Very near fine in a like dustjacket. Hardcover first edition - W. H. Allen,, (1978). Hardcover first edition -. Very near fine in a like dustjacket.. First printing. A novel of obsession by one of the great writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction - a "what if" exploration of the story behind one of the most puzzling maritime mysteries of all on December 4, 1872, the Mary Celeste was found adrift off the coast of Portugal with cargo in her hold, food upon her tables, and half-written letters on her captains desk, but not a soul on board. 183 pp.
Christianna Brand (December 17, 1907 - March 11, 1988) was a crime writer and children's author. Brand also wrote under the pseudonyms Mary Ann Ashe, Annabel Jones, Mary Roland, and China Thomson.
She was born Mary Christianna Milne in 1907 in Malaya and spent her early years in India. She had a number of different occupations, including model, dancer, shop assistant and governess.
Her first novel, Death in High Heels, was written while Brand was working as a salesgirl. In 1941, one of her best-loved characters, Inspector Cockrill of the Kent County Police, made his debut in the book Heads You Lose. The character would go on to appear in seven of her novels. Green for Danger is Brand’s most famous novel. The whodunit, set in a World War 2 hospital, was adapted for film by Eagle-Lion Films in 1946, starring Alastair Sim as the Inspector. She dropped the series in the late 1950s and concentrated on various genres as well as short stories. She was nominated three times for Edgar Awards: for the short stories "Poison in the Cup" (EQMM, Feb. 1969) and "Twist for Twist" (EQMM, May 1967) and for a nonfiction work about a Scottish murder case, Heaven Knows Who (1960). She is the author of the children's series Nurse Matilda, which Emma Thompson adapted to film as Nanny McPhee (2005).
Her Inspector Cockrill short stories and a previously unpublished Cockrill stage play were collected as The Spotted Cat and Other Mysteries from inspector Cockrill's Casebook, edited by Tony Medawar (2002).
This was the most well written book I've ever hated. The characters, through the course of the book, were well developed and fully fleshed out AND evolved during the course of the plot. And they were every kind of Victorian mind-set I just want to choke to death. So if you love that mid-Victorian era mentality and Bible-thumping, I strongly recommend this book. If you don't, run far; run fast; don't look back. If you're reading it because of the Mary Celeste connection, I can't help you. You'll have to decide for yourself if the plot line is at all credible.