Women of Mystery: The Lives and Works of Notable Women Crime Novelists

This book is indeed a surfeit of riches! My only complaint (and the reason for four stars instead of five) is that it is just simply too big for one volume. It's chock-full of wonderful information presented in a very accessible manner, in which any fan of the GoldenAge mysteries would be interested. How much nicer it would have been for the reader (not to mention easier to hold!) if it had been done in two or three volumes. Granted, it might not be possible to do as thorough a biography of a newer author as was the one of Agatha Christie, (74 pages) but many of the newer authors are deserving of more than a brief paragraph. At least in my opinion they are. This book, however, is more of an encyclopedia in one volume than a 'sit down and read' type of book. As it is, this book is divided into three primary sections: In the Beginning presents Anna Katharine Green and Mary Roberts Rinehart. I'm not sure I'd ever heard of Green, but have certainly read many of the Rinehart books, and I found it very enjoyable to learn a bit more about this nearly-indomitable author, who certainly paved the way for many of her followers. The second section--A Golden Era--presents the five doyennes of that time: Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Josephine Tey and Margery Allingham. In addition to a biography, which provides a bit of info (explanation or background) for nearly every title in each author's canon, there is a wonderful reference list included that not only includes the books by year published, but also mentions the US and UK publishers, and even those books with alternate titles for each country. There is also mention (when applicable) of film and television versions, plus mention of any biographical works devoted to the author. Third--Modern Motives--are smaller tributes to Patricia Highsmith, P. D. James, Ruth Rendell, Mary Higgins Clark, Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwall, Minette Walters, Emma Lathen, Margaret Millar, Lilian Jackson Braun and Anne Perry. A final few pages devotes a paragraph or so to some seventeen of today's mistresses of mayhem. The concluding pages are occupied by a chronology, references and resources and very comprehensive index. This is a BIG book, but I can't help thinking that a 468 page reference work devoted to women mystery writers in which Charlotte Armstrong and Dame Daphne de Maurier are relegated to a footnote each, is definitely in need of being two volumes. Or even three! We can but hope.

As an avid mystery reader (and someone who's dabbled in the genre myself), I was delighted to stumble across this book in the library. I'd already read biographies of some of the writers Dubose profiles (e.g., Sayers and Christie), but this book puts them in their social, historical, and literary context as well as describing their personal lives (which are often even more astonishing than their books). And I knew next to nothing about some of the foremothers of the mystery genre (e.g., Anna Katherine Green), so the book was enlightening as well.Dubose makes some very interesting points: She delinates how well-regarded, best-selling authors still felt they had to "rationalize" or apologize for their careers -- as women, they weren't supposed to have one unless they were the sole support of their family; or a "serious" writer shouldn't be writing mysteries (although many mystery writers' efforts to "go straight" were resounding failures). She notes that Miss Marple's claustrophobic village riddled with seething resentments and petty crimes, which Raymond Chandler ridiculed, is actually more "realistic" than the world Chandler depicts, in which his detective is the lone man of integrity in a corrupt environment. She also points out the social-commentary aspect of many writers' books, e.g., P.D. James' unflattering delineation of the modern work place. I felt that the final section was comparatively weak: the profiles of contemporary writers are uneven, and Dubose's one-paragraph summaries of "other notables" are rather a waste of paper -- if you've read anything by that author, you KNOW this stuff already; if you haven't, one paragraph of sketchy biography won't convince you to! Still, I found most of the book informative as well as entertaining, and it's a worthy addition to the library of any mystery lover.

WOMEN OF MYSTERY looks into the lives of some of the all time great female authors of detective tales. The short biographies are divided into three eras: the beginning, the golden age, and the modern period. The "Beginning" occurs in the latter half of the nineteenth century into the early decades of the twentieth century. Though it lists short-short bios on others, this section chronicles two of the genre's "grandmothers", Green and Rinehart. The "Golden" age includes a glimpse at Christie, Sayers, Marsh, Allingham, and Tey. The "Modern" period provides a look at eleven notables and a brief peek at some of the "best of the rest". Anyone who wants a few tidbits about their favorite female author will relish Martha DuBose's biography. No question that the insights are well written, intriguing, and that Ms. DuBose pays homage to the greats. However, readers must understand that this is a tickler and that if they want to really get inside an individual's mind and learn their history, they will need full-length book, of which many of these writers have none. A superb collection for those fans that relish the best female mystery authors.Harriet Klausner