Edmund Crispin

Author profile

born

in The United Kingdom

October 02, 1921

died

September 15, 1978

gender

male

genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Short Stories

About this author

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Edmund Crispin was the pseudonym of (Robert) Bruce Montgomery (1921-1978). His first crime novel and musical composition were both accepted for publication while he was still an undergraduate at Oxford. After a brief spell of teaching, he became a full-time writer and composer (particularly of film music. He wrote the music for six of the Carry On films. But he was also well known for his concert and church music). He also edited science fiction anthologies, and became a regular crime fiction reviewer for The Sunday Times. His friends included Philip Larkin, Kingsley Amis and Agatha Christie.

He had always been a heavy drinker and, unfortunately, there was a long gap in his writing during a time when he was suffering from alcohol problems. O...more

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Edmund Crispin's Books

Average rating: 3.82 · 3,592 ratings · 402 reviews · 31 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Moving Toyshop (Gervase Fen, #3) 3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 1,189 ratings — published 1946 — 22 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Case of the Gilded Fly (Gervase Fen, #1) 3.57 of 5 stars 3.57 avg rating — 627 ratings — published 1944 — 14 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love Lies Bleeding (Gervase Fen, #5) 3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 462 ratings — published 1948 — 14 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Holy Disorders (Gervase Fen, #2) 3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 290 ratings — published 1945 — 12 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Swan Song (Gervase Fen, #4) 3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 241 ratings — published 1947 — 15 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Buried for Pleasure (Gervase Fen, #6) 3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 168 ratings — published 1948 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Long Divorce (Gervase Fen, #8) 3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 140 ratings — published 1948 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Frequent Hearses (Gervase Fen, #7) 3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 146 ratings — published 1950 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Glimpses of the Moon (Gervase Fen, #10) 3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 145 ratings — published 1977 — 12 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Beware of the Trains (Gervase Fen, #9) 3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 73 ratings — published 1953 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Edmund Crispin…

Series by Edmund Crispin

Gervase Fen (11 books)
by Edmund Crispin
3.829171396140749 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 3,524 ratings

Pan Classic Crime (1 book)
by Edmund Crispin
3.874251497005988 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 167 ratings

Best SF (3 books)
by Edmund Crispin (Editor)
3.3846153846153846 of 5 stars 3.38 avg rating — 13 ratings

Quotes by Edmund Crispin

“Discretion,” said Fen with great complacency, “is my middle name.”
“I dare say. But very few people use their middle names.”
― Edmund Crispin, Beware of the Trains

11 people liked it

“None but the most blindly credulous will imaging the characters and events in this story to be anything but fictitious. It is true that the ancient and noble city of Oxford is, of all the towns of England, the likeliest progenitor of unlikely events and persons. But there are limits.”
― Edmund Crispin

tags: fiction, oxford

4 people liked it

“As the popularity of science-fiction increases, so inevitably does the volume of clownish imprecation against it.”
― Edmund Crispin

2 people liked it

See all Edmund Crispin's quotes »

Polls

February Group Read (Beyond 1940):

The Grass Is Singing by Doris Lessing

5 votes, 41.7%

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

3 votes, 25.0%

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

2 votes, 16.7%

The Empress of Ireland by Christopher Robbins

1 vote, 8.3%

The Plague by Albert Camus

1 vote, 8.3%

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

0 votes, 0.0%

Herzog by Saul Bellow

0 votes, 0.0%

Love Lies Bleeding by Edmund Crispin

0 votes, 0.0%

12 total votes

1 comment

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Edmund's Fans (38)

Edmund Crispin

Author profile

combine editionsEdmund Crispin's Books

Series by Edmund Crispin

Quotes by Edmund Crispin

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

combine editions
Edmund Crispin's Books