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Pulpmeister · 03-04-2017, 03:30 AM

Detective Cavalcade
Edited by Dorothy L Sayers

Back in 1936, the London newspaper The Evening Standard commissioned Dorothy L Sayers to edit a selection of detective stories as a weekly feature. She wrote an introduction, and chose 30 short stories from 30 different authors (if you count Ellery Queen and GDH and M Cole as sole authors rather than double acts). For each story (except the one of her own) she wrote a headnote.

What's more, she prevailed on a number of her contemporary writers to produce new stories specially for the series. This remarkable collection has never been published as a book, and maybe it's high time it was.

After the run ended in The Evening Standard, the series was syndicated, and appeared in whole or in part in "colonial" newspapers, and, I shouldn't be suprised, in the USA and Canada. In Australia, at least six different newspapers ran the series, although none, so far as I can tell, ran the whole lot. However, between them, all the stories were published, in rather higgledy piggledy order, and with Ms Sayers' headnotes.

Each story featured the author's most characteristic detective, and in some cases are the only short stories in which that character appeared (eg Mrs Bradley).

The full list, not necessarily in the order published in The Evening Standard, (although I'm fairly sure the first and last are about right!) is:

1: The Tremarn Case / Baroness Orczy (d. 1947) OLD MAN
2: The Invisible Man / G K Chesterton (d 1936) FATHER BROWN
3: The Stealer of Marble / Edgar Wallace (d. 1932) J G REEDER
4: East Wind / Freeman Wills Crofts (d. 1957) FRENCH
5: The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge / Agatha Christie (d 1983) POIROT
6: The Nail and the Requiem / C Daly King (d 1963) TREVIS TARRRANT
7: The Hanover Court Murder / Sir Basil Thompson (d. 1939) RICHARDSON
8: Seven Black Cats / Ellery Queen (Lee d. 1971. Dannay 1982) QUEEN
9: The Wrong Problem / John Dickson Carr (d. 1977) FELL
10: Clever Cockatoo / E C Bentley (d. 1956) TRENT
11: The Cyprian Bees / Anthony Wynne (Robert McNair Wilson), d. 1963 DR HAILEY
12: Sower of Pestilence / R Austin Freeman (d 1943) THORNDYKE
13: The Elusive Bullet / John Rhode (Cecil Street, d. 1964 ) DR PRIESTLY
14: The Dragon's Head / Dorothy L Sayers (d 1957) WIMSY
15: The Missing Undergraduate / Henry Wade (Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, Bt); d. 1960) INSPECTOR POOLE
16:Gentlemen and Players / E W Hornung (d. 1921) RAFFLES
17: A Drop Too Much / Christopher Bush (d. 1973) LUDOVIC TRAVERS
18: Diamond Cut Diamond / F. Britten Austin (d. 1941) "Q.Q."
19: Policeman's Cape / David Frome (Leslie Ford, d. 1983) MR PINKERTON
20: A Question of Coincidence / G D H and M Cole (GDH d 1959, M 1980) SUP. WILSON
21: Sexton Blake Solves It / Anon / unknown SEXTON BLAKE
22: A Study in the Obvious / E R Punshon (d. 1956) SGT BOBBY OWEN
23: Locked in / E. Charles Vivian , (d. 1947) INSP.HEAD
24: Lord Chizelrigg's Missing Fortune / Robert Barr (d.1912) VALMONT
25: The Wrong Hand / Melville Davisson Post (d 1930) UNCLE ABNER
26: The Case of the 100 Cats / Gladys Mitchell. (d 1983) MRS BRADLEY
27: White Butterfly / Anthony Berkeley [Cox]. (d. 1971) SHERINGHAM
28: The Borderline Case / Margery Allingham (d. 1966) CAMPION
29: Ghost At Massingham Mansions / Ernest Bramah (d. 1942) MAX CARRADOS
30: Before Insulin / J.J. Connington(Alfred Walter Stewart, d. 1947) SIR CLINTON

For any student and/or fan of the early days of the classic detective story, this would be an invaluable book to have, but as you can see, at least half the stories are still copyright. And it would be a big book, I guess around 180-200 thousand words. The Evening Standard preferred 4,000 words per story, but many went to 6,000 . Some older ones to 10,000, and were published in two parts.

