Edmund Crispin was the nom de plume of the composer Robert Bruce Montgomery (10/2/1921-9/15/1978). As an organist and choirmaster at St John’s Oxford, Crispin used the university and the town as the setting for his mystery novels.
Crispin’s first mystery, The Case of the Gilded Fly introduces Oxford Don Gervase Fen. He’s a professor of English Language and Literature who would rather solve crime than write about literature. He’s eccentric, loves obscure references quoted at inappropriate times, and is quite good at the detecting thing.
The mystery revolves around a repertory theatre company. The nastiest and not very talented actress (and also the wealthiest of the bunch) is murdered and the list is long with suspects. It is an interesting, if a little unbelievable, locked room mystery. But the joy of the story with all its wit, its interesting characters and settings make the novel worth reading.
The Moving Toyshop (one of PD James’ Top 5 Fave Mysteries) is considered Crispin’s best. Again taking place in Oxford, it deals with a visiting poet Richard Cadogan stumbling over a dead body. But when Cadogan brings the police to the body, the entire toyshop has disappeared! Of course, it hasn’t really disappeared so Cadogan has to search for the toyshop with the help of his nutty professor friend (Fen, again). After uncovering a cunning scheme to defraud an heiress out of her fortune, Fen and Cadogan discover the murderer.
There are many more Gervase Fen Mysteries. Many of which have been lovingly reissued by Felony & Mayhem Press, New York.
Gervase Fen Mysteries
- The Case of the Gilded Fly (1944)
- Holy Disorders (1945)
- The Moving Toyshop (1946)
- Swan Song (1947)
- Love Lies Bleeding (1948)
- Buried for Pleasure (1948)
- Frequent Hearses (1950)
- The Long Divorce (1952)
- Beware of the Trains (1953) (short story collection)
- The Glimpses of the Moon (1977)
- Fen Country (1979) (short story collection, published posthumously)
Publishers:
- Felony & Mayhem, New York. (Reissues in Trade Paperback)
