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British Library Crime Classics anthologies

This page lists crime fiction anthologies published in the British Library Crime Classics series.

 

British Library Crime Classics anthologies

Capital Crimes: London Mysteries

Editor: Martin Edwards

British Library Publishing / Poisoned Pen

2015

"Capital Crimes is an eclectic collection of London-based crime stories, blending the familiar with the unexpected in a way that reflects the personality of the city. The stories give a flavour of how writers have tackled crime in London over the span of more than half a century. Their contributions range from an early serial-killer thriller set on the London Underground and horrific vignettes to cerebral whodunits. What they have in common is an atmospheric London setting, and enduring value as entertainment."
The contents are:
  • The Case Of Lady Sannox (Arthur Conan Doyle)
  • A Mystery Of The Underground (John Oxenham)
  • The Finchley Puzzle (Richard Marsh)
  • The Magic Casket (R. Austin Freeman)
  • The Holloway Flat Tragedy (Ernest Bramah)
  • The Magician Of Cannon Street (J.S. Fletcher)
  • The Stealer Of Marble (Edgar Wallace)
  • The Tea Leaf (Robert Eustace And Edgar Jepson)
  • The Hands Of Mr. Ottermole (Thomas Burke)
  • The Little House (H.C. Bailey)
  • The Silver Mask (Hugh Walpole)
  • Wind In The East (Henry Wade)
  • The Avenging Chance (Anthony Berkeley)
  • They Don't Wear Labels (E.M. Delafield)
  • The Unseen Door (Margery Allingham)
  • Cheese (Ethel Lina White)
  • You Can't Hang Twice (Anthony Gilbert)
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Resorting to Murder: Holiday Mysteries

Editor: Martin Edwards

British Library Publishing / Poisoned Pen

2015

"From a golf course at the English seaside to a pension in Paris, and from a Swiss mountain resort to the cliffs of Normandy, this new selection shows the enjoyable and unexpected ways in which crime writers have used summer holidays as a theme."
The contents are:
  • The Adventure Of The Devil's Foot (Arthur Conan Doyle)
  • A Schoolmaster Abroad (E.W. Hornung)
  • Murder! (Arnold Bennett)
  • The Murder On The Golf Links (M. Mcdonnell Bodkin)
  • The Finger Of Stone (G.K. Chesterton)
  • The Vanishing Of Mrs Fraser (Basil Thomson)
  • A Mystery Of The Sand-Hills (R. Austin Freeman)
  • The Hazel Ice (H.C. Bailey)
  • Razor Edge (Anthony Berkeley)
  • Holiday Task (Leo Bruce)
  • A Posteriori (Helen Simpson)
  • Where Is Mr Manetot? (Phyllis Bentley)
  • The House Of Screams (Gerald Fiondler)
  • Cousin Once Removed (Michael Gilbert)
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Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries

Editor: Martin Edwards

British Library Publishing / Poisoned Pen

2015

"Crime writers are just as susceptible as readers to the countless attractions of Christmas. Over the years, many distinguished practitioners of the genre have given one or more of their stories a Yuletide setting. The most memorable Christmas mysteries blend a lively storyline with an atmospheric evocation of the season. Getting the mixture right is much harder than it looks.This book introduces readers to some of the finest Christmas detective stories of the past."
The contents are:
  • The Blue Carbuncle (Arthur Conan Doyle)
  • Parlour Tricks (Ralph Plummer)
  • A Happy Solution (Raymund Allen)
  • The Flying Stars (G.K. Chesterton)
  • Stuffing (Edgar Wallace)
  • The Unknown Murderer (H.C. Bailey)
  • The Absconding Treasurer (J. Jefferson Farjeon)
  • The Necklace Of Pearls (Dorothy L. Sayers)
  • The Case Is Altered (Margery Allingham)
  • Waxworks (Ethel Lina White)
  • Cambric Tea (Marjorie Bowen)
  • The Chinese Apple (Joseph Shearing)
  • A Problem In White (Nicholas Blake)
  • The Name On The Window (Edmund Crispin)
  • Beef For Christmas (Leo Bruce)
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Murder at the Manor: Country House Mysteries

