October is dedicated to crime here at Romancing the Gothic it (reading about it, not doing it!) Today (7th October), we’re joined by Jordan Welsh to talk ‘How Cosy is your Crime?’ and he has provided a reading and watch list to get people started delving into the world of ‘cosy crime’, right from its origins to the current day. Enjoy!!
You can still sign up for the talk (or any of our detective talks this month!) here
Reading List (By No Means Exhaustive)
W. H. Auden. “The Guilty Vicarage: Notes on the detective story, by an addict” Harpers Magazine, May 1948 <https://harpers.org/archive/1948/05/the-guilty-vicarage/>
Books
M.C. Beaton: Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death
S.J. Bennett: The Windsor Knot
Agatha Christie: The Murder at the Vicarage
Richard Coles: Murder Before Evensong
J.M. Hall: A Spoonful of Murder
Janice Hallett: The Appeal
Anthony Horowitz: Magpie Murders
Minna Lindgren: The Lavender Ladies Detective Agency: Death in Sunset Grove
Ian Moore: Death and Fromage
Richard Osman: The Thursday Murder Club
Dorothy L. Sayers: Strong Poison
Nancy Springer: Enola Holmes series (YA)
Lauren St. John: Dead Man’s Cove (YA)
Robin Stevens: Murder Most Unladylike (YA)
Jesse Sutanto: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
Josephine Tey: Brat Farrar
Robert Thorogood: Death in Paradise
Robert Thorogood: The Marlow Murder Club
Katy Watson: The Three Dahlias
Jonathan Whitelaw: The Bingo Hall Detectives
Katherine Woodfine: The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow (YA)
TV Shows
Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996) (CBS)- There are over 260 episodes to view here- some more successful than others. Episodes often vary in location- many are set in the New England town of Cabot Cove, whilst others are set in New York, San Francisco and a plethora of other locations across the world.
Agatha Christie’s Poirot (1989-2013) (ITV)- Most recent tv adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Belgian detective starring David Suchet. There are seventy episodes in total which are all adapted from either Poirot novels or short stories.
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996-1998) (BBC)- Twenty-eight episodes over four series. Stars Patricia Routledge as the title character, a retired woman who decides to run a private detective agency from her home.
Midsomer Murders (1997-present) (ITV)- Any episode, there are over 130 to choose from. I’d recommend looking at the contrast of the show by viewing episodes from early in the run against more recent episodes.
Rosemary & Thyme (2003-2007) (ITV)- Mystery series set in British and European gardens, with two gardeners solving murders: Laura Thyme and Rosemary Boxer. There are twenty-two episodes across three series. The show’s co-creator wrote ten episodes and also wrote many episodes for ITV’s Agatha Christie’s Poirot (1989-2013).
Agatha Christie’s Marple (2004-2013) (ITV)- Most recent TV adaptation of Agatha Christie’s elderly sleuth Miss Marple played firstly by Geraldine McEwan and then Julia McKenzie. This series takes many liberties with the original novels, often re-writing portions of the story or inserting Marple into stories which she never appeared in.
Death in Paradise (2011- present) (BBC)– Any episode, but definitely worth catching the first series to see how it establishes itself. There have been many cast changes to the series- as of late 2023 there have been 4 different detective inspectors over the course of the show (the cast changes often occur mid-series to allow the new character to integrate into the show- which is quite a successful technique.)
Father Brown (2013- present) (BBC)- Any episode, particularly from the first few series to see how it establishes itself- (I personally loved “The Blue Cross” S1 Ep 10). 1950’s set crime series with a crime solving Roman Catholic priest. Loosely based on the short stories and character created by G. K. Chesterton.
Grantchester (2014- present) (ITV)- Fifty-One episodes over eight series, based on the short stories by James Runcie. Stars James Norton (with Tom Brittney as his successor from series 4) as a crime solving priest in Cambridgeshire. Primarily set in the 1950s.
Agatha Raisin (2014- present) (Sky/ Acorn TV)- Adaptation of M.C. Beaton’s novels, starring Ashley Jensen as the title character- a PR Agent who solves crimes in her local village.
Sister Boniface Mysteries (2022- Present) (BBC/ Britbox/ Albi)- Relatively new show, a spinoff from Father Brown, featuring Sister Boniface who appeared in S1 Ep 6. At present (as of late 2023) there are 20 episodes, featuring a Catholic nun who assists the local police force of Great Slaughter with their investigations.
Harry Wild (2022- Present) (RTE/ Acorn TV)- Ireland set series which stars Jane Seymour as the recently retired literature professor Harriet “Harry” Wild who begins to solve mysteries after being mugged.
Beyond Paradise (2023- present) (BBC)- Spin off series from Death in Paradise, following one of the detective inspectors who has since moved back to the UK and has settled in Devon, where he continues to solve crimes with the local police force.
Podcasts
Shedunnit: a storytelling podcast that unravels the mysteries behind classic detective stories. Host Caroline Crampton uses the novels of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Gladys Mitchell, Josephine Tey and other classic mystery writers to evoke the social and literary history of the golden age of detective fiction in the 1920s and 1930s.
YouTube
“That Time on Murder, She Wrote” on Pushing Up Roses’ channel– an ongoing series of humorous videos that focus on individual episodes of Murder, She Wrote. It points out amusing characters, plot devices, odd writing choices, and the sheer fun that the show embodies.
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