Ngaio Marsh (1895–1982)
Author of A Man Lay Dead
About the Author
Ngaio Marsh was born on April 23, 1895 in Christchurch, New Zealand. She attended St. Mary's College and Canterbury University. She worked in the theater acting, producing, and even painting scenery. She was a partner in an interior decorating business in England from 1928 to 1932. She later show more returned to New Zealand and produced plays for a Shakespearean repertory company. She also worked with the Drama Department of Canterbury University. During World War II, she served in the New Zealand Red Cross Transport Unit. She traveled to England frequently and founded the British Commonwealth Theatre Company in 1949. Her first novel, A Man Lay Dead, was published in 1934. She wrote more than 40 books including the Roderick Alleyn Mysteries series and Black Beech and Honeydew. She also wrote theatrical and television plays. She was named to the Order of the British Empire in 1949 and was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966. The Mystery Writers of America named her a Grand Master in 1977. She died on February 18, 1982 at the age of 82. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Ngaio Marsh
The Ngaio Marsh Collection 01: A Man Lay Dead / Enter a Murderer / The Nursing Home Murder (2009) 166 copies, 6 reviews
Scales of Justice / Death of a Fool / Tied Up in Tinsel / Grave Mistake / Photo Finish (1983) 84 copies, 4 reviews
The Ngaio Marsh Collection 03: Death in a White Tie / Overture to Death / Death at the Bar (2009) 80 copies, 2 reviews
The Ngaio Marsh Collection 04: A Surfeit of Lampreys / Death and the Dancing Footman / Colour Scheme (2009) 64 copies, 1 review
The Ngaio Marsh Collection 05: Died in the Wool / Final Curtain / Swing, Brother, Swing (1998) 60 copies
Curtain Calls: Three Great Mysteries Enter A Murderer, Night at the Vulcan, Killer Dolphin (1966) 57 copies, 1 review
The Ngaio Marsh Collection 09: Clutch of Constables / When in Rome / Tied Up in Tinsel (2010) 54 copies
The Ngaio Marsh Collection 07: Off With His Head / Singing in the Shrouds / False Scent (2009) 51 copies
The Ngaio Marsh Collection 11: Photo-Finish / Light Thickens / Black Beech and Honeydew (2010) 43 copies, 1 review
The Ngaio Marsh Collection 06: Opening Night / Spinsters in Jeopardy / Scales of Justice (2009) 42 copies
The Roderick Alleyn Mysteries: The Nursing Home Murder; Death in a White Tie; Final Curtain (1993) 26 copies, 1 review
Three-act special; 3 complete mystery novels: A wreath for Rivera. Spinsters in jeopardy. Night at the Vulcan (1960) 25 copies, 1 review
Enter A Murderer; A Man Lay Dead; Death At The Bar; Death And The Dancing Footman; Overture To Death, [in 5 volumes] (1941) 2 copies
Ngaio Marsh 2 copies
Singing in the Shrouds {abridged} 2 copies
Opening Night | When in Rome 1 copy
Ouverture per un delitto 1 copy
Chapter and Verse 1 copy
Death in the garden 1 copy
Enter a Murderer 1 copy
False Scent 1 copy
Hand in Glove 1 copy
Scales of Justice 1 copy
Final Curtain 1 copy
Vintage murder 1 copy
Opening Night 1 copy
Spinsters in Jeopardy 1 copy
The Christmas tree 1 copy
Death In a White Tie, Death Of A Peer, Hand in Glove, Death And The Dancing Footwoman, Death At The Bar (1982) 1 copy
Clutch of Constables / Vintage Murders / Tied Up in Tinsel / Night at the Vulcan / Photo Finish / Enter a Murder (1994) 1 copy
Overture to Death 1 copy
Associated Works
A Moment on the Edge : 100 Years of Crime Stories by Women (2002) — Contributor — 295 copies, 6 reviews
Chapter and Hearse: Suspense Stories about the World of Books (1985) — Contributor — 49 copies, 1 review
Grande Dames of Detection: Two Centuries of Sleuthing Stories by the Gentle Sex (1973) — Contributor — 35 copies
Ellery Queen's murdercade: 23 stories from Ellery Queen's mystery magazine (Mystery annual ; 29) (1975) — Contributor — 25 copies
The Case of the Golddigger's Purse | Died in the Wool | Pearls Before Swine (1945) 10 copies, 1 review
In Deadly Earnest: A Collection of Fiction by New Zealand Women 1870s–1980s (1989) — Contributor — 7 copies
Sylvia Plath's Tomato Soup Cake: A Compendium of Classic Authors' Favourite Recipes (2024) — Contributor — 6 copies
The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries: Death in a White Tie [1990 TV Series, Series 1, Episode 5] (1993) 3 copies