Editor: Martin Edwards

British Library Publishing / Poisoned Pen

2016

"This new collection gathers together stories written over a span of about 65 years, during which British society, and life in country houses, was transformed out of all recognition. It includes fascinating and unfamiliar twists on the classic 'closed circle' plot, in which the assorted guests at a country house party become suspects when a crime is committed."
The contents are:
  • The Copper Beeches (Arthur Conan Doyle)
  • The Problem of Dead Wood Hall (Dick Donovan)
  • Gentlemen and Players (E. W. Hornung)
  • The Well (W. W. Jacobs)
  • The White Pillars Murder (G.K. Chesterton)
  • The Secret of Dunstan’s Tower (Ernest Bramah)
  • The Manor House Mystery (J.S. Fletcher)
  • The Message on the Sun-Dial (J.J. Bell)
  • The Horror at Staveley Grange (Sapper)
  • The Mystery of Horne’s Copse (Anthony Berkeley)
  • The Perfect Plan (James Hilton)
  • The Same to Us (Margery Allingham)
  • The Murder at the Towers (E.V. Knox)
  • An Unlocked Window (Ethel Lina White)
  • The Long Shot (Nicholas Blake)
  • Weekend at Wapentake (Michael Gilbert)
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Serpents in Eden

Editor: Martin Edwards

British Library Publishing / Poisoned Pen

2016

"Many of the greatest British crime writers have explored the possibilities of crime in the countryside in lively and ingenious short stories. Serpents in Eden celebrates the rural British mystery by bringing together an eclectic mix of crime stories written over half a century."
The contents are:
  • The Black Doctor (Arthur Conan Doyle)
  • Murder By Proxy (M. McDonnell Bodkin)
  • The Fad Of The Fisherman (G.K. Chesterton)
  • The Geniune Tabard (E.C. Bentley)
  • The Gylston Slander (Herbert Jenkins)
  • The Long Barrow (H.C. Bailey)
  • The Naturalist At Law (R. Austin Freeman)
  • A Proper Mystery (Margery Allingham)
  • Direct Evidence (Anthony Berkeley)
  • Inquest (Leonora Wodehouse)
  • The Scarecrow (Ethel Lina White)
  • Clue In The Mustard (Leo Bruce)
  • Our Pageant (Gladys Mitchell)
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Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries

Editor: Martin Edwards

British Library Publishing / Poisoned Pen

2016

"Crimson Snow brings together a dozen vintage crime stories set in winter. Welcome to a world of Father Christmases behaving oddly, a famous fictional detective in a Yuletide drama, mysterious tracks in the snow----, and some very unpleasant carol singers."
The contents are:
  • The Ghost's Touch (Fergus Hume)
  • The Chopham Affair (Edgar Wallace)
  • The Man With The Sack (Margery Allingham)
  • Christmas Eve (S.C. Roberts)
  • Death In December (Victor Gunn)
  • Murder At Christmas (Christopher Bush)
  • Off The Tiles (Ianthe Jerrold)
  • Mr. Cork's Secret (Macdonald Hastings)
  • The Santa Claus Club (Julian Symons)
  • Deep And Crisp And Even (Michael Gilbert)
  • The Carol Singers (Josephine Bell)
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Miraculous Mysteries

Editor: Martin Edwards

British Library Publishing / Poisoned Pen

2017

"Fiendishly intricate cases were particularly well suited to the cerebral type of detective story that became so popular during the golden age of murder between the two world wars. But the tradition goes back to the days of Wilkie Collins, and impossible crime stories have been written by such luminaries as Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham. This anthology celebrates their work, alongside long-hidden gems by less familiar writers."
The contents are:
  • The Lost Special (Arthur Conan Doyle)
  • The Thing Invisible (William Hope Hodgson)
  • The Case of the Tragedies in the Greek Room (Sax Romer)
  • The Aluminium Dagger (R. Austin Freeman)
  • The Miracle of Moon Crescent (G. K. Chesterton)
  • The Invisible Weapon (Nicholas Olde)
  • The Diary of Death (Marten Cumberland)
  • The Broadcast Murder (Grenville Robbins)
  • The Music-Room (Sapper)
  • Death at 8.30 (Christopher St. John Sprigg)
  • Too Clever by Half (G.D.H. & Margaret Cole)
  • Locked In (E. Charles Vivian)
  • The Haunted Policeman (Dorothy L. Sayers)
  • The Sands of Thyme (Michael Innes)
  • Beware of Trains (Edmund Crispin)
  • The Villa Marie Celeste (Margery Allingham)
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Continental Crimes

Editor: Martin Edwards

British Library Publishing / Poisoned Pen

2017

"Detective stories from the golden age and beyond have used European settings - cosmopolitan cities, rural idylls and crumbling chateaux - to explore timeless themes of revenge, deception and haunting. Including lesser-known stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, and J. Jefferson Farjeon - and over a dozen other classic writers - this collection reveals many hidden gems of British crime."
The contents are:
  • The New Catacomb (Arthur Conan Doyle)
  • A Bracelet at Bruges (Arnold Bennett)
  • The Secret Garden (G. K. Chesterton)
  • The Secret of the Magnifique (E. Phillip Oppenheim)
  • Petit-Jean (Ian Hay)
  • The Lover of St. Lys (F. Tennyson Jesse)
  • Popeau Intervenes (Marie Belloc Lowndes)
  • The Perfect Murder (Stacy Aumonier)
  • The Room in the Tower (J. Jefferson Farjeon)
  • The Ten-Franc Counter (H. de Vere Stacpoole)
  • Have You Got Everything You Want? (Agatha Christie)
  • The Long Dinner (H. C. Bailey)
  • The Packet-Boat Murder (Josephine Bell)
  • Villa Almirante (Michael Gilbert)
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The Long Arm of the Law: Classic Police Stories

