Cover: The Fingerprint by Patricia Wentworth

First published 1956; cover shown is the 1963 Pyramid Books (USA) paperback edition.
Cover by Paul Bacon Studio. 236p.

Cover: Off With His Head by Ngaio Marsh

US title: Death of a Fool.
First published 1956; cover shown is the 1958 Readers Book Club (Aust) hardcover edition.
Jacket art by Vern Hayles. 272p.

Cover: The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart

First published 1926; cover shown is the 1959 Dell Publishing (USA) paperback edition.
Cover art by Victor Kalin. 224p.

Cover: Silhouette in Scarlet by Elizabeth Peters

Cover shown is the 1984 first British edition, published by Souvenir Press.
Jacket art by Mike Head. 216p.

June Wright: A forgotten Australian crime writer

June Wright, Charlotte Jay, Pat Flower, Patricia Carlon... four female Australian writers whose contribution to crime and mystery fiction was immense, yet they are all but forgotten nowadays.

One of these writers - Melbourne-born June Wright - started writing in 1941, at the age of 22. Her first novel, Murder in the Telephone Exchange, was published in 1948 by Hutchinson, the result of a competition win.

It's said that most first novels are semi-biographical, and this one could well have been: Wright worked in a telephone exchange for the four years preceding the novel's publication.

Her novels aren't scarce, but are certainly not available in most second hand bookshops - not that I've seen, anyway. As far as I know, they have never been reprinted. I have only managed to find one: a hardcover first edition of So Bad a Death (1949, Hutchinson). This was her second novel, and it features the same female protagonist from the first. It's an enjoyable read, with a strong Mary Roberts Rinehart flavour to it, and an interesting setting: an outer suburb of Melbourne that is described rather like an English village from a Christie novel.

Wright wrote six novels in all, the last being published in 1966. According to Continent of Mystery: A Thematic History of Australian Crime Fiction by Stephen Knight (1997, MUP) Wright then retired from writing to assist her husband with his business. In her fourth novel, Reservation for Murder (1958, Long), Wright introduced a nun as her detective - Mother Paul. Said to be the female/feminist version of Chesterton's Father Brown, it's somewhat a disappointment that Wright decided to stop writing just when she'd created such an interesting character.

(Pictured: Make-Up for Murder, 1966 first edition by Long (UK), jacket art by William Randell.)

Agatha Christie: old & new covers

Pictured are two different paperback covers (earlier and later editions) for three separate Agatha Christie titles. All art work is by Tom Adams.

The Murder at the Vicarage, first published 1930. The early cover above is the 1963 third impression paperback; the later cover below is the 1977 eleventh impression. Both by Fontana (UK).

Evil Under the Sun, first published 1941. The cover pictured above is the 1973 US edition paperback by Pocket Books; the cover below is the 1977 twentieth impression paperback by Fontana (UK).

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, first published in 1960. The early cover above is the 1963 second impression paperback; the later cover below is the 1980 sixth impression. Both published by Fontana.

My favourites? Definitely the early edition of The Murder at the Vicarage, and the UK edition of Evil Under the Sun. The voodoo doll with its twisted, misshapen limbs is one of my favourite Tom Adams' covers, period.

Ngaio Marsh cover story

The recent post on http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/ regarding cover art and how it can not only seem a surprising choice for a particular author but also vary greatly between editions, made me take a look at my collection of Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh titles. Both authors have been reprinted many times over the last 80+ years. The contents of the books haven't altered, but it's interesting to see how the style and quality of the covers have changed.

Overture to Death was first published in 1939. The cover above is a 1944 Collins (UK) White Circle Pocket Novel paperback, printed in Australia on cheap wartime paper. There's no reference to the cover designer. It's one of my favourite Marsh covers; simple yet menacing. The Woods' Great Peppermint Cure ("For coughs and colds, never fails!") advertisement on the back adds an extra point of interest.

Surfeit of Lampreys was first published in 1941, and is incidentally my favourite Marsh work. The cover above is the classic green and white Penguin cover (it's a 1955 paperback edition). Again, a very simple look, but it works. As does the colour combination, for a different reason: the spines are easy to spot in secondhand bookstores.

Death at the Dolphin was first published in 1967. The cover above is the dust jacket from the Collins Book Club (UK) edition of the same year. The only clue to the artist's identity are the initials G.C. in one corner. This cover shows much more blatantly than the first two that the book is a mystery title. I don't like this cover, apart from that nicely shaped skull. The images of the corpse, skull and two masks seem to have simply been cut and pasted on.

