12/20/11

Happy Holidays, everyone! One more book review added before the new year: you can access the synopsis and review for the Stephen Hockaby novel Shallow Brown by following the link. All of the other Gladys Mitchell reviews can be found on the Bibliography page. Please check it out!

12/8/11

I've added a new page. Entitled "Mrs. Bradley's Audio Adventures," this is an overview of the Gladys Mitchell titles available as recorded readings by the great company Isis Audiobooks. You'll also find a brief review of my recent listen of When Last I Died on CD, as well as a link (through Audible.com) for US fans to purchase and download three of the titles.

11/3/11

News for collectors! Some original manuscripts and correspondence from Gladys Mitchell are planned to be auctioned later this month. These items will be part of a larger lot featuring work and letters from many celebrated mystery authors including Henry Cecil, Ian Rankin, P.D. James, Michael Gilbert, Dick Francis, Ruth Rendell, Reginald Hill and many others. If further information is posted about this auction, you will find it here. Many thanks to Ralph Spurrier at Post Mortem Books for this information; the items on auction are correspondence and contributions related to his store and the long-running Catalogue of Crime annuals.

10/2/11

I'm pleased to announce a fine contribution to the site: fan and poet Edwin Stockdale has submitted an ode to Gladys Mitchell with his poem "Death and the Maiden." You can enjoy this tribute by clicking the highlighted title or by visiting the site's Essays and Documents page, which collects writing from many other fans as well as from the author herself.

8/12/11

A busy summer has postponed my reading until the fall, but I should have a few more reviews posted by year's end! In the meantime, check out the new Gladys Mitchell titles offered by Rue Morgue Press in the US and Vintage UK on the New Books page.

4/10/11

Completing graduate school will occupy nearly all my time this spring, but I wanted to post the long overdue synopsis and review of The Croaking Raven (1966). With this posting, I now have all 66 of Gladys Mitchell's titles represented in the Mrs. Bradley/Dame Beatrice series! Please follow the link or use the Bibliography to see all the other listings.

12/9/10

Happy Holidays to all the fans of Gladys Mitchell! 2010 has been another generous year, and I am heartened to see reprinted editions of more titles becoming available--some for the first time. Most recently, Rue Morgue Press has offered up Dead Men's Morris (1936) and Merlin's Furlong (1953). Please visit the New Books page for a listing of the current reprints.

8/8/10

Another review from the Mrs. Bradley series is posted: I read 1983's The Greenstone Griffins for the first time this summer. Only one more title left to read (The Croaking Raven from 1966) and I'll have all of the Mrs. Bradley/Dame Beatrice novels represented on this website! That was my intention when I started this author tribute site nine years ago: information about Gladys Mitchell's books and plots, all in one place. Thanks very much for visiting; I hope you find the information helpful.

6/19/10

As usual, the combination of graduate school, teaching, and creative writing has conspired to keep me from updating this site as often as I would like. I'm hoping to add another book review or two before the year's end, however; I only have two more titles to read before all 66 Mrs. Bradley titles are represented! You can find the list by looking through the Bibliography page. Author Emma Donoghue has just released an excellent study of lesbian representation in English fiction called Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature. In the book's chapter called "Detection," she looks at characters from some great mystery contributors, including Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, Josephine Tey, and Gladys Mitchell--with an analysis of GM's Speedy Death. Check out Inseparable by Emma Donoghue; available through Random House and Knopf Publishing.

2/21/10

Some new additions to be found in the New Books section. Andrew Osmond at Minnow Press has delivered the last of Gladys Mitchell's most elusive titles from the late '30s/early '40s with a reprinting of 1941's Hangman's Curfew. And another UK publisher, Greyladies Books, offers up their first Dame Beatrice book, a reprint of 1975's Convent on Styx. Mitchell reader Ryan Olsen has sent me an updated list of his most- and least-favorite titles, and that information can be seen on the Best and Worst page.

11/30/09

Some interesting news to convey: In April 2010 Isis Soundings plans to release The Saltmarsh Murders as an audiobook recording, with Tom Brown's Body scheduled for the latter half of the year. Although there's currently not a listing of the titles on Isis' website, I will post a note when they become available. Many thanks to Gladys Mitchell fan Carl W. for sending me this information and confirming with Isis. And Rue Morgue Press in the US has just released their newest addition to their Mrs. Bradley series. The cover scan of Death and the Maiden can be viewed in New Books.

9/4/09

Vintage UK has confirmed that three classic Gladys Mitchell titles will be reprinted and released in May of 2010. Covers and site links can be found at the New Books page. It's great to see Mrs. Bradley's cases returning to print!

