Julian Symons (1912–1994)
Author of Bloody Murder From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel: A History
About the Author
Series
Works by Julian Symons
The Julian Symons Omnibus: The Man Who Killed Himself | The Man Whose Dreams Came True | The Man Who Lost His Wife (1967) 32 copies
El hombre que se mato a si mismo. El circulo se estrecha. El hombre cuyos suenos se realizaron (1983) 19 copies, 1 review
Criminal acts : three by Julian Symons (The Narrowing Circle; The End of Solomon Grundy; and The Blackheath Poisonings) (1978) 12 copies
The second man: poems 3 copies
Credit to Shakespeare [short story] 3 copies
Confusions about X 2 copies
The Santa Claus Club 2 copies
Colin Watson 1 copy
Ungdom, galskab - mord 1 copy
Symons Julian 1 copy
The Book Collector (109) 1 copy
Nettet strammes 1 copy
VENENOS VITORIANOS (PE2L64) 1 copy
Slutet på visan 1 copy
Drohende Schatten 1 copy
Associated Works
The New Bedside, Bathtub, and Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie (1986) — Foreword, some editions; Introduction — 610 copies, 5 reviews
The Bedside, Bathtub, and Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie (1979) — Introduction, some editions — 228 copies, 3 reviews
Murder by the Book: Literary Mysteries from Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (1995) — Contributor — 71 copies
The Murder Book: An Illustrated History of the Detective Story (1971) — Foreword, some editions — 69 copies, 3 reviews
Murder at Teatime: Mysteries in the Classic Cozy Tradition (1996) — Contributor — 56 copies, 2 reviews
Bodies from the Library 5: Forgotten Stories of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection (2022) — Contributor — 47 copies, 1 review
All but Impossible! An Anthology of Locked Room and Impossible Crime Stories by Members of the Mystery Writers of America (1981) — Contributor — 30 copies
Ellery Queen's murdercade: 23 stories from Ellery Queen's mystery magazine (Mystery annual ; 29) (1975) — Contributor — 25 copies
Agenda : Wyndham Lewis special issue — Contributor — 6 copies
Killers of the Mind: A Collection of Stories by the Mystery Writers of America (1974) — Contributor — 5 copies
Den lystige bedemand og andre hårrejsende historier af gæster i Poe-klubben (1975) — Author, some editions — 3 copies, 1 review
New poems 1944. An anthology of American and British verse with a selection of poems from the armed forces. (1944) — Contributor — 2 copies
Appendici in giallo 1 — Contributor — 1 copy
Ellery Queen's Mysterie Magazine 5 — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Symons, Julian
- Legal name
- Symons, Julian Gustave
- Birthdate
- 1912-05-30
- Date of death
- 1994-11-19
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- crime novelist
editor
literary critic
historical novelist
essayist
biographer (show all 8)
teacher
poet - Organizations
- Detection Club
Amherst College
British Army (WWII) - Awards and honors
- MWA Grand Master (1982)
Cartier Diamond Dagger (1990) - Relationships
- Symons, A. J. A. (brother)
- Short biography
- Julian Symons, born in London, was a younger brother, and later the biographer, of the writer A. J. A. Symons. He left school at 14. He founded the poetry magazine Twentieth Century Verse in 1937 and edited it for two years. He tried crime writing in a light–hearted way before World War II, and later became a leader of the genre. As an early Trotskyite, he applied for recognition as a conscientious objector at the start of WW II, but ended up in the Royal Armoured Corps from 1942 to 1944. After a period as an advertising copywriter, he became a full-time writer in 1947. His use of irony and black humor to show the violence behind the respectable masks of society, and his emphasis on character and psychology, have caused many to consider his books mainstream fiction. During his career, he won two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America and, in 1982, received the MWA's Grand Master Award. Symons served as the president of the Detection Club from 1976 to 1985. His 1972 book Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel (published as Mortal Consequences in the USA) is one of the best-known critical works in the field of crime fiction. Symons wrote more than 30 crime novels and story collections and also made occasional forays into historical mystery, such as The Blackheath Poisonings (1978), which was filmed for television in 1992.
