Detection Club
Encyclopedia
The Detection Club was formed in 1930 by a group of British mystery
writers, including Agatha Christie
, Dorothy L. Sayers
, Freeman Wills Crofts
, Arthur Morrison
, John Rhode, Jessie Rickard
, Baroness Emma Orczy, R. Austin Freeman, G.D.H. Cole, Margaret Cole
, E.C. Bentley, and H.C. Bailey. Anthony Berkeley was instrumental in setting up the club, and the first president was G.K. Chesterton. There was a fanciful initiation ritual with an oath probably written by either Chesterton or Dorothy L. Sayers
, and the club held regular dinner meetings in London.
, in an introduction to an anthology of detective stories. They were never intended as more than guidelines, and not all the members took them seriously. See history of crime fiction
for details. The first American member (though then living in the UK) was John Dickson Carr
, elected in 1936.
The club continues to exist, although the fair-play rules have been considerably relaxed.
A number of works were published under the club's sponsorship; most of these were written by multiple members of the club, each contributing one or more chapters in turn. In the case of The Floating Admiral
, each author also provided a sealed "solution" to the mystery as he or she had written it, including the previous chapters. This was done to prevent a writer from adding impossible complications with no reasonable solution in mind. The various partial solutions were published as part of the final book.
Lord Gorell shared the presidency with Agatha Christie, who only agreed to accept the role if a co-president was appointed to conduct the club's proceedings.
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
writers, including Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
, Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
, Freeman Wills Crofts
Freeman Wills Crofts
Freeman Wills Crofts was an Irish mystery author, one of the 'Big Four' of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.-Birth and education:Crofts was born at 26 Waterloo Road, Dublin, Ireland...
, Arthur Morrison
Arthur Morrison
Arthur George Morrison was an English author and journalist known for his realistic novels about London's East End and for his detective stories....
, John Rhode, Jessie Rickard
Jessie Louisa Rickard
Jessie Louisa Rickard, also known as Mrs Victor Rickard , was an Irish literary novelist. During her lifetime she became a versatile writer who produced over forty novels, some of which found a large reading public.-Early life:...
, Baroness Emma Orczy, R. Austin Freeman, G.D.H. Cole, Margaret Cole
Margaret Cole
Dame Margaret Isabel Cole, DBE was an English socialist politician.Daughter of John Percival Postgate and Edith Allen, Margaret was educated at Roedean School and Girton College, Cambridge. While at Girton, through her reading of H. G...
, E.C. Bentley, and H.C. Bailey. Anthony Berkeley was instrumental in setting up the club, and the first president was G.K. Chesterton. There was a fanciful initiation ritual with an oath probably written by either Chesterton or Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
, and the club held regular dinner meetings in London.
Guidelines
In addition to meeting for dinners and helping each other with technical aspects in their individual writings, the members of the club agreed to adhere to a code of ethics in their writing to give the reader a fair chance at guessing the guilty party. These fair-play "rules" were summarised by one of the members, Ronald KnoxRonald Knox
Ronald Arbuthnott Knox was an English priest, theologian and writer.-Life:Ronald Knox was born in Kibworth, Leicestershire, England into an Anglican family and was educated at Eton College, where he took the first scholarship in 1900 and Balliol College, Oxford, where again...
, in an introduction to an anthology of detective stories. They were never intended as more than guidelines, and not all the members took them seriously. See history of crime fiction
History of crime fiction
Crime fiction is a typically 19th- and 20th-century genre, dominated by British and American writers. This article explores its historical development as a genre.-Crime fiction in history:...
for details. The first American member (though then living in the UK) was John Dickson Carr
John Dickson Carr
John Dickson Carr was an American author of detective stories, who also published under the pen names Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn....
, elected in 1936.
The club continues to exist, although the fair-play rules have been considerably relaxed.
A number of works were published under the club's sponsorship; most of these were written by multiple members of the club, each contributing one or more chapters in turn. In the case of The Floating Admiral
The Floating Admiral
The Floating Admiral is a collaborative detective novel written by fourteen members of the Detection Club in 1931. The twelve chapters of the story were each written by a different author, in the following sequence: Canon Victor Whitechurch, G. D. H. Cole and Margaret Cole, Henry Wade, Agatha...
, each author also provided a sealed "solution" to the mystery as he or she had written it, including the previous chapters. This was done to prevent a writer from adding impossible complications with no reasonable solution in mind. The various partial solutions were published as part of the final book.
The oath
Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance on nor making use of Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence, or Act of God?
Presidents
- G. K. ChestertonG. K. ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
(1930-1936) - E.C. Bentley (1936-1949)
- Dorothy L. SayersDorothy L. SayersDorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
(1949-1957) - Agatha ChristieAgatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
(1957-1976) - Lord Gorell (1957-1963)
- Julian SymonsJulian SymonsJulian Gustave Symons 1912 - 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature.-Life and work:...
(1976-1985) - H.R.F. Keating (1985-2000)
- Simon BrettSimon BrettSimon Brett is a prolific writer of whodunnits. The son of a chartered surveyor, he was educated at Dulwich College and Wadham College, Oxford, where he got a first-class honours degree in English...
(2000-present)
Lord Gorell shared the presidency with Agatha Christie, who only agreed to accept the role if a co-president was appointed to conduct the club's proceedings.
Publications
- The Scoop and Behind the ScreenThe Scoop and Behind The ScreenThe Scoop & Behind The Screen are both collaborative detective serials written by members of the Detection Club which were broadcast weekly by their authors on the BBC National Programme in 1930 and 1931 with the scripts then being published in The Listener within a week after broadcast...
(1931) - The Floating AdmiralThe Floating AdmiralThe Floating Admiral is a collaborative detective novel written by fourteen members of the Detection Club in 1931. The twelve chapters of the story were each written by a different author, in the following sequence: Canon Victor Whitechurch, G. D. H. Cole and Margaret Cole, Henry Wade, Agatha...
(1931,1932) - Ask a Policeman (1933)
- The Anatomy of a Murder (1936) (US title is The Anatomy of Murder (New York, Macmillan, 1937))
- Six Against the Yard (1936) (US title is Six Against Scotland Yard, 1936
- Double Death: An Exercise in Detection aka Double Death: A Murder Story (1939; though not sponsored by the Detection Club, all but one of the authors were club members)
- Detection Medley (1939; US title, Line-Up, 1940;short stories, some original, some reprints)
- Mystery Playhouse presents The Detection Club (January 1948); 6 30 minute radio plays by club members on BBC Home Service written in aid of club funds
- No Flowers By Request (1953)
- Crime on the Coast (1954; a round-robin novel, but not sponsored by the club)
- Verdict of Thirteen (1978; original short stories, edited by Julian SymonsJulian SymonsJulian Gustave Symons 1912 - 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature.-Life and work:...
) - The Man Who... (1992); original short stories in honor of Julian SymonsJulian SymonsJulian Gustave Symons 1912 - 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature.-Life and work:...
's 80th birthday, edited by H.R.F. Keating) - The Detection Collection (2005; original short stories in recognition of the Club's 75th anniversary, edited by Simon BrettSimon BrettSimon Brett is a prolific writer of whodunnits. The son of a chartered surveyor, he was educated at Dulwich College and Wadham College, Oxford, where he got a first-class honours degree in English...
) - The Verdict of Us All (2006; original short stories in honor of H.R.F. Keating's 80th birthday, edited by Peter LoveseyPeter LoveseyPeter Lovesey is a British writer of historical and contemporary crime novels and short stories. His best-known series characters are Sergeant Cribb, a Victorian-era police detective based in London, and Peter Diamond, a modern-day police detective in Bath...
)