Editor: Martin Edwards

British Library Publishing / Poisoned Pen

2017

"In classic British crime fiction, dazzling detective work is often the province of a brilliant amateur - whereas the humble police detective cuts a hapless figure. The twelve stories collected here strike a blow for the professionals, with teasing mysteries to challenge hard-working police officers' persistence and scrupulous attention to detail."
The contents are:
  • The Mystery Of Chenholt (Alice & Claude Aakey)
  • The Silence of PC Hirley (Edgar Wallace)
  • The Mystery Of Midsummer Night (George R. Sims)
  • The Cleverest Clue (Laurence W. Meynell)
  • The Undoing of Mr Dawes (Gerald Verner)
  • The Man Who Married Too Often (Roy Vickers)
  • The Case of Jacob Heylyn (Leonard R. Gribble)
  • Fingerprints (Freeman Wills Croft)
  • Remember To Ring Twice (E.C.R. Lorac)
  • Cotton Wool and Cutlets (Henry Wade)
  • After the Event (Christianna Brand)
  • Sometimes the Blind (Nicholas Blake)
  • The Chief Witness (John Creasey)
  • Old Mr Martin (Michael Gilbert)
  • The Moorlanders (Gil North)
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Foreign Bodies

Editor: Martin Edwards

British Library Publishing / Poisoned Pen

2017

"This is the first ever collection of classic crime in translation from the golden age of the genre in the 20th century. Many of these stories are exceptionally rare, and several have been translated for the first time to appear in this volume. Martin Edwards has selected gems of classic crime from Denmark to Japan and many points in between. Fascinating stories give an insight into the cosmopolitan cultures (and crime-writing traditions) of diverse places including Mexico, France, Russia, Germany and the Netherlands."
The contents are:
  • The Swedish Match (Anton Chekhov)
  • A Sensible Course of Action (Palle Rosenkrantz)
  • Strange Tracks (Balduin Groller)
  • The Kennel (Maurice Level)
  • Footprints in the Snow (Maurice Leblanc)
  • The Return of Lord Kingwood (Ivans)
  • The Stage Box Murder (Paul Rosenhayn)
  • The Spider (Koga Saburo)
  • The Venom of the Tarantula (Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay)
  • Murdera la Carte (Jean-Toussaint Samat)
  • The Cold Night's Clearing (Keikichi Osaka)
  • The Mystery of the Green Room (Pierre Very)
  • Kippers (John Flanders)
  • The Lipstick and the Teacup (Havank)
  • The Puzzle of the Broken Watch (Maria Elvira Bermudez))
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Blood on the Tracks: Railway Mysteries

Editor: Martin Edwards

British Library Publishing / Poisoned Pen

2018

"Trains have been a favourite setting of many crime writers, providing the mobile equivalent of the locked-room scenario. Their enclosed carriages with a limited number of suspects lend themselves to seemingly impossible crimes. In an era of cancellations and delays, alibis reliant upon a timely train service no longer ring true, yet the railway detective has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the twenty-first century. Both train buffs and crime fans will delight in this selection of fifteen railway-themed mysteries, featuring some of the most popular authors of their day alongside less familiar names."
The contents are:
  • The Man with the Watches (Arthur Conan Doyle)
  • The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel (L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace)
  • How He Cut His Stick (Matthias McDonnell Bodkin)
  • The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway (Baroness Orczy)
  • The Affair of the Corridor Express (Victor L. Whitechurch)
  • The Case of Oscar Brodski (R. Austin Freeman)
  • The Eighth Lamp (Roy Vickers)
  • The Knight's Cross Signal Problem (Ernest Bramah)
  • The Unsolved Puzzle Of The Man with No Face (Dorothy L. Sayers)
  • The Railway Carriage (F. Tennyson Jesse)
  • Mystery of the Slip-Coach (Sapper)
  • The Level Crossing (Freeman Wills Crofts)
  • The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage (Ronald Knox)
  • Murder on the 7.16 (Michael Innes)
  • The Coulman Handicap (Michael Gilbert))
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Last updated April 2018