Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh (; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982) was a New Zealand mystery writer and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966. As a crime writer during the "

Golden Age of Detective Fiction The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels of similar patterns and styles, predominantly in the 1920s and 1930s. The Golden Age proper is, in practice, usually taken to refer to a type of fiction which was pre ...

", Marsh is known as one of the "Queens of Crime", along with Agatha Christie,

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime writer and poet. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. She is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between th ...

, and

Margery Allingham Margery Louise Allingham (20 May 1904 – 30 June 1966) was an English novelist from the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", and considered one of its four "Queens of Crime", alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh. Alli ...

. She is known primarily for her character Inspector Roderick Alleyn, a gentleman detective who works for the Metropolitan Police (London). The Ngaio Marsh Award is awarded annually for the best New Zealand mystery, crime and thriller fiction writing.

Youth

Marsh was born in the city of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand, where she also died. In the Introduction to ''The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh'', Douglas G. Greene writes: "Marsh explained to an interviewer... that in New Zealand European children often receive native names, and Ngaio... can mean either 'light on the water' or 'little tree bug' in the Maori language. Other sources say that it is the name of a native flowering tree."''The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh'' ed. by Douglas G. Green, International Polygonnics, Ltd., 1989 Her father neglected to register her birth until 1900 and there is some uncertainty about the date. She was the only child of Rose and bank clerk Henry Marsh, described by Marsh as "have-nots". Her mother's sister Ruth married the geologist, lecturer, and curator

Robert Speight Robert Speight (2 October 1867 – 8 September 1949) was a notable New Zealand geologist, university professor and museum curator. Early life Speight was born in Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, England in 1867. When he was about 12, his family em ...

. Ngaio Marsh was educated at St Margaret's College in Christchurch, where she was one of the first pupils when the school was founded. She studied

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

at the

Canterbury College Canterbury College may refer to: * Canterbury College (Indiana), U.S. * Canterbury College (Waterford), Queensland, Australia * Canterbury College (Windsor, Ontario), Canada * Canterbury College, Kent, England * Canterbury College, Oxford, England ...

(NZ) School of Art before joining the Allan Wilkie company as an actress in 1916 and touring New Zealand. For a short time in 1921 she was a member of the Rosemary Rees English Comedy Company, a touring company formed by actor-manager Rosemary Rees. In 1928 she went to London with friends (on whom she would base the Lamprey family 'Surfeit_of_Lampreys''.html" ;"title="Surfeit_of_Lampreys.html" ;"title="'Surfeit of Lampreys">'Surfeit of Lampreys''">Surfeit_of_Lampreys.html" ;"title="'Surfeit of Lampreys">'Surfeit of Lampreys''. From then on she divided her time between living in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In London she began writing syndicated articles, which were published in New Zealand. In addition she and one of the friends with whom she had come to London opened Touch and Go, a handicraft shop that sold items such as decorated trays, bowls and lampshades. From 1928 to 1932 she ran the shop in Knightsbridge, London.Book and Magazine Collector No.263 2005 Ngaio Marsh biography and bibliography pp.90–92 During that time she wrote her first book, '' A Man Lay Dead''. She wrote about the process of writing her first book in an essay, "Roderick Alleyn". Marsh was a member of The Group (New Zealand art), The Group, an art association based in

, New Zealand. She exhibited with them in 1927, 1928, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1940 and 1947.

Career

Internationally she is best known for her 32

detective novels Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

published between 1934 and 1982. Along with Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham and Agatha Christie, she has been classed as one of the four original "Queens of Crime" — female writers who dominated the genre of crime fiction in the

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

of the 1920s and 1930s. All her novels feature British CID detective Roderick Alleyn. Several novels feature Marsh's other loves, the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and painting. A number are set around theatrical productions (''Enter a Murderer'', ''Vintage Murder'', ''Overture to Death'', ''Opening Night'', ''Death at the Dolphin'', and ''Light Thickens''), and three others are about actors off stage (''Colour Scheme'', ''False Scent'' and ''Final Curtain''). Her

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

"'I Can Find My Way Out" is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier "Jupiter case" referred to in ''Opening Night''; the short story won third prize in 1946 in the inaugural short story contest of ''

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fict ...

''. Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation (''Artists in Crime''), and who features in three later novels. Most of the novels are set in England, but four are set in New Zealand, with Alleyn either on secondment to the New Zealand police (''Colour Scheme'' and ''Died in the Wool'') or on holiday (''Vintage Murder'' and ''Photo Finish''); ''Surfeit of Lampreys'' begins in New Zealand but continues in London. Notably, ''Colour Scheme'' includes

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several c ...

among its cast of characters, unusual for novels of the British mystery genre. This novel is said to further subvert the genre by incorporating elements of spy fiction and providing a veiled critique of the British Empire. In 2018, HarperCollins Publishers released ''Money in the Morgue'' by Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy. The book was started by Marsh during World War II but abandoned. Working with just the book's title, first three chapters and some notes—but no idea of the plot or motive of the villain—Duffy completed the novel.