One of Marsh's many Fontana paperback editions. Enter a Murderer was first published in 1935. The cover above is a 1968 edition. It features a photograph instead of a painting or drawing, which is one of my pet hates for cover art, especially when it looks as fake as this. When I read a book I know it's a work of fiction, but I don't need to be confronted with something like this. Definitely a step back from the simple Penguin days.

False Scent was first published in 1960. The cover shown is a 1975 paperback impression. It's another Fontana (UK) publication, with cover art by Philip Hood. Hood did a number of Fontana covers for Marsh titles. He didn't match the style and originality of Tom Adams, Agatha Christie's paperback cover artist at Fontana, but he still produced interesting artworks. I like the layout of this cover, with the author name and the book title neatly boxed up the top, letting the cover tell its story.

Artists in Crime was first published in 1938. The cover above is the 1987 impression. Another Fontana paperback cover, and one of the more recent ones. Compared to the earlier paperbacks pictured, this is positively boring. There's no class to it, and I think that's what's missing.

Cover: The Loner by Otto Friedrich

First published 1965; cover shown is the 1968 New English Library (UK) paperback edition.
Cover artist unknown. 127p.

Otto Friedrich (1929-1995) was a US writer who worked as a newspaper journalist and editor on such New York institutions as The Saturday Evening Post, Time and Newsweek. He wrote many non-fiction works, a series of children's books and two novels (of which The Loner is one).

Friedrich continued to write on a Royal typewriter until his death from lung cancer; he was even given special permission by Time to do so, despite their conversion to computers.

Cover: The Bachelors by Muriel Spark

First published 1960; cover shown is the 1969 Penguin Books (UK) paperback reprint.
Cover art by John Farman. 215p.

From the album: St Lawrence, Central QLD, 1989

Erik's hand-me-down BMX bike.

This was taken just after dad had lowered the seat so Erik's 6yo legs could reach the ground. He crashed the bike a couple of weeks later, and still has a scar on his knee from it. Great big sister that I am, I remember telling him he was going to die... and he believed me. He still likes to tell that story.

Cover: Tiger Standish Does His Stuff by Sydney Horler

First published 1942; cover shown is the 1952 Hodder & Stoughton (UK) Yellow Jacket edition.
Cover artist unknown. 192p.

Cover: After the Funeral by Agatha Christie

First published 1953; cover shown is the 1954 Book Club (UK) hardcover dust jacket.
Cover artist unknown. 192p.

Cover: Dreadful Summit by Stanley Ellin

First published 1948; cover shown is the 1964 Penguin Books (UK) paperback edition.
Cover art by Germano Facetti. 128p.

This is the diary of one night of brainstorm and violence in the life of a teenage boy - a night of initiation into sex and sudden death and heroism.

The lonely, introspective mind of George LaMain had been nourished on Kipling and Dumas. Seeing his father mercilessly flogged by a fashionable sports columnist, the boy simply picks up a gun and goes after the bully. To kill.

Cover: Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy L. Sayers

First published 1928; cover shown is the 1963 Penguin Books (UK) paperback reprint.
Cover art by Romek Marber. 281p.
Penguin Book #1779.

A Staffordshire Bull Terrier smorgasbord

Since Bean - my 2yo Staffordshire Bull Terrier - came to live with me early last year, he's been fed a raw diet. That means no commercial pet food: no dry food, no canned food. He gets the occasional table scrap, but generally his diet is exactly what it should be for the wolf descendant carnivore that he is: raw, unprocessed meat, along with bone and offal. It makes for a highly varied and interesting diet, and he has the whitest teeth and freshest breath a dog can have!

Here he is with half a fat chicken - his 2nd birthday present. This took approximately 10 minutes to eat.

This is a hunk of lamb... not sure what part. Most of the lamb he's fed is lamb neck.

This is a rabbit's hind leg, complete with fur and skin. He'd never eaten a 'furry meal' before, and I thought he might balk at eating it... but he ate the lot and looked for more.


Two lamb hearts. Three of these make a full meal for him. At 80 cents each, it's an expensive meal compared to chicken or fish. Generally, I spend - in total - between $2.00 and $7.50 on his meals each week. I spend more on squeaky toys than I do on food for him!

A salmon head, bought from a local fresh fish shop for 50 cents. It's a big meal, with a lot of meat, a couple of fins, eyes, teeth etc. A fish head takes him half an hour to eat and leaves him with fish breath for another half hour.

This was taken late last December. I was able to source Christmas turkey frames from a local butcher who would have otherwise thrown them out. The frame pictured above was only 3/4 there I think, but still a huge meal for him. It took him more than half an hour to eat, and he fasted the following day because his little stomach was so bloated.

