RANDOM JOTTINGS

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Long time blogger just moved to wordpress. Love music, theatre, movies, sport (tennis and cricket) and cooking. Two great daughters, two great granddaughters.

Random Video – I talk about the British Library Classic Crime Series

After my first foray into what I understand is called ‘vlogging’ which I always think sounds vaguely unsavoury, I received good feedback and nice emails and messages and though it was meant to be a one off to discuss Helen’s book, I was asked to do more so I have.

I am talking today about the British Library Classic Crime series which I absolutely love and I enjoyed doing this.  I see that my hair has grown since the first video and if I do not get to the hairdresser soon by the time I get round to the next one I shall look like one of the three witches from Macbeth…

So here it is and, once again, I would welcome feed back and comments.

 

Many thanks

I see the video has caught me at an odd looking moment. It gets better…..

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37 responses to “Random Video – I talk about the British Library Classic Crime Series”

  1. Sherran Avatar
    Sherran

    Love your videos and the classic crime books, and have read quite a few.
    I’m late to posting as I wanted to have the time to enjoy and concentrate on what you say.

    Reply
  2. Zoe Foster Avatar
    Zoe Foster

    Sorry for delay in replying, Elaine – I didn’t get any notification that you had replied to me! Anyway, perhaps when all pandemic hoo-ha is over, we could try to get a group together in Central London. It would be such fun! Last week, I watched the 1988 BBC adaptation of The Franchise Affair which was enjoyable and stuck fairly well to the book; Patrick Malahide made a very passable Robert Blair and the rest of the cast were good too. My main quibble was that the house that was chosen to be The Franchise looked absolutely nothing like the one I had always imagined in my head – one of the risks you take when watching a TV or film adaptation of a much loved book..!!

    Reply
  3. Karlene Avatar
    Karlene

    Loved hearing your “voice” live sound just as it does in your blog — full of humor and passion for good reading. Only suggestion I have for this format is that you might list the authors, titles along with your “blog” so that we lazy listeners don’t have to take notes.

    Reply
  4. Trevene Shillam Avatar
    Trevene Shillam

    What fun Elaine, it was great to see & hear you in the flesh (virtually).
    My reading history mirrors yours, to a great extent. I started reading Agatha Christie at 11/12. I was on a school excursion & was sitting next to a young nun who was reading “Murder at the Vicarage”. She lent it to me when she finished & the rest is history. Then I discovered Georgette Heyer, a very undervalued writer nowadays, I think. Ngaio Marsh came next & of course, I fell madly in love with Roderick Alleyn. Then Josephine Tey, whose “Daughter of Time” spun me off on another tangent. Patricia Wentworth, I enjoyed, though I find Miss Silver can be a little wearing, but the stories & mysteries themselves are excellent. Dorothy Sayers took a lot longer to appreciate. Margery Allingham doesn’t really take, somehow. E.C.R. Lorac (& Carol Carnac) are favorites.
    I have just finished the latest John Bude (published by British Library) “Death in White Pyjamas / Death Knows No Calendar” & really enjoyed both.
    I love the feeling when you discover a new (old) mystery author & find they have written a long list of books over a lifetime & they are out there somewhere just waiting to be tracked down.

    Reply
  5. Helen Avatar
    Helen

    Aren’t they just? and wouldn’t they have loved to be on the House Un-American Activities Committee? all those lives and careers to ruin. Such fun.

    Reply
  6. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    Currently watching the Morse series for the first time and Kevin Whately is a wonderful foil for Morse. I loved watching Lewis and also love Lozza Fox and the twitterati are just plain stupid

    Reply
  7. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    First up – yes a meet up would be lovely. I wonder where everyone lives and locations. I have so many lovely “friends” on the blog who post such interesting and fun remarks that it is clear we are kindred spirits.
    Roy Marsden – agree. Martin Shaw was a poor substitute and a dreadful actor IMHO
    John Thaw – I am currently watching all the Morse series as I never saw them when they first came out as I am not madly keen on JThaw but am now enjoying them as I rather warmed to Thaw after seeing him in Goodnight Mr tom
    Yes it is the social mores of the time I love which is why I adore Marsh, Christie and Sayers
    Currently reading a John Bude In the crime series – a bit convoluted but fun

    Reply
  8. Helen Avatar
    Helen

    It has to be Kevin Whately in Lewis for me as he was the reason I watched Morse! I also like his sidekick whose name I won’t mention for fear of bringing the wrath of the Twitterati down on Elaine’s head!