Theatre

Marsh's great passion was the theatre. In 1942 she produced a modern-dress ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' for the Canterbury University College Drama Society (now University of Canterbury Dramatic Society Incorporated or Dramasoc), the first of many Shakespearean productions with the society until 1969. In 1944, ''Hamlet'' and a production of '' Othello'' toured a theatre-starved New Zealand to rapturous acclaim. In 1949, assisted by entrepreneur Dan O'Connor, her student players toured Australia with a new version of ''Othello'' and Pirandello's ''

Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist fiction, absurdist metatheatrical, metatheatric play about th ...

''. In the 1950s she was involved with the New Zealand Players, a relatively short-lived national professional touring repertory company. In 1972 she was invited by the Christchurch City Council to direct Shakespeare's ''Henry V'', the inaugural production for the opening of the newly constructed James Hay Theatre in Christchurch; she made the unusual choice of casting two male leads, who alternated on different nights. She lived to see New Zealand develop a viable professional theatre industry having realistic Arts Council support, with many of her protégés to the forefront. The 430-seat

Ngaio Marsh Theatre The Ngaio Marsh Theatre is a theatre at the University of Canterbury Students' Association in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Ngaio Marsh theatre was named in honour of Dame Ngaio Marsh, who was a director and patron of theatre, especially Shak ...

at the University of Canterbury is named in her honour.

Museum

Her home, now known as Ngaio Marsh House, in Cashmere, a suburb of Christchurch, on the northern slopes of the

Port Hills The Port Hills are a range of hills in Canterbury Region, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Lyttelton volcano, which erupted millions of years ago. The hi ...

is preserved as a museum.

Awards and honours

* 1948 – Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services in connexion with drama and literature in New Zealand, in the 1948 King's Birthday Honours * 1962 – Conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Canterbury * 1966 – Appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services in the arts, especially writing and theatre production, in the 1966 Queen's Birthday Honours * 1974 – Inducted into the

Detection Club The Detection Club was formed in 1930 by a group of British mystery writers, including Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Arthur Morrison, Hugh Walpole, John Rhode, Jessie Rickard, Baroness Emma Orczy, R. ...

* 1978 – Received the Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement as a detective novelist from the Mystery Writers of America * 1989 – Honoured with a stamp by New Zealand Post as part of a New Zealand authors series * 2015 – Honoured on 23 April 2015 with a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

Personal life

Marsh was unofficially engaged to Edward Bristed, who died in action in December 1917. She never married and had no children. She enjoyed close companionships with women, including her lifelong friend Sylvia Fox, but denied being lesbian, according to biographer

Joanne Drayton Joanne Drayton is a New Zealand art historian, biographer and nonfiction writer. Drayton graduated from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch in 1998 with a PhD on "Edith Collier: Her life and work (1885–1964)". She adapted her thesis f ...

. "I think Ngaio Marsh wanted the freedom of being who she was in a world, especially in a New Zealand that was still very conformist in its judgments of what constituted 'decent jokers, good Sheilas, and 'weirdos'", Roy Vaughan wrote after meeting her on a P&O Liner. In 1965 she published an autobiography, ''Black Beech and Honeydew''. British author and publisher Margaret Lewis wrote an authorized biography, ''Ngaio Marsh, A Life'' in 1991. New Zealand art historian Joanne Drayton's biography, ''Ngaio Marsh: Her Life in Crime'' was published in 2008. Towards the end of her life she systematically destroyed many of her papers, letters, documents and handwritten manuscripts. Marsh died in Christchurch and was buried at the Church of the Holy Innocents, Mount Peel.

Bibliography

Detective novels

All 33 novels, including one finished after Marsh's death, feature Chief Inspector Alleyn (later Chief Superintendent) of the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

, Metropolitan Police (London). The series is chronological: published and probably written in order of the fictional history. List (with the exception of ''Money in the Morgue'') is from a list in ''The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh'' ed. Douglas G. Greene (see below under Short Fiction). # '' A Man Lay Dead'' (1934) # '' Enter a Murderer'' (1935) # '' The Nursing Home Murder'' (1935) # ''

Death in Ecstasy ''Death in Ecstasy'' is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh, the fourth to feature her series detective, Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard. It was first published in 1936. When lovely Cara Quayne drops to the floor dead after drinkin ...

'' (1936) # '' Vintage Murder'' (1937). Marsh's working title was ''The Case of the Greenstone Tiki'' (Otago Daily Times, 13 March 1937) # '' Artists in Crime'' (1938) # ''

Death in a White Tie ''Death in a White Tie'' is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh. It is the seventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of a British lord after a party. It was adapted for television in a ...

