What Are You Reading the Week of 18 May 2013?

Margery Louise Allingham (20 May 1904 – 30 June 1966) was an English crime writer, best remembered for her detective stories featuring gentleman sleuth Albert Campion.

She was born in Ealing, London, to a family immersed in literature. Her father, Herbert John Allingham, and her mother Emily Jane were both writers - he was editor of the Christian Globe and The New London Journal (to which Margery later contributed articles and Sexton Blake stories), before becoming a successful pulp fiction writer, while her mother was a contributor of stories to women's magazines. An aunt, Maud Hughes, also ran a magazine.

Soon after Margery's birth, the family left London for Essex, living in an old house in Layer Breton, a village near Colchester. She went to a local school and then to the Perse School for Girls in Cambridge, all the while writing stories and plays; she earned her first fee at the age of eight, for a story printed in her aunt's magazine.

Returning to London in 1920, she attended the Regent Street Polytechnic studying drama and speech-training, curing a stammer she had suffered since childhood; it was at this time that she first met her future husband, Philip Youngman Carter. In 1927, she married Carter, who collaborated with her and designed the jackets for many of her books. They lived on the edge of the Essex Marshes in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, near Maldon.

Her first novel, Blackkerchief Dick, was published in 1923 when she was 19. It was allegedly based on a story she heard during a séance, though later in life this was debunked by her husband. Nevertheless, Allingham continued to include occult themes in many novels. Blackkerchief Dick was well received, but was not a financial success. She also wrote several plays in this period, and attempted to write a serious novel, but finding her themes clashed with her natural light-heartedness, she decided instead to try the mystery genre.

Her first work of detective fiction was a serialized story published by the Daily Express in 1927. Entitled The White Cottage Mystery, it contained atypical themes for a woman writer of the era.

Her breakthrough occurred in 1929 with the publication of The Crime at Black Dudley. This introduced Albert Campion, albeit originally as a minor character. He returned in Mystery Mile, thanks in part to pressure from her American publishers, much taken with the character.

By now, with three novels behind her, Allingham's skills were improving, and with a strong central character and format to work from, she began to produce a series of popular Campion novels. At first she had to continue writing short stories and journalism for magazines such as The Strand Magazine, but as her Campion saga went on, her following, and her sales, grew steadily. Campion proved so successful that Allingham made him the centerpiece of another 17 novels and over 20 short stories, continuing into the 1960s.

Campion is a mysterious, upper-class character, working under an assumed name, who floats between the upper echelons of the nobility and government on one hand and the shady world of the criminal class in the United Kingdom on the other, often accompanied by his scurrilous ex-burglar servant Lugg. During the course of his career he is sometimes detective, sometimes adventurer. He falls in love, gets married and has a child, and as time goes by he grows in wisdom and matures emotionally.

Her final Campion novel, A Cargo of Eagles, was completed by her husband as her final request and was published in 1968. Other compilations of her work, both with and without Albert Campion, continued to be released until the 1970s.

As Allingham's powers developed, the style and format of the books moved on; while the early novels are light-hearted whodunnits, The Tiger in the Smoke (1952) is more character study than crime novel, focusing on serial killer Jack Havoc and leaving Campion a minor character no more prominent than his wife Amanda and his police associates.

Allingham suffered from breast cancer and died at Severalls Hospital, Colchester, England, on 30 June 1966.