Kangaroo tail pieces! These are great - really meaty. Kangaroo is one of his favourite meats, along with rabbit.

Yes, this is Bean eating a banana peel. I dropped it on the way to the compost bin and he (as usual) decided that if it was good enough for me, it must be good enough for him. Two seconds after this photo was taken, he spat it all out and shredded it for fun instead. He loves apple cores though.

Bean loves these! Pig trotters take Bean a solid hour to gnaw through, and they're only 50 cents from a local butcher. There's not a lot of meat on these - and he does have gas issues after eating pork - so he only gets one every week and a half or so.

Cover: Too Much of Water by Bruce Hamilton

First published 1958; cover shown is the 1983 Perennial Library paperback edition.
Cover art by Irving Freeman. 272p.

Cover: Crime of Silence by Patricia Carlon

Cover shown is the 1965 Hodder & Stoughton (UK) first edition dust jacket.
Jacket art by Edward Pagram. 192p.

Cover: The Works of Edgar Allan Poe

Cover shown is the 1995 Wordsworth Poetry Library edition, published by Wordsworth Editions (UK).
Cover shows a portrait of Poe by Thomas Corner.
106p.

Cover: Death of a Sardine by Joan Fleming

First published 1963; cover shown is the 1964 Fontana Books first paperback edition.
Cover artist unknown. 192p.

Found: 1970s flapper print shirt

This long sleeved 1970s button-up shirt may never be worn, but was just too unusual to leave behind! It was $2.50 from the RSPCA shop near my work, and feels and looks like it has never been worn.

The shirt features a repeated image of a 1920s woman in a cloche (hat) on an oyster pink background. Made from 100% Federated Fashion Fabrics polyester by Bon-Ton Fashions of Melbourne.

Slow Speedy Death

If you're interested in viewing some Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Gladys Mitchell first edition covers, check out this link to my friend Phil's blog - Slow Speedy Death.

http://gladdog.blogspot.com/

I recommended one of my favourite authors to Phil last year - Pamela Branch. He bought a first edition of Murder's Little Sister (pictured - cover art by Sax) on that recommendation, only to find Branch's writing doesn't draw him in the way she does me. I still feel bad about that... Although it must be said that Murder's Little Sister is not her best.

Cover: The Crime at Honotassa by M G Eberhart

Cover shown is the 1962 first British edition dust jacket from Collins Crime Club.
Jacket art by John Rose. 256p.

From the album: Bundaberg, QLD, 1945

My paternal grandparent's wedding picture, taken at an Anglican church in Bundaberg, Queensland.

The groom, Vernon Richard Atkinson, was 30 years old. He had enlisted in Maryborough on 3 November 1939, aged 25, and served - amongst other postings - in Tobruk. He was discharged in 1944.

The bride, Jessie Evelyn Spencer, was 22 years old.

Cover: Forensic Medicine by Bernard Knight

Hardcover*, Gower Medical Publishing (UK), 1985. 82p.

* This book should come with a warning. It contains colour photographs of every kind of death (violent, suicide or natural) that you can think of. I was only able to look through it once. Now it sits with my other reference books (though just why I'll need to reference it in the future remains a mystery).

At the moment...

I'm reading... The Cheshire Cat's Eye by Marcia Muller; The Lady Investigates: Women Detectives and Spies in Fiction by Craig & Cadogan and the Winter 2007 issue of Stiletto magazine by Sisters in Crime.

I'm cooking... Lamb & Mushroom Casserole, roasted lamb chops with vegetables and gravy, Florida Chicken Drumsticks, Oxtail Stew - warm and comfortable winter foods.

I'm dreaming... of a trip to Canberra in early August to visit my brother and my friend Ali (hard to believe it's been over five years since I was last there), and a pet friendly coastal holiday in the not-to-distant future so Bean can run on the sand, swim in the sea and chase seagulls for the first time in his life.

I'm wearing... workwise, my favourite item of clothing: woollen man-style trousers that are so comfortable and warm, teamed with my ever-increasing range of brightly coloured long-sleeved 70s shirts and a blazer or cardigan; and cargo pants and four layers of jumpers for early morning and nighttime dog walks (with beanie and mittens if it's really cold).

Q & A Time.

What is your favorite food? Milk chocolate. Roast meals. Milkshakes. Queensland mangoes straight from the tree.

Which schools did you go to? Capella Pre-school, followed by Capella Primary School, followed by St. Lawrence Primary School, followed by Flora Hill Secondary College, followed by Bendigo Senior Secondary College.

