Ngaio Marsh
Encyclopedia
Dame Ngaio Marsh DBE
(icon; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982), born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand
crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
in 1966.
, New Zealand, where she was a foundation pupil. She studied painting
at the Canterbury College
School of Art before becoming an actress with the Allan Wilkie
company touring New Zealand. From 1928 onward she divided her time between living in the United Kingdom
and in her native New Zealand.
published between 1934 and 1982. Along with Dorothy L. Sayers
, Margery Allingham
and Agatha Christie
, she has been classed as one of the four original "Queens of Crime"—female writers who dominated the crime fiction genre in the Golden Age
of the 1920s and 1930s.
All her novels feature British CID
detective Roderick Alleyn
. Several novels feature Marsh's other loves, the theatre
and painting. A number are set around theatrical productions (Enter a Murderer, Vintage Murder, Overture to Death, Opening Night, Death at the Dolphin, and Light Thickens), and two others are about actors off stage (Final Curtain and False Scent). Her short story
"'I Can Find My Way Out" is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier "Jupiter case" referred to in Opening Night. Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation (Artists in Crime), and who features in several later novels.
Most of the novels are set in England, but four are set in New Zealand
, with Alleyn either on secondment to the New Zealand police (Vintage Murder, Colour Scheme, and Died in the Wool), or on holiday (Photo Finish); Surfeit of Lampreys begins in New Zealand but continues in London.
for the Canterbury University College Drama Society (now UCDS), the first of many Shakespearean productions with the society until 1969. In 1944, Hamlet and a production of Othello
toured a theatre-starved New Zealand to rapturous acclaim. In 1949, assisted by entrepreneur Dan O'Connor, her student players toured Australia
with a new version of Othello and Pirandello's
Six Characters in Search of an Author
. In the 1950s she was involved with the New Zealand Players, a relatively short-lived national professional touring repertory company.
She lived long enough to see New Zealand set up with a viable professional theatre industry with realistic Arts Council
support, with many of her protégés to the forefront. The 430-seat Ngaio Marsh Theatre
at the University of Canterbury
is named in her honour. Her home on the Cashmere Hills is preserved as a museum.
The book also includes two biographical essays written by Ngaio Marsh: "Roderick Alleyn" and "Portrait of Troy".
and aired on the BBC
between 1990 and 1994.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(icon; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982), born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1966.
Early life
Ngaio Marsh was educated at St Margaret's College in ChristchurchChristchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand, where she was a foundation pupil. She studied painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
at the Canterbury College
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
School of Art before becoming an actress with the Allan Wilkie
Allan Wilkie
Allan Wilkie was an English Shakespearean actor of Scottish descent noted for his career in Australia.Born in Toxteth Park, Lancashire, he was educated at Liverpool High School and went to work in a merchant's office but became infatuated with the theatre after experiencing a performance by Osmond...
company touring New Zealand. From 1928 onward she divided her time between living in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and in her native New Zealand.
Career
Internationally she is best known for her 32 detective novelsDetective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
published between 1934 and 1982. Along with 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...
, Margery Allingham
Margery Allingham
Margery Louise Allingham was an English crime writer, best remembered for her detective stories featuring gentleman sleuth Albert Campion.- Childhood and schooling :...
and 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...
, she has been classed as one of the four original "Queens of Crime"—female writers who dominated the crime fiction genre in the Golden Age
Golden Age of Detective Fiction
The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels produced by various authors, all following similar patterns and style.-Origins:Mademoiselle de Scudéri, by E.T.A...
of the 1920s and 1930s.
All her novels feature British CID
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
detective Roderick Alleyn
Roderick Alleyn
Roderick Alleyn is a fictional character who first appeared in 1934. He is the policeman hero of the 32 detective novels of Ngaio Marsh. Marsh and her gentleman detective belong firmly in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, although the last Alleyn novel, Light Thickens, was published as late as...
. Several novels feature Marsh's other loves, the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and painting. A number are set around theatrical productions (Enter a Murderer, Vintage Murder, Overture to Death, Opening Night, Death at the Dolphin, and Light Thickens), and two others are about actors off stage (Final Curtain and False Scent). Her short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"'I Can Find My Way Out" is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier "Jupiter case" referred to in Opening Night. Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation (Artists in Crime), and who features in several later novels.
Most of the novels are set in England, but four are set in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, with Alleyn either on secondment to the New Zealand police (Vintage Murder, Colour Scheme, and Died in the Wool), or on holiday (Photo Finish); Surfeit of Lampreys begins in New Zealand but continues in London.
Theatre
Marsh's great passion was the theatre. In 1942 she produced a modern-dress HamletHamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
for the Canterbury University College Drama Society (now UCDS), the first of many Shakespearean productions with the society until 1969. In 1944, Hamlet and a production of Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
toured a theatre-starved New Zealand to rapturous acclaim. In 1949, assisted by entrepreneur Dan O'Connor, her student players toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with a new version of Othello and Pirandello's
Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written...