Hånden i sandet og andre virkelige kriminalsager skildret af berømte kriminalforfattere (1974) 1 copy, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Marsh, Edith Ngaio
- Birthdate
- 1895-04-23
- Date of death
- 1982-02-18
- Gender
- female
- Education
- St. Margaret's College (Christchurch, New Zealand)
Canterbury College (School of Art) - Occupations
- theatrical producer
interior decorator
novelist
actor
painter
detective novelist - Organizations
- Detection Club
- Awards and honors
- Order of the British Empire (Dame Commander, 1966)
MWA Grand Master (1978) - Short biography
- Ngaio Marsh was the pen name of Edith Ngaio Marsh, born in Christchurch, New Zealand to English immigrants. Her name, pronounced "ny-o," was a Maori word meaning "reflections on the water." She attended the private St. Margaret’s College, where she showed an aptitude for acting and writing, producing poetry, prose and plays.
In 1913 she entered Canterbury College School of Art and left in 1919 in order to become a professional painter. The opportunity to tour with the Allan Wilkie Shakespeare Company delayed her plans until later in the 1920s. In 1928, Marsh made her first visit to England, where she worked in the theatre, interior design, and travel writing. She began writing novels and soon embarked on a prolific crime-writing career. In 1934, she published A Man Lay Dead, featuring the very English Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn. During World War II, she served in a New Zealand Red Cross Transport Unit, driving repatriated soldiers in a hospital bus. By the 1950s, Marsh was considered a “Queen of Crime” along with Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, and Dorothy L. Sayers.
Marsh was passionately attached to her native country and returned to live in New Zealand but made frequent trips to England and other countries. She became a leader of the New Zealand theatre, mounting numerous Shakespeare plays. In her career, Ngaio Marsh wrote 32 novels and an autobiography, Black Beech and Honeydew (1965). She never married. Margaret Lewis wrote an authorized biography, Ngaio Marsh, A Life in 1991. New Zealand art historian Joanne Drayton's biography, Ngaio Marsh: Her Life in Crime, was published in 2008. - Nationality
- New Zealand
- Birthplace
- Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
- Places of residence
- England, UK
Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand - Place of death
- Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
- Burial location
- Church of the Holy Innocents Churchyard Peel Forest, Timaru District, Canterbury, New Zealand
- Associated Place (for map)
- Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Members
Reviews
Summary: Alleyn joins a ship bound for Cape Town seeking a serial murderer, one of nine passengers.
Hmm. This isn’t my idea of a good time. A cruise on a cargo ship with eight other passengers, all strangers. Add to that the possibility of a serial murderer on board, one of those passengers. That’s the scenario Ngaio Marsh has created in this installment of the Roderick Alleyn mysteries.
An eccentric group comes aboard the Cape Farewell, captained by Jasper Bannerman, an old sea dog used show more to being in charge–perhaps too much so. Mrs. Ruby Dillington-Blick is a widowed socialite, living large in every sense, used to being adored. Fred and Ethel Cuddy are a middle-class, middle-aged couple. Katherine Abbott is a spinster specializing in church music, with large hands and feet! Philip Merryman is a fussy retired schoolmaster. Jemima Carmichael is on the cruise to heal from a broken engagement. Dr. Timothy Makepiece signed on as ship’s doctor to travel to South Africa. Aubyn Dale is an alcoholic TV emcee skating very close to a breakdown. And Mr. Donald McAngus is an elderly, stamp-collecting bachelor.
Just before the ship sailed, a young girl is murdered near the docks. The murder has all the marks of “the Flower Killer,” who strangles the victims with a necklace, found broken, strews flower petals over them, and departs the scene singing. The murderer has killed at ten day intervals. The girl is found just as the Cape Farewell departs. Part of an embarkation notice for the ship is found in her hand.