Bibliography
Blackkerchief Dick (1923)
The White Cottage Mystery (1928)
The Crime at Black Dudley (1929) (US title: The Black Dudley Murder)
Mystery Mile (1930)
Look to the Lady (1931) (US title: The Gyrth Chalice Mystery)
Police at the Funeral (1931)
Sweet Danger (1933) (US title: Kingdom of Death/The Fear Sign)
Death of a Ghost (1934)
Flowers for the Judge (1936) (US title: Legacy in Blood)
Mr. Campion: Criminologist (1937) (short stories)
The Case of the Late Pig (1937) (originally appeared in Mr Campion: Criminologist)
Dancers in Mourning (1937) (US title: Who Killed Chloe?)
The Fashion in Shrouds (1938)
Mr. Campion and Others (1939) (short stories)
Black Plumes (1940)
Traitor's Purse (1941) (US title: The Sabotage Murder Mystery)
The Oaken Heart (1941) (autobiographical)
Dance of the Years (1943) (aka The Galantrys)
Coroner's Pidgin (1945) (US title: Pearls Before Swine)
Wanted: Someone Innocent (1946) (short stories)
The Casebook of Mr Campion (1947) (short stories)
More Work for the Undertaker (1948)
Deadly Duo (1949) (UK title: Take Two at Bedtime {1950})
Last Act
The Tiger in the Smoke (1952)
No Love Lost (1954) - two novellas:
The Patient at Peacocks Hall
Safer Than Love
The Beckoning Lady (1955) (US title: The Estate of the Beckoning Lady)
Hide My Eyes (1958) (US title: Tether's End/Ten Were Missing)
The China Governess (1962)
The Mind Readers (1965)
Cargo of Eagles (1968) (completed by Philip Youngman Carter)
The Allingham Case-Book (1969) (short stories)
Mr. Campion's Farthing (1969) (by Philip Youngman Carter)
Mr. Campion's Falcon (1970) (US title: Mr. Campion's Quarry) (by Philip Youngman Carter)
The Allingham Minibus (1973) (aka Mr. Campion's Lucky Day) (short stories)
The Return of Mr. Campion (1989) (short stories)
The Darings of the Red Rose (1995) (originally an anonymously-published serial)
Room to Let: A Radio-Play (1999)

as Maxwell March (a pseudonym)
Other Man's Danger (1933) (US title: The Man of Dangerous Secrets)
Rogues' Holiday (1935)
The Shadow in the House (1936)

Margery Allingham has been on my list of authors to try for ages!

I'm reading Americanah at the moment, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and it is as wonderful (so far - 36% through) as Half of a Yellow Sun and Purple Hibiscus.

She is in Mt. TBR.......thanks, Richard!

I am reading my Early Reviewer copy of Transatlantic by Colum McCann and listening to The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett. Probably won't get far this week.....moving!

Thank you Richard. Love reading ur author bios each week.

I am reading and loving The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grossom. Finished The Fever Tree which was very good. I have been on a reading roll...last 4 books have been great.

I am still working on Bicycle Diaries and Omnivore's Dilemma. I find myself doing more reading on Bicycle Diaries and am finding it very interesting. Kingmaker's Daughter is taking a back seat for the last couple of weeks.

I'm still reading From a Buick 8 by Stephen King. About 100 pages in and it hasn't really grabbed me yet.

Still reading Cast Down the Laurel by Arnold Gingrich. Gingrich was a member of the crowd immortalized by Hemingway in A Moveable Feast. He was a friend of Fitzgerald's and Hemingway's editor. This novel, written in 1935, is more an historical curiosity than a fine piece of writing, although it's entertaining enough from page to page. I'll have a bit more to say upon conclusion.

Downloaded The Orphan Master's Son, but keep returning to old David Sedaris books that I haven't read since they were first published.

I've only got a little more than a hundred pages left to go in Russka. I should finish it up this weekend. It's one of those sweeping, multi-generational historical novels covering 1800 years of history, using the story of two intertwined families to illuminate the history of Russia. It's been an enjoyable read, even if it's a little uneven.

Finally started The Burgess Boys. I'm only 40 pages in.

Still listening to Salt, Sugar, Fat. Sometimes I wish I had a longer commute to work.

#9
I had to look to see if that was the book written by James Michener. It wasn't. I wasn't aware that there was another author out there who did that same sort of thing. Now I am.

9, 11 - I read Edward Rutherfurd's Sarum many years ago and loved it.

Finished The Runaway Princess by Hester Browne

Thakns for the always wonderful start to the week, Richard!

I am just starting Sold by Patricia McCormick. It is a YA novel about child sexual slavery in Nepal/India. I was amazed to discover tha it was published by Disney. I wouldn't think it would be their cup of tea.

#2 Can't wait to read Americanah, I love her books.

Not much time for reading at the moment, work and study crazy busy and it looks like my husband will be struggling with his cancer recovery for a lot longer than we had hoped so my daughter and I are sharing the care there. Don't know what I would do without her at the moment.
I am popping in now and then though, to have a look at the exciting books you are all reading.

Thanks to your lovely introduction, Richard, I pulled all my Campion mysteries off the shelf and spent a couple of hours reminiscing. Several of them are now on the bedside table -- Flowers for the Judge, Dancers in Mourning, The Beckoning Lady -- definitely time for a reread. Thanks for reminding me how much I enjoy Allingham's writing.

