Crime Stories from the ‘Strand’

by Geraldine Beare (Editor)

Genres: Short Stories, Crime, Mystery, Fiction

350 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Sheila Howes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of 20 short stories originally published in "The Strand" magazine. One of the best collections of short stories I've read. There were only a couple of disappointments.

1) A Scandal in Bohemia, by Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes takes on Irene Adler.
2) The Jewelled Skull, by Dick Donovan - A jewelled skull is stolen.
3) The Great Ruby Robbery, by Grant Allen - The theft of a ruby. My least favourite story so far.
4) The Death Chair, by LT Mead and Robert Eustace - A story involving 2 Drs. Predictable.
5) The Adventure of the Dying Detective, by Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes is dying.
6) The Clever Cockatoo, by EC Bentley - The mystery of an ill woman.
7) A Point of Detail, by "Sapper" - Murder in the trenches. Not a good story.
8) The Man with the Canine Teeth, by Edgar Wallace - Can your teeth predict if you are a murderer? Entertaining.
9) The Tea Leaf, by Edgar Jepson and Robert Eustace - A mysterious death in a Turkish bath.
10) The Voice That Said Goodnight, by Roland Pertwee - An interesting tale of murder.
11) 'Fairy Kist' by Rudyard Kipling - A disappointing tale.
12) Poirot and the Triangle at Rhodes, by Agatha Christie - Poirot tries to take a holiday.
13) The Vampire of the Village, by GK Chesterton - Father Brown solves a mystery in a village.
14) The Man Who Dreamed Too Much, by Quentin Reynolds - An interesting tale of murder set in Germany between the wars.
15) The Old Man in the Window, by Margery Allingham - A case for Mr Campion.
16) The Haunted Policeman, by Dorothy L Sayers - Lord Peter Wimsey helps a Policeman.
17) The Silver Curtain, by Carter Dickinson - A clever tale of a man losing a lot of money in a casino.
18) Primrose Petals, by HC Bailey - Two missing children.
19) The Ginger King, by AEW Mason - Is a fire an accident?
20) The Case of the Retired Jeweller, by Agatha Christie - Miss Marple investigates the death of a retired jeweller's wife.

[isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

biased rating because i love bedtime story with wonderful t

[t · Rating 4 out of 5]

wonderful bedtime stories from a wonderful person and i do love vintage crime (except when it is racist) hehehe

[Rossdavidh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of crime stories from a magazine named "The Strand" from the U.K. I am led to believe that, for readers of a certain age (several generations actually), it was one of the principal places to find good short stories. Some of the authors I had already read stories by before: Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Rudyard Kipling, Dorothy Sayers, G.K.Chesterton. Others I had never heard of before: H.C. Bailey, Carter Dickson, E.C. Bentley, Margery Allingham.

They are, all of them, very much of a previous time. The dialogue does not read like modern conversation, the attitudes on race are rough, the role of class in society is a lot more openly admitted than in the 21st century. Either you enjoy reading fiction from a long time ago, or you don't; myself I find it a refreshing change of perspective that justifies the occasional distasteful bits.

Some of the crimes which are solved, are more plausible than others. You may have to work a little harder to suspend your disbelief in some cases. Unsurprisingly, the big names require less work of this sort of work on the reader's part. Even though they were not all great, though, I cannot say that there were any of these stories that I did not enjoy. It was a bit like watching a 20's cliffhanger, in that even in the cases where it's not actually good, it can be great fun.

[Muaz Jalil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good selection from 1890-1940s. I loved the death chair by Meade and Robert Eustace, the point of detail, and Roland Pertwee's Good Night. The best was Quentin Reynolds, the man who dreamed too much, probably because I am currently reading Freud and Jung!

[Russell Mark Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing like crime fiction as published by The Strand. Great introduction for me to some authors I've never read and some I've never even heard of. And as always, Christie, Doyle, and Chesterton never cease to amuse and delight. Also, another beautiful edition from the Folio Society.

[John Mccullough · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Folio Society of Britain had Beare put this collection of crime stories together as one of a three-part series featuring stories from the traditional magazine “The Strand.” H. R. F. Keating wrote the Introduction. There are 20 stories by authors still widely remembered and some requiring a quick check with Wikipedia, although Keating does offer a tiny thumbnail of background for them all in his Introduction. Included are two Sherlock stories by Conan Doyle, two by Agatha Christie – one each for her two favorite amateur detectives - one each by Rudyard Kipling, G. K. Chesterton, Margery Allingham and Dorothy L. Sayers, then others of fond memory for some of us. Published in 1991, it is occasionally available in the US and a pleasant addition to your business traveling or Summer vacation reading.

[Gems · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a book to read if you wish to play detective as many don’t give you the option to wonder, but still a good read with many a good short story.
A couple were difficult to read/get into so could have skipped them, but were read nonetheless, mostly were quite a nice little read though.
Have to take disregard some of the writing regarding women descriptions and racism in some areas which made difficult reading.
Love the way the first pages of each story had a nice little illustration though, nice added touch by Folio.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1991, 'Crime Stories from The Strand' is an anthology of 20 crime stories first published in 'The Strand' magazine over the years 1891-1942. Many of the tales are by authors who have stood the test of time, including Conan Doyle, Chesterton and Agatha Christie amongst others although daytime tv has a lot to do with this. The tales are all quite readable and well written, apart from one or two with really daft plot devices.

[Jo Jenner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little collection of who dun-its from some very well know writers. The only reason for the low star rating was that some you could solve very easily and the ones you couldn’t were because they were told to you with no descriptive clues and therefore I don’t think the writer wrote them expecting the reader to be able to work them out for themselves.