03-04-2017, 03:30 AM	#1
Pulpmeister Wizard Posts: 2,515 Karma: 28893796 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Perth Western Australia Device: kindle	Detective Cavalcade, Ed. Dorothy L Sayers Detective Cavalcade Edited by Dorothy L Sayers Back in 1936, the London newspaper The Evening Standard commissioned Dorothy L Sayers to edit a selection of detective stories as a weekly feature. She wrote an introduction, and chose 30 short stories from 30 different authors (if you count Ellery Queen and GDH and M Cole as sole authors rather than double acts). For each story (except the one of her own) she wrote a headnote. What's more, she prevailed on a number of her contemporary writers to produce new stories specially for the series. This remarkable collection has never been published as a book, and maybe it's high time it was. After the run ended in The Evening Standard, the series was syndicated, and appeared in whole or in part in "colonial" newspapers, and, I shouldn't be suprised, in the USA and Canada. In Australia, at least six different newspapers ran the series, although none, so far as I can tell, ran the whole lot. However, between them, all the stories were published, in rather higgledy piggledy order, and with Ms Sayers' headnotes. Each story featured the author's most characteristic detective, and in some cases are the only short stories in which that character appeared (eg Mrs Bradley). The full list, not necessarily in the order published in The Evening Standard, (although I'm fairly sure the first and last are about right!) is: 1: The Tremarn Case / Baroness Orczy (d. 1947) OLD MAN 2: The Invisible Man / G K Chesterton (d 1936) FATHER BROWN 3: The Stealer of Marble / Edgar Wallace (d. 1932) J G REEDER 4: East Wind / Freeman Wills Crofts (d. 1957) FRENCH 5: The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge / Agatha Christie (d 1983) POIROT 6: The Nail and the Requiem / C Daly King (d 1963) TREVIS TARRRANT 7: The Hanover Court Murder / Sir Basil Thompson (d. 1939) RICHARDSON 8: Seven Black Cats / Ellery Queen (Lee d. 1971. Dannay 1982) QUEEN 9: The Wrong Problem / John Dickson Carr (d. 1977) FELL 10: Clever Cockatoo / E C Bentley (d. 1956) TRENT 11: The Cyprian Bees / Anthony Wynne (Robert McNair Wilson), d. 1963 DR HAILEY 12: Sower of Pestilence / R Austin Freeman (d 1943) THORNDYKE 13: The Elusive Bullet / John Rhode (Cecil Street, d. 1964 ) DR PRIESTLY 14: The Dragon's Head / Dorothy L Sayers (d 1957) WIMSY 15: The Missing Undergraduate / Henry Wade (Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, Bt); d. 1960) INSPECTOR POOLE 16:Gentlemen and Players / E W Hornung (d. 1921) RAFFLES 17: A Drop Too Much / Christopher Bush (d. 1973) LUDOVIC TRAVERS 18: Diamond Cut Diamond / F. Britten Austin (d. 1941) "Q.Q." 19: Policeman's Cape / David Frome (Leslie Ford, d. 1983) MR PINKERTON 20: A Question of Coincidence / G D H and M Cole (GDH d 1959, M 1980) SUP. WILSON 21: Sexton Blake Solves It / Anon / unknown SEXTON BLAKE 22: A Study in the Obvious / E R Punshon (d. 1956) SGT BOBBY OWEN 23: Locked in / E. Charles Vivian , (d. 1947) INSP.HEAD 24: Lord Chizelrigg's Missing Fortune / Robert Barr (d.1912) VALMONT 25: The Wrong Hand / Melville Davisson Post (d 1930) UNCLE ABNER 26: The Case of the 100 Cats / Gladys Mitchell. (d 1983) MRS BRADLEY 27: White Butterfly / Anthony Berkeley [Cox]. (d. 1971) SHERINGHAM 28: The Borderline Case / Margery Allingham (d. 1966) CAMPION 29: Ghost At Massingham Mansions / Ernest Bramah (d. 1942) MAX CARRADOS 30: Before Insulin / J.J. Connington(Alfred Walter Stewart, d. 1947) SIR CLINTON For any student and/or fan of the early days of the classic detective story, this would be an invaluable book to have, but as you can see, at least half the stories are still copyright. And it would be a big book, I guess around 180-200 thousand words. The Evening Standard preferred 4,000 words per story, but many went to 6,000 . Some older ones to 10,000, and were published in two parts.