Julia Golding’s Top Ten Characters in Children’s Historical Fiction (Guardian). I may add some of these books to my list. I’ve only read four of the books she lists: Ivanhoe, Treasure Island, A Little Princess and one or two of the Flambards books by K.M. Peyton. The Shakespeare time travel book by Susan Cooper sounds especially good.
David Montgomery on the 10 Greatest Detective Novels.
A long discussion (see comments) at Petrona of why all the authors on Mr. Mongomery’s list are male, and which female authors should have been included. Obviously, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and P.D. James should be on any such list.
My Best 10 Detective Novels (in no particular order):
1. The Mother Hunt by Rex Stout
2. The Murder of Roger Akroyd by Agatha Christie
3. Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
4. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
5. The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
6. The Holy Thief by Ellis Peters
7. The Black Tower by P.D. James
8. The Case of the Fabulous Fake by Erle Stanley Gardner
9. The Long Good-bye by Raymond Chandler
10. A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
You will notice that I have five men and five women authors on my list. Totally unplanned. I also note again that the limitation of such lists made by one person is that I can only consider those books that I’ve actually read. So you may find better books on Mr. Montgomery’s list, but these are MY picks. And Dorothy Sayers is the best of any of the authors on my list or anyone else’s. Because I said so.
Know how I know that’s a good list? Because of Sayers. Sometimes it’s easier to judge a book’s greatness if it’s not normally the type of book one reads. Golden Age mysteries are not usually my thing, but damn, Murder Must Advertise is full of sharp observations. Psychological suspense is not normally my cup of tea, but damn, The Veiled One has a daring and brilliant opening chapter, one of the two best opening chapters I can think of from any crime novel.
Making a “best ever†list is hard enough in any field, more so in a field like crime fiction, where boundaries between sub-genres are never clear and always shifting.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
“Because Murder is More Fun Away From Home”
No Chesterton? How can you have a great mystery list without Father Brown? (OK, so maybe I’m a bit biased.)
Looks like a fine list of traditional mysteries.
All any of us can do is pick the books we love the most — but isn’t that still fun?
Thanks for joining the madness! 🙂
I thought of Chesterton, but the original title was 10 Greatest Detective Novels, and there’s no Father Brown novel.
I like your list better, Sherry because I had only read one book from the “male” list, the Rex Stout. I think I have read 5 maybe 6 from your list.
Thanks for linking to my list on Petrona. D L Sayers’ Gaudy Night is on my list too 😉
How could I have forgotten to include The Franchise Affair — and Daughter of Time? These lists can just go on for ever, especially when your memory is as imperfect as mine!
I’ve read the Stout and the Conan Doyle, I may have read the Gardner (I read a lot of them around 35 years ago), and I’ve probably read the Peters. Hmmm…. I may have to post a list like this myself, to go with my list of Top Ten Read-Agains.