The suspicion is that the murderer is one of the passengers. They all had been in the vicinity prior to sailing. Alleyn is assigned the case, boarding at Portsmouth, assuming the identity of a shipping company official. He has to investigate without appearing to do so or alarming the passengers. And Bannerman is less than willing to help. He doesn’t believe any of these passengers could be the murderer. But the case is urgent. The next ten day interval will expire while the ship is at sea. There could be another victim.
This is one of my favorites so far. There is a budding love affair between Jemima and the doctor. The doctor and the priest have alibis that check out and become silent partners with Alleyn in watching out for the women. Marsh does well in leaving both red herrings and avoids giving away the murderer. We can’t help but admire Mrs. Dillington-Blick, as do all the men around her. I found myself wondering a bit about the mysterious Katherine Abbott. And I didn’t want anything to happen to Jemima, who struck me as the perfect murder victim. This makes for a great holiday or vacation read! show less
Hmm. This isn’t my idea of a good time. A cruise on a cargo ship with eight other passengers, all strangers. Add to that the possibility of a serial murderer on board, one of those passengers. That’s the scenario Ngaio Marsh has created in this installment of the Roderick Alleyn mysteries.
An eccentric group comes aboard the Cape Farewell, captained by Jasper Bannerman, an old sea dog used show more to being in charge–perhaps too much so. Mrs. Ruby Dillington-Blick is a widowed socialite, living large in every sense, used to being adored. Fred and Ethel Cuddy are a middle-class, middle-aged couple. Katherine Abbott is a spinster specializing in church music, with large hands and feet! Philip Merryman is a fussy retired schoolmaster. Jemima Carmichael is on the cruise to heal from a broken engagement. Dr. Timothy Makepiece signed on as ship’s doctor to travel to South Africa. Aubyn Dale is an alcoholic TV emcee skating very close to a breakdown. And Mr. Donald McAngus is an elderly, stamp-collecting bachelor.
Just before the ship sailed, a young girl is murdered near the docks. The murder has all the marks of “the Flower Killer,” who strangles the victims with a necklace, found broken, strews flower petals over them, and departs the scene singing. The murderer has killed at ten day intervals. The girl is found just as the Cape Farewell departs. Part of an embarkation notice for the ship is found in her hand.
The suspicion is that the murderer is one of the passengers. They all had been in the vicinity prior to sailing. Alleyn is assigned the case, boarding at Portsmouth, assuming the identity of a shipping company official. He has to investigate without appearing to do so or alarming the passengers. And Bannerman is less than willing to help. He doesn’t believe any of these passengers could be the murderer. But the case is urgent. The next ten day interval will expire while the ship is at sea. There could be another victim.
This is one of my favorites so far. There is a budding love affair between Jemima and the doctor. The doctor and the priest have alibis that check out and become silent partners with Alleyn in watching out for the women. Marsh does well in leaving both red herrings and avoids giving away the murderer. We can’t help but admire Mrs. Dillington-Blick, as do all the men around her. I found myself wondering a bit about the mysterious Katherine Abbott. And I didn’t want anything to happen to Jemima, who struck me as the perfect murder victim. This makes for a great holiday or vacation read! show less
A quick read, a fairly standard English Country House mystery. Ngaio Marsh's writing has some verve to it, and the characters of Nigel and Angela were some fun as Bright Young Things who assist Inspector Alleyne in figuring out whodunnit. But even allowing for the fact that what is cliché now was fresh once, A Man Lay Dead is a deeply silly book. The howdunnit just didn't work, and Alleyne's procedural methods had me scratching my head and wondering if any part of his case would stand up in show more court. I know that the Thirties were a different time—but that different? Then you add in a lot of classism and the xenophobic subplot that went nowhere involving the religious-yet-also-somehow-Bolshevik centuries-old secret society that is hinted to engage in (presumably gay?) orgies and/or castrations and sometimes immolates its members in locked houses , and you have me rolling my eyes a bit as I close the book. show less
Summary: A New Zealand trip for Alleyn and Troy goes sideways when Isabella Sommita, a soprano and diva is murdered after she debuts a badly written opera composed by her latest love interest.
