Misplaced Pages

#277722

82-638: Mystery Mile is a crime novel by Margery Allingham , first published in 1930, in the United Kingdom by Jarrolds Publishing , London, and in the United States by Doubleday, Doran , New York. Following his first, supporting appearance in The Crime at Black Dudley (1929), it is the first of many novels starring the mysterious Albert Campion , and introduces his butler/valet/bodyguard Magersfontein Lugg . Crossing

164-447: A " whodunit " murder mystery with multiple plot twists . The story has detective fiction elements. Two other Arabian Nights stories, "The Merchant and the Thief" and "Ali Khwaja", contain two of the earliest fictional detectives , who uncover clues and present evidence to catch or convict a criminal, with the story unfolding in normal chronology and the criminal already being known to

246-460: A 1916 Sopwith Pup biplane and information about soldiers from Mersea who took part in the war. In 1926, West Mersea became a self-governing urban district , which allowed it to set up a self-contained water and sewer system. Unlike several other coastal resorts, the island did not immediately develop any holidaymaker facilities aside from the beach huts which now stretch along the Esplanade. At

328-425: A Battery Observation post and a number of searchlights and pillboxes. Several of these installations survived and can still be seen along the south coast of the island, one of which has been converted into a cafe. After the war, the island suffered from severe winter weather in 1947 which destroyed much of the oyster fishery, and from the flooding of 1953 , where numerous beach huts were swept out to sea. In 1963,

410-548: A change in American crime fiction. There was a shift into hard-boiled novels and their depictions of realism. Dashiell Hammett and his work, including Red Harvest (1929), offered a more realistic social perspective to crime fiction, referencing events such as the Great Depression . James M. Cain contributed The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934). This novel includes a married woman trying to murder her own husband with

492-467: A colossal criminal gang, inherited from his father. He tries to kill Campion with a syringe filled with acid , but Campion breaks through the floor of the hut and falls beneath it. Barber goes to retrieve the book, but is taken by the soft mud, dying horribly. Recuperating later, Campion's friend Stanislaus Oates tells him the secret of Swithin Cush's suicide – he was in fact not a parson at all, having taken

574-419: A crime. Readers speak of crime fiction as a mode of escapism to cope with other aspects of their lives. Crime fiction provides distraction from readers' personal lives through a strong narrative at a comfortable distance. Forensic crime novels have been referred to as "distraction therapy", proposing that crime fiction can improve mental health and be considered as a form of treatment to prevent depression. In

656-414: A focal point for troops in both world wars , and a number of observation posts can still be found on the island. Tourism remains popular, and there are a number of beach huts and holiday parks on the island. A week-long festival of boat racing, Mersea Week, takes place every summer. The island lies 9 miles (14 km) south of Colchester and 26 miles (42 km) east of the county town, Chelmsford . It

738-594: A forerunner of Arthur Conan Doyle 's Sherlock Holmes , appeared in works such as " The Murders in the Rue Morgue " (1841), " The Mystery of Marie Rogêt " (1842), and " The Purloined Letter " (1844). With his Dupin stories, Poe provided the framework for the classic detective story. The detective's unnamed companion is the narrator of the stories and a prototype for the character of Dr. Watson in later Sherlock Holmes stories. Wilkie Collins ' epistolary novel The Woman in White

820-514: A heavy locked chest along the Tigris River, and he sells it to the Abbasid Caliph , Harun al-Rashid , who then has the chest broken open, only to find inside it the dead body of a young woman who was cut into pieces. Harun orders his vizier , Ja'far ibn Yahya , to solve the crime and find the murderer within three days, or be executed if he fails his assignment. The story has been described as

902-576: A key industry on the island since then, particularly oysters , and along with tourism makes up a significant part of the island's economy. The Church of St Peter & St Paul in West Mersea is thought to have existed since the 7th century, while the Church of St Edmund in East Mersea dates from around the 12th or 13th century. The island became popular with smugglers from the 16th to the 19th century. It became

SECTION 10

#1732872467278

984-437: A large mosaic floor was found underneath the Church of St Peter & St Paul at West Mersea and in 1764, Richard Gough discovered further evidence of Roman remains around the church. West Mersea was believed to be a holiday destination for Romans staying at Camulodunum (Colchester). Evidence has shown a number of fish traps exist around the island, which date from around the 7th century. The Anglo-Saxons established

