A substantial, wide-ranging A-Z reference of British crime writing - mainly crime fiction but also true or historical crime.
Barry Forshaw is the editor of Crime Time magazine, he is the crime fiction reviewer for The Independent, The Express, Publishing News, and The Times and author of Italian Cinema: A Pocket Essentials Guide. As well as his specialist area of crime fiction, he writes on film for a variety of magazines. He has written studies of fiction worldwide, as well as books on Italian Cinema and Film Noir. He has acted as judge for the Crime Writers' Associaton Dagger Awards.
"Alongside the individual author entries are pieces depicting how
crime has changed from its infancy to the standards that are
withheld today. This is an extraordinary feat and one that crime
fans will pour over for hours on end. I know I have! So, go on!
Dive in and find out about your favourite authors – and maybe
discover a few new ones at the same time! Enjoy!" - Crime Squad
"One reason for the size of these two volumes is that along with
the expected entries on James, PD, Christie, Agatha, and Conan
Doyle, Sir Arthur, are the unexpected inclusions; not just the
usual suspects, but just about anyone who has written a novel with
a crime theme. Barry Forshaw has ranged very wide indeed, and
pretty much everyone is included." - BBC Front Row
"Forshaw (Rough Guide to Crime Fiction) has assembled a good-sized
team of contributors—including some of Britain’s leading crime
writers—to provide about 475 authoritative entries on British crime
writers, magazines, and films, as well as major British fictional
detectives such as Holmes and Marple and topics like 'thrillers'
and 'tart noir.' The signed entries average about 1200 words in
length and include lists of selected works by the authors and their
web sites if available. ...Bottom Line: This is the most
comprehensive overview available of British crime writing. While
other works provide longer articles and include international
authors—two examples come to mind, Scribner’s Mystery & Suspense
Writers and Gale’s massive Dictionary of Literary Biography—their
focus isn’t contemporary British writing, as is the case here." -
Library Journal
"The book is bang up to date with entries for a number of authors
who have made a name for themselves in the past decade plus a
number of literary writers, some of whose key work falls into the
crime category (Peter Ackroyd, Martin Amis, Iain Sinclair). You
will find all the names you associate with the Golden Age of crime
writing (Christie, Sayers, Marsh, Allingham), spy and espionage
(Ambler, Le Carre, even Stella Rimington), thrillers (MacLean,
Badley, Lyall, but sadly no Duncan Kyle), and detective—from the
days of Conan Doyle to the gritty modern Rebus police procedurals
of Ian Rankin. But it doesn't stop there. The book also includes a
number of themed essays taking in everything from the gothic and
penny dreadful to the British connections of Raymond Chandler. A
random dipping into the pages of book reveals essays on 'The
Godfathers of British Crime Fiction', an essay of Jane Marple, a
lengthy piece on G. K. Chesterton and an entry for Martyn Waites
and his burned-out journalist Stephen Larkin. The book is littered
with reviews of magazines, films and TV shows, overviews of the
works of anthologists and true crime writers... it's a book that
can be picked up and browsed or read from cover to cover. Either
way, you'll stumble across half a dozen new things: again, a random
sampling turned up the fact that Jasper Fforde began his writing
career whilst working as a focus puller on blockbuster movies
(amongst them the film that reinvented James Bond, GoldenEye). If
you're into crime fiction in any way, this deserves to be on your
shelves.' " - Times Online
"[A] truly magisterial work...Many congratulations are due to
Professor Forshaw and his army of contributors (numbering over 50
though the late Susannah Yager seems to go un-credited) for a job
well done...I look forward to the second edition with
anticipation." - Getting Away With Murder
". . . the work is a trove of fascinating information that can be
dipped into for months and years to come." - The Times
"Crime collectors will want to know of a new encyclopaedia British
Crime Writing, which looks set to become the standard work of
reference on the subject." - Book and Magazine Collector
"A wide ranging encylopaedia, with contributions from
practitioners, critics and academics. . . It is scholarly, well
informed and full of unexpected tidbits." - Literary Review
"If you're into crime fiction in any way, this deserves to be on
your shelves alongside Steinbrunner & Penzler's Encyclopedia of
Mystery and Detective Fiction.' " - Bear Alley Books
"This encyclopedia should be an attractive, useful addition to
public and academic libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level
undergraduates and above; general readers." - Choice
"...a remarkably comprehensive book of reference...A preliminary
Guide to Related Topics (such as Golden Age Crime Fiction and
Television), many portraits and other illustrations, a substantial
Bibliography (including journals and web sites) and an excellent
index make this an indispensable work of reference." - Reference
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