Troy has been invited to paint the portrait of famed soprano Isabella Sommita by her Aristotle Onassis-like friend, Montague Reece. It appears to have all the trappings of a romantic getaway for her and Alleyn. She has been invited to Reece’s Waihoe Lodge on a remote lake in New Zealand. Alleyn has show more been invited separately to “consult” on dealing with a particularly annoying member of the paparazzi, calling himself “Strix” who has managed to insinuate himself into a variety of situations where he has taken the most unflattering pictures of The Sommita. Alleyn is reluctant to go, given the penchant they have for getting mixed up in murder cases together. The deal is sealed however by his superior, who thinks he ought to go because of a vague international drug connection that The Sommita is rumored to have some association with.
The setting and the Lodge are as stunningly beautiful as Troy and Alleyn imagine. Marsh, a native New Zealander, describes the scene so vividly I could see it in my mind’s eye, and a storm section later in the book so palpably that I felt I was hearing the wind and rain pelt the Lodge. Reece has set up a well-appointed studio for Troy to use for the portrait and they are treated as guests of honor. But she will never make more than preliminary sketches.
Isabella Sommita, like many of the stage figures in Marsh’s books is full of herself, in this case the definition of diva. She is barely tolerated by her entourage, the maid Maria, her manager Ben Ruby, and the rest of the household staff including the very proper housekeeper Mrs. Bacon and the officious secretary of Mr. Reece, Ned Hanley. She has taken under her wing (and into her bed) Rupert Bartholomew, a young composer who has written a mediocre work just for her, The Alien Corn, with The Sommita playing the title role of the biblical role, complete with a climactic song that allows her to hit her famous high notes. They will debut the piece at the Waihoe Lodge with a cast of supporting singers, a music critic and Signor Beppo Lattienzo, with whom The Sommita had trained.
It’s thought that the remote location was safe from the increasingly hostile photographic intrusions of “Strix” but an incident during rehearsals, another photograph taken, suggests “Strix” is in their midst, yet he cannot be found. As the performance approaches, Rupert Bartholomew, who will conduct, begins to realize what a mess he is. He is awakening both to the poor quality of his composition and how he is in thrall to The Sommita. He tries to back out but neither Reece nor The Sommita will hear of it.
The guests arrive as a storm is setting in. The production comes off, with The Sommita giving her all to a very poor piece. As everyone is applauded, Bartholomew summons the courage to apologize for his shoddy work. The Sommita is infuriated and storms off to her bedroom while Rupert faints. When The Sommita doesn’t appear, Reece covers for her and asks Maria to take her a warm drink. A scream follows. The Sommita is lying spread-eagle on her bed–dead. A stiletto has been driven into her heart (post-mortem as it turns out) with a photograph taken earlier in the day pinned to her.
The storm has risen and most of the guests, save the performers and a few special guests have just gotten out in time. The rest are stuck there and the lake is so turbulent that the police cannot come. So Alleyn reluctantly takes charge and does his best to secure the crime scene and to collect evidence while it is fresh with the assistance of Dr Carmichael, even though he has no authority other than Mr. Reece’s permission.
Was it “Strix”? Or Rupert, who had a key to the bedroom as her lover? Or someone else in the household? And does a book Alleyn found in the Lodge library describing a vendetta between two New York crime families in which a young woman dies under similar circumstances have anything to do with the case? By the time the authorities arrive, Alleyn has figured out who “Strix” is and is ready, with Inspector Hazelmere to resolve the case.
I have to admit that having read a number of Marsh’s works, this felt a bit formulaic to me–a stage personality, a remote house party, a performance with the death of a lead, an extreme weather event leaving Alleyn in charge. Even so, the final denouement had some twists that caught me by surprise. And I have to admit that I have always enjoyed the New Zealand settings the best. This work was the next to last published in her life, two years before she died, showing her still quite competent in re-mixing the standard devices into an engaging story. show less
Troy has been invited to paint the portrait of famed soprano Isabella Sommita by her Aristotle Onassis-like friend, Montague Reece. It appears to have all the trappings of a romantic getaway for her and Alleyn. She has been invited to Reece’s Waihoe Lodge on a remote lake in New Zealand. Alleyn has show more been invited separately to “consult” on dealing with a particularly annoying member of the paparazzi, calling himself “Strix” who has managed to insinuate himself into a variety of situations where he has taken the most unflattering pictures of The Sommita. Alleyn is reluctant to go, given the penchant they have for getting mixed up in murder cases together. The deal is sealed however by his superior, who thinks he ought to go because of a vague international drug connection that The Sommita is rumored to have some association with.