1066-547: A large fish weir at Besom Fleet to the southwest of the island and built the church at West Mersea. It was damaged by Norse raiders in 894 and rebuilt afterwards. The west tower was added to the church around the 11th century, the south aisle in the 15th and various other rebuilds continued towards the end of the 18th century. The Strood causeway was also built by the Saxons ; oak piles discovered in 1978 have been dated to between 684 and 702 using dendrochronology . By 950, there

1148-607: A lifeboat service was launched following an initiative by "Diggle" Hayward who had approached the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) about a lifeboat capability on Mersea. The West Mersea Lifeboat Station operates an Atlantic 85 class lifeboat , the RNLB Just George B-879. Since the 1960s, the population has increased considerably, with the population of West Mersea rising from 3,140 in 1961 to 6,925 in 2001. Mersea Island has suffered less from

1230-573: A limited supply from the Strood and Pyefleet Channel led traders to get oysters from other places and pass them off as native to the island. By the end of the 19th century, the land around the island had been partially reclaimed, allowing easier access. A police officer for the island was appointed in 1844 and a school was opened in 1871. In the First World War, 320 soldiers came from Mersea Island, of which 50 lost their lives. They are commemorated at

1312-409: A live view of access across the Strood, while a corresponding website lists upcoming high tides and the likelihood of obstructing the road. There has never been a railway to Mersea Island. During the railway mania of the mid-19th century, goods were transported by boat and barge. In 1911, local businessmen proposed a railway between Colchester and the island, which would have ended at a pier next to

1394-512: A much-loved movie entitled The Lady Vanishes (1938), and Ira Levin 's (born 1929) science-fiction thriller The Boys from Brazil (1976), which was filmed in 1978 . Older novels can often be retrieved from the ever-growing Project Gutenberg database. Mersea Island Mersea Island / ˈ m ɜːr z i / is an island in Essex , England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to

1476-459: A near-island on the Suffolk coast, where Campion's friends Biddy and Giles Paget own a run-down manor house. The night they arrive, a roving fortune-teller visits, and soon afterward the local Rector "St." Swithin Cush, a mild and much-loved man, commits gruesome suicide, leaving a note and some mysterious clues—a red knight from his chess set, and the word "Danger" in encrypted form. Settling in at

1558-442: A series in 1999 entitled "Pan Classic Crime", which includes a handful of novels by Eric Ambler , but also American Hillary Waugh 's Last Seen Wearing ... . In 2000, Edinburgh -based Canongate Books started a series called "Canongate Crime Classics" —both whodunnits and roman noir about amnesia and insanity —and other novels. However, books brought out by smaller publishers such as Canongate Books are usually not stocked by

1640-465: A steamy sex scene between Sharon Stone and William Baldwin straight from the 1993 movie , and again, Bret Easton Ellis 's American Psycho (1991). Bloomsbury Publishing PLC , though, have launched what they call "Bloomsbury Film Classics"—a series of original novels on which feature films were based. This series includes, for example, Ethel Lina White 's novel The Wheel Spins (1936), which Alfred Hitchcock —before he went to Hollywood—turned into

1722-412: A still from the movie on the front cover and the film credits on the back cover of the book—yet another marketing strategy aimed at those cinemagoers who may want to do both: first read the book and then watch the film (or vice versa). Recent examples include Patricia Highsmith 's The Talented Mr. Ripley (originally published in 1955), Ira Levin 's Sliver (1991), with the cover photograph depicting

SECTION 20

#1732872467278

1804-508: A story forward in order to unravel mysteries. Likewise, the feature of detectives was popularized by Edgar Allan Poe and Conan Doyle . Hard-boiled detective stories attracted a decent amount of attention to the genre in America and France as well. Within crime fiction, it can also be common to use dark themes from real life, such as slavery , organized crime , and more. Aside from general themes, referencing instances of crime in real life

