Ranking Christianna Brand Transcript

Caroline: One of the great pleasures of golden age detective fiction, I think, is that some of its best writers were very prolific. It makes it easy to fall down a bibliography shaped rabbit hole. You liked your first Agatha Christie? Don't worry, there are at least sixty more where that came from.

But while I've always been a great admirer of critics that use this kind of deep focus as the basis for their work, I haven't really been one of them. Shedunnit is more of a thematic project, rather than a chronological or completist one. It isn't that often, therefore, that I look at everything by one author and decide which are my favourites. I read, magpie-like, across lots of different writers and series as my ideas require.

However, I have started trying to deep dive more on single authors. Which is why, today, I'm delighted to say that I'm going to be ranking the work of Christianna Brand.

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Welcome to Shedunnit. I'm Caroline Crampton.

Before we continue with the episode, I'd like to invite you to take part in the Shedunnit Listener Survey. The podcast has been going over five years now, and it feels overdue for me to check in with listeners about your feelings on what the show covers, how you listen to it, and what you might like to see it do in the future. This isn't about advertising or anything like that — it's just for me and the people who help me with the show to see how our audience is feeling. We won't be sharing your responses with anyone else. If you'd like to have your say, you can head to shedunnitshow.com/survey and take part.

What you're about to hear is a bonus episode that I made for the Shedunnit Book Club back in September 2024, after I read lots of Brand's fiction last year for the main episode titled "Christianna Brand's Impossible Crimes". If you'd like to hear more bonus episodes like this on a more regular basis, you can find out more about the club and sign up at shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

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Today, I'm going to be ranking all of the Christianna Brand novels that I have read, starting with my least favourite and ending up with what I think is her best book. A couple of disclaimers before we start: this is just my ranking, definitely not a definitive one, and it's intended for fun and to maybe introduce you to some titles you haven't tried yet, nothing more serious than that. I also haven't read absolutely every single book that Brand ever wrote. In preparation for the episode titled "Christianna Brand's Impossible Crimes" that came out in July I tried to read as many of her books for adults as I could, but since I was focusing on her mysteries I didn't make huge efforts to track down all of her standalone historical fiction that was published under other pseudonyms. All the major ones you've heard of will be in here, but if you're a huge fan of her work for children or any of the more obscure, out of print novels from the 1970s, I'm sorry but we won't be talking about those today. Lastly, this is about novels, not short stories or short story collections. Brand was an exquisite short story writer and I am slowly trying to read all of her short fiction, so maybe one day I can do this again but with short stories, we'll see. Minor spoilers from henceforth as I'm going to give plot summaries of each book, but no major events or culprits revealed. Don't listen if you want to read any of these books knowing absolutely nothing about them.

So, on to the ranking. I have 15 novels here that I'm going to rank, and we're starting with my least favourite:

15. The Brides of Aberdar from 1982. This, as far as I know, was Brand's last published novel — she died in 1988. It's not a mystery but rather a ghost story with gothic tendencies, about a governess who takes a job at a remote house called Aberdar Manor to take care of a pair of motherless twins. She starts getting close to their father, Sir Edward, but as soon as marriage seems to be on the horizon, a spooky set of ghostly past "brides" of the house start to come out of the woodwork, almost literally. Although the premise does have some promise, in execution I found this book chaotic and unabsorbing to the extreme, in part because Brand doesn't seem to be sure if she is writing seriously in the Gothic style or writing a pastiche mocking it. Maybe she'd read Northanger Abbey one too many times? Anyway, I don't recommend this one at all.

