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Collins Crime Club
Collins Crime Club was an imprint of British book publishers William Collins, Sons and ran from 6 May 1930 to April 1994. Throughout its 64 years the club issued a total of 2,012in "The Hooded Gunman -- An Illustrated History of Collins Crime Club", by John Curran, both in the dust jacket, and in page 388 first editions of crime novels and reached a high standard of quality throughout. In the field of crime book collecting, Collins Crime Club is eagerly sought, particularly pre-war first editions in dustwrappers with their vivid and imaginative images. History Customers registered their name and address with the club and were sent a newsletter every three months which advised them of the latest books which had been or were to be issued. Collins' intention was to publish three new crime books on the first Monday of every month. All three books were supposedly picked by a panel of experts (only one of whom seems to have been named — Cyril Alington) and they chose for eac ...
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The Crime Club
''The Crime Club'' was an imprint of the Doubleday publishing company, which later spawned a 1946-47 anthology radio series, and a 1937-1939 film series. Literature Many classic and popular works of detective and mystery fiction had their first U.S. editions published via the Crime Club, including all 50 books of The Saint by Leslie Charteris (1928-1983). The imprint also published first editions in Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu series. The Crime Club began life in 1928 with the publication of ''The Desert Moon Mystery'' by Kay Cleaver Strahan, and ceased publication in 1991. In the intervening 63 years, The Crime Club published 2,492 titles. Radio Stories from this imprint were first dramatized on ''The Eno Crime Club'', a detective series broadcast on CBS from February 9, 1931 to December 21, 1932, sponsored by Eno Effervescent Salts. The Crime Club novels were not adapted for the later ''Eno Crime Clues'', heard on the Blue Network from January 3, 1933 to June 30. 1936. ''The ...
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Ngaio Marsh
Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh (; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982) was a New Zealand mystery writer and theatre director. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966. As a crime writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Marsh is known as one of the "Queens of Crime", along with Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Margery Allingham. She is known primarily for her character Inspector Roderick Alleyn, a gentleman detective who works for the Metropolitan Police (London). The Ngaio Marsh Award is awarded annually for the best New Zealand mystery, crime and thriller fiction writing. Youth Marsh was born in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, where she also died. In the Introduction to ''The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh'', Douglas G. Greene writes: "Marsh explained to an interviewer... that in New Zealand European children often receive native names, and Ngaio... can mean either 'light on the water' or 'little tree ...
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The Judas Pair
''The Judas Pair'' is a crime novel by Jonathan Gash. It is the first book in the Lovejoy series. The story was first published in 1977 and won a John Creasey Award. The story was adapted by Ian La Frenais for the BBC television series ''Lovejoy'' starring Ian McShane. The episode "The Judas Pair" first aired on 7 February 1986 as episode 5 of season 1. Plot summary Antiques dealer Lovejoy is commissioned to hunt down what he considers to be a mythical object, the Judas pair, the supposed thirteenth pair of duelling pistols, an 18th-century flintlock made by the famous London gunmaker Durs Egg. After two murders Lovejoy is certain that the pistols do exist, and are now in the hands of the murderer. Lovejoy solves the mystery by drawing from his comprehensive knowledge of the antique world, poring on the backgrounds of materials so that past and present deceit and criminality are revealed. Publication history * ''The Judas Pair'', Jonathan Gash, Collins Crime Club, 1977, , ...
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1977 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1977. Events * February 20 – An episode of '' Doctor on the Go'', co-written by Douglas Adams and Graham Chapman, marks the beginning of Adams' career as a writer for BBC radio. *March 4 – Andrés Caicedo commits suicide by overdose, aged 25, about a month after the publication of his novel '' ¡Que viva la música!'' ("Let Music Live!", translated as ''Liveforever'') is published in his hometown of Cali, Colombia. * April 27 – Héctor Germán Oesterheld, Argentine comic book writer born 1919), is kidnapped by the military authorities; he is believed to have died in detention a few months later. *July 11 – The English magazine '' Gay News'' is found guilty of blasphemous libel for publishing a homoerotic poem, "The Love That Dares to Speak Its Name" by James Kirkup, in a case ('' Whitehouse v Lemon'') at the Old Bailey in London, on behalf of Mary Whitehouse's National Viewers and Listen ...
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John Grant (Lovejoy)
John Grant (born 1933), professionally known under pen name Jonathan Gash, is a British doctor and writer, best known as the author of the Lovejoy (novel series), Lovejoy series that was Lovejoy, adapted to television by Ian La Frenais He has also written under the name of Graham Gaunt. Biography Born in Bolton, Lancashire, Grant was educated at St Peter and St Paul's Primary School, then Thornleigh Salesian College, Thornleigh College, before studying medicine and qualifying as a doctor. He served in the British Army, attaining the rank of Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and has also worked as a general practitioner and as a pathologist. Between 1971 and 1988 he was director of bacteriology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of the University of London. Grant won the CWA New Blood Dagger, John Creasey Award in 1977 for his first Lovejoy novel, ''The Judas Pair''. He is also the author of a series of medical thrillers featuring the character Dr Clare Bur ...