1886-623: A striking similarity to Keyser Söze , a fictional character in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects — an all powerful crime lord, operating entirely through minions so that he himself is never exposed, thought by many to be a myth, to have existed too long to be a single man, and originating from the Middle East. The story was adapted for television by the BBC , the last of eight Campion stories starring Peter Davison as Campion and Brian Glover as Lugg. Originally broadcast as two separate hour-long episodes,

1968-528: Is Agatha Christie , whose texts, originally published between 1920 and her death in 1976, are available in UK and US editions in all English-speaking nations. Christie's works, particularly featuring detectives Hercule Poirot or Miss Jane Marple , have given her the title the Queen of Crime, and made her one of the most important and innovative writers in the development of the genre. Her most famous novels include Murder on

2050-487: Is Florida -based author Carl Hiaasen , who has been publishing books since 1981, all of which are readily available. From time to time, publishing houses decide, for commercial purposes, to revive long-forgotten authors, and reprint one or two of their more commercially successful novels. Apart from Penguin Books , which for this purpose have resorted to their old green cover and dug out some of their vintage authors. Pan started

2132-524: Is "Rudolph", and his last name begins with "K". Campion looks enough like some Very Important Person to impersonate him on a trip to Asia. These hints appear off and on throughout many other Campion novels. Campion's affection for Biddy, and jealousy of Marlowe Lobbett, is quite apparent throughout, though never explicitly stated. Campion's thoughts turn to Biddy again in Look to the Lady . The character of Simister bears

2214-553: Is a regatta at West Mersea, followed by a selection of water sports and a firework display at dusk. One of the popular events on Saturday is walking a greasy pole rigged over the side of the hosting Thames sailing barge . The Mersea Island Food, Drink & Leisure Festival takes place in May in the Mersea Vineyard. It combines a food theatre showing various meals, particularly oysters, with local live music and storytelling. The island

2296-506: Is also common in several works of crime fiction. These reflections of reality can be expressed in many ways. For instance, crime fiction in Spain expressed grievances with authority, which was opposite to the instances in Japan that credited the government's functionality. Espionage is another prominent inclusion in many works of crime fiction. It includes the use of political intrigue, morality, and

2378-519: Is from 1827 ; another early full-length short story in the genre is The Rector of Veilbye by Danish author Steen Steensen Blicher , published in 1829. A further example of crime detection can be found in Letitia Elizabeth Landon 's story The Knife , published in 1832, although here the truth remains in doubt at the end. Better known are the earlier dark works of Edgar Allan Poe . His brilliant and eccentric detective C. Auguste Dupin ,

2460-499: Is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Meresai . The Strood is derived from strod , meaning 'marshy land'. The main industries on Mersea are farming , fishing and servicing the leisure boating and yachting industry. Oysters have been harvested off the island since Roman times , and are shipped worldwide. The extensive history and association with the oyster trade attracts a significant number of tourists each year, though today

2542-456: Is the Judge's mysterious secret? How was he kidnapped from a remote maze? Can Campion and his friends get to the bottom of things before it's too late? When Campion saves him from certain death on the ship over, Judge Lobbett looks into the man's background, and is advised to trust him. So, he takes Campion's advice and brings his handsome son and pretty daughter down to Mystery Mile, a tiny village on

Mystery Mile - Misplaced Pages Continue

2624-570: Is the most easterly inhabited and publicly accessible island in the United Kingdom and is one of 43 (unbridged) tidal islands which can be accessed on foot or by road from the British mainland. It is situated in the estuary area of the Blackwater and Colne rivers and has an area of around 7 square miles (18 km ). It is formed by the Pyefleet Channel to the north and the Strood Channel to

2706-660: The Epic of Gilgamesh from Mesopotamia , the Mahabharata from ancient India , the Book of Tobit , Urashima Tarō from ancient Japan , the One Thousand and One Nights ( Arabian Nights ), and more. One example of a story of this genre is the medieval Arabic tale of " The Three Apples ", one of the tales narrated by Scheherazade in the Arabian Nights . In this tale, a fisherman discovers

