Watson's Choice

Mrs Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley has been married three times, has degrees in psychology and is totally eccentric. A brave soul has invited her, her personal assistant/secretary and the assistant/secretary's police detective fiance to a country house party honoring Sherlock Holmes. It does not take great detecting abilities to predict that some one will not survive the experience. When the inevitable happens Mrs Bradley and her companions stay on the case until all is revealed. Those who are fans of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers always reach the sad day when the final page of the last unread story has been read. These writers from the Golden Age of Mystery novels (1920's and '30's) are long gone, and somehow the newer writers, however good, just aren't the same. What to do? Gladys Mitchell was a contemporary of these (now) better known authors, and her Mrs (later Dame) Bradley caused quite a sensation when she first appeared in 1929. Not only was she brazenly divorced but she was also quite well educated, an expert in that shocking new field - psychology. She also involved herself in sordid police matters, often acting as a consultant in murder investigations. How shocking! Many who have become acquainted with these stories through the Mystery! series starring Diana Rigg will be surprised at the number of changes that series made in the original stories. Once the first shock has worn off they will most likely be pleased to discover that Mrs Bradley is worthy of a place of honor along side Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and Lord Peter.