The creators of Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Father Brown collaborate on one mystery, all applying their unique expertise to solve the same case. Reprint. NYT.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"The plotting is ingenious, the pace sustained, the solution satisfying." New York Times Book Review "Amazingly, the story steers along very well despite so many different hands at the tiller. Christie's solution is typically ingenious." Mark Campbell, The Pocket Essential Agatha Christie "These members of the Detection Club collaborate with skill in a piece of detection rather more tight-knit than one had a right to expect. There is enough to amuse and to stimulate detection; and the Introduction by Dorothy Sayers and supplements by critics and solvers give an insight into the writers' thoughts and modes of work." Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor, A Catalogue of Crime
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
About the Author
"The Detection Club is a private association of writers of detective fiction in Great Britain, existing chiefly for the purpose of eating dinners together at suitable intervals and of talking illimitable shop ! Its membership is confined to those who have written genuine detective stories (not adventure tales or 'thrillers') and election is secured by a vote of the club on recommendation by two or more members, and involves the undertaking of an oath." Dorothy L. Sayers
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Hard-to-Find Curiosity,
By
This review is from: The Floating admiral (Gregg Press mystery series) (Hardcover)
In the early 1930s the cream of British mystery novelists formed an organization named "The Detection Club," the purpose of which was to encourage superior writing in the genre. No sooner was the club founded than its members embarked on a game of sorts: they would write a murder mystery together. The result was THE FLOATING ADMIRAL.The Gregg Press edition is the most desirable printing of this hard-to-find novel I have encountered, opening with a 1979 essay by Detection Club member Christianna Brand (author of such novels as GREEN FOR DANGER and DEATH IN HIGH HEELS), who recalls the history of the club and sketches memorable portraits of its members. This is followed by the original 1932 introduction by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which she describes the process by which the novel was written: each participating author wrote a chapter in turn, remaining consistent with the plot as created in all previous chapters and with a specific and justifiable solution of their own creation in mind. The authors who played this literary game create a roster of the finest English mystery novelists of the early 1930s. After a prologue by C.K. Chesterson, creator of the famous "Father Brown" mysteries, there follows chapters by Victor L. Whitechurch; G.D.H. and M. Cole; Henry Wade; Agatha Christie; John Rhodes; Milward Kennedy; Dorothy L. Sayers; Ronald A. Knox; Freeman Wills Crofts; Edgar Jepson; Clemence Dane; and Anthony Berkeley, better known as Anthony Iles. The story itself concerns Inspector Rudge, a rural officer who is called to the scene of a peculiar murder: the body of Admiral Penistone has been found stabbed to the heart and floating in a small boat on the River Whyn. Not only are the circumstances odd, it soon transpires that there are several people who might have interest in his demise--including his peculiar niece Elma, her possibly undesirable lover, and her missing brother. But although the premise is something of a classic, the novel largely runs aground due to the scattered approach of the participating writers. This is not to say that any of the authors involved write badly. It is to say, however, that as the novel progresses each writer has considerably more difficulty in lining up the endless parade of clues offered by those who have gone before to create either a cohesive narrative or a reasonable solution. So the end result is like buckshot: a story that seems to fly in so many different directions that it has no long-range strike. Even so, fans of 1930s murder mysteries will prize this novel as a hard-to-find curiosity--and they will be particularly pleased to note that most of the authors involved offered very different solutions to the crime, many of them more interesting than anything in the text itself and all of them collected in a neat appendix. GFT, Amazon Reviewer
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Mysterious Smorgasbord,
By
This review is from: The Floating Admiral (Paperback)
As a fan of writers Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, I was intrigued by this book, which includes other authors such as G.K. Chesterton and their fellow members of the Detection Club. This club is a private society made up of British mystery writers. Together, this club decided to try their hand at writing a communal mystery: each author would write a chapter and supply their own solution to the crimes committed. The result is "The Floating Admiral", a mystery which is surprisingly well-paced and just as an ingenius a tale as one would expect from the authors connected with it.
Early one morning, the body of Admiral Penistone is found floating in a boat adrift on the river, a stab wound clear in his chest. Inspector Rudge arrives on the scene to begin his investigation and immediately meets with several obstacles: most importantly that several people who may be involved with the case act in an extremely suspicious manner. The Admiral's niece, who needed her uncle's approval for her marriage, runs off to London after learning of his death. The vicar, with whom the Admiral dined, is certainly withholding information; after all, it was the vicar's boat that the body was found in. Inspector Rudge knows that there is more than meets the eye, and is also convinced that some incident in the Admiral's past is connected to his murder. But how can he prove it when nothing is as it seems? He even begins to wonder if the dead man was the real Admiral Penistone - stranger things had happened. "The Floating Admiral" is a novelty among mystery stories. The prologue written by G.K. Chesterton seems extremely obtuse until the entire plot is explained at the end. The story coheres well and the events are sustained, in spite of the fourteen authors' hands that stirred the pot. At times, with each proceeding chapter, one can tell that an author is trying to change the course of the story a little unsuccessfully, which can make the characterization uneven. But all in all, each chapter builds to a satisfying climax. There is an appendix provided at the end, in which the authors gave their solution to the mystery: Agatha Christie's solution is most funny, but the real solution worked out by Anthony Berkeley, with all its twists and turns, is icing on the cake. While definitely a bit dated in places (especially with the Admiral's past in China) the nature of the crime and the solution of it stand the test of time.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Murder Meets Improv,
By John Merklinghaus (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Floating admiral (Gregg Press mystery series) (Hardcover)
The Detection Club books are unlike any other ever created. Basically, Agatha Christie and ten other authors (for The Floating Admiral) contribute pieces of a murder mystery without sharing what solutions they were leaning towards until the APPENDIX at the very end. Each author has their own solution and has to work within the framework of all the other clues contributed by the others. More of a game than a murder mystery, it's a fascinating read, but you shouldn't try to read too much of it at one sitting.
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