The setting and the Lodge are as stunningly beautiful as Troy and Alleyn imagine. Marsh, a native New Zealander, describes the scene so vividly I could see it in my mind’s eye, and a storm section later in the book so palpably that I felt I was hearing the wind and rain pelt the Lodge. Reece has set up a well-appointed studio for Troy to use for the portrait and they are treated as guests of honor. But she will never make more than preliminary sketches.
Isabella Sommita, like many of the stage figures in Marsh’s books is full of herself, in this case the definition of diva. She is barely tolerated by her entourage, the maid Maria, her manager Ben Ruby, and the rest of the household staff including the very proper housekeeper Mrs. Bacon and the officious secretary of Mr. Reece, Ned Hanley. She has taken under her wing (and into her bed) Rupert Bartholomew, a young composer who has written a mediocre work just for her, The Alien Corn, with The Sommita playing the title role of the biblical role, complete with a climactic song that allows her to hit her famous high notes. They will debut the piece at the Waihoe Lodge with a cast of supporting singers, a music critic and Signor Beppo Lattienzo, with whom The Sommita had trained.
It’s thought that the remote location was safe from the increasingly hostile photographic intrusions of “Strix” but an incident during rehearsals, another photograph taken, suggests “Strix” is in their midst, yet he cannot be found. As the performance approaches, Rupert Bartholomew, who will conduct, begins to realize what a mess he is. He is awakening both to the poor quality of his composition and how he is in thrall to The Sommita. He tries to back out but neither Reece nor The Sommita will hear of it.
The guests arrive as a storm is setting in. The production comes off, with The Sommita giving her all to a very poor piece. As everyone is applauded, Bartholomew summons the courage to apologize for his shoddy work. The Sommita is infuriated and storms off to her bedroom while Rupert faints. When The Sommita doesn’t appear, Reece covers for her and asks Maria to take her a warm drink. A scream follows. The Sommita is lying spread-eagle on her bed–dead. A stiletto has been driven into her heart (post-mortem as it turns out) with a photograph taken earlier in the day pinned to her.
The storm has risen and most of the guests, save the performers and a few special guests have just gotten out in time. The rest are stuck there and the lake is so turbulent that the police cannot come. So Alleyn reluctantly takes charge and does his best to secure the crime scene and to collect evidence while it is fresh with the assistance of Dr Carmichael, even though he has no authority other than Mr. Reece’s permission.
Was it “Strix”? Or Rupert, who had a key to the bedroom as her lover? Or someone else in the household? And does a book Alleyn found in the Lodge library describing a vendetta between two New York crime families in which a young woman dies under similar circumstances have anything to do with the case? By the time the authorities arrive, Alleyn has figured out who “Strix” is and is ready, with Inspector Hazelmere to resolve the case.
I have to admit that having read a number of Marsh’s works, this felt a bit formulaic to me–a stage personality, a remote house party, a performance with the death of a lead, an extreme weather event leaving Alleyn in charge. Even so, the final denouement had some twists that caught me by surprise. And I have to admit that I have always enjoyed the New Zealand settings the best. This work was the next to last published in her life, two years before she died, showing her still quite competent in re-mixing the standard devices into an engaging story. show less
Distracted and Ruined
Review of the Felony & Mayhem Press Kindle eBook edition (2013) of the Geoffrey Bles hardcover original (1936)
I found myself completely distracted by the homophobic asides in this now dated 1936 mystery. The number of putdowns was so over the top that I started marking them in my Kindle notes. A sampling here:
This was accompanied by adjectives and verbs of descriptions and actions which again portrayed the same characters as willowy… glided… fluted… begged… bleated… flounced… etc. as further putdowns. This was by both the investigators and the other suspects.
There were also insults of other nationalities (the French in this case) and one of the classic racist asides observing another character who refrained from saying something because they were “too white to say so.”
It all made the actual mystery seem like an afterthought, perhaps it was misdirection so that you aren’t paying attention to the actual murderer? Otherwise this could have been an interesting investigation, based as it apparently was on an actual cult temple from the 1890s in New Zealand which was led by an American conman. The action takes place in London, England though, as do most of the Roderick Alleyn mysteries. Ngaio Marsh found ways to bring him to her home ground of New Zealand occasionally as well.
