Tag Archives: Ngaio Marsh

You Probably Imagined It!

Meet the hypochondriacs of golden age detective fiction.

My new book, A Body Made of Glass: A History of Hypochondria, is out now in the UK and published on 24th April in North America. To find out more and get your copy, visit my website carolinecrampton.com/abodymadeofglass.

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Mentioned in this episode:
— “The Case of the Perfect Maid” by Agatha Christie, collected in Miss Marple’s Final Cases
N or M? by Agatha Christie
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie
Green for Danger by Christianna Brand
Black Plumes by Margery Allingham
— “The Blue Geranium” by Agatha Christie, collected in The Thirteen Problems
The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie
Fear for Miss Betony by Dorothy Bowers
A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
4.50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie
Family Matters by Anthony Rolls
— “They Don’t Wear Labels” by E.M. Delafield, collected in Capital Crimes
Below Suspicion by John Dickson Carr
Blue Murder by Harriet Rutland
Grave Mistake by Ngaio Marsh
Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham
Poison in the Garden Suburb by G.D.H. and Margaret Cole

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.

There are some minor spoilers in this episode — no solutions to whodunnits totally revealed, but some plot details discussed. If you want to avoiding knowing such details about something that you’re reading or plan to read, please consult the list of books and stories in the episode description before proceeding.

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

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

Whodunnit Centenary: 1924

Time travelling, murder mystery style. Mentioned in this episode: — The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie — The Plague Court Murders by John Dickson Carr — Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie — The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers — A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh — Death… Continue Reading

The Murderless Christmas Mystery

Not every mystery needs a murder. There are minor details shared for all the novels and stories listed below, but no major plot revelations in this episode. Mentioned in this episode: — “The Flying Stars” by G.K. Chesterton, collected in The Innocence of Father Brown — A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens — The Pickwick… Continue Reading

Who Was Robert Eustace?

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. The 2023 Shedunnit Pledge Drive is underway! Help ensure the future of the podcast and get your hands on some exclusive audio perks by becoming a Shedunnit member now at shedunnitshow.com/pledgedrive. Spoilers: there will be minor details shared for all the novels and stories listed below,… Continue Reading

The Murder Mystery Hotline

If you need a golden age detective fiction recommendation, we are at your service. To take part in future interactive episodes, become a member of the Shedunnit Book Club now at shedunnitbookclub.com/join. Mentioned in the episode:— A Grave Mistake by Ngaio Marsh— Common or Garden Crime by Sheila Pim— Unholy Dying by RT Campbell— The… Continue Reading

At Home With Agatha Christie

Come with me on a tour of Greenway. Special thanks to Clive and everyone at the National Trust for making me and my microphone welcome at Greenway, and to Sarah Thrift for arranging it. I’m also grateful to my friend Elizabeth Minkel, who spent the afternoon doing this even though she has only read one… Continue Reading

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

The Shedunnit Centenary

In which Caroline is the guest, not the host. Caroline Crampton is the host of Shedunnit. You can find out what she does when she’s not hosting this podcast at carolinecrampton.com or on Instagram @cacrampton. Guy Cuthbertson is her husband. His website is guycuthbertson.com and he tweets @guywjc. Mentioned in this episode: — The Lion,… Continue Reading

A Second Century of Whodunnits

Reading my way through the last hundred years, from the 1920s to the 2020s, one mystery at a time. My previous attempt at this reading project can be found in the episode A Century of Whodunnits. Books mentioned: — Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L Sayers — Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles — Laurels are… Continue Reading

Ngaio Marsh Goes Home

Caught between two very different worlds, WW2 forced this queen of crime to become better acquainted with her homeland. This is the fifth episode of Queens of Crime at War, a six part series looking at what the best writers from the golden age of detective fiction did once that period came to an end… Continue Reading

Double Trouble

What happens when two people write a whodunnit together? Thanks to my guests, Cordelia Biddle and Steve Zettler. They write separately under their own names and together under the pseudonym Nero Blanc. The whole Crossword Mysteries series can be found at crosswordmysteries.com, where there are links to buy each title. There are no spoilers in… Continue Reading

Golden Age Inspiration

How do you write a 1920s style detective novel that’s set in the 2020s? Thanks to Elly Griffiths, aka Domenica De Rosa, for joining me today to talk about her love of golden age crime fiction and how she put that into her award winning novel The Postscript Murders. She also writes the Ruth Galloway… Continue Reading

Golden Age Inspiration Transcript

Caroline: Welcome to Shedunnit. I’m Caroline Crampton. Golden age detective fiction is having a bit of a moment. Over the last few years, there’s been a resurgence of interest in crime fiction from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, with hard to obtain titles receiving new editions and new TV and film adaptations in the works.… Continue Reading

Policing the Detectives Transcript

Caroline: Is detective fiction an escapist genre? The marketing for today’s thrillers and cosy mysteries that encourages us to “get away from the real world” for a while by reading about fictional crimes would suggest that it is. Expecting to be soothed by plots that centre on violent death might sound counter intuitive, but it… Continue Reading

Policing the Detectives

Is it possible to write a whodunnit and leave out the police? Many thanks to my guest, Nicole Glover. More information about her work is available at nicole-glover.com, and her first book, The Conductors, is out now in the US and the UK. The inspiration for this episode was Nicole’s article “Who Are You Going… Continue Reading

Poison Pen

Nothing could bad could possibly happen here, the inhabitants of the peaceful English village say to each other. Until the first poison pen letter arrives. No major spoilers about clues or endings in this episode. However, there is some mention or discussion of the books listed below. Also, be aware there is a very brief… Continue Reading

The Butler Did It

Snobbery and murder, all served up perfectly for you on a silver tray. This episode marks the start of the Shedunnit Pledge Drive! If I can add 100 new members to the Shedunnit Book Club by the end of 2020, I can start releasing episodes more regularly and expanding what the podcast covers. If you’d… Continue Reading

The Secret Life of Ngaio Marsh Transcript

Caroline: Before we get started with today’s show, I want to tell you about another podcast you should check out. The Lonely Palette is a show that aims to make art history accessible, enjoyable, and fun, one artwork at a time. Each episode, host and recovering art historian Tamar Avishai picks an artwork, plants herself… Continue Reading

The Secret Life of Ngaio Marsh

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… Continue Reading

Round Robin Transcript

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 filled. Not everyone wants to spend all their time hunched over their work, though, and the writers of detective fiction in… 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 future… Continue Reading

The Rules

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… Continue Reading

Queer Clues Transcript

[Music] Caroline: On the surface, everything about classic detective stories seems straightforward. It’s all very black and white: people are either good or bad, guilty or innocent. There’s not a lot of grey in between. These easy distinctions are what some readers find appealing about murder mysteries, since the idea that there are actually definitive… Continue Reading

Queer Clues

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… 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