Fifty Famous Detectives of Fiction

by Various, Christopher Bush, Sax Rohmer

Fifty detective stories from famous authors and/or famous fictional detectives.

696 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Abbey]

1948 edition.

INCLUDES:

Arthur Conan Doyle: SHERLOCK HOLMES
"Adventure of the Three Students"

Dorothy Sayers: LORD PETER WIMSEY
"The Necklace of Pearls"

Agatha Christie: HERCULE POIROT
"Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan"

H.C. Bailey: MR FORTUNE
"The Snowball Burglary"

E.C. Bentley: PHILIP TRENT
"The Inoffensive Captain"

Freeman Wills Crofts: INSPECTOR FRENCH
"East Wind"

R.A. Freeman: DR THORNDYKE
"The Seal of Nebuchadnezzar"

Ernest Bramah: MAX CARRADOS
"Curious Circumstances of the Two Left Shoes"

G.K. Chesterton: FATHER BROWN
"The Queer Feet"

Henry Wade: INSPECTOR POOLE
"The Three Keys"

Ronald Knox: MILES BREDON
"Solved By Inspection"

Ellery Queen: ELLERY QUEEN
"Adventure of the African Traveller"

Dorothy Sayers: MONTAGUE EGG
"One Too Many"

Agatha Christie: HARLEY QUIN
"The Coming of Mr Quin"

Basil Thomson: MR PEPPER
"I Meet Mr Pepper"

Edgar Wallace: J.G. REEDER
"The Poetical Policeman"

G.D.H. Cole/M. Cole: SUPERINTENDENT WILSON
"Disappearance of Philip Mansfield"

George Goodchild: INSPECTOR McLEAN
"The Siamese Cat"

Augustus Muir: DR LOUIS RAPHAEL
"Silver Mask"

Anthony Berkeley: ROGER SHERINGHAM
"White Butterfly"

Edgar Allen Poe: C. AUGUSTE DUPIN
"The Purloined Letter"

Christopher Bush: LUDOVIC TRAVERS
"A Drop Too Much"

E.R. Punshon: BOBBY OWEN
"Study of the Obvious"

David Frome: MR PINKERTON
"Policeman's Cape"

M. Davisson Post: UNCLE ABNER
"A Twilight Adventure"

Agatha Christie: MISS MARPLE
"The Idol House of Astarte"

M.P. Shiel: PRINCE ZALESKI
"Stone of the Edmundberry Monks"

John Rhode: DR PRIESTLEY
"The Elusive Bullet"

Maurice LeBlanc: ARSENE LUPIN
"The Mysterious Railway Passenger"

Henry Holt: INSPECTOR SILVER
"The Almost Perfect Crime"

Leonard R. Gribble: INSPECTOR SLADE
"The Case of Jacob Haylyn"

E. Phillips Oppenheim: JASPER SLANE
"The Thirteenth Card"

Gavin Holt: PROFESSOR BASTION
"The Aztec Skull"

Mrs. Belloc Lownes: HERCULES POPEAU
"Popeau Intervenes"

E. Charles Vivian: INSPECTOR HEAD
"Locked In"

J.S. Clouston: F.T. CARRINGTON
"The Millionth Chance"

F.A.M. Webster: OLD EBBIE
"Lion Face"

E. Phillips Oppenheim: MR LAXWORTHY
"The Case of Mr and Mrs Stetson"

Edgar Wallace: INSPECTOR O. RATER
"The Mind Readers"

John Dickson Carr: DR FELL
"The Wrong Problem"

Gladys Mitchell: MRS BRADLEY
"The Case of the Hundred Cats"
-- an odd inheritance, a creepy house, and far too much feline-ness

Stuart Palmer: HILDEGARD WITHERS
"Riddle of the Jack of Diamonds"
-- tidy little murder, culpable killer, a lost lady, and love

Margery Allingham: ALBERT CAMPION
"Borderline Case"
-- classic set-up, blandly put, death and geometry not withstanding

Mignon G. Eberhart: SUSAN DARE
"Spider"

Anthony Wynne: DR EUSTACE HAILEY
"The Gold of Tso-Fu"

J.S. Fletcher: ARCHER DAWE
"Mystery at Merrill's Mill"

Sax Rohmer: MORRIS KLAW
"Case of the Tragedies in the Greek Room"

Percival Wilde: BILL PARMELEE
"The Poker Dog"

F. Britten Austin: Q. Q.
"The Fourth Degree"

C. Daly King: TREVIS TARRANT
"The Episode of Torment IV"

[Sheila Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This eclectic assortment of old (mostly golden age) detective stories is the one recommended at the Crime Writers' Association open meeting at the time chaired by Simon Brett. It was mentioned in a review that I now can't recall but it was apparently the group's first choice when asked by a member of the audience for a good short story collection of golden age stories. I like to dip into my old copy, which are available quite cheaply on second hand book sellers websites. It has sometimes guided me to seek out books written by these sometimes forgotten authors.

[Inke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my "Year Project". Trying to read 1 of the 50 short stories a week. Of course, this did not always happen, so it got to the next to last day of the year to finish it.
The stories were a mixed bag. Some more engaging than others for me, but that's also personal preference for you.
There were a lot of detectives I've never heard of before, and several I wouldn't mind reading more of - should my tbr pile allow for more books to be piled upon...

[Guru Jad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a thing for anthologies.. so how about one that is around my favorite literary genre?! It would be superb!

Carefully-selected detective short stories are collected in this anthology making it a treasure in papers.

I loved each one.. got entertained by the style of authors and the intelligence behind making the stories.

[Adam Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

One story each from a selection of 50 different detectives, up to the 1940s. It's fun to have all of these sleuths in one place.

[Ray McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent mix of classic detective stories, approx 1890s to 1940s. Some are really thrillers or horror. Only one or two are damp squibs.