Murder at the Manor: Country House Mysteries

By Sourcebooks

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder

"[T]he entire book is filled with country-house-mystery wonders: the closed-circle puzzle, the dying-message clue, and the sociopathic guest who invades the weekend house party." —Booklist

The English country house is an iconic setting for some of the greatest British crime fiction. 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. In the more sinister tales featured here, a gloomy mansion set in lonely grounds offers an eerie backdrop for dark deeds.

Many distinguished writers are represented in this collection, including such great names of the genre as Anthony Berkeley, Nicholas Blake and G.K. Chesterton. Martin Edwards has also unearthed hidden gems and forgotten masterpieces: among them are a fine send-up of the country house murder; a suspenseful tale by the unaccountably neglected Ethel Lina White; and a story by the little-known Scottish writer J.J. Bell.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sourcebooks
• Release date: Feb 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781464205743

Reviews for Murder at the Manor

[lhaines56 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lucy and Sue go to England for a visit to one of Sue's titled friends. Murder ensues of course. Interesting and fun.

[dokfintong · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a rather ponderous collection of older stories published by Poisoned Pen Press in collaboration with the British Library. Although most of these stories have been out of the public eye for nearly a century, it seems, somehow, that I have read them dozens of times.I received a review copy of "Murder at the Manor: A British Library Crime Classic" ed. Martin Edwards (Poisoned Pen) through NetGalley.com.

[smik_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This anthology contains 16 short stories, some written by masters of the genre and others by less well known. I never cease to be amazed at how many people were writing crime fiction in England in the period covered by this anthology.Short story collections are among my favourites as they offer the prospect of quick delving, of a variety of approaches. Each of the stories in this collection relates somehow to a crime, often murder, committed at a country house. They also offer an interesting insight into a period of English life where society rapidly changed because of the advent of World War One.I was surprised however that the editor - and there was probably good reason for it - allowed this volume to go to press without page numbers on the Table of Contents, and without the short story titles being repeated in the top margins of the printed pages.