8/23/09

An entire summer spent teaching, writing, and reading, but only now am I able to post something new to the site! A synopsis and review of 1944's My Father Sleeps has been added, and I only have two more Mrs. Bradley titles left before all 66 books are represented. Also, I'm checking on rumors that additional Gladys Mitchell titles could be reprinted soon. I'll deliver the details when I hear them.

3/25/09

School has claimed most of my time as usual, but I have a few Stephen Hockaby updates for the site. Check out the very rare dust jacket for Marsh Hay. I'm currently enjoying a read of Shallow Brown and will have a synopsis and review posted within the next week. And I've added the cover for Rue Morgue Press's edition of The Longer Bodies, a great early Mrs. Bradley mystery. You can see the new cover by visiting the New Books page.

1/12/09

A review of the adventure story for girls Pam at Storne Castle is posted. And remember to check out the New Books page for the list of Gladys Mitchell titles due out in 2009!

12/12/08

Two new and exciting Gladys Mitchell reprints on the horizon: Rue Morgue Press uncovers The Longer Bodies and Minnow Press unfurls The Worsted Viper. Both titles arrive in early 2009; check out the New Books page for details.

11/21/08

A new arrivals update: Vintage Press UK will publish three Mrs. Bradley tales in April 2009. Get a sneak peek by visiting the New Books page. I also hope to add one more book review before the year's end....

8/15/08

Another summer spent teaching, another summer away from this site... but I have returned, and I've brought a review of 1965's Pageant of Murder with me. Click on the link in the bibliography page for synopses and reviews of Gladys Mitchell's works.

5/30/08

A new review has been posted, this one for the adventure story for girls On Your Marks. I've also corrected the typeface on a number of essays, which gave me great pleasure to reread as I worked on them.

5/9/08

Rue Morgue Press continues its great GM reprint series by bringing forth Tom Brown's Body. More information is available on the New Books page.

2/2/08

A brief GM reading break kept me from posting a new review until now: the Say It with Flowers page has just been added, and I should be making another addition or two to the site soon.

11/20/07

Great news for Gladys Mitchell completists: the very enjoyable Printer's Error is reprinted for the first time since its initial 1939 publication. Many thanks to Minnow Press for this achievement. You can find information on the New Books page. I've also added a review of the late tale The Whispering Knights.

10/16/07

A review of Death of a Burrowing Mole has been added. More short story reviews will be coming soon, and the Best to Worst section received a brief update as well.

9/18/07

After a summer spent teaching and working, I'm finally able to devote some time to website updates. This month should see a few promising additions. I'll be adding more short story synopses and reviews soon ("Rushy Glen" and "Juniper Gammon" are new), and notes on the first Stephen Hockaby title, Marsh Hay, are posted. Also, get a sneak peek in the New Books section of Rue Morgue Press's latest Gladys Mitchell reprint, the excellent Come Away, Death. More to come!

3/22/07

A review of another of Gladys Mitchell's "adventure stories for girls" is posted: check out The Malory Secret here or through the bibliography page.

2/15/07

The classic Mrs. Bradley mystery Death at the Opera has received a long-overdue review. I've also updated some publishing history on certain titles, while Nicholas Fuller has ranked his final two Mrs. Bradley titles on the Best and Worst list.

12/16/06

A new review posted in the Bibliography section for Noonday and Night, a mystery involving missing tour bus drivers. I've also updated the Best and Worst page, with a new list for myself and an intriguing, informally annotated best-to-worst list from GM scholar Nicholas Fuller.

11/11/06

1964's Death of a Delft Blue (alternate title: Death in Amsterdam) is reviewed, and another classic Mitchell title gets reprinted very soon, courtesy of Rue Morgue Press. Check the New Books page for details.

10/15/06

A new review of the Malcolm Torrie title Bismarck Herrings and a change to the e-mail contact address are the most recent site additions. Also, I'm looking for information about the plot of the Gladys Mitchell children's book THE SEVEN STONES MYSTERY. If you have any information or can help me locate a copy, please e-mail me. It's greatly appreciated!

9/9/06

Posted the review of Gladys Mitchell's children's adventure and Mediterranean travelogue The Light-Blue Hills. I also updated my About Me page, but not substantially.

8/25/06

I've returned from teaching, and am adding an in-depth synopsis and review of Brazen Tongue, an exciting wartime mystery. Check out the the formidable cover scan supplied by Facsimile Dust Jackets.