Six Characters in Search of an Author
Six Characters in Search of an Author
Six Characters in Search of an Author is a play by the Italian writer Luigi Pirandello.The play is a satirical tragicomedy. It was first performed in 1921 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, to a very mixed reception, with shouts from the audience of "Manicomio!" .Subsequently the play enjoyed a much...
. In the 1950s she was involved with the New Zealand Players, a relatively short-lived national professional touring repertory company.
She lived long enough to see New Zealand set up with a viable professional theatre industry with realistic Arts Council
Arts council
An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...
support, with many of her protégés to the forefront. The 430-seat Ngaio Marsh Theatre
Ngaio Marsh Theatre
The Ngaio Marsh Theatre is a 400-seat proscenium-arch theatre housed within the University of Canterbury Students' Association building in Christchurch, New Zealand...
at the University of Canterbury
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
is named in her honour. Her home on the Cashmere Hills is preserved as a museum.
Personal life
Marsh never married or had children. In 1965 she published an autobiography, Black Beech and Honeydew. British author and publisher Margaret Lewis wrote an authorized biography, Ngaio Marsh, A Life in 1991. New Zealand art historian Joanne Drayton's biography, Ngaio Marsh: Her Life in Crime was published in 2008.Award
In 2010 the Dame Ngaio Marsh Trust created the Best Crime Novel Award, to be given annually. In its inaugural year, the three finalists were Neil Cross Captured ; Vanda Symon Containment; and Alix Bosco (pseudonym), Cut and Run. Alix Bosco won the inaugural award.Detective novels
- A Man Lay DeadA Man Lay DeadA Man Lay Dead is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the first novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1934. The plot concerns a murder committed during a detective game of murder at a weekend party in a country house...
(1934) - Enter a MurdererEnter a MurdererEnter a Murderer is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the second novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1935. The novel is the first of the theatrical novels for which Marsh was to become famous, taking its title from a line of stage direction in Macbeth, and the plot...
(1935) - The Nursing Home MurderThe Nursing Home MurderThe Nursing Home Murder is a work of detective fiction by New Zealand author Ngaio Marsh.-Synopsis:The British Home Secretary, Sir Derek O'Callaghan MP, has received several death threats from anarchists affiliated with Stalinist Communism - and a pleading letter threatening suicide from Jane...
(1935) - Death in EcstasyDeath in EcstasyDeath in Ecstasy is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fourth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1936.When lovely Cara Quayne dropped dead to the floor after drinking the ritual wine at the House of the Sacred Flame, she was having a religious experience of a sort...
(1936) - Vintage MurderVintage MurderVintage Murder is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1937. The plot centers on a traveling theatrical troupe in New Zealand. One of the cast members was a minor character in Enter a Murderer, and refers to that case early...
(1937) - Artists in CrimeArtists in CrimeArtists in Crime is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of an artists' model; Agatha Troy is introduced for the first time....
(1938) - Death in a White TieDeath in a White TieDeath in a White Tie is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the seventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of a British lord after a party....
(1938) - Overture to DeathOverture to DeathOverture to Death is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the eighth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1939. The plot concerns a murder during a village theatrical performance; Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp minor plays a prominent part in the story. So...
(1939) - Death at the BarDeath at the BarDeath at the Bar is a 1940 novel by Ngaio Marsh which was adapted for television in 1993 as part of the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries. The episode was directed by Michael Winterbottom and starred Patrick Malahide as Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. The title is a pun on the legal term the bar, and...
(1940) - Surfeit of LampreysSurfeit of LampreysSurfeit of Lampreys is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the tenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1941. The plot concerns the murder of a British peer, a theme to which Marsh would return; the novel was published as Death of a Peer in the United States.Its title...
(1941), published in USA as Death of a Peer - Death and the Dancing FootmanDeath and the Dancing FootmanDeath and the Dancing Footman is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the eleventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1942. The plot concerns a murder committed at a country house in Dorset....
(1942) - Colour SchemeColour SchemeColour Scheme is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twelfth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1943. The novel takes place in New Zealand during World War II; the plot involves suspected Nazi activity at a hot springs resort on the New Zealand coast and a...
(1943) - Died in the WoolDied in the WoolDied in the Wool is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1945. The novel concerns the murder of a New Zealand parliamentarian on a remote sheep farm, said to be located near Mount Cook...
(1945) - Final CurtainFinal CurtainFinal Curtain is a 1947 novel by Ngaio Marsh, which was adapted for television in 1993 as part of the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries.-Plot:Agatha Troy Alleyn is waiting for the return of her husband Roderick Alleyn after a long separation during World War II...
(1947) - Swing Brother SwingSwing Brother SwingSwing Brother Swing is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1949. The plot concerns the murder of a big band leader in London; the novel was published as A Wreath for Rivera in the United States....
(1949), published in USA as A Wreath for Rivera - Opening NightOpening Night (novel)Opening Night is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1951. It was published in the United states as Night at the Vulcan....