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Clapham, London, England, UK
- Places of residence
- London, England, UK
- Place of death
- Walmer, Kent, England, UK
- Map Location
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
Julian Symons, himself a crime author, discusses the history of the detective story, its development into the crime novel, the offshoots of this genre (police procedurals and spy novels), and the merits or lack thereof of various British and American crime novelists. Some space is given to crime writers from elsewhere in Europe, such as Simenon, and Asia is mentioned primarily through Japan.
At the time of my edition (1977), the English-speaking crime novel world didn’t have much diversity show more in its ranks, whether geographically or otherwise. Symons is a bit grumpy about women crime novelists, particularly the early ones, but does have good things to say about Patricia Highsmith. And he does seem to suggest that it would be interesting to read more crime from other parts of the world. I wonder what he would think of the explosion in crime novel publication and translation nowadays.
The meat of this book is the evolution of the genre from the “detective story”—a puzzle to be solved with cardboard characters—to the “crime novel”—a book with crime at its heart, solved by well-rounded characters and offering a window into society. Many of the books mentioned in its pages, forgotten at the time of publication, have now been republished by British Library Crime Classics or the American Mystery Classics imprint, so it is nice to see that they have been brought back to the public’s attention.
One awkward bit for Symons is trying to analyze his *own* place in the crime novel universe. He writes self-deprecatingly of his work, then at the suggestion of his publishers Edmund Crispin added a footnote. Crispin also reviewed the typescript of the book, as mentioned by Symons in the acknowledgements. This part of the book illustrates life before the internet in a striking way: Symons states that he has endeavoured to provide birth and death dates for all of the authors mentioned, but some of them he was unable to find. Most of that would be readily available online these days.
This book contains an index of all of the books and authors mentioned in its pages, which is handy for enthusiasts who have to read them all! I may have to do that myself.
Recommended if you’ve been devouring the British Library Crime Classics or if you like reading about the history of crime writing. show less
At the time of my edition (1977), the English-speaking crime novel world didn’t have much diversity show more in its ranks, whether geographically or otherwise. Symons is a bit grumpy about women crime novelists, particularly the early ones, but does have good things to say about Patricia Highsmith. And he does seem to suggest that it would be interesting to read more crime from other parts of the world. I wonder what he would think of the explosion in crime novel publication and translation nowadays.
The meat of this book is the evolution of the genre from the “detective story”—a puzzle to be solved with cardboard characters—to the “crime novel”—a book with crime at its heart, solved by well-rounded characters and offering a window into society. Many of the books mentioned in its pages, forgotten at the time of publication, have now been republished by British Library Crime Classics or the American Mystery Classics imprint, so it is nice to see that they have been brought back to the public’s attention.
One awkward bit for Symons is trying to analyze his *own* place in the crime novel universe. He writes self-deprecatingly of his work, then at the suggestion of his publishers Edmund Crispin added a footnote. Crispin also reviewed the typescript of the book, as mentioned by Symons in the acknowledgements. This part of the book illustrates life before the internet in a striking way: Symons states that he has endeavoured to provide birth and death dates for all of the authors mentioned, but some of them he was unable to find. Most of that would be readily available online these days.
This book contains an index of all of the books and authors mentioned in its pages, which is handy for enthusiasts who have to read them all! I may have to do that myself.
Recommended if you’ve been devouring the British Library Crime Classics or if you like reading about the history of crime writing. show less
The Progress of a Crime: A Fireworks Night Mystery (British Library Crime Classics) by Julian Symons
‘’They went out into the streets of the city where it seemed always to be raining, the soft rain of autumn that made the few cars now moving around the city centre suck and lick out the shiny black roads.’’
A stubbing takes place on Guy Fawkes Night. The bonfire is enough to light the faces of the murderers.
Or is it?
Two young men are accused of the crime, members of one of the local gangs, formed by children - for that is what they are - who are desperate for someone to listen to show more them and their needs. The parents’ utter failure to be there for their children becomes the root of a crime that draws the attention of the Press aka. the vultures with pens and cameras instead of claws. But not all of them are the same. A young journalist becomes involved in the case - in more ways than one - and tries to discover the truth.
Julian Symons’s mystery is a powerful, solemn commentary on how family and society can ostracise a person and drive them to crime and madness. This is what isolation and lack of understanding do to the young members of our societies. This is why parents need to take a good, long look into the mirror before they drive their children to despair. This is why teachers need to educate and nurture and stop treating the classroom as a field to exercise our twisted notion of authority over young souls. In Symons’s story, the crime takes a secondary role. What really counts is the psychological impact of being the accused in a secretive community that points the finger without a second thought.
