the length of this book). Edwards’ respect for Symons is apparent, though Symons was rather more critical in his assessments of individual works than Edwards. At times this saves Edwards from making his own critical judgements, at other times it gives him a consistent source to play against. While he occasionally merely notes Symons’ judgements, at other times he takes issue with them, in particular with works from the Golden Age of Detection. Second, I’m amused that here is another example of a genre writer irritated, if not infuriated, with Edmund Wilson, whom the mainstream reader and critic may no longer know of, while knowledgeable readers of a variety of genres still feel bruised by his 70+ year-old rebukes of the mystery genre, Lovecraft and The Lord of the Rings.
If you are at all interested in the mystery/crime/detective story and its subgenres, this book is invaluable, acting as a history of the genre but also a promotion of it as a form of literary art not always as respected as it should be and not as limited as some critics hold.
THE LIFE OF CRIME by Martin Edwards
Published 2023; Collins Crime Club
ISBN: 978-0008192426
736 pages
Review by Randy Money
If you are interested in Ian Fleming, Oleg Gordievsky, John le Carré or Kim Philby you should have heard of Pemberton’s People in MI6 by now. Colonel Alan Pemberton CVO MBE knew all of them and features as a leading protagonist in Beyond Enkription in The Burlington Files series.
The book “Beyond Enkription” by Bill Fairclough is the first stand-alone fact-based espionage novel of six autobiographical tomes in The Burlington Files series. As the first book in the series, it provides a gripping introduction to the world of British intelligence and espionage. It is an intense electrifying spy thriller that had me perched on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. The twists and turns in the interwoven plots kept me guessing beyond the epilogue. The characters were wholesome, well-developed and intriguing. The author’s attention to detail added extra layers of authenticity to the narrative.
In real life Bill Fairclough aka Edward Burlington (MI6 codename JJ) was one of Pemberton’s People in MI6; for more about that see a brief News Article dated 31 October 2022 published in TheBurlingtonFiles website. The series follows the real life of Bill Fairclough (and his family) who worked not only for British Intelligence, but also the CIA et al for several decades. The first tome is set in 1974 in London, Nassau and Port au Prince: see TheBurlingtonFiles website for a synopsis.
Fairclough is not a professional but his writing style is engaging and fast-paced, making it difficult to put the book down as he effortlessly glides from cerebral issues to action-packed scenes which are never that far apart. Beyond Enkription is the stuff memorable spy films are made of. It’s raw, realistic, punchy, pacy and provocative. While the book does not feature John le Carré’s “delicate diction, sophisticated syntax and placid plots” it remains a riveting and delightful read.
This thriller is like nothing we have ever come across before. Indeed, we wonder what The Burlington Files would have been like if David Cornwell (aka John le Carré) had collaborated with Bill Fairclough whom critics have likened to “a posh Harry Palmer”. They did consider collaborating but did not proceed as explained in the aforementioned News Article. Nonetheless, critics have lauded Beyond Enkription as being ”up there with My Silent War by Kim Philby and No Other Choice by George Blake”.
Overall, Beyond Enkription is a brilliantly refreshing book and a must read, especially for espionage cognoscenti. I cannot wait to see what is in store for us in the future. In the meantime, before reading Beyond Enkription do visit TheBurlingtonFiles website. It is like a living espionage museum and breathtaking in its own right.
Thanks, Horatio! Sounds like an interesting read!