See photograph at https://teara.govt.nz/files/28397-atl_1.jpg
Photograph of the 'Temple of Truth' in Christchurch, New Zealand, the rumoured inspiration for the ‘House of the Sacred Flame‘ in ‘Death in Ecstasy’. Image sourced from The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand.
I read several of Ngaio Marsh's Roderick Alleyns during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 as I was regularly digging through my old mystery paperbacks for re-read possibilities. I don’t remember any of those having this sort of bigotry.
See book cover at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/DeathInEcstacy.jpg
Cover of the original hardcover edition of ‘Death in Ecstasy’ (1936) as published by Geoffrey Bles. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
I read Death in Ecstasy through a $1.99 Kindle Deal of the Day in 2023 from Amazon thinking that it would be reliable Golden Age Mystery. It seemed instead that the 1930s was a golden age of homophobia and racism.
Trivia and Links
Death in Ecstasy was adapted for television in 1964 as Season 1 Episode 11 of the Detective (1964-1969) series which based its scripts on dozens of crime novels by different authors. I could not find a posting of it on the internet. Although there was a later Alleyn Mysteries TV series (1990-1994), Death in Ecstasy was not included in those adaptations.
Death in Ecstasy was adapted as a BBC radioplay in 1969 and you can hear that audio recording on YouTube here. NOTE: I have not listened to this, but I can’t imagine they would have retained the homophobic and racist elements. show less
Review of the Felony & Mayhem Press Kindle eBook edition (2013) of the Geoffrey Bles hardcover original (1936)
I found myself completely distracted by the homophobic asides in this now dated 1936 mystery. The number of putdowns was so over the top that I started marking them in my Kindle notes. A sampling here:
"What a loathly, what a nauseating, what an unspeakable little dollop." "that little beast", “Fauntleroy take little Eric", "Gemini, possibly heavenly", "a littleshow more
pig", "that little animal", "horrible youth", "unattractive", "two hothouse flowers", "perhaps the Greeks had a word for him", "those two queens", "little drip", "a monster'', "that sissy", "the unspeakable", "you two bloody little pansies."
This was accompanied by adjectives and verbs of descriptions and actions which again portrayed the same characters as willowy… glided… fluted… begged… bleated… flounced… etc. as further putdowns. This was by both the investigators and the other suspects.
There were also insults of other nationalities (the French in this case) and one of the classic racist asides observing another character who refrained from saying something because they were “too white to say so.”
It all made the actual mystery seem like an afterthought, perhaps it was misdirection so that you aren’t paying attention to the actual murderer? Otherwise this could have been an interesting investigation, based as it apparently was on an actual cult temple from the 1890s in New Zealand which was led by an American conman. The action takes place in London, England though, as do most of the Roderick Alleyn mysteries. Ngaio Marsh found ways to bring him to her home ground of New Zealand occasionally as well.
See photograph at https://teara.govt.nz/files/28397-atl_1.jpg
Photograph of the 'Temple of Truth' in Christchurch, New Zealand, the rumoured inspiration for the ‘House of the Sacred Flame‘ in ‘Death in Ecstasy’. Image sourced from The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand.
I read several of Ngaio Marsh's Roderick Alleyns during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 as I was regularly digging through my old mystery paperbacks for re-read possibilities. I don’t remember any of those having this sort of bigotry.
See book cover at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/DeathInEcstacy.jpg
Cover of the original hardcover edition of ‘Death in Ecstasy’ (1936) as published by Geoffrey Bles. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
I read Death in Ecstasy through a $1.99 Kindle Deal of the Day in 2023 from Amazon thinking that it would be reliable Golden Age Mystery. It seemed instead that the 1930s was a golden age of homophobia and racism.
Trivia and Links
Death in Ecstasy was adapted for television in 1964 as Season 1 Episode 11 of the Detective (1964-1969) series which based its scripts on dozens of crime novels by different authors. I could not find a posting of it on the internet. Although there was a later Alleyn Mysteries TV series (1990-1994), Death in Ecstasy was not included in those adaptations.
Death in Ecstasy was adapted as a BBC radioplay in 1969 and you can hear that audio recording on YouTube here. NOTE: I have not listened to this, but I can’t imagine they would have retained the homophobic and racist elements. show less
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