I have started A Fine Balance by Rohinton and this afternoon I intend to have a dip into Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard To Find, it is a reread and a gem.

I'm in the middle of Golf Flow by Gio Valiante, my LTER book from the April batch. So far, it's not exactly in the "can't put it down" category.

11> I had never heard of him before a few weeks ago, but he's been writing these nearly 1000 page books since the late 1980's. He has a new novel out now about the history of Paris, so my local Barnes and Noble put out a display of his previous books. When I saw Russka, I had to pick it up.

I am in the middle of the audio version of The Power of One and will be starting Redeeming Love later this week. I am also slowly working my way through An Army at Dawn which is fascinating. I am learning so much.

Hazeljune I loved A Fine Balance. I hope you enjoy it too.

I've posted my review of the first Amish-Country mystery, Blood of the Prodigal, in my thread...post #78.

A good read.

I just finished In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, kind of a A Fine Balance but without the emotional involvement. Subtitle should be, If You're Poor You're Screwed in Pakistan - (or anywhere else, for that matter). Now I'm about to start The Twelve Tribes of Hattie.
On Nook I would say I'm still reading Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, but I lost my Nook. Pesky poltergeists, before this they've contented themselves with stealing paper books.
On audio inside I'm listening to The Great Gatsby because my daughter and I just saw the movie which was visually beautiful; the book is verbally beautiful.
Outside I'm listening to Joyce Carol Oats's The Accursed which I guess would be classified as a factual historical fiction. At this point she doesn't have anything good to say about Woodrow Wilson painting him as a religious nut who thinks compromise is the same as working with the devil - he would fit right in with today's politics.

I just finished The Noonday Demon, which I really liked although the topic is difficult. Trying to decide what is next. Best reading to all.

Started, and am fascinated by, The Professor and the Madman. Also reading Robinson Crusoe for my RL Classics Book Club and have barely dipped my toe into The Lizard Cage for an LT book club.

Finished Z for Zachariah: gripping stuff. Now about 800 pages into War and Peace.

#21..momom248..Thanks for your comment, I am enjoying it so far, I hope that it continues. Lots of pages 614!!! I am hoping that it will take me away from all of the put asides that I have been going thru.

>19 fredbacon: Both Michener and Rutherfurd are great if you like the style (and they have a somewhat similar style)

#25 - I loved The Lizard Cage. I thought it was a very special book. I'm sure you will love it.

Focusing on getting through Nos4a2, since it's a 2 week rental from the library. I'm a little over halfway through the book, and I'm enjoying it very much, especially the tiny references to Stephen King's work sprinkled throughout! I'm astounded at how similar Joe Hill's writing is to Stephen King's, yet it doesn't read like a phony knockoff.

I should probably squeeze in another women's fiction title before May ends, so I think I'll end up reading Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. It's been sitting on my shelf for a long time, so now's as good a time to read it as any!

I finished and REVIEWED Barbara Pym's A Glass of Blessings. Pym has fast become a favorite author.

Now I'm continuing with Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time. I'm in volume 5/12, Cassanova's Chinese Restaurant. You've got to love that title:)

#30 Joe Hill is Stephen King's son.

I finished and reviewed the excellent short story collection Summer Lies by Bernhard Schlink. I am now reading The Last Train to Zona Verde by Paul Theroux and so far, it is great.

#32 - Oh yes, I knew! I was just happy to see that even though father & son write similarly, Joe Hill still manages to stand out.

Did manage to finish The Glass Key......not my cup of tea. Now starting to listen to Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult.

This week I'm reading "Beyond Religion" by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. So far, I'm liking it a lot.

I've just started Tales of a Female NOmad by Rita Golden Gelman. So far, so good.

Finished My Father and Myself which is an account and analysis of the distant but cordial relationship between the author and his father. As such it is forthright, honest, and painful for the opportunities for closeness missed. Through a series of revelations, it's clear that the father has led a secret life which adds to the father/son distance. The author attempts to present the reader with these revelations in the same shocking way they were presented to him but his description of his father's early life gives away many of the surprises to the reader. Reading the Introduction first would blow the whole surprise. Wait.