14. The Rose in Darkness from 1979. This is Brand's attempt at the end of the 1970s to recapture some of what made her work good in the 1950s, while not actually writing a period piece, and the combination is jarring. Characters dress like it's 1978 but talk like it's the 1950s. It's partly about the British and European film industries, which is a potentially interesting setting, especially given Brand's experiences with the film of Green for Danger, but the promise of this is never fully realised. The book follows Sari Morne, a film star who had squandered her big break by taking up with an aristocrat called Prince Aldo, who gives her a huge diamond ring — the "rose" of the title. Then, once their affair has gone sour, his henchmen start pursuing her to get the jewel back, she swaps cars with a stranger in a storm as she is fleeing, and only realises when she gets home that there's a corpse in the back seat. It's overly complicated and not that enjoyable, mostly because every single character in the book is unredeemably unlikable. Again, cannot in good conscience recommend that you read this.

13. The Three Cornered Halo from 1957. I'm starting to feel like doing this in reverse order was a mistake, because I'm just being unrelentingly negative at the moment. But we will get to better things! For now, though, we have to deal with The Three Cornered Halo, a book I disliked so much that I gave away my copy as soon as I finished it so I couldn't even accidentally read it again. This isn't badly written or paced like the previous two entries, though, hence why it comes above them. It's just very, very strange, and also a bit racist, I think. It's also confusingly a bit of a sequel to a much better book, Tour de Force from 1955. In that one, Brand's regular detective Inspector Cockrill is retired and taking a package holiday around Europe, which includes a visit to a fictional island called San Juan el Pirata, where a member of his tour group is murdered, etc etc. Two years later, Brand wrote this book, in which Cockrill's sister Harriet, or Hat, is on the island with her niece, who is obsessed with a local San Juan saint. There are various other shenanigans involving the island's duke and his wife, some local smuggling, some religious experiences, and so on, but no mystery or murder and it's all quite slow-moving and confusing. I kept waiting for something meaningful to happen, and it just didn't. Not recommended.

12. A Ring of Roses from 1977 is the second of two books to feature Brand's third-string detective Inspector Chucky. Confusingly, I think it was first published under the name of Mary Ann Ashe, a pseudonym she used for one other book, but it is definitely the same character. It's set in Wales and concerns an actress who writes a gossip column and has a disabled daughter from a previous relationship with an American gangster. There is some evidence of the earlier Brand-ian wit in this book, but it was totally overshadowed for me by the weird gang stuff and the unpleasant way in which the daughter's quote "disfigurement" is handled. Not recommended.

11. Cat and Mouse from 1950 is the other Inspector Chucky book, obviously predating A Ring of Roses by 27 years. Whether he was meant to be a series character or not I don't know, but since his books are so far apart and so different I don't really feel like he has much continuity between the two stories. The central character is Katinka Jones, a journalist who writes an advice column for a magazine called Girls Together. She has one correspondent called Amista who she is especially intrigued by, and so on her next trip home to Wales, Katinka tries to look her up. Except nobody seems to have heard of Amista, or even know that she exists. It's not a detective novel, though, and frustratingly Katinka makes the stupid decision to endanger herself and not involve a proper investigator at every possible moment. I think this is a thriller if anything, with some Gothic, Jane Eyre-type vibes in the second half. But, this is also the first book in this list that I feel comfortable recommending that you read. It's not as good as what I'm about to come onto, but it's still an ok read.

10. Court of Foxes from 1969. This is a totally different kind of book than all of Brand's other fiction that I've read. I think today it would probably be categorised as Young Adult, although obviously that category didn't exist when she was publishing. Maybe it's more typical of her children's writing, I'm not sure. Court of Foxes is a historical novel, set in the late 1700s, about a young aristocratic woman who conducts a double life as a notorious highwayman. Very silly, if you remember the "shadow" sketches from the third series of Blackadder, than you will have an idea what this novel is like. Not especially memorable or innovative, but it's fun while you're reading it.