We witness the machinations of the trial process, the intrigues and calculations of seeking the sensational material for the first page, the battle of Labour VS Tories, two parties that don’t give a fig about the people, and the changes that defined England during the 60s. The beautiful relationship between Jill (I loved her!) and Hugh made this excellent courtroom drama even more striking. And don’t tell me there is no such thing as love at first sight because THERE IS and you are utterly clueless. Pun intended.
Poignant Introduction - as always - by Martin Edwards.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ show less
A stubbing takes place on Guy Fawkes Night. The bonfire is enough to light the faces of the murderers.
Or is it?
Two young men are accused of the crime, members of one of the local gangs, formed by children - for that is what they are - who are desperate for someone to listen to show more them and their needs. The parents’ utter failure to be there for their children becomes the root of a crime that draws the attention of the Press aka. the vultures with pens and cameras instead of claws. But not all of them are the same. A young journalist becomes involved in the case - in more ways than one - and tries to discover the truth.
Julian Symons’s mystery is a powerful, solemn commentary on how family and society can ostracise a person and drive them to crime and madness. This is what isolation and lack of understanding do to the young members of our societies. This is why parents need to take a good, long look into the mirror before they drive their children to despair. This is why teachers need to educate and nurture and stop treating the classroom as a field to exercise our twisted notion of authority over young souls. In Symons’s story, the crime takes a secondary role. What really counts is the psychological impact of being the accused in a secretive community that points the finger without a second thought.
We witness the machinations of the trial process, the intrigues and calculations of seeking the sensational material for the first page, the battle of Labour VS Tories, two parties that don’t give a fig about the people, and the changes that defined England during the 60s. The beautiful relationship between Jill (I loved her!) and Hugh made this excellent courtroom drama even more striking. And don’t tell me there is no such thing as love at first sight because THERE IS and you are utterly clueless. Pun intended.
Poignant Introduction - as always - by Martin Edwards.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ show less
I'm always tempted by these British Library Crime Classics editions; they promise nostalgic tales of detection where Cambridge dons lace their rivals' tea with arsenic. The Colour of Murder comes from a later, less comforting period of British history – the postwar years of the Profumo scandal. There are more peroxide blondes and seedy bars than high tables and gowns in this squalid modern environment. At the centre of the book is a relationship that starts out as fantasy and takes a sour show more turn, not dissimilar from the Thompson/Bywaters murder of the 1920s. Minor characters are clearly important to Symons, and he peoples his suburban and seaside locations with callous and self-centred individuals who would be at home in one of Balzac's grimmer novels. The book is well-written; Julian Symons was the brother of AJA Symons, whose biography he wrote, but he has a more 'social realist' bent than his aesthetic sibling. The Colour of Murder is not much fun as a novel, but better than many in the genre – just don't expect anything in the Poirot/Whimsey/Allen/Campion line. show less
This book in the British Library Crime Classics series takes an unusual approach to narrative. The first half is a first-person account, presented as a psychologist’s record of sessions held with the speaker, a young man named John Wilkins. About halfway through the book, we find out that there has been a murder – but it would be a spoiler to say, right now, who’s been killed, or who is the suspect. During the second half, we follow the action in court, watching prosecution and defence show more in action, we try to understand exactly what happened on the beach at Brighton that dark summer night, and whether the accused truly is guilty. As a murder mystery it isn’t entirely satisfying – there’s very little sense of catharsis to be had – but it’s fascinating as a social history. Reading it so soon after The Fortnight in September, I found myself drawing lots of parallels between the modest lives of the Stevens family in the 1930s and that of John Wilkins in the 1950s: a world of humble jobs, social striving, and frustration, which hasn’t changed as much in twenty years as you might expect. However, while the Stevens family ultimately find joy and hope in their lives, Wilkins feels consistently hard-done-by: a man whose search for self-fulfilment leads to a tragic outcome...
For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2020/04/22/the-colour-of-murder-1957-julian-symons/ show less
For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2020/04/22/the-colour-of-murder-1957-julian-symons/ show less
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- Rating
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- ISBNs
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