In this remarkable book, Martha Hailey DuBose has given those multitudes of readers who love the mystery novel an indispensable addition to their libraries. Unlike other works on the subject, 'Women of Mystery' is not merely a directory of the novelists and their publications with a few biographical details. DuBose combines extensive research into the lives of significant women mystery writers from Anna Katherine Green to P.D. James, with evaluations on their work, anecdotes, critical opinions and some of the women's own comments. She takes us through the Golden Age of the British women mystery writers, Christie, Sayers, Marsh, Allingham and Tey, to the leading crime novelists of today, focusing on the women who have become legends of the genre. And though she laments, "So many mysteries, so little time," she makes a good effort a mentioning "some of the best of the rest."
When DuBose writes of the lives of her principal players, she relates them to their times, their families, their personal situations, and above all to their books. The biographies of these women are as engrossing as the stories they wrote, and Martha DuBose has shined a different, intimate, and intriguing light on them, their works, and the lives that informed those works.
This book is so full of treasure it's hard to see how any mystery enthusiasts will be able to do without it. And what a gift it would make for anyone on your list who has been heard to announce "I love a mystery."
Марта Дюбоз
Women of Mystery: the Lives...