9. Alas, for Her That Met Me! from 1976 is another historical novel, but this one is definitely for adults and it is based on the real-life case of Madeleine Smith from 1857, that's the one where she given a "not proven" verdict on the charge of poisoning her French lover. I talked a bit about this book in the episode I made about that story back in March 2023 — it was published under Brand's pseudonym Mary Ann Ashe, and I think is an under appreciated part of her backlist. Her descriptions of the mid 19C Glasgow setting are good, and she adds some extra plot details that aren't there in the original case that both make it a more cohesive and satisfying mystery novel, and make it still a surprising read for those familiar with the original story. This is very far from just being a true crime retelling. Recommended. You should give it a go.

After the break: we get to the good stuff.

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8. The Honey Harlot from 1978 is another historical novel, but not a mystery. I was sure that I wasn't going to enjoy this one going in, as you'll have noticed by now that I've not generally been a fan of what Brand was doing in the late 1970s and the title also sounded dodgy to me. But this book was actually very enjoyable. It is about the Mary Celeste, the notorious "ghost ship" that was en route from New York to Genoa when she was discovered drifting off the coast of Portugal, empty of any people with the cargo still in the hold and the crew's possessions still in situ. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a short story titled "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" which is told from the perspective of a fictional survivor, but Brand takes a different approach. She goes back before the start of that fateful voyage and tells the whole story of the ship, piecing it together like a mystery. It's full of Victorian prose flourishes, but if you don't mind that, you can have a good time reading this book.

7. Heads You Lose from 1941. Finally, we're into the golden age mystery portion of Brand's bibliography. This was her second novel, although it came out the same year as her debut. It's also the first to feature Inspector Cockrill. It has lots of classic mystery ingredients — set in a country house, closed circle of suspects among the house party, a spinster neighbour, some dark local secrets... And so on. I think it was in this book that she began the habit of including a kind of challenge to the reader at the bottom of the cast list at the front of the book — this one reads: "Among these ten very ordinary people were found two victims and a murderer." The one major difference from other late 1930s/early 40s mysteries is that the style of murder in this book is, as the title suggests, beheading. Not very typical of the golden age. We do get at least one impossible crime in this book, and a pleasing sequence of the characters trying to solve it for themselves with a reconstruction. All very enjoyable. However, there are two reasons why this book doesn't rank higher for me. The first is the blatant and constant anti-semitism included about one of the country house guests, who is Jewish. Truly, surprising and unpleasant to find this in a book published during the second world war. And then my second beef with this book relates to the solution, which I just don't think is worthy of the scenario.

6. Tour de Force from 1955. This is the aforementioned mystery on holiday book, in which a retired Inspector Cockrill is on a package holiday tour that takes him to this weird fictional Mediterranean island called San Juan el Pirata. Also on the tour is Mr Cecil, a fashion designer character that Brand liked so much she put him in three books — this one, The Three Cornered Halo (ugh) and Death in High Heels. Although there is definitely some of its time language and description related to him, he is a surprisingly well rounded queer character for the time, and he does make me wonder if Brand had more gay friends than she had Jewish friends, shall we say. Anyway, the mystery in this book is a classic "everyone's in view on the beach, yet someone got murdered in the hotel" story and the parts relating to the crime itself are really well executed. The let down for me in this book is the San Juan el Pirata setting and the tedious plot points relating to local corruption and smuggling. Still, a good summer holiday read.

5. Death of Jezebel from 1948. We read this book together in the club in February 2023, so I'm assuming quite a few of you will be familiar with its premise — a diva actress is killed on stage during a medieval pageant that is part of a post world war two "homes for heroes" expo in London. I love the details about the expo, and the knights, and the impossible crime being committed on stage in front of thousands of people. I love the fact that Brand combined her two series detectives for this book and has both Inspector Cockrill and Inspector Charlesworth investigate together. We're really getting into Brand's good stuff now, so I don't really have many downsides to mention about this book, but if I had to find a criticism, maybe it's overly complicated. Although I do think that's justified by the impossibleness of the crime.

