School is an enclosed world that breeds tension and suspicion and stress. No wonder it's such a perfect setting for a murder mystery. Find links to all the books mentioned and more details about my guests at shedunnitshow.com/backtoschool . Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at shedunnitshow.com/membership . Contributors: — Moira Redmond, author of the Clothes in Books blog — Robin Stevens, author of the Mur...
Jun 26, 2019•28 min
Her trial gripped the nation and tested Britain’s legal system to the limit. But what happened to Florence Maybrick? This is the second of a two part story — listen to episode 16 first at shedunnitshow.com/florencemaybrick . Find links to further information and sources at shedunnitshow.com/florencemaybricktwo . Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at shedunnitshow.com/membership . Books consulted for research...
Jun 12, 2019•33 min
The River Thames has always had a dark side. Its fast-flowing, tidal waters have long attracted those with something to hide. Find links to further reading and sources at shedunnitshow.com/onthethames . You can order my book about the Thames, The Way to the Sea , from Waterstones , Amazon or an independent bookshop . For international purchases, Amazon is (sadly) the best option. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving com...
May 29, 2019•22 min
A shipboard romance that somehow became one of the most notorious domestic poisoning cases in British history. This is the story of Florence Maybrick. Check back for part two of this story on 12 June. Find links to further information and sources at shedunnitshow.com/florencemaybrick . Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at shedunnitshow.com/membership . Books consulted for research: — The Golden Age of Murde...
May 15, 2019•27 min
Murder mysteries: if you believe the clichés, they all happened in the 1920s and 1930s, surrounded by flappers and butlers. But let’s take a second to wonder — why is it that detective fiction is so closely associated with this period style? Find more information about my guest Jacqueline Winspear and the Maisie Dobbs books at her website jacquelinewinspear.com and get links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/periodstyle . Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, ...
May 01, 2019•21 min
Authors’ names loom large when we think about detective stories. Yet many of them are pseudonyms, created just to appear on book covers. But why go to all this trouble? And what makes a good pen name, anyway? Find more information about my guest Helen Fields / H.S. Chandler at her website helenfields.co.uk and get links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/pseudonyms . Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving communi...
Apr 17, 2019•21 min
By any definition, the New Zealand crime writer Ngaio Marsh lived an extraordinary life. But who was she really, this globetrotting blockbuster author who divided her life between opposite sides of the world? Find more information about my guest Joanne Drayton and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/ngaiomarsh . To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter . The podcast is on Twitter , Facebook , Tumb...
Apr 03, 2019•22 min
Writing is usually a solitary pastime, yet a group of detective fiction authors in the early 1930s decided to work together on murder mystery stories. Is it possible to construct a compelling whodunnit this way, or do too many cooks spoil the broth? Fill out the audience survey and have your say in the future of the podcast at shedunnitshow.com/survey . Find more information about this episode and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/roundrobin . The podcast is on Twitter , Facebook...
Mar 20, 2019•22 min
Some sleuths need no introduction. But other characters, also created by famous authors like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, lurk in obscurity. In this episode, we're on the hunt for the other detectives. Find more information about this episode and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/theotherdetectives . The podcast is on Twitter , Facebook , Tumblr and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss ...
Mar 06, 2019•20 min
On 6 October 1926, a woman went into a cloakroom in Boulogne, France and never came out. She was never seen alive again. Her disappearance captivated the world, and even detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers tried to solve the case. This is the story of Nurse Daniels. Find more information about this episode and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/nursedaniels . The podcast is on Twitter , Facebook , Tumblr and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast ap...
Feb 20, 2019•27 min
A good detective story has a recognisable rhythm and plot points. But how did these tropes come about? And what happens when you break the rules? Find more information about this episode and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/therules . The podcast is on Twitter , Facebook , Tumblr and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice. You can d...
Feb 06, 2019•20 min
Food matters in books. It helps to set the scene, build up characters and evoke a period, and it also symbolises comfort, security and domesticity. Yet in detective fiction, food can also be a method for murder. Everything is lovely at the family dinner, until somebody clutches their throat, turns blue in the face, and falls face forward into the soup. Find more information about this episode and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/diningwithdeath . The podcast is on Twitter , Face...
Jan 23, 2019•24 min
On the morning of 9 January 1923, a brutal and horrifying execution took place at Holloway Prison in London. The condemned young woman screamed and cried, but no last minute reprieve arrived. Long after she was dead, her story would inspire authors like James Joyce, E.M. Delafield, Dorothy L. Sayers and Sarah Waters, and you can find traces of it in many detective novels published in the decades since. This is the story of Edith Thompson. Find more information about this episode and links to the...
Jan 09, 2019•23 min
For many people, their main contact with detective fiction is via film and television adaptations. For a huge global audience, Agatha Christie's work is as often watched as it is read. Any new production is greeted with intense scrutiny, so what is it really like to adapt these stories? Screenwriter Sarah Phelps, the woman behind the recent BBC versions of And Then There Were None , Witness for the Prosecution, Ordeal by Innocence and now The ABC Murders , explains. Find more information about t...
Dec 26, 2018•23 min
Reading crime fiction from the early twentieth century is a really popular activity at Christmas. It's nice to curl up with a good whodunnit by the fire, but if we stop and think about it, reading about complicated ways for people to die is not exactly the most festive thing to do. So why is it that we love crime at Christmas? Contributors: — Cecily Gayford, senior commissioning editor at Profile — Anna Leszkiewicz, deputy culture editor at the New Statesman. Read her article about cosy murder m...
Dec 19, 2018•21 min
When Agatha Christie disappeared in 1926, nobody could find her. Books mentioned in order of appearance — The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie — The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie — The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie — An Autobiography by Agatha Christie — The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie — Unnatural Death by Dorothy L Sayers — Agatha Christie: A Biography by Janet Morgan — Agatha by Kathleen Tynan — Agatha Christie and the Missing Eleven Days by Jared ...
Dec 12, 2018•24 min
The detective stories of the 1920s and 30s aren't exactly well known for being at the vanguard of the struggle for gay rights. But there are queer clues everywhere in these books, if you only know where to look for them. Contributors: — JC Bernthal , academic and author of Queering Agatha Christie —Moira Redmond, journalist and blogger at clothesinbooks.blogspot.com Books referenced in order of appearance — Queering Agatha Christie by JC Bernthal — The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie — A Murder is ...
Nov 28, 2018•21 min
The detective writers of the 1920s and 1930s weren't working a vacuum. They took a keen interest in the crimes of their time, often weaving elements from actual murder cases into their plots or referencing them directly. And there was one case, a murder both infamous and domestic, that interested the likes of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Anthony Berkeley more than any other. This real life murder mystery has everything: a body hidden in the cellar, adultery, a transatlantic steamship p...
Nov 15, 2018•24 min
Why are spinsters always solving mysteries? Contributors: — Rosemary Cresswell, senior lecturer in global history at the University of Hull . Follow her on Twitter @RosieCresswell . — Camilla Nelson, associate professor of writing at the University of Notre Dame Australia. —Helen Parkinson Further reading: — A field guide to spinsters in English fiction — 'Surplus women': a legacy of World War One? — Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived Without Men After the First World War by Virginia Ni...
Oct 31, 2018•21 min
For a couple of decades between the first and second world wars, something mysterious happened. A golden age of detective fiction dawned, and people around the world are still devouring books from this time by Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, Margery Allingham, Anthony Berkeley, Gladys Mitchell, Ngaio Marsh, Josephine Tey and more. In this podcast, Caroline Crampton will be unravelling the mysteries behind such classic detective stories, looking at the social, literary and political context in...
Oct 24, 2018•7 min
