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This page lists novels, short story collections and crime related non-fiction by Helen Simpson and collaborative works that include a contribution by Helen Simpson.

Other works by Helen Simpson fall outside the scope of this page.

Cover images are, where possible, of the first UK edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.

By Helen Simpson:
- novels, story collections
- crime related non-fiction

Acquittal

Helen Simpson

1925

The Baseless Fabric

Helen Simpson

1925

A collection of short stories.

Cups, Wands and Swords

Helen Simpson

1927

Enter Sir John

Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson

1928

"Here's a detective story of the theatre. It opens, in the gey small hours of the morning, in an out-of-the-way provincial town: knocking, hurrying footsteps, dishevelled, bewildered apparitions at lodging house windows, and the discovery that a member of the visiting theatre company has been murdered. The notebooks of the local police bulged with evidence that got them nowhere; the local jury, a mixed assembly of mentalities, arrived laboriously and in some bewilderment at a recommendation to mercy. And then Sir John, elegant, imperturbable, aloof, with a famous smile that satisfied the stalls and sent the gallery into ecstacy, took the stage. Sir John it was who saw where the case was being bungled and the obvious overlooked, who added a strange assortment of people to his admirers, placed Martella Baring beyond the clutches of the law, and staged for Martella and himself the 'entrance' of a lifetime."

The Desolate House

Helen Simpson

1929

Printer's Devil

Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson

1930

Published in the US as Author Unknown.

Vantage Striker

Helen Simpson

1931

Boomerang

Helen Simpson

1932

Re-Enter Sir John

Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson

1932

"Sir John Saumaurez, the actor-manager who applies the technique of his art to the problems of life, makes his bow once more. This time the problem which intrigues him, is not murder - not at first. Cheating at cards in a famous club; a young man's career socially ruined; a girl's happiness at stake; and finally the reversal of a coroner's verdict of death from natural causes, and vengeance. His is the awkward series of questions to which Sir John's powers of deduction must find the answer. His admirers will be interested to learn that their idol is now a film star."

The Woman on the Beast: Viewed from Three Angles

Helen Simpson

1933

Three stories preceded by a prologue and followed by an epilogue. The stories are not connected and are set in 16th century India, 18th century France and a future Australia.

Ask a Policeman

Member of the Detection Club

1933

A collaborative novel with contributions by Dorothy L. Sayers, Gladys Mitchell, Anthony Berkeley, John Rhode, Helen Simpson, and Milward Kennedy. Lord Peter Wimsey contributes to the investigation.

"Lord Comstock is a barbarous newspaper tycoon with enemies in high places. His murder in the study of his country house poses a dilemma for the Home Secretary. In the hours before his death, Lord Comstock’s visitors included the government Chief Whip, an Archbishop, and the Assistant Commissioner for Scotland Yard. Suspicion falls upon them all and threatens the impartiality of any police investigation. Abandoning protocol, the Home Secretary invites four famous detectives to solve the case: Mrs Adela Bradley, Sir John Saumarez, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Mr Roger Sheringham. All are different, all are plausible, all are on their own – and none of them can ask a policeman."

Saraband for Dead Lovers

Helen Simpson

1935

"Set in seventeenth century Hanover, it depicts the doomed romance between Philip Christoph von Königsmarck and Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the wife of the Elector of Hanover."

The Female Felon

Helen Simpson

1935

Under Capricorn

Helen Simpson

1937

"In 1831 Sydney, New South Wales, Charles Adare arrives with his uncle, the new governor. Charles hopes to make his fortune. He is befriended by Samson Flusky, a prosperous businessman who is a former transported convict. Sam's wife, Lady Henrietta, was a friend of Charles's sister in Ireland. Sam hopes that Charles will cheer up his wife, who is an alcoholic. Meanwhile the housekeeper, Milly, secretly loves Sam, and encourages Henrietta's drinking. Sam was transported after he confessed to a killing actually committed by Henrietta, who followed Sam and waited for his release."

Maid No More

Helen Simpson

1940

The Anatomy Of Murder: Famous Crimes Critically Considered by Members of the Detection Club

Helen Simpson / John Rhode / Margaret Cole / E.R. Punshon / Dorothy L. Sayers / Francis Iles / Freeman Wills Crofts

1936

"A unique anthology for crime aficionados – seven of the world’s most notorious genuine murder mysteries retold by the most accomplished classic crime writers of their generation."

• Death of Henry Kinder (Helen Simpson)
• Constance Kent (John Rhode)
• The Case of Adelaide Bartlett (Margaret Cole)
• An Impression of the Landru Case (E.R.Punshon)
• The Murder of Julia Wallace (Dorothy L.Sayers)
• The Rattenbury Case (Francis Iles)
• New Zealand Tragedy (The Lakey Murder Case) (Freeman Wills Crofts)