4. Suddenly at His Residence from 1946, also known under the title The Crooked Wreath. Another book we've read together in the book club, all the way back in October 2020. A spectacular impossible crime mixed with an inheritance mystery. So clever and well constructed that I don't really want to say very much about the plot in case I give things away to the people who haven't had the pleasure of reading it yet. If it has a failing, it's that the setting is not quite as interesting as some of the others at the top end of this list — we're just in a big country house and garden that isn't described in enormous detail.

3. Death in High Heels from 1941. I have a huge soft spot for Brand's very first detective story. I think it's wonderful. She took her experiences working in an Aga shop in London and transplanted all of the petty jealousies and rivalries and interpersonal dramas to her own fictional West End dress shop, where a murder takes place. One of the women who works in the shop is poisoned, apparently from a communal dish of curry that everyone else ate without getting sick and that nobody had the opportunity to tamper with. This is Inspector Charlesworth's first case, and it's also our first introduction to Mr Cecil, who is the designer at the shop and plays a substantial role in the plot. I love the interactions in the shop, the glimpses of all the girls very differnet lives outside — children, partners, homebodies, nightclub fiends, and so on. I greatly enjoy nspector Charlesworth's chaotic investigation style And I think the mystery is resolved very cleverly. I really don't have any criticisms of this book, the final two are just...better.

2. Green for Danger from 1944. This book is spectacular. Set in a hospital during WW2, its environment and setting are vividly described and realised. A man dies on the operating table, seemingly naturally, but quickly everyone in the theatre at the time comes under suspicion — nurses, doctors, and so on. The closed circle is closed extremely tight. The mystery is very cleverly plotted, of course, but there are other elements that I really admire about this book too. The epistolary opening is a superb way to quickly introduce all the major players thoroughly. There are moments when the book is surprisingly moving, too, as patients suffer and nurses try to treat them compassionately — not an emotional beat you often get in this genre. And it's funny, too. Brand's descriptions are so precisely comic. For instance, this introduction to a new character's appearance: "He reminded one of a bottle with the cork driven in too far. One longed to get hold of his head and pull it out sharply so as to give him a bit more neck." So visual, so funny. And, of course, this book gets extra points for being the source material for the 1946 film starring Alastair Sim and Trevor Howard, which the book club likes so much we have watched it twice in our monthly watching party. If you've never read a Christianna Brand novel before, this is a great place to start.

1. London Particular from 1952, also known as Fog of Doubt in the US. For me, this is the best Christianna Brand book. It has all the amazingly intricate plottedness of the best 1940s impossible crimes like Death of Jezebel and Suddenly at His Residence, mixed in with some of the characterisations and social issues that came a bit later in her work. And she set this book in her own house, replicating it pretty exactly by all counts, so there's a precision to the description of place in this story that is really noticeable. Her house becomes a doctor's house, mired in a London peasouper fog, in which a friend of the family is attacked and killed. Multiple suspects were out roaming the fog, confusing the alibis and motives. Inspector Cockrill is also at his best in this book, world wearing and yet hungry for justice. There is a courtroom sequence. And best of all, this book has emotional depth. There is a death in this book that I still think about sometimes, months after I finished reading it. This was Brand's own favourite of her books, because she considered it her best work, and I have to say, I agree.

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This episode of Shedunnit was written, narrated, and produced by me, Caroline Crampton. You can find links to all the books I mentioned in the episode description or on the podcast's website at shedunnitshow.com/rankingchristiannabrand. I publish transcripts of every episode including this one; find them all at shedunnitshow.com/transcripts.

If you'd like to hear bonus episodes like this one more often, and in a more timely fashion, join the Shedunnit Book Club — that's the paid membership club that runs alongside this podcast and makes it possible for me to make a lot of what I do available for free. As well as bonus audio, members also get access to a beautiful community of mystery lovers where we read and discuss a different work of crime fiction every month. Find our more and join now at shedunnitbookclub.com/join

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Shedunnit is edited by Euan McAleece. Production assistance from Leandra Griffith. Member support for the Shedunnit Book Club from CC McLoughlin.

Thanks for listening.