4/20/06

A review of the final Dame Beatrice mystery is posted. The Crozier Pharoahs proved a solid, if not extraordinary, note upon which to end this great series.

2/16/06

Getting around to my New Year's promise of regular site updates a bit late, but they arrive nonetheless! Reviews of Gory Dew and the children's adventure The Three Fingerprints are posted. And many thanks to Mark Terry of Facsimile Dust Jackets for graciously providing us with some striking first edition images. The covers for Brazen Tongue, Hangman's Curfew, and Printer's Error are particularly impressive. Thanks, Mark!

12/14/05 -- HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

A couple simple December updates: new reviews posted for St. Peter's Finger and for the Malcolm Torrie title Shades of Darkness. Wishing everyone a promising 2006!

11/11/05 -- HERE TO STAY

Though this site has been unavailable in times past, I'm happy to report that we should be up and running for good as of today. New web hosting = No problems. Before the end of this year I'll be cleaning up the site a little, adding a few reviews (St. Peter's Finger will be next; I'm rereading it now), and getting it ready for 2006. Thanks for visiting, and very happy to hear from Mitchell fans via e-mail!

10/15/05 -- CRIMESQUAD SPOTLIGHTS MITCHELL

A very busy month for me, as I have uprooted from Maine to Pennsylvania. But a productive one for Gladys Mitchell, author: Rue Morgue Press has reprinted the classic When Last I Died this month; follow the publisher's link for ordering info. And Chris Simmons, creator of the great contemporary crime fiction site Crimesquad.com is showcasing Gladys Mitchell in the Classic Crime section this month. Check out Chris's informative site.

9/10/05

Thanks to an informative visitor, I've updated the page for Mark Terry of Facsimile Dust Jackets, who offers a number of Gladys Mitchell jacket covers for sale. There's also an update on the page that details various readers' choices of Best to Worst Mrs. Bradley tales.

8/14/05 -- NEW BOOKS SECTION

Hello all -- I've added a New Books section to celebrate reprinted GM titles as of late; there's also information on any rumored upcoming releases. I'm finishing up a reading of the delightful but frenetic Brazen Tongue, and will post a synopsis and review shortly.

7/11/05 -- BRAZEN TONGUE SCHEDULED FOR FALL '05 PRINTING!

I am pleased to announce that Gladys Mitchell's ultra-rare 1940 mystery Brazen Tongue will get its first reprinting later this year. The UK house Minnow Press, with the help of Mitchell fan and novelist Andrew Osmond, will bring this text to a new generation with a limited run scheduled for October 2005. You can get details by checking out the link above or visiting Amazon.co.uk. Less newsworthy, but still of interest: there's a new review posted for 1962's My Bones Will Keep.

3/21/05 -- GM SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGY AVAILABLE!

Another belated update, but an update nonetheless.... The biggest news is the arrival of the Gladys Mitchell short story collection Sleuth's Alchemy, which gathers several previously out-of-print stories written for the London Evening Standard. It is cause for celebration, and you can obtain a copy through Crippen & Landru publishers, whose contact info is also on this site's Links page. I've also added a review of Dead Men's Morris, found in the Bibliography section.

10/5/04

Practically one year later, and I'm just beginning to revisit this site. (A business purchase has kept me busy--too busy--for the 2004 year.) My Mitchell reading, and pleasure reading in general, had been put on hold for quite a while, and I'm finally starting to enjoy Golden Age mystery stories again. In September I read Cold, Lone and Still and The Worsted Viper, with reviews posted. October brought visits to Lovers, Make Moan and the children's book Holiday River. But I'm most proud of the site's newest addition, an essay wherein I try to explain just what makes Gladys great. You can read Artistic Difference here. New e-mail address too (this one works).

11/26/03

New reviews for a pair of lighthouse-themed stories: Skeleton Island and the very rare Stephen Hockaby novel Gabriel's Hold. Plus, there's Mingled with Venom to boot and an essay written by Gladys Mitchell in 1981 about her days in The Detection Club--see The Golden Age in the essay section. Many thanks this month to Mr. Laurence Worms of Ash Rare Books.

10/10/03

Reviews posted for Watson's Choice and The Saltmarsh Murders. I've been busy working on another writing project, but still find time to indulge in some Mitchell mysteries on occasion. That said, my take on Skeleton Island will be forthcoming... Stay tuned.