(1951), published in USA as Night at the Vulcan - Spinsters in JeopardySpinsters in JeopardySpinsters in Jeopardy is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the seventeenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1954. The novel takes place in the countryside of France, where Alleyn is vacationing with Agatha Troy, now his wife, and their son Ricky; it concerns an...
(1954), republished in the USA as The Bride of Death (1955) - Scales of JusticeScales of Justice (novel)Scales of Justice is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the eighteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1955. The plot concerns the murder of Colonel Carterette, an enthusiastic fisherman in charge of publishing the controversial memoirs of the local baronet....
(1955) - Off With His HeadOff With His HeadOff With His Head is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the nineteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1957. The plot concerns a village festival in the English countryside, and features Morris dancing among other folkloric elements...
(1957), published in USA as Death of a Fool - Singing in the ShroudsSinging in the ShroudsSinging in the Shrouds is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twentieth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1959. The plot concerns a serial killer who is on a transatlantic voyage to South Africa....
(1959) - False ScentFalse ScentFalse Scent is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-first novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1960. The plot concerns the murder of an aging stage actress, and continues Marsh's fascination with the theater and with acting....
(1960) - Hand in GloveHand in Glove (novel)Hand in Glove is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-second novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1962. This story finds its way into an upper society party gone astray into the path of precarious murder....
(1962) - Dead WaterDead Water (novel)Dead Water is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-third novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1964.The plot concerns a murder in a small coastal village, where a local spring believed to have miraculous healing properties is enriching many of the local...
(1964) - Death at the DolphinDeath at the DolphinDeath at the Dolphin is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-fourth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1967. The plot centers on a glove once owned by Hamnet Shakespeare, on display at a newly-renovated theater called the Dolphin; the novel was published as...
(1967), published in USA as Killer Dolphin - Clutch of ConstablesClutch of ConstablesClutch of Constables is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1968. The plot concerns art forgery, and takes place on a cruise on a fictional river in the Norfolk Broads; the "Constable" referred to in the title is...
(1968) - When in RomeWhen in Rome (novel)When in Rome is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-sixth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1970. The novel takes place in Rome, and concerns a number of murders among a group of tourists visiting the city; much of the action takes place in the "Basilica...
(1970) - Tied Up in TinselTied Up in TinselTied Up in Tinsel is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-seventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1972. The novel takes place at a country house in England over the course of a few days during the Christmas season....
(1972) - Black As He's PaintedBlack As He's PaintedBlack As He's Painted is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-eighth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1974. The plot concerns the newly-independent fictional African nation of Ng'ombwana, whose president and Alleyn went to school together, and a series...
(1974) - Last DitchLast DitchLast Ditch is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-ninth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1977. The plot concerns drug smuggling in the Channel Islands, and features Alleyn's son, Ricky, in a central role....
(1977) - Grave MistakeGrave MistakeGrave Mistake is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirtieth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1978. The plot concerns the murder of an elderly widow in a nursing home, and involves a rare, and famous, postage stamp....
(1978) - Photo FinishPhoto Finish (novel)Photo Finish is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirty-first, and penultimate, novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1980. The novel takes place on a millionaire's private island in New Zealand, and features the world premiere of an opera entitled The Alien...
(1980) - Light ThickensLight ThickensLight Thickens is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirty-second, and final, novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1982. The plot concerns the murder of the lead actor in a production of Macbeth in London, and the novel takes its title from a line in the play...
(1982)
Short stories
Collected in the book Death on the Air and Other Stories, first published in Great Britain in 1995:Roderick Alleyn stories
- "Death on the Air"' (1936)
- '"I Can Find My Way Out" (1946 - USA)
- "Chapter and Verse: The Little Copplestone Mystery" (1974 - USA)
Other stories
- "The Hand in the Sand" (1953 - USA)
- "The Cupid Mirror" (1972)
- "A Fool about Money" (1973 - USA)
- "Morepork" (1979 - USA)
- "Moonshine" (1936 - NZ)
- "Evil Liver" (script of an episode of the series Crown CourtCrown Court (TV series)Crown Court was an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984....
by Granada Television Ltd; recorded in England in 1975) - "My Poor Boy" (1959)
The book also includes two biographical essays written by Ngaio Marsh: "Roderick Alleyn" and "Portrait of Troy".
Non-Fiction
- Black Beech and Honeydew (1965, autobiography)
- New Zealand (1968)
- Singing Land (1974)
Adaptations
Four of Marsh's novels aired on New Zealand television in 1977. Nine were adapted for television as The Inspector Alleyn MysteriesThe Inspector Alleyn Mysteries
The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries is a British detective television series adapted from nine of the Roderick Alleyn novels by Ngaio Marsh. It originally aired between 1990 and 1994.In the pilot episode Detective Inspector Alleyn was played by Simon Williams...
and aired on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
between 1990 and 1994.