'' (1938) # '' Overture to Death'' (1939) # ''

Death at the Bar ''Death at the Bar'' is a crime novel by Ngaio Marsh, the ninth to feature her series detective Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard. Published in 1940 by Collins (UK) and Little, Brown (USA), it was adapted for television ...

'' (1940) # '' Surfeit of Lampreys'' (1941); ''Death of a Peer'' in the U.S. # '' Death and the Dancing Footman'' (1941) # ''

Colour Scheme In color theory, a color scheme is the choice of colors used in various artistic and design contexts. For example, the "Achromatic" use of a white background with black text is an example of a basic and commonly default color scheme in web de ...

'' (1943) # '' Died in the Wool'' (1945). Serialised: Wagga Wagga Daily Advertiser (1946) # '' Final Curtain'' (1947) # '' Swing Brother Swing'' (1949); ''A Wreath for Rivera'' in the U.S.. Serialised: Home Magazine (1949) # '' Opening Night'' (1951); ''Night at the Vulcan'' in the U.S. Serialised in the US, Woman's Day (1951). Serialised in abridged form in the UK, Woman's Journal, March to May 1951 # '' Spinsters in Jeopardy'' (1953); abridged later in the U.S. as ''The Bride of Death'' (1955). Serialised in abridged form in the UK, Woman's Journal, October 1953 to January 1954 # '' Scales of Justice'' (1955). Serialised: Australian Women's Weekly (1956). Serialised in abridged form in the UK, Woman's Journal, May to August 1955 # '' Off With His Head'' (1956); ''Death of a Fool'' in the U.S. # '' Singing in the Shrouds'' (1958). Serialised: Australian Women's Weekly (1959). Serialised in abridged form in the UK, Woman's Journal, June to September 1958 # ''

False Scent A false scent or false trail is an incorrect scent which may mislead an animal which hunts by smell, especially a hound. This may be the result of deliberate interference by a hunt saboteur or it may be a form of control by the master. Aniseed, a ...

'' (1959). Serialised: Australian Women's Weekly (1960). Serialised in abridged form in the UK, Woman's Journal, February to May 1960 # ''

Hand in Glove "Hand in Glove" is the debut single by English rock band the Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was released in May 1983 on independent record label Rough Trade. It peaked at No. 3 on the UK Indie Chart but did ...

'' (1962). Serialised in abridged form in the UK, Woman's Journal, April to July 1962 # '' Dead Water'' (1963) # ''

Death at the Dolphin ''Death at the Dolphin'' is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh. It is the twenty-fourth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1966 as ''Killer Dolphin'' in the United States. The plot centres on a glove once owned by Hamnet ...

'' (1966); ''Killer Dolphin'' in the U.S. # '' Clutch of Constables'' (1968) # '' When in Rome'' (1970) # '' Tied Up in Tinsel'' (1972) # '' Black As He's Painted'' (1974) # '' Last Ditch'' (1977) # '' Grave Mistake'' (1978) # ''

Photo Finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

'' (1980) # ''

Light Thickens ''Light Thickens'' is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirty-second, and final, novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1982. The plot concerns the murder of the lead actor in a production of ''Macbeth'' in Londo ...

'' (1982) Posthumously Published: # ''Money in the Morgue'' (2018) (unfinished – completed by Stella Duffy)

Short fiction

*''The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh'', ed. Douglas G. Greene, 1989 and 1991 editions (UK title ''Death on the Air and Other Stories'', 1995). Includes: **Two essays: ***"Roderick Alleyn" ***"Portrait of Troy" **Three short stories featuring Alleyn: ***''Death on the Air''. The Grand Magazine, February 1937. Co-authored with A Drummond Sharpe. (in both the 1989 and 1991 editions) ***''I Can Find My Way Out'' (1946—USA). (in both the 1989 and 1991 editions) ***''Chapter and Verse: The Little Copplestone Mystery'' (1974—USA). Republished 1936—NZ,2009). (in both the 1989 and 1991 editions). Marsh's original title was 'Chapter and Verse' **Other short stories: ***''The Hand in the Sand''.

American Weekly ''The American Weekly'' was a Sunday magazine, Sunday newspaper supplement published by the Hearst Corporation from November 1, 1896, until 1966. History During the 1890s, publications were inserted into Joseph Pulitzer's ''New York World'' and ...

