The Detection Club was formed in 1930 by a group of British mystery writers, including

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Arthur Morrison,

Hugh Walpole Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (13 March 18841 June 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among ...

, John Rhode, Jessie Louisa Rickard,

Baroness Orczy Baroness Emma Orczy (full name: ''Emma Magdalena Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci'') (; 23 September 1865 – 12 November 1947), usually known as Baroness Orczy (the name under which she was published) or to her family and friends ...

, R. Austin Freeman, G. D. H. Cole, Margaret Cole, E. C. Bentley, Henry Wade, Constance Lindsay Taylor and H. C. Bailey.

Anthony Berkeley Cox Anthony Berkeley Cox (5 July 1893 – 9 March 1971) was an English crime writer. He wrote under several pen-names, including Francis Iles, Anthony Berkeley and A. Monmouth Platts. Early life and education Anthony Berkeley Cox was born 5 July ...

was instrumental in setting up the club, and the first president was G. K. Chesterton. There is a fanciful initiation ritual with an oath written by Sayers, and the club holds regular dinner meetings in London.

Guidelines

In addition to meeting for dinners and helping each other with technical aspects in their individual writings, the members of the club agreed to adhere to Knox's Commandments in their writing to give the reader a fair chance at guessing the guilty party. These fair-play "rules" were summarised by one of the members, Ronald Knox, in an introduction to an anthology of detective stories. They were never intended as more than guidelines, and not all the members took them seriously. The first American member (though then living in the UK) was John Dickson Carr, elected in 1936. The club continues to exist, although the fair-play rules have been considerably relaxed. A number of works were published under the club's sponsorship; most of these were written by multiple members of the club, each contributing one or more chapters in turn. In the case of '' The Floating Admiral'', each author also provided a sealed "solution" to the mystery as he or she had written it, including the previous chapters. This was done to prevent a writer from adding impossible complications with no reasonable solution in mind. The various partial solutions were published as part of the final book.

Initial membership

The founding members of the club in 1930 were H. C. Bailey, E. C. Bentley, Anthony Berkeley, G. K. Chesterton,

, G. D. H. Cole, Margaret Cole, J.J. Connington Freeman Wills Crofts, Clemence Dane, Robert Eustace, R. Austin Freeman, Lord Gorell,

Edgar Jepson Edgar Alfred Jepson (28 November 1863 – 12 April 1938) was an English author. He largely wrote mainstream adventure and detective fiction, but also supernatural and fantasy stories. He sometimes used the pseudonym R. Edison Page. Early life E ...

, Ianthe Jerrold, Milward Kennedy, Ronald Knox, A. E. W. Mason, A. A. Milne, Arthur Morrison,

, John Rhode, Jessie Rickard, Dorothy L. Sayers, Helen Simpson, Constance Lindsay Taylor, Henry Wade, Victor Whitechurch and

. Over the following two decades further members were elected to the club: Anthony Gilbert (1933), E. R. Punshon (1933), Gladys Mitchell (1933), Margery Allingham (1934), Norman Kendal (1935), R.C. Woodthorpe (1935), John Dickson Carr (1936),

Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Anglo-Irish poet and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudony ...

(1937), Muna Lee (1937), Maurice Guinness (1937), E.C.R. Lorac (1937), Christopher Bush (1937), Cyril Hare (1946),

Christianna Brand Mary Christianna Lewis (née Milne; 17 December 1907 – 11 March 1988), known professionally as Christianna Brand, was a British crime writer and children's literature, children's author born in British Malaya (now Malaysia). Biography ...

(1946), Richard Hull (1946), Alice Campbell (1946), Val Gielgud (1947), Edmund Crispin (1947), Dorothy Bowers (1948), Douglas G. Browne (1949), Michael Innes (1949), Michael Gilbert (1949) and Mary Fitt (1950). Membership was initially limited to those considered to be writing pure detective novels, rather than mystery thrillers. This began to change when

Eric Ambler Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 23 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books ...