2788-590: The Father Brown short stories, and Henry Christopher Bailey . The Golden Age also had roots in the US. As used by S. S. Van Dine , fictional character Philo Vance also took advantage of an inflated personality and a high-class background in a plethora of novels. In 1929, Father Ronald Knox wrote the ‘Detective Story Decalogue,’ mentioning some conditions of the era. Early foreshadowing and functioning roles for characters were discussed, as well as other items. Ellery Queen

2870-543: The River Colne during the siege of Colchester . Although described as ruinous in 1768, the earthworks were reused in 1798 as a gun battery for six 24-pounder long guns . The remains of this blockhouse are legally protected by Historic England as a scheduled monument . and are known as the Block House Stone. Fishing grew in importance on the island during this time, with numerous fish weirs being installed. During

2952-589: The West Mersea Yacht Club and Dabchicks Sailing Club, established in 1973. During the week, starting on Monday, there are races for many boat classes in the Blackwater Estuary , from Optimist dinghies to large yachts. The most celebrated event is the Round-the-Island race, where dinghies attempt to sail round the island in either direction, helped over the Strood by volunteers. On Saturday, there

3034-640: The "Grand Master" of 20th-century Chinese detective fiction, translated Sherlock Holmes into classical and vernacular Chinese. In the late 1910s, Cheng began writing his own detective fiction series, Sherlock in Shanghai , mimicking Conan Doyle's style, but relating better to a Chinese audience. During the Mao era , crime fiction was suppressed and mainly Soviet-styled and anticapitalist. In the post-Mao era, crime fiction in China focused on corruption and harsh living conditions during

3116-469: The 16th and 17th centuries, Dutch and French settlers arrived on the island. Some locals supplemented their income from the oyster trade by smuggling , which remained popular until the mid-19th century. Smugglers favoured the Peldon Rose, immediately north of the Strood, where they would store contraband in the pond alongside the inn. In the early 19th century, the increased demand for oysters despite

3198-555: The 19th century was crucial in popularising crime fiction and related genres. Literary 'variety' magazines, such as Strand , McClure's , and Harper's , quickly became central to the overall structure and function of popular fiction in society, providing a mass-produced medium that offered cheap, illustrated publications that were essentially disposable. Like the works of many other important fiction writers of his day—e.g. Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens —Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories first appeared in serial form in

3280-469: The Atlantic on the luxurious liner Elephantine are an American judge, Crowdy Lobbett, and his children. A number of people around Judge Lobbett have been murdered, and he is said to be fleeing to England for safety. Apparent buffoon Albert Campion offers the family sanctuary with his friends in remote Suffolk , but a local commits suicide, the Judge vanishes, and another disappearance follows soon after. What

3362-454: The Esplanade in the south, with an additional station in West Mersea on what is now East Road. The plans were abandoned due to the First World War. A regular bus service links West and, infrequently, East Mersea to Colchester via the Strood and Abberton . A foot ferry runs from East Mersea to Point Clear and Brightlingsea on the other side of the Colne estuary, including a scheduled service in

Mystery Mile - Misplaced Pages Continue

3444-558: The Mao era (such as the Cultural Revolution ). The Golden Age, which spanned from the 1920s to 1954, was a period of time featuring the creation of renowned works by several authors. Many of these authors were British. Agatha Christie wrote The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) and The Murder at the Vicarage (1930). These novels commonly prioritized the allure of exploring mysteries in

3526-513: The Orient Express (1934), Death on the Nile (1937), and the world's best-selling mystery And Then There Were None (1939). Other less successful, contemporary authors who are still writing have seen reprints of their earlier works, due to current overwhelming popularity of crime fiction texts among audiences. One example is Val McDermid , whose first book appeared as far back as 1987; another

3608-635: The War Memorial at the parish church. Troops were stationed at Mersea Island during the war. In 1916, a Zeppelin crash landed at nearby Great Wigborough to the northwest of the island. The survivors were stationed at Mersea before moving to prisoner-of-war camps. In 2013, the Mersea Island Tales Educational Trust obtained a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to set up a First World War exhibition at Ivy Farm, which features

3690-572: The assistance of a potential suitor. This theme extends to his other work, Double Indemnity (1934). Such elements of the book were a reference to the Gray and Snyder trial. Raymond Chandler was a significant author who managed to see some works made into films. In 1944, he argued for the genre to be seen critically in his essay from ‘ The Simple Art of Murder .’ Crime fiction provides unique psychological impacts on readers and enables them to become mediated witnesses through identifying with eyewitnesses of