, 15 March 1953. (in both the 1989 and 1991 editions) ***''The Cupid Mirror'' (1972). (in both the 1989 and 1991 editions) ***''A Fool about Money'' (1973—USA). Australian Women's Weekly, 19 February 1975. (in both the 1989 and 1991 editions) ***''Morepork'' (1979—USA). (in both the 1989 and 1991 editions) ***''The Figure Quoted''. (Christchurch) Sun, Christmas 1927. Reprinted New Zealand Short Stories (1930,l ed. O N Gillespie). (only in the 1991 edition) **A television script: ***''Evil Liver,'' with an ending to be supplied by a jury chosen from the audience; Greene suggests 5 possible solutions.

Uncollected short stories

*''Moonshine''. (Christchurch) Sun, date unknown. Reprinted '' Yours and Mine: Stories by Young New Zealanders'' (1936: ed. Warwick Lawrence) *''My Poor Boy'' (1959)

Stage plays

*''Noel''. First performed at St Margaret's College (1912) *''The Moon Princess''. First performed at St Michael's Day School (1913) *''Mrs 'obson''. First performed at St Michael's Day School (1914) *''So Much for Nothing''. First performed at the Military Sanatorium (1921) *''Little House Bound''. First performed at Leeston Town Hall (1924) *''The Wyvern and the Unicorn'' (play), ''A Unicorn for Christmas'' (opera) libretto, music by David Farquhar, first performed by the New Zealand Opera Company, 1962

Letters

*''Speech of New Zealanders''. Press, 1 July 1939

Reviews

*''Marie Tempest'' by Hector Bolitho. Press, 9 January 1937

Adapted works

*''Exit Sir Derek'' by Henry Jellett, adapted from '' The Nursing Home Murder'', unpublished at the time. First performed at the Little Theatre, Canterbury (1935)

Songs

*''Columbine and Pantaloon''. First performed at Choral Hall, Christchurch (1919) *''The Hawthorn Gate''. First performed at Choral Hall, Christchurch (1920) *''The Gift''. First performed at Choral Hall, Christchurch (1920)

Television plays

*''Slipknot'' (1967) (Alleyn). Anthologised under Marsh's original title, 'A Knotty Problem', in ''Bodies from the Library: Volume 3'', ed. Tony Medawar (HarperCollins, 2020) *''Evil Liver'' (script of an episode of the series '' Crown Court'' by Granada Television Ltd; recorded in England in 1975). Broadcast ITV, 23 August 1975. Collected in ''The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh''

Non-fiction books

* ''New Zealand'' (1942). Coauthored with RM Burdon * ''A Play Toward'' (1946) * ''Black Beech and Honeydew'' (1965, autobiography; revised 1981) * ''Singing Land'' (1974)

Short non-fiction articles

* ''The Night Train from Grey'' (published under the pseudonym Kowhai). Sun, 7 June 1919. * ''The Novelist's Problem''. Press, 22 December 1934 * ''Theatre: A Note on the Status Quo''. Landfall, March 1947 * ''A National Theatre''. Landfall, March 1949 (Co-authored with George Swan and Arnold F Goodwin) * ''An Author's Defence of the Hackneyed Classics''. ABC Weekly, 2 April 1949 * ''The Development of the Arts in New Zealand''. Journal of the Royal Society of the Arts, 9 February 1951 * ''Theatre in a Young Country''. Sydney Morning Herald, 29 April 1951 * ''New Zealand: Welfare Paradise''. Holiday, November 1960 * ''The Quick Forge''. Article within ''Shakespeare’s Quatercentenary''. Landfall, March 1964 (Coauthored with James Bertram, DF McKenzie, and

Frank Sargeson Frank Sargeson () (born Norris Frank Davey; 23 March 1903 – 1 March 1982) was a New Zealand short story writer and novelist. Born in Hamilton, Sargeson had a middle-class and puritanical upbringing, and initially worked as a lawyer. After ...

) * ''Stratford-upon-Avon''. Atlantic Monthly, February 1967

Adaptations

Two novels were adapted as television episodes in the 1960s; ''

'' in 1964 with

Geoffrey Keen Geoffrey Keen (21 August 1916 – 3 November 2005) was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many films. He is well known for playing British Defence Minister Sir Frederick Gray in the ''James Bond'' films. Biography Early lif ...

as Alleyn, and '' Artists in Crime'' in 1968 with

Michael Allinson Michael Allinson (30 December 1920 – 30 December 2010) was a British-American stage and film actor. Biography John Michael Allinson was born on 30 December 1920 in London, the son of British painter and sculptor Adrian Allinson, founding membe ...

as Alleyn. Four of the Alleyn novels were adapted for television in New Zealand and aired there in 1977 under the title ''

'', with George Baker as Alleyn. Marsh appears in a cameo in the episode "Vintage Murder." Nine were adapted as ''

The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries ''The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries'' is a British detective television series, broadcast on BBC1, which was adapted from nine of the novels by Dame Ngaio Marsh, featuring the character Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. The pilot episode was shown ...

'' and aired by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...