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Lovejoy
''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 1986 and 4 December 1994, although there was a five-year gap between the first and second series. It was adapted for television by Ian La Frenais. Overview The series concerns the adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia filmed around Long Melford. Within the trade, he has a reputation as a "divvy", a person with almost unnatural powers of recognising exceptional items as well as distinguishing genuine antiques from fakes or forgeries. Characters * Lovejoy, played by Ian McShane, a less than scrupulous yet likeable rogue antique dealer * Eric Catchpole, played by Chris Jury (series 1–5; guest, series 6), Lovejoy's younger, enthusiastic, but ever so slightly dim, assistant * Tinker Dill, pl ...
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1946 In Literature
Events January * January 6 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones. * January 10 ** The first meeting of the United Nations is held, at Methodist Central Hall Westminster in London. ** ''Project Diana'' bounces radar waves off the Moon, measuring the exact distance between the Earth and the Moon, and proves that communication is possible between Earth and outer space, effectively opening the Space Age. * January 11 - Enver Hoxha declares the People's Republic of Albania, with himself as prime minister. * January 16 – Charles de Gaulle resigns as head of the French provisional government. * January 17 - The United Nations Security Council holds its first session, at Church House, Westminster in London. * January 19 ** The Bell XS-1 is test flown for the first time (unpowered), with Bell's chief test pilot Jack Woolams at the ...
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1942 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1942. Events *January 1 – The U.K. Book Production War Economy Agreement comes into force. * February 20 – Jean Bruller's novella '' Le Silence de la mer'' (Silence of the Sea), about resistance to the Nazi occupation of France, is issued clandestinely as the first publication of Les Éditions de Minuit in Paris, under the pseudonym "Vercors". A hundred copies are distributed from late summer; the rest are destroyed by the occupying authorities. *February 22 – The Austrian-born novelist Stefan Zweig and his wife Lotte are found dead of a barbiturate overdose in their home in Petrópolis, Brazil, leaving notes indicating despair at the future of European civilization. The manuscript of Zweig's autobiography '' The World of Yesterday'', posted to his publisher a day earlier, is first published in Stockholm later in the year as ''Die Welt von Gestern''. *March – Isaac Asimov's Three Laws o ...
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, massa ...
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Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and 39 novellas between 1934 and 1975. In 1959, Stout received the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award. The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon XXXI, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century. In addition to writing fiction, Stout was a prominent public intellectual for decades. Stout was active in the early years of the American Civil Liberties Union and a founder of the Vanguard Press. He served as head of the Writers' War Board during World War II, became a radio celebrity through his numerous broadcasts, and was later active in promoting world federalism. He was the long-time president of the Authors Guild, during whic ...
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Hulbert Footner
Hulbert Footner (April 2, 1879 – November 17, 1944) was a Canadian born American writer of primarily detective fiction. He also wrote some non-fiction. Early career He was born William Hulbert Footner in Hamilton, Ontario on April 2, 1879. His mother lived in New York City and was visiting with her parents in Hamilton, Ontario. Frances Christina Mills and Harold John Footner were his parents. Her family were loyalists who fled the United States between 1775 and 1815 and considered themselves British loyalists rather than either citizens of the United States or Canada throughout the 19th Century. His grandfather, William Footner, was born in England and emigrated to Canada, and settled in Montreal and had a career in architecture; one of his surviving structures is Bonsecours Market, built in 1845. Footner attended grade school in Manhattan and beyond that was self-educated. His complete reading program of classics of literature is laid out in his journal. His first known pub ...
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Freeman Wills Crofts
Freeman Wills Crofts FRSA (1 June 1879 – 11 April 1957) was an Irish mystery author, best remembered for the character of Inspector Joseph French. A railway engineer by training, Crofts introduced railway themes into many of his stories, which were notable for their intricate planning. Although outshone by Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler and other more celebrated authors from the golden age of detective fiction, he was highly esteemed by those authors, and many of his books are still in print. Birth and education Crofts was born at 26 Waterloo Road, Dublin, Ireland. His father, also named Freeman Wills Crofts, was a surgeon-lieutenant in the Army Medical Service but he died of fever in Honduras before the young Freeman Wills Crofts was born. In 1883, Crofts' mother, née Celia Frances Wise, married the Venerable Jonathan Harding, Vicar of Gilford, County Down, later Archdeacon of Dromore, and Crofts was brought up in the vicarage at Gilford. He attended Methodist Col ...
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