3772-399: The audience. The latter involves a climax where titular detective protagonist Ali Khwaja presents evidence from expert witnesses in a court. " The Hunchback's Tale " is another early courtroom drama , presented as a suspenseful comedy. The earliest known modern crime fiction is E. T. A. Hoffmann 's 1819 novella "Mademoiselle de Scudéri". Also, Thomas Skinner Surr 's anonymous Richmond

3854-403: The causeway is flooded at high tide for a week per month. During the 1953 North Sea flood, the Strood was submerged under over 6 feet (2 m) of water, cutting off access to the mainland. In 2012, West Mersea Lifeboats complained to Essex County Council about the lack of adequate signage after 13 people had to be rescued from the Strood at high tide in less than 24 hours. A webcam provides

3936-461: The country. The Spanish writers emphasized the corruption and ineptitude of the police, and depicted the authorities and the wealthy in very negative terms. In China, crime fiction is a major literary tradition, with works dating to the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties. Modern Chinese crime fiction emerged from the 1890s, and was also influenced by translations of foreign works. Cheng Xiaoqing , considered

4018-463: The crimes are usually unsolved, and clues are left for the reader to decipher. Famous writers include Leonardo Sciascia , Umberto Eco , and Carlo Emilio Gadda . In Spain, The Nail and Other Tales of Mystery and Crime was published by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón in 1853. Crime fiction in Spain (also curtailed in Francoist Spain ) took on some special characteristics that reflected the culture of

4100-531: The existence of spies. Prior media used the Cold War for inspiration and provided commentary on such events. Examples include numerous works by John le Carré and Gorky Park (1981), which was written by Martin Cruz Smith . Inspiration can be drawn from the legal system around the world, with varying degrees of realism. In these cases, a sense of morality and the more dubious parts of society are explored based on

4182-455: The genre was baptized with the term libri gialli or yellow books. The genre was outlawed by the Fascists during WWII , but exploded in popularity after the war, especially influenced by the American hard-boiled school of crime fiction. A group of mainstream Italian writers emerged, who used the detective format to create an antidetective or postmodern novel in which the detectives are imperfect,

SECTION 50

#1732872467278

4264-511: The genre. Many stories often begin when the crime has already occurred. Such fiction also tends to draw from the cultural aspects in which the work originated, whether from recent events or from a general consensus and viewpoints. The use of serial killers and unreliable narrators exists in a decent variety of crime fiction as well. The plot-puzzle formula, which was frequent in the Golden Age, makes use of potential hints and solutions to drive

4346-425: The history of crime fiction, some authors have been reluctant to publish their novels under their real names. More recently, some publish pseudonymously because of the belief that since the large booksellers are aware of their historical sales figures, and command a certain degree of influence over publishers, the only way to "break out" of their current advance numbers is to publish as someone with no track record. In

4428-482: The house of the fortune-teller, where Biddy is being cruelly interrogated, and after a fight and Campion's use of a smoke-bomb, escape, leaving the gang in disarray. Back at Campion's flat, they see a photo of the judge in a newspaper, and Campion reveals that he had arranged for the disappearance, and hidden the man on a nearby estate, following St. Swithin's advice. They go there, fetch the judge, and he, Giles and Campion decamp for Mystery Mile once more, where they find

4510-517: The household, including Mr Barber, drugged. They retrieve the judge's evidence—a book of stories from the Thousand and One Nights from his set—and Giles and the judge flee using the same path used to smuggle the judge away before, a boat from a beach near some dangerous "soft" – mud that works like quicksand. Campion sits in the hut and deciphers the clue—the art expert's name is Ali Barber. The man comes in, and reveals his secret role as Simister, head of

4592-469: The huge popularity of this genre. A precursor was Paul Féval , whose series Les Habits Noirs (1862–67) features Scotland Yard detectives and criminal conspiracies. The best-selling crime novel of the 19th century was Fergus Hume 's The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886), set in Melbourne, Australia. The evolution of the print mass media in the United Kingdom and the United States in the latter half of