I had lost track of this thread and how appropriate that I have found it on the week that Richard opens with honoring Margery Allingham. I just finished The Crime At Black Dudley and now I am definitely planning on tracking down the rest of the Albert Campion series.

I have now started Butcher's Crossing by John Williams, and a YA dystopian story, The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch.

The Nun's Story by Kathryn Hulme, based on the experiences of someone she knew. I picked this up because I thought it was a great movie, and the book is even a hundred times better than that. The writing has a serenity to it and allows you to really get into Sister Luke's head and completely understand her moral struggles from her point of view, and even the things she experiences such as the vagueness of time. It's an incredible mindset and an incredible life to lead. I can't wait to get into the thick of it when WWII starts.

I finished reading Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne this morning. This is a collection of his essays about riding a bicycle in various cities around the world. This was a selection for my RL book discussion group. Every June we read a travel book and this was the travel book for the year. It was an odd travel book but I enjoyed it.

Still reading on the Matthew Shardlake book Dark Fire and I am enjoying this second book much more than the first.

Hello everyone! How are you all? :) I know that I've already mentioned it, but I did finish reading Just After Sunset: Stories by Stephen King on Thursday, May 16th. I immediately picked up Salt of the Earth: One Family's Journey Through the Violent American Landscape by Jack Olsen, and finished reading it on Monday, May 20th. This book was about the Brenda Sue Gere case which took place in 1985. Brenda Sue Gere was a 12-year-old girl who was abducted from her family's home in Clearview, Washington.

This book is about the seven-year long crime drama that follows her abduction, and the anguish that her family went through during the entire ordeal. Quite a book! :)

I just started reading Everything Must Go by Elizabeth Flock yesterday. I'm not quite sure about this book, it's slower getting into than I expected, but maybe it'll pick up soon! :)

I've been reading Exodus for a couple of weeks. It's taken so long not because it's difficult or boring, au contraire! It's very detailed and interesting, and I am taking my time to digest all that Leon Uris has written.

Just started Where'd you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

I finished Cassanova's Chinese Restaurant, Volume 5/12 in Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time. I am loving this series.

Now I'm about to start Khaled Hosseini's new book, And the Mountains Echoed.

#6 In my opinion From A Buick 8 isn't one of Stephen King' s best.

Even though I wasn't that enthralled with The Lost Symbol, I will put my hand up and admit I loved The Da Vinci Code. Because of this I decided to give Inferno a go.

I am reading Murder As a Fine Art by David Morrell. Got to meet him at Murder By The Book here in Houston last week. He talked about the significant amount of time he does research for each of his books in order to be as accurate as possible. Two years alone on this novel which is set in 1854 London. I am about 100 pages in and am enjoying it very much.

I'm new to this group. The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness was a gem that I finished today.

The Roots of the Olive Tree arrived yesterday! Started it at lunch today, starting out good.. will let you know more as I read further. Inferno arrived via the smiling brown box today so it was a tough decision as to which one of these I would read first! After much debate I decided to keep Inferno for vacation. Happy Thursday all!

I got a review in a new-to-me and really cool blog:
My newly calm spirit has mused aloud about the beauty of A DIFFERENT KIND OF LUXURY, and the charm of its contents, at The Small Press Book Review.

Some books are perfect marriages of form and content. This is one. It's simply lovely and quite a luxe little item all by itself.

Welcome, @JBClemmens. :)

A Fine Balance has been on my to-be-read list for a long time. Some recent comments here inspired me to pull it out and read it. I've just begun but am not sorry to have chosen it.

'Someone Else's Fairytale' by E. M. Tippetts
I bought this about a year ago but decided to read it again and I enjoyed it
just as much as the first time I read it. I, once again, stayed up until the book was through.
This is a very well written, very cute story. It kept my interest on every page.
This brings out some of the craziness one experiences in life and often it
is because of our own foolish choices. Sometimes when things in life has gone
badly, then life offers us a dream come true, we reject it because we don't believe i
it can be real. We often feel it must be "Someone Else's Fairytale' for it surely couldn't
happen to us.
Will this end as "Someone Else's Fairytale"? Will a lifetime of loneliness and traumaI
cause Chloe to stick to her goals and disinterest in a high profile person?
I highly recommend it to all readers. It is an especially good YA novel.

Memorial Day idea: Make the day brighter for a soldier overseas!