8/8/03

New reviews of the entertaining books Merlin's Furlong and Dance to Your Daddy posted, as well as a couple scans of Miss Mitchell's book inscriptions, courtesy of Christie collector Bevis Benneworth. (Look up The Twenty-Third Man and Spotted Hemlock for these additions.) As American viewers may know, PBS has just finished running the four Mrs. Bradley/Diana Rigg episodes stateside; for author Andrew Osmond's take on these programs, I direct you to his article, Mrs. Bradley on TV.

7/15/03

I'm pleased to announce some new, first-edition cover scans from bookseller Laurence Worms over at Ash Rare Books: check out the pages for Come Away, Death, The Twenty-Third Man, Caravan Creek, and Adders on the Heath. Plus, news from Crippen & Landru publishing tells us to look for the Gladys Mitchell short story collection Sleuth's Alchemy, edited by Nicholas Fuller, either late 2003 or early 2004. This collection should contain EVERY Mitchell story first published in the Evening Standard, many of them never before reprinted, and is therefore an exciting prospect for fans!

6/28/03

Busy life and little reading as of late, though I'm hoping to read more Mitchell as the summer moves on. In the meantime, reviews of Uncoffin'd Clay and the elusive Hangman's Curfew will have to tide you over.

5/1/03

More reviews from April, and a bit of variety at that: I take a look at the Malcolm Torrie title Churchyard Salad, try out the children's book Caravan Creek, and revisit the solid Mrs. Bradley mystery Laurels Are Poison.

3/1/03

Two reviews posted last month; check them out if you haven't yet done so. The Nodding Canaries and The Longer Bodies were both up for scrutiny, and worth a read (or re-read).

1/4/03

Happy New Year! New book reviews: Gladys Mitchell's first, Speedy Death, and a Scotland-set later entry, Winking at the Brim. The best-to-worst title ranking is also updated, and 2003 should bring many more additions to the site. Stay tuned.

11/24/02

Reviews posted for a pair of mysteries with literary leanings: Printer's Error and The Mudflats of the Dead. I updated a first edition photo of Wraiths and Changelings courtesy of Andrew Osmond, replacing an ugly red-and-black Magna Print scan. And I've heard rumblings in the Crippen & Landru pipeline that those great publishers are moving forward with a collection of Gladys Mitchell's Evening Standard short stories. I'll post more information as soon as it becomes available...

11/1/02

Review of The Man Who Grew Tomatoes fresh, ripe, and ready for picking (or picking on). A UK friend has donated a color scan of the original Devil at Saxon Wall dustjacket, so that's also available. Check out the bibliography for all your literary needs.

9/10/02

Busy, busy summer...but productive! (But not really for this website...) Anyway, recent reviews include Convent on Styx, Faintley Speaking, and When Last I Died. TV Land has already pulled "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" from its schedule, not even giving the quirky show a chance to find a new audience. And the title rankings in the "best to worst" lists are being subtly, almost imperceptibly changed. See if you can spot the difference...

5/24/02

I've addered reviews of Adders on the Heath and the Malcolm Torrie title Your Secret Friend. And on another obsession (see my "About Me" page), the 1976 TV series "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" is finally being brought back to U.S. television via the TVLand channel. As Mary whispers at the end of episode 3 (I already said it was an obsession), "Thank you, God, for small....favors."

4/26/02

Something old, something new... Fresh reviews of The Rising of the Moon and The Murder of Busy Lizzie are available from the Bibliography page. Plus, Rushton and Mark of Black & White Books have provided this site with some vintage cover art! Check out the gorgeous dustjackets for these titles: Sunset over Soho, The Dancing Druids, The Devil's Elbow, The Rising of the Moon, and Twelve Horses and the Hangman's Noose. You can also own reproductions of these covers by clicking here. And if that's not enough, I've updated the "best & worst" lists found on the Essays page.

4/9/02

Newest reviews cover the titles Tom Brown's Body (1949) and Here Lies Gloria Mundy (1982); check them out from the Bibliography page... I've also posted three different "best to worst" lists from some of us Gladys Mitchell readers who have opinions on such matters. If you have read beaucoup de Bradley and would like to send in a list of your own recommendations, drop me an e-mail.

3/7/02

I've added four articles to the essays page from Gladys Mitchell enthusiast and author Andrew Osmond, including his study of Mrs. Bradley's recent representation on the telly and a personal best and worst list. Also, I've added a detailed synopsis and review of Sunset Over Soho, a tough little nut of a book that has Mitchell fans everywhere singing its praises or cursing its name... Plus, I (very minorly) updated my "About Me" page to add some info and make it more web browser friendly! Enjoy, won't you? And we're now part of a mystery authors web ring, so you can believe that world domination is imminent here at the Gladys Mitchell Tribute site....