4674-428: The increased popularity of holidaying abroad when compared to nearby resorts such as Clacton and Southend , predominantly due to its isolated and rural atmosphere, and the continued popularity of sailing. In 2006, more than a thousand locals signed a petition against the proposed opening of a Tesco Express store on the island, expressing concern that it would take trade away from local businesses. Planning permission

4756-561: The island is split between West Mersea , which is the main inhabited area containing the jetty and marina, and East Mersea , which is predominantly farmland and includes Cudmore Grove County Park to the east. There is also a small hamlet at Barrow Hill to the north of West Mersea. The land immediately facing the Blackwater is known as the Mersea flats, which is mostly beach that dries at low tide. The former Bradwell Power Station can be seen on

4838-420: The island's economy during the summer months. The largest is Cooper's Beach, which caters to 3,000 residents. There is evidence of pre-Roman settlement on Mersea in the form of " red hills " that are the remains of Celtic salt workings. A large Romano-British round barrow near the Strood contained the remains of a cremated adult in a glass urn, within a lead casket, now in the local Mersea Museum. In 1730,

4920-603: The judge's enemies, and to shake off art expert Barber, Campion and Lobbett's son Marlowe are recalled by a shocking telegram , but find the local Post Office man has exaggerated things—not a body, but Judge Lobbett's clothes, have been found. Next day, Biddy disappears, and Campion soon sees that the shopkeeper is behind it. Thos. T Knapp, a low-class criminal of Campion's acquaintance, arrives with news of their enemies, and they all decamp to London to rescue Biddy, leaving Lobbett's daughter, Isobel, safe in Campion's flat. They break into

5002-437: The larger bookshops and overseas booksellers. The British Library has also (since 2012) started republishing "lost" crime classics, with the collection referred to on their website as the "British Library Crime Classics series". Sometimes, older crime novels are revived by screenwriters and directors rather than publishing houses. In many such cases, publishers then follow suit and release a so-called "film tie-in" edition showing

SECTION 60

#1732872467278

5084-658: The late 1930s and 1940s, British County Court Judge Arthur Alexander Gordon Clark (1900–1958) published a number of detective novels under the alias Cyril Hare , in which he made use of his profoundly extensive knowledge of the English legal system. When he was still young and unknown, award-winning British novelist Julian Barnes (born 1946) published some crime novels under the alias Dan Kavanagh. Other authors take delight in cherishing their alter egos ; Ruth Rendell (1930–2015) wrote one sort of crime novels as Ruth Rendell and another type as Barbara Vine ; John Dickson Carr also used

5166-448: The manor, the judge calls in an art expert to inspect a possible masterpiece, but as the man (an annoying bore they had encountered on the boat) arrives at the house, the judge vanishes, seemingly inexplicably, while exploring the maze. They search for the judge's secret knowledge, the clue to the identity of crime boss Simister, which has brought such danger, but find only a large box of children's books. Travelling to London to investigate

5248-458: The monthly Strand in the United Kingdom. The series quickly attracted a wide and passionate following on both sides of the Atlantic, and when Doyle killed off Holmes in " The Final Problem ", the public outcry was so great, and the publishing offers for more stories so attractive, that he was reluctantly forced to resurrect him. In Italy, early translations of English and American stories and local works were published in cheap yellow covers, thus

5330-563: The original UK air date was 9 March 1990. The series was shown in the United States by PBS . Crime fiction It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as historical fiction and science fiction , but the boundaries are indistinct. Crime fiction has several subgenres , including detective fiction (such as the whodunit ), courtroom drama , hard-boiled fiction, and legal thrillers . Proto-science and crime fictions have been composed across history, and in this category can be placed texts as varied as

5412-466: The other side. West Mersea can be further divided into three areas. The Old City in the southwest of West Mersea serves the fishing and yachting industries and contains a number of listed buildings . The centre contains the church of St Peter & St Paul, while the beach and esplanade are to the south. The name 'Mersea' is derived from the Old English word meresig meaning 'island of the pool'. It

