Death on the Air: and other stories - Softcover

Marsh, Ngaio

Softcover

ISBN 10: 000651233X ISBN 13: 9780006512332

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2000

Synopsis

The only collection of Ngaio Marsh short stories, first published in 1995 to celebrate her centenary, now with two additional stories.

A man dies with his hand on a radio dial. A disguised aristocrat finds murder at the opening night of a play. A cryptogram produces death in an English churchyard. These are the short cases of Scotland Yard’s Inspector Roderick Alleyn who, with his lovely wife Agatha Troy, charmed his way through more than thirty novels. The book concludes with a script written for the television series Crown Court, in which the lead was played by Joan Hickson who later became famous as Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple.

Death on the Air and Other Stories serves both as the perfect introduction to Ngaio Marsh and as a nostalgic journey for the aficionado, each story echoing the themes explored in her detective novels.

About this title

Review:

‘Ngaio Marsh worked largely within the conventions of the golden age detective story but transcended the genre by the power of her writing, the excellent use she makes of her own experience and interests, and the rich variety of characters who people her novels. The best of her books will endure.’
P.D.James

‘An elegant, disciplined writer, Marsh deserves to be read and re-read not just for her plots but for her characterisation, for her painter’s eye view and for her outsider’s insights into the heart of a vanished social world.’
Susan Howatch

‘I rate Ngaio Marsh among the best in this genre, having read and re-read them many times over the years.’
Joan Hickson

From the Back Cover:

"The brilliant Ngaio Marsh ranks with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers" TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

A man dies with his hand on a radio dial. A disguised aristocrat finds murder at the opening night of a play. A cryptogram produces death in an English churchyard. These are the short cases of Scotland Yard's Inspector Roderick Alleyn who charmed his way through more than thirty novels.

'Death on the Air and Other Stories' serves both as the perfect introduction to Ngaio Marsh and as a nostalgic journey for the aficionado. It is the only collection of Ngaio Marsh short stories, first published in 1995 to celebrate her centenary, and concludes with a script written for the television series Crown Court, plus two additional pieces missing from the centenary hardback.

"Ngaio Marsh worked largely within the conventions of the golden age detective story but transcended the genre by the power of her writing, the excellent use she makes of her own experience and interests, and a rich variety of characters who people her novels. The best of her books will endure." 'P.D.JAMES'

"I rate Ngaio Marsh among the best in this gengre, having read and re-read them many times over the years" 'JOAN HICKSON'

"The finest writer in the English language of the pure, classical puzzle whodunit. Among the crime queens, Ngaio Marsh stands out as an Empress" THE SUN

Don't miss the other Inspector Alleyn novels available in this series, including: 'A man lay Dead, Tied Up In Tinsel, Off With His Head, Dead Water' and' Death at the Bar'

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 000651233X
• ISBN 13: 9780006512332
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256