    Reply
  9. Helen Avatar
    Helen

    I’m going slowly with this so I don’t a. miss things or b. forget half of it when I close the book; but I will definitely comment on Amazon as it would be a shame if the book were to pass people by, for Helen of course but also for people who would miss out on reading it.
    Your vlog inspired me to dig out the five or so BLs I hadn’t read and I’m now happily stuck into The Colour of Murder which I seem to recall wasn’t all that popular when it appeared but which I’m finding very readable for a lazy afternoon in the garden:)

    Reply
  10. Zoe Foster Avatar
    Zoe Foster

    I’ve loved reading everyone’s comments on the various crime writers that have been discussed, and hearing who prefers this detective to that etc. I myself have a fondness from earlier crime writings for Inspector Alleyn (perhaps you would agree, Elaine?), just as with more recent crime writers, I ADORE Inspector Dalgleish (mmmmm Roy Marsden) but am not quite so keen on Morse (sorry, John Thaw – a wonderful interpretation but not fanciable – to me – not that good crime novels are about the main protagonist being fanciable, obvs!) I understand why several contributors to this thread have not rated Georgette Heyer more highly – she is not the best of the 20s/30s crime writers in terms of the plots, characterisations etc but it’s just the rendition of the social mores of that time which I love. I think that female crime writers tend to put in all the small but infinitely interesting details about the characters, such as what they’re wearing, the place that they live in, the parties – cocktail and others, the social mores. Fascinating. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could all meet up for a glass or two of wine and to chew the cud about this most imperative genre of British writing..?!

    Reply
  11. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    Thank you so much Helen for your kind comments and I am thrilled to bits that you are enjoying Helen’s book. Might I ask if you could do a review on Amazon if it is not too much trouble? I would really appreciate it.
    Life seems to be slowly getting back to normal thank goodness but it has been a really trying time – as you know Helen is a lecturer at Cambridge and she says so many of the students are so upset and worried about the future.
    I am currently compiling a list of things to vlog about. It is getting rather long….

    Reply
  12. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    I love the FWC and Inspector French is such a NICE man!!

    Reply
  13. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    There will be!
    If you have any topics you would like covered and I can do so, I am not an expert of course, then do let me know.

    Reply
  14. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    Not sure that would be a good idea!!!!
    They are available on Kindle if you wish to try one or two. I have mixed feelings about Heyer’s I will admit

    Reply
  15. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    Thank you Mag46! I aim with these videos just to sit and chat as if I was talking to friends. I have already got a list a mile long of authors I wish to talk about.
    You have been warned…

    Reply
  16. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    I agree with your comment on Agatha C, she certainly led me onto adult reading. And, yes, the social history of the time of the Golden Age is so interesting and readers must take into account that certain prejudices and attitudes portrayed are of their time even if now we might find they jar.
    Oddly enough, John Bude was one of the authors I was not madly keen on and then the last book by him, a double bill, was so much better than the previous ones that I went back to reread and get hold of others I had dismissed. One or two of them I found tedious but others seem to be so much better – I wonder why or is it just me? I am currently reading The Cheltenham Square Murder which I am enjoying.
    I read the Division Bell mystery but did not care for her style of writing much.
    With so many varied authors there are bound to be some you like more than others

    Reply
  17. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    A comment above agrees with me about Allingham so we all have our likes and dislikes which makes reading life interesting…I adore Alleyn and always have done.
    Looking back at Crossed Skis there was a whopping great clue in piece of dialogue that I should have spotted but I didnt.
    Martin Edwards is amazing

    Reply
  18. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    I do hope you enjoy them Malvina and do let me know which ones you enjoy most

    Reply
  19. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    Hi Zoe. It is strange that I cannot get on with Allingham as I think she is a good writer but I just found I could not engage with them at all. I tried Tiger in the Smoke which some hail as her best but though I could appreciate it I simply dd not like it.
    I have read Heyer’s mysteries but have to say that though I enjoyed them I cannot remember a single thing about them so perhaps they did not impress me much.
    I think tey is simply wonderful and her writing superb

    Reply
  20. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    See if you can guess who did it!!

    Reply
  21. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    Thank you for your comments Cath and I am so pleased that my talk has taken your mind off your worries. I will be doing more as I have been urged to do so which is rather lovely

    Reply
  22. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    I miss the thrill of the chase and the rummaging through heaps of books in search of those elusive gems

    Reply
  23. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    I am enjoying them so much I will!

