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The Curious Conspiracy
''The Curious Conspiracy'' is a collection of mystery stories by the British thriller writer Michael Gilbert, first published in 2002 by the American company Crippen & Landru and then in England. Published to recognize Gilbert's 90th birthday, it contains 20 previously uncollected stories, as well as a brief introduction by Gilbert himself and an appendix for Sources. Gilbert, who was appointed CBE in 1980, was a founder-member of the British Crime Writers' Association. The Mystery Writers of America named him a Grand Master in 1988 and in 1990 he was presented Bouchercon's Lifetime Achievement Award. Four of the stories in this collection feature two of Gilbert's many recurring characters that he created throughout his long career of writing both novels and short stories. Gilbert's introduction says that the topics covered by the stories are "catholic", in the sense of being "of universal human interest; touching the needs, interests or sympathies of all men." The locales vary fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Gilbert
Michael Francis Gilbert (17 July 1912 – 8 February 2006) was an English solicitor and author of crime fiction. Early life and education Gilbert was born on 17 July 1912 in Billinghay, Lincolnshire, England, to Bernard Samuel Gilbert, a writer, and Berwyn Minna Cuthbert. From 1920 to 1926 he attended St Peter's School, Seaford, St. Peter's School in Seaford, East Sussex, and then , from 1926 to 1931, he attended Blundell's School in Tiverton, Devon. He began to study law at London University but was unable to finish due to financial concerns. After becoming a schoolmaster at Salisbury Cathedral School, Gilbert returned to studying law, receiving his degree in 1937 and graduating with honours. It was at this time that he began to work on his first mystery novel, ''Close Quarters (Gilbert), Close Quarters''. Military service During the World War II, Second World War, Gilbert served with the British Army in North African campaign, North Africa and Italian campaign (World War II) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crippen & Landru
Crippen & Landru Publishers is a small publisher of mystery fiction collections, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1994 by husband and wife Sandi and Douglas G. Greene in Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ..., United States, and is named after murderers Dr. H. H. Crippen and Henri Landru. The Greenes' son Eric designed the logo. Jeffrey Marks succeeded Douglas G. Greene as publisher on January 1, 2018, while Dr. Greene remains active as Series Editor. Crippen & Landru publishes two distinct series of single-author short story collections. The Regular Series, generally featuring current authors, is published in two editions: cloth bound, signed and numbered; and trade softcover. The Lost Classics Series features uncolle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors' organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its "Dagger" awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. The Association also promotes crime writing of fiction and non-fiction by holding annual competitions, publicising literary festivals and establishing links with libraries, booksellers and other writer organisations, both in the UK such as the Society of Authors, and overseas. The CWA enables members to network at its annual conference and through its regional chapters as well as through dedicated social media channels and private website. Members' events and general news items are published on the CWA website, which also features Find An Author, where CWA members are listed and information provided about themselves, their books and their awards. The CWA publishes a monthly magazine exclusively for members called ''Red Herrings'', edited ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mystery Writers Of America
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award, a small bust of Edgar Allan Poe, to mystery or crime writers every year. It presents the Raven Award to non-writers who contribute to the mystery genre. The category of Best Juvenile Mystery is also part of the Edgar Award, with such notable recipients as Barbara Brooks Wallace having won the honor twice for ''The Twin in the Tavern'' in 1994 and ''Sparrows in the Scullery'' in 1998, and Tony Abbott (author), Tony Abbott for his novel ''The Postcard'' in 2009. John Dickson Carr, who also served as president of the MWA, won a Grand Master Award in 1949 and 1962. Grand Master Award [Baidu] |
Bouchercon
Bouchercon, the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher, and pronounced the way he pronounced his name, rhyming with "voucher". It is held annually in Autumn, each year being hosted in a different city by a different group of volunteers. The convention typically starts on Thursday and finishes on Sunday. Each year, Bouchercon nominates and votes the Anthony Awards for excellence in crime fiction, including: Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Short Story, Best Critical Non-Fiction, and Best Paperback Original. People who attend are fans, authors, agents, booksellers, publishers and other people who read and enjoy mystery and crime fiction. The first one was held in Santa Monica, California in 1970. The guest of honor was Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheikdom
A sheikhdom or sheikdom () is a geographical area or a society ruled by a tribal leader known as a sheikh (). Sheikhdoms exist almost exclusively within Arab countries, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula (Arab States of the Persian Gulf), with some notable exceptions throughout history (e.g. the Sangage Sheikhdom). Although some countries are ruled by a sheikh, they are not typically referred to as sheikdoms, but kingdom, emirate, or simply state, and their ruler usually has another royal title such as king or emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po .... References External links ; Media UseAsia Times {{Islamic state Islamic monarchies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, it is considered to overlap with the Spanish War of Independence. The war can be said to have started when the First French Empire, French and History of Spain (1808–1874), Spanish armies Invasion of Portugal (1807), invaded and occupied Portugal in 1807 by transiting through Kingdom of Spain (1810-1873), Spain, but it escalated in 1808 after First French Empire, Napoleonic France occupied History of Spain (1808–1874), Spain, which had been its ally. Napoleon Bonaparte Abdications of Bayonne, forced the abdications of Ferdinand VII of Spain, Ferdinand VII and his father Charles IV of Spain, Charles IV and then installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne and promulgated the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hard-boiled
Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence of organized crime that flourished during Prohibition in the United States (1920–1933) and its aftermath, while dealing with a legal system that has become as corrupt as the organized crime itself. Rendered cynical by this cycle of violence, the detectives of hardboiled fiction are often antiheroes. Notable hardboiled detectives include Dick Tracy, Philip Marlowe, Nick Charles, Mike Hammer, Sam Spade, Lew Archer, Slam Bradley, and The Continental Op. Genre pioneers The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined by James M. Cain and by Raymond Chandler beginning in the late 1930s. English writer Gerald Butler was referred to as the "''English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inspector Hazlerigg
Inspector Hazlerigg is a police detective created by the British mystery writer Michael Gilbert who appears in six novels published between 1947 and 1958, as well as in 20 short stories. Although he plays a key role in each of the novels, he is far from being the main character in all of them; in some, particularly Death Has Deep Roots and Fear to Tread, his page appearances are quite limited. In his first appearance, in the Golden Age mystery novel Close Quarters, which takes place in 1937, Hazlerigg is a Chief Inspector at New Scotland Yard in London. By the final novel in the series, ''Fear to Tread'', he has become a Chief Superintendent. Biography Thirty years before the events in ''Close Quarters'', and before going to London, he had attended a preparatory school of which he now remembers little except that the masters had seemed much happier than the boys. In the short story ''Modus Operandi'' we are told that he came to London from Norfolk at the age of 17, which wou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Petrella
Patrick Petrella is a fictional police detective created by the United Kingdom, British mystery fiction, mystery writer Michael Gilbert who appears in ten books published between 1959 and 2003 and is probably the best-known of the half-dozen or so recurring characters that Gilbert wrote about throughout his long career. He is the protagonist of two novels and of 54 short stories that were first published in magazines and newspapers and then republished in eight collections of stories. In one of the short stories, however, "The Spoilers", in Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens, ''Game Without Rules'', featuring Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens as the protagonists, he appears only very briefly, at the end of the story. In his first appearance in a novel, the 1959 police procedural ''Blood and Judgement'', Petrella is a "probationary" Detective Sergeant at the (fictional) Q Division of the London Metropolitan Police. By the final novel in the series, ''Roller Coaster'', he has worked his way up to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
