Tag Archives: Anthony Berkeley

Murder-on-Sea

Murder does like to be beside the seaside.

Thanks very much to my guests. Dr Allan Brodie is a visiting fellow at Bournemouth University and the author of books including England’s Seaside Heritage from the AirDr Kathryn Ferry is a historian of the British seaside and the author of books including The British Seaside Holiday, more information available at kathrynferry.co.uk.

Be aware: there is a brief, non-specific mention of suicide in this episode. There are no major spoilers and non-spoiler details given about the books listed below.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude

The Sea Mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts

Mist on the Saltings by Henry Wade

The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

N or M? by Agatha Christie

Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers

The Seat of the Scornful by John Dickson Carr

When Last I Died by Gladys Mitchell

— “Razor Edge” by Anthony Berkeley, collected in Resorting to Murder: Holiday Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards

The Case of the Haven Hotel by Christopher Bush

A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey

Mystery at Lynden Sands by JJ Connington

— And Being Dead by Margaret Erskine

The Crime Coast by Elizabeth Gill

The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers

Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh

Related Shedunnit episodes:

— Episode 1 of “Mysteries of Summer”: Cricket and Crime

— Episode 2 of “Mysteries of Summer”: Murder in a Heatwave

Murder on Holiday

NB: Links to Blackwell’s are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you). Blackwell’s is a UK bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge.

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Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/murderonseatranscript.

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

Howdunnit

Invert everything you know about murder mysteries. Mentioned in this episode:— “The Case of Oscar Brodski” by R. Austin Freeman— The Mystery of 31, New Inn by R. Austin Freeman— The Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman— John Thorndyke’s Cases by R. Austin Freeman— “A Wastrel’s Romance” by R. Austin Freeman— “The Art of… Continue Reading

A Prize Mystery

Could you beat the detective to the solution? This live episode of Shedunnit was recorded at the 2022 International Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay. Mentioned in this episode: — The Wintringham Mystery by Anthony Berkeley — The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie — The Mystery of Norman’s Court by John Chancellor — The… Continue Reading

Death By Chocolate

A box of chocolates can conceal a poisonous secret. To support the podcast, be part of a superb bookish community, and get two bonus episodes a month, become a member of the Shedunnit Book Club now at shedunnitbookclub.com/join. Books mentioned: — The Case of the Chocolate Cream Killer by Kaye Jones — The Invention of… Continue Reading

The People’s Pathologist

Before there was CSI, there was Bernard Spilsbury. No major spoilers about clues or endings in this episode. However, there is some mention or discussion of the books listed below. Please be aware there is a brief mention of suicide at the end. Sources and further information: — The Florence Maybrick episodes of this podcast:… Continue Reading

The People’s Pathologist Transcript

The murder mystery is a form that brings forth certainty from uncertainty. The job of the detective is to sort through the chaotic mass of clues and testimony to create an ordered, coherent narrative of how a crime was committed. Medical evidence forms a vital part of this process, often creating the parameters for a… Continue Reading

The Psychology of Anthony Berkeley

He was one of the most influential crime novelists of the 1920s and 1930s, but has languished somewhat in obscurity since. A troubled, dark, incredibly innovative writer: to really get to know Anthony Berkeley, you need to dive deeply into his fiction. Thanks to my guest Martin Edwards. His latest novel is Mortmain Hall and… Continue Reading

The Psychology of Anthony Berkeley Transcript

Caroline: The writers of detective stories can be as much of a mystery as the plots they create. During the 1920s and 30s, this attitude was especially prevalent. Some authors, grudgingly or not, accepted the publicity duties that often go with literary success — Dorothy L. Sayers, with her day job in advertising, was even quite… Continue Reading

Notable Trials

How did a legal history series become so well known that even Lord Peter Wimsey owned a set? Special thanks today to my guest Dr Victoria Stewart. You can follow her on Twitter @verbivorial and order her book Crime Writing in Interwar Britain: Fact and Fiction in the Golden Age here. Become a member of the… Continue Reading

Round Robin Transcript

Here’s a full transcript of the twelfth episode of Shedunnit. Click here to listen to it now in your app of choice. Caroline: Writing is a solitary pastime. To invent the characters and stories that readers love, most authors have to lock themselves away from the world, avoiding company and interruptions until the blank page is… Continue Reading

Round Robin

 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… Continue Reading

Edith Thompson Transcript

Caroline: 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. Just before nine am her gaolers injected her with a sedative, and then offered her brandy as well to calm her nerves.… Continue Reading

Edith Thompson

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… Continue Reading

Crippen Transcript

Here’s a full transcript of the second episode of Shedunnit.  Click here to listen to it now in your app of choice. Caroline: A classic murder mystery is a closed circle. It’s why settings like trains, islands and country houses are so popular in the detective stories of the 1920s and 30s. They naturally limit and contain… Continue Reading

Crippen

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,… Continue Reading

Whodunnit? Transcript

Here’s a full transcript of this mini first episode of Shedunnit.  Listen to it now in your app of choice. Caroline: For a couple of decades between the first and second world wars, something mysterious happened. Many things, actually — there were murders in country houses, on golf courses, in Oxford colleges, on trains, in vicarages, in far… Continue Reading

Whodunnit?

 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… Continue Reading