    Reply
  24. Helen Avatar
    Helen

    These ‘vlogs’ are delightful, Elaine; as soon as I started the first one about Double Lives by Helen McCarthy, which I’m still reading and enjoying enormously, I realised I was going to need coffee (oh, all right, it was gin for the first one) and I have to say it was like spending ten minutes or so in bookish chat with a warm and interesting friend.You’re a natural, Elaine. As for the books, well, I can’t recommend Double Lives highly enough (really, I’m not creeping!) and the British Library Crime reprints have been a godsend these last months when I’ve become increasingly corona-ed out.
    like many of us in our sixties/seventies, my own lifestyle has been fine (husband home all the time, no financial worries, no family to miss) BUT who can help worrying about the economic effect on younger people?
    Back to the books, for me almost the best thing is that they publish one a month and I pre-order them as soon as they become available so there’s always one to read and one to look forward to; and if you’re not besotted by the covers, there’s always the Kindle version at £2.99

    Reply
  25. Margaret Powling Avatar
    Margaret Powling

    A super video, Elaine, thank you so much for that. I might be tempted to buy some of those classic crime novels, especially Freeman Wills Croft whom you obviously admire.
    Margaret P

    Reply
  26. Mary Avatar
    Mary

    Delightful, informative, well-paced, charming…more please!

    Reply
  27. Erika W. Avatar
    Erika W.

    Oh well done, more any time you can be bothered please! How about posting a photo of yourself at around 11 years old?
    I have always enjoyed Freeman Wills Croft, but know none of the others except for Agreement over Allingham.
    I am not likely to search them out–just as well, if they are very expensive as I read few detective stories on the whole. I thought Georgette Heyer’s were pretty feeble.

    Reply
  28. Mag46 Avatar
    Mag46

    a very natural diverely is what I meant!

    Reply
  29. Mag46 Avatar
    Mag46

    Well done Elaine.Aery natural and easy going delivery.
    I have read some of the BL series and will try more.

    Reply
  30. EllenD Avatar
    EllenD

    Great video very assured. I too started reading Agatha Christie when I was 11 or 12. I think she’s a gateway author for many people born in 50s, 60s and 70s to adult books. I’ve read a lot of the authors you mention in the golden age of crime, including those by Georgette Heyer. I love the golden age novel for the social history they provide on how people behaved or were supposed to, as much as the mystery that needed to be solved. I too greatly enjoy the BL Crime Library series – I must have nearly 30 of them. I haunt my local Oxfam bookshop (longing for it to re-open) to collect more of the series. I’ve enjoyed Willis Crofts and on your recommendations, I’ve looked for the Lorac books and greatly enjoyed those I’ve found. I’ve also enjoyed the books by John Bude, who has a main protagonist detective, who moves locations, so the cases are varied. One I bought new was the Division Bell Mystery by Ellen Wilkinson, which is a murder set in the Houses of Parliament. It’s the only one she wrote, as it was published after she’d lost her seat as an MP, she was then re-elected and so focused on politics. If you’ve not yet read it I do recommend it for its unique nature. It’s a pretty well written book for a politician.

    Reply
  31. Ann Avatar
    Ann

    Loved your video – I agree, vlog sounds faintly distasteful. I also like these Golden Age mysteries and have a bit of a crush on Roderick Alleyn. Must disagree about Margery Allingham though, I do like her books, particularly the later ones.
    Had not read Crossed Skis until I got it on my kindle quite recently – after reading about it here – excellent and I didn’t work it out either. Agree about Martin Edwards – a fount of knowledge.

    Reply
  32. Malvina Avatar
    Malvina

    Fascinating. I’m just getting started on these crime novels. Enjoyed your video tremendously and took down a few names! Thankyou.

    Reply
  33. Zoe Foster Avatar
    Zoe Foster

    Really enjoyed your vlog, Elaine. Am re-reading (for the fourth or fifth time) The Franchise Affair, and remembering how much I love Josephine Tey’s style of writing – will now have to re-read all her other books, of course. And then, quite possibly, all of Dorothy L Sayers! Also, I wondered if you had read any of Georgette Heyer’s murder mysteries? She was very much of the golden age of this genre and I think they are absolutely delicious. Glad you are not a Margery Allingham fan – neither am I, particularly Tiger in the Smoke for which I had such high hopes and which I found to be absolutely incomprehensible. Very disappointing!

    Reply
  34. Catherine Owen Avatar
    Catherine Owen

    Really enjoyed your vlog, Elaine, and have just downloaded Crossed Skis onto my Kindle!

    Reply
  35. Cath Avatar
    Cath

    Elaine, that was absolutely delightful. My husband’s in hospital at the moment and sitting here watching you talk about quite a few books I’ve read and loved has taken my mind right off my worries for a little while. I must get around to reading The Golden Age of Murder too. It sounds like a gem.

    Reply
  36. Pam Avatar
    Pam

    Loved it Elaine! Like you I enjoy hunting down elusive authors. It’s been so hard to not visit bookstores or go to library sales during the lockdown.

    Reply
  37. Mog Avatar
    Mog

    Very interesting Elaine, will certainly check out some of those authors. Do keep up the videos, you are a professional!

    Reply

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