, known for his thrillers and spy novels, was elected in 1952. Several notable detective writers including Philip MacDonald and Josephine Tey were never invited to join the club, while

Georgette Heyer Georgette Heyer (; 16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story conceived for her ail ...

who wrote detective stories alongside her better-known regency novels turned down an invitation. ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'' columnist Nancy Spain was considered for membership but was rejected. Future president Julian Symons was initially rejected before eventually being admitted in 1951. Ngaio Marsh, a major figure in detective writing, only joined later in life. Subsequent members of the Club included Andrew Garve, H. R. F. Keating and John Bingham.

Martin Edwards Charles Martin Edwards (born 24 July 1945) is the former chairman of Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, a position he held from 1980 until 2002. He now holds the position of honorary life president at the club and Director of Inview Tech ...

charted the early history of the Club in his 2015 book '' The Golden Age of Murder''.

The oath

Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance on nor making use of
Divine Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and theology. Types Individual revelation Thomas A ...
, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence or
Act of God In legal usage in the English-speaking world, an act of God, act of nature, or damnum fatale ("loss arising from inevitable accident") is an event caused by no direct human action (e.g. Severe weather, severe or extreme weather and other natur ...
?

Presidents

* G. K. Chesterton (1930–1936) * E. C. Bentley (1936–1949) * Dorothy L. Sayers (1949–1957) *

(1957–1976) * Lord Gorell (1957–1963) * Julian Symons (1976–1985) * H. R. F. Keating (1985–2000) *

Simon Brett Simon Anthony Lee Brett Order of the British Empire, OBE Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (born 28 October 1945 in Worcester Park, Surrey, England) is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for ...

(2000–2015) *

(2015–) Lord Gorell shared the presidency with Agatha Christie, who only agreed to accept the role if a co-president was appointed to conduct the club's proceedings.

Publications

*'' The Scoop and Behind the Screen'' (1931, round-robin novellas) *'' The Floating Admiral'' (1931,1932, round-robin novel) *''Ask a Policeman'' (1933) *''The Anatomy of a Murder'' (1936) (US title ''The Anatomy of Murder'' (New York, Macmillan, 1937) True crime essays *''Detection Medley'' (1939; US title, ''Line-Up,'' 1940; short stories, some original, some reprints; edited by John Rhode) *''Mystery Playhouse presents The Detection Club'' (January 1948); six 30 minute radio plays by club members on BBC Light Programme written in aid of club funds *''No Flowers By Request'' (round-robin novella, 1953) *''Verdict of Thirteen'' (1978; original short stories, edited by Julian Symons, published by Faber and by Harper & Row) *''The Man Who...'' (1992); original short stories in honor of Julian Symons's 80th birthday, edited by H. R. F. Keating, published by Macmillan]) *''The Detection Collection'' (2005; original short stories in recognition of the Club's 75th anniversary, edited by

, published by Orion and by St. Martin;'s (2006)) *''The Verdict of Us All'' (2006; original short stories in honor of H. R. F. Keating's 80th birthday, edited by

Peter Lovesey Peter Harmer Lovesey (10 September 1936 – 10 April 2025), also known by his pen name Peter Lear, was a British writer of Historical mystery, historical and Detective fiction, contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known ser ...

, published by

Crippen & Landru Crippen & Landru Publishers is a small publisher of mystery fiction collections, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1994 by husband and wife Sandi and Douglas G. Greene in Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an indepen ...

and Allison & Busby) *''The Sinking Admiral'' (2016, round-robin novel, published by Collins Crime Club) *'' Motives for Murder'' (2016; original short stories in honor of

's 80th birthday, edited by

, published by

and by Sphere ( Little, Brown Book Group). *'' Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club'' (2020; edited by

, published by Collins Crime Club). * ''Eric the Skull'' (2020; a 45-minute

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

play, being a fictionalised account of the setting up of the club, written by Simon Brett and produced by Liz Anstee). *''Playing Dead'' (2025; original short stories in honor of

's 80th birthday, edited by

, published by Severn House Publishers)

References

External links

Detection Club: list of publications

Detection Club admission ceremony and oath

List of members
{{Authority control Detective fiction Clubs and societies in London Organizations established in 1930 1930 establishments in the United Kingdom it:AA.VV.