What is your favorite color? Green or blue or brown.

Who is your celebrity crush? Vincent D'Onofrio.

Dream vacation? Europe.

What did you want to be when you grew up? An author. A fashion designer. A mother. A librarian.

What makes you happy? Simple things, like seeing a beautiful sunset, sitting in the sun and reading a good book, or watching my dog play.

Beggar's Choice by Patricia Wentworth

First published 1931; cover shown is the 1990 Warner Books paperback edition. Cover art by Bob Scott. Cover design by Anne Twomey. 252p.

Wentworth interspersed first-person diary entries with straight third-person narrative in this glamorous late-1920s novel of social status, drugs, high intrigue and more twists and turns than you can poke a stick at.

In three long, lonely years Carthew Fairfax ('Car' to his friends) has gone from wealthy heir to impoverished gentleman, with no food in his stomach and barely any leather left on the soles of his shoes. Since the suicide death of his swindling employer, Car has been shunned by his friends and - through the machinations of his scheming cousin, Anna - disowned by his uncle.

When he is down to his last few pence, a piece of paper is shoved into his hand in the street. "Do want 500 pounds? If you do, and are willing to earn it, write to Box Z. 10, International Employment Exchange, 187 Falcon Street, N.W."

So begins a roller coaster of an adventure for Car, who soon meets up with the love of his life, the beautiful Isobel, and with Anna, who has many things in store for the man who once spurned her - and absolutely none of it is nice.

This was a little over the top in some places, but great escapism. I love how Wentworth took the time to describe little details - such as a woman's cocktail dress, or Car's first real meal in weeks. I really enjoyed this.

Castlemaine book sale

I can never resist a second hand book sale. Today there was one in Castlemaine, a small town about half an hour's drive away. I brought my Staffordshire, Bean, with me. While he's not a fan of long car trips, he never complains, and is happy to lounge on the back seat of the car for as long as it takes while I'm searching through stacks of books. Now, if only I could find a man who'd do the same...

My finds: The Crime at Honotassa by M. G. Eberhart (1962 Collins hardcover, with dust-jacket); Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide by Kenneth McLeish (apparently an 'indispensable companion for all book lovers'); 100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories edited by Dziemianowicz, Weinberg & Greenberg (1993 hardcover with DJ, with great jacket art by Jack Eckstein); Ludmila's Broken English by D. B. C. Pierre and three magazines, one of which is the Winter 2007 issue of Stiletto, the Australian crime fiction magazine published by Sisters in Crime.

After fighting my way to the little old ladies manning the make-shift cash registers (and fighting off a little man who wanted to carry my books for me), I loaded my books into the car and drove to a local sports reserve, so Bean could have a run off lead. I'd brought along a squeaky toy (shaped like a bone with an American football in the middle - he loves it) and we spent ages running around, chasing each other. When we both couldn't run another step, we headed back to the car.

There was enough time left to visit two nearby op shops. I didn't find much: two long-sleeved 70s blouses for $1.00 each, one red and the other cream, Margaret Fulton's Book of One Pot Cooking, a collection of Erin Pizzey essays, and a first edition copy of E. R. Braithwaite's Paid Servant.

Cover: Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

First published 1915. 124p.

"Turn-of-the-century social critic Charlotte Perkins Gilman (author of 'The Yellow Wallpaper') employs humour to engaging effect in a story about three male explorers who stumble upon an all-female society isolated somewhere in South America. Noting the advanced state of the civilization they've encountered, the visitors set out to find some males, assuming that since the country is so civilized, 'there must be men'.
A fantasy vision of a feminist utopia, the story enables Gilman to articulate her then-unconventional views of male-female roles and capabilities, motherhood, individuality, privacy, the sense of community, sexuality, and many other topics."

From the album: Melbourne, VIC, 2005

Who knew shopping centre photo booths could be so funny?

Bee and I ended up paying for three lots of photos (the one pictured is Attempt No. 2) because Attempt Nos. 1 and 3 just show four photos exactly like the bottom photo pictured.

Second to the bottom is our 'serious face', which led directly to a complete loss of control three seconds later when the bottom photo was taken. We both fell off the stool straight afterwards, with me banging my head on the opposite wall of the booth.

And this was before we had all those drinks with dinner.

Found: 1970s yellow casserole pot

RSPCA Opportunity Shop, Hargreaves St, Bendigo.
Price: $4.00.

I bought this mainly because I like the colour and shape - it will also be perfect to use for my new Lamb and Mushroom Casserole recipe.