Dorothy L. Sayers, mystery writer, born 1893

Dorothy Leigh Sayers, born June 13, 1893, is probably best know for her mystery series featuring aristocratic sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey.  She began her professional career as a copywriter at S. H. Benson's advertising agency which was the largest in England at the time.  She collaborated with an artist, John Gilroy, on Guiness' Zoo campaign, for which she was quite successful.  It was at her advertising agency where she started getting the ideas for a mystery series.

Lord Peter Wimsey's first adventure Whose Body? was published in 1923 and became a successful serires with 11 novels 2 sets of short stories.

Sayers passed away December 17, 1957 from a coronary thrombosis.

Mystery writer P. D. James born 1920

 

Phyllis Dorothy James, better known as P.D. James, born August 3, 1920, was the author of the Adam Dalgliesh detective novels.  The first mystery of hers I read was Death of an Expert Witness, published in 1977.  The story centered around a laboratory of forensic experts involved in a murder of one of their own.  It was made into a mini-series in 1983 by the ITV network in Britain with Roy Marsden as Dalgleish and Geoffrey Palmer (As Time Goes By) as Dr. Lorrimer.  Many of her works were transferred to television and movies, but I found them to be slow because they tended to follow the novels too closely.

Death of an Expert Witness and The Black Tower were my favorites.  I read her novel Innocent Blood but had trouble staying awake while reading it.  She wrote 14 Adam Dalgliesh novels and dystopian novel The Children of Men, made into a movie starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore.

P.D. James passed away November 27, 2014 in Oxford.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle born 1859

Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, born May 22, 1859, created one of the world's most famous and beloved sleuths, Sherlock Holmes. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, he attended a Jesuit school in England before returning to Scotland and attending medical school.  His first work featuring Sherlock Holmes and Watson, "A Study in Scarlet" was purchased in 1886 and published the next year, to good reviews.

Doyle 'killed' Holmes in "The Final Problem" by having him and Professor Moriarty fall over Reichenbach Falls to their deaths.  He wanted to focus more on his historical fiction novels, which he preferred writing.  Of course, the public outcry was so great, he had to bring back Holmes.


http://www.arthurconandoyle.com/biography.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle

Happy birthday, Agatha Christie!

Born September 15, 1890, Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller would grow up to become Dame Agatha Christie, who, as listed by the Guinness Book of World Records, is the best-selling novelist of all time.  Her stage play, The Mousetrap, has the longest initial run on record.  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd has been voted the best crime novel in history by the Crime Writer’s Association.

She introduced the world to Hercule Poirot, Miss Jane Marple and Tommy and Tuppence Beresford.  Interestingly enough, And Then There Were None, her most successful novel ever, features none of her recurring sleuths.  Originally published as Ten Little N****rs, its title was changed for release in the U.S. where the term was considered racist.  The setting for the novel was Torquay, England where Agatha Christie was born and raised.

The first book I ever read by Dame Agatha was Murder on the Orient Express.  Since having just read every Hardy Boys mystery available at that time, I decided to take it to the next level and read something written for adults (I was in the 6th or 7^th grade).  Imagine my surprise when Hercule Poirot actually figured out ‘whodunit’ instead of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, like Frank and Joe Hardy.

And Nancy Drew.

When the movie adaption premiered in November 1974, Agatha Christie said it was the only adaption she was completely satisfied with.  Up until this production, she was considering not having any more movies made from her novels.

I doubt she would be pleased with the Jane Marple series featuring Geraldine McEwan.  Their production of Nemesis was a super-edited version of the novel and (in a quite clever but stupid move) the producers combined the characters of two pairs of women into one pair.  Therefore the ending made no sense to someone who had not read the book.  Because of the massive rewrite, it didn’t make much sense to me.

However, Agatha Christie would be extremely pleased with David Suchet’s portrayal of Hercule Poirot.  His long lasting series which began in 1989, wrapped up earlier this year.  Agatha Christie’s grandson, who is in charge of her estate, appeared in a special about the making of the Poirot series.

Hundreds of authors, including me, write mysteries but Agatha will remain far above the rest of us as untouchable, but she left us with a legacy that will continue forever.

Day One at Bouchercon 2008

Bouchercon opened today in Baltimore with 1500 mystery writers, fans and booksellers in attendance. This is my first conference and I found it a bit overwhelming at first. When I entered the Sheraton Hotel, the host for the event, I was taken aback by the cacophony of everyone seeming to talk at once and nobody listening. I soon realized that this is such a welcoming and friendly community, that the conference is more of a homecoming for many attendees rather than a business meeting.

I attended a panel discussing if sex really does sell books. The conclusion reached within the first ten seconds of the panel was a resounding "Yes!", but the panelists finished the time allotment and kept the discussion lively.

I had a great time in the panel discussing supernatural and paranormal elements into mysteries. I'm racking up a number of authors that I need to read now! LOL

It was a long day but a good day. I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow. I'll keep you posted!