Margery Allingham was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a family immersed in literature. Her first novel, Blackkerchief Dick, was published in 1923 when she was 19. Her first work of detective fiction was a serialized story published by the Daily Express in 1927. Entitled The White Cottage Mystery, it contained atypical themes for a woman writer of the era. Her breakthrough occurred in 1929 with the publication of The Crime at Black Dudley. This introduced Albert Campion, albeit originally as a minor character. He returned in Mystery Mile, thanks in part to pressure from her American publishers, much taken with the character. Campion proved so successful that Allingham made him the centrepiece of another 17 novels and over 20 short stories, continuing into the 1960s.
“Margery Allingham stands out like a shining light. And she has another quality, not usually associated with crime stories, elegance” Agatha Christie
“My very favourite of the four Queens of Crime is Allingham” J. K. Rowling
“Always of the elect, Margery Allingham now towers above them” – The Observer
For more information about Margery Allingham, please visit her website.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Crime at Black Dudley (1929) (US: The Black Dudley Murder)
Mystery Mile (1930)
Look to the Lady (1931) (US: The Gyrth Chalice Mystery)
Police at the Funeral (1931)
Sweet Danger (1933) (US: Kingdom of Death/The Fear Sign)
Death of a Ghost (1934)
Flowers for the Judge (1936) (US: Legacy in Blood)
Dancers in Mourning (1937) (US: Who Killed Chloe?)
The Fashion in Shrouds (1938)
Traitor’s Purse (1941) (US: The Sabotage Murder Mystery)
Coroner’s Pidgin (1945) (US: Pearls Before Swine)
More Work for the Undertaker (1948)
The Tiger in the Smoke (1952)
The Beckoning Lady (1955) (US: The Estate of the Beckoning Lady)
Hide My Eyes (1958) (US: Tether’s End/Ten Were Missing)
The China Governess (1962)
The Mind Readers (1965)
Cargo of Eagles (1968) (US: Mr Campion’s Quarry)(completed by Philip Youngman Carter)
Blackkerchief Dick (1923)
Green Corn (1920s unpublished)
The White Cottage Mystery (1928)
Black Plumes (1940)
Dance of the Years (1943) (aka The Galantrys)
The Darings of the Red Rose (1995) (originally an anonymously-published serial)
Mr. Campion: Criminologist (1937)
The Case of the White Elephant
The Case of the Man with the Sack
The Border-Line Case
The Case of the Widow
The Case of the Pro and the Con
The Case of the Old Man in the Window
Mr. Campion and Others (1939)
(The Case of) The Widow
(The Case of) The Name on the Wrapper
(The Case of) The Hat Trick (aka The Magic Hat)
(The Case of) The Question Mark
(The Case of ) The Old Man in the Window
(The Case of) The White Elephant
(The Case of ) The Frenchman’s Gloves (aka Frenchmen Wear Gloves)
(The Case of) The Longer View (aka The Crimson Letters)
Safe as Houses
The Definite Article
The Meaning of the Act
A Matter of Form
The Danger Point
The Border-Line Case
It Didn’t Work Out
The Mistress in the House
The Perfect Butler
Publicity
They Never Get Caught
The Allingham Minibus (1973) (aka Mr Campion’s Lucky Day)
He Was Asking After You
Publicity
The Perfect Butler
The Barbarian
Mr Campion’s Lucky Day (aka Dead Man’s Evidence)
‘Tis Not Hereafter
The Correspondents
He Preferred Them Sad
The Unseen Door
Bird Thou Never Wert
The Same to Us
She Heard it on the Radio
The Man with the Sack
The Secret
A Quarter of a Million (aka The Mystery Man of Soho)
The Pioneers
The Sexton’s Wife
The Wink
The Allingham Casebook (1969)
Tall Story
Three is a Lucky Number (aka Bluebeard’s Bathtub/Bubble Bath No 3/Murder Under the Surface)
The Villa Marie Celeste (aka Family Affair)
The Psychologist (aka The End of the Rope/Money to Burn/For Love or Money)
Little Miss Know-All (aka The Neatest Trick of the Month)
One Morning They’ll Hang Him
The Lieabout
Face Value
Evidence in Camera
Joke Over (aka The Man Who Utterly Vanished)
The Lying-in-State (aka It’s All Part of the Service/The Lying-in-State Affair)
The Pro and the Con
Is There a Doctor in the House? (aka The Doctor and the Silver Plate/Felony at Mr Mevagissy’s/The Great London Jewel Robbery)
The Border-Line Case
They Never Get Caught
The Mind’s Eye Mystery (aka Catching at Straws/Open Verdict)
Mum Knows Best (aka Mother Knows Best)
The Snapdragon and the CID (Murder under the Mistletoe)
The Return of Mr Campion (1989)
The Case Is Altered
My Friend Mr Campion
The Dog Day (aka The Chocolate Dog or Here Today)
The Wind Glass (aka Mr Yansen’s Gift)
The Beauty King
The Black Tent
Sweet and Low (aka The Funny-Faced Horse)
Once in a Lifetime
The Kernel of Truth
Happy Christmas
The Wisdom of Esdras
The Curious Affair in Nut Row (aka Father of All Fish/The Man with the Cuckoo Clock)
What to Do with an Ageing Detective
Wanted: Someone Innocent (1946)
He Was Asking After You
The Sexton’s Wife
‘Tis Not Hereafter
The Casebook of Mr Campion (1947)
The Magic Hat (aka The Case of the Hat Trick)
The Crimson Letters (aka The Case of The Longer View)
The Case of the Question Mark
The Definite Article
A Matter of Form
Safe as Houses
Campion at Christmas (2018)
On Christmas Day in the Morning
Happy Christmas
The Case of the Man with the Sack
Word in Season: A Story for Christmas
Uncollected
The Day of the Demon
Jubilee for Two
The Black Tent (unpublished)
Once in a Lifetime (unpublished)
The Studied Insult (unpublished)
The Wisdom of Esdras (unpublished)
Dido and Aeneas (1922 unpublished)
Without Being Naturally Qualified (1920s unpublished)
Room to Let: A Radio-Play (1999 unpublished)
Deadly Duo (1949) (aka Take Two at Bedtime (1950))
Wanted: Someone Innocent
Last Act
No Love Lost (1954)
The Patient at Peacocks Hall
Safer than Love
Rogue’s Holiday (1935)
The Man of Dangerous Secrets (1933) (aka Other Man’s Danger)
The Devil and Her Son (1936) (aka The Shadow in the House)
Mr Campion’s Farthing (1969) (by Philip Youngman Carter)
Mr Campion’s Falcon (1970) (US: Mr. Campion’s Quarry) (by Philip Youngman Carter)