5494-409: The outbreak of World War II, the island became part of the front line for invasion and was heavily fortified. Along with other coastal resorts, the island drew in evacuees from London, though as the war progressed, these were moved to safer settlements further inland. 2000 troops were stationed on the island to guard against invasion. A battery of 4.7 inch guns was installed along the beach along with

5576-530: The place of his brother who died young. The fortune-teller, a blackmailer working for Simister, knew this and threatened to reveal it. Biddy and Giles Paget plan to marry Marlowe and Isobel Lobbett, respectively, and to sell the valuable painting for a small fortune. The setting, a semi-island called Mystery Mile, is based on Mersea Island , Essex, where Allingham spent some time in her youth, and set her first novel, Blackkerchief Dick . The book includes some hints about Campion's background. His real first name

5658-566: The plot over in-depth character development. Dorothy L. Sayers contributed the Wimsey novels. Her work focused on the spectacle of crime deduction. She also displayed an exaggerated form of aristocratic society, straying from a more realistic story. Other novelists tapped into this setting, such as Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh ; Allingham, Christie, Marsh and Sayers are known as the Queens of Crime . Other British authors are G. K. Chesterton with

5740-446: The pseudonym Carter Dickson . Author Evan Hunter (which itself was a pseudonym) wrote his crime fiction under the name of Ed McBain. As crime fiction has expanded, there have been many common tropes that emerge from this category of fiction. Such occurrences can appear in a variety of subgenres and media. While the format may vary across different forms of crime fiction, there are many elements that are generally consistent throughout

5822-526: The remains of a Danish refuge after their defeat by King Alfred at Farnham . In 1547, King Henry VIII built a blockhouse or bulwark at East Mersea, an earthwork fort for up to six guns with a drawbridge . The keepers in the 1570s were two veteran soldiers Henry Jordan and Edmund Martyn. In the English Civil War , it was taken in 1648 by the Parliamentary Army , with the aim of blockading

5904-493: The rules that the work provides. Melville Davisson Post ’s Rudolph Mason: The Strange Schemes (1896) and Harper Lee ’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) are notable examples. Additionally, stories like Double Indemnity (1934) are based on cases from reality. Only a select few authors have achieved the status of "classics" for their published works. A classic is any text that can be received and accepted universally, because they transcend context. A popular, well-known example

5986-531: The south-east of Colchester . Its name comes from the Old English word meresig , meaning "island of the pool" and thus is tautological . The island is split into two main areas, West Mersea and East Mersea , and connected to the mainland by the Strood, a causeway that can flood at high tide. The island has been inhabited since pre-Roman times. It was used as a holiday destination in Roman Britain for occupants of Camulodunum (Colchester). Fishing has been

6068-522: The summer and a dial-on-demand service in the spring and autumn. The island is used as a setting for several works by Margery Allingham , who spent childhood holidays on the island. These include her first novel, Blackkerchief Dick , published in 1923 when she was 19, and her 1930 novel Mystery Mile , although the plot disguises the location as being in Suffolk . Between 1870 and 1881 the Rector of East Mersea

6150-475: The trade is predominantly with Pacific oysters that have been introduced to the area. The Essex oyster fishery is opened by the Mayor of Colchester every September. Many small shops and ice cream businesses serve the tourism on Mersea's seafront. The Two Sugars Cafe is sited on a former World War II pillbox near the beach. There are six camping and caravanning sites on the island, which help contribute towards

6232-440: The west, which connect the Blackwater to the Colne. The much smaller Ray Island lies adjacent to the north while the uninhabited Packing Marsh and Cobmarsh Islands lie to southwest. Most of the area immediately surrounding the island consists of saltmarsh and mudflats, and is an important sanctuary for wading and migratory birds. The island itself sits on a mix of London Clay , chalky boulder clay, sand and gravel. Internally,

6314-667: Was a Benedictine priory at West Mersea and land here was granted to the Abbey of St Ouen in France by Edward the Confessor in 1046. The priory survived until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1542. The Parish Church of St Edmund in East Mersea dates from around the 12th or 13th century, with extensions in the late 15th or 16th. The church and hall are surrounded by a moat that is thought to be

6396-610: Was built by Horace Darken in 1871–72, with additional classrooms added in 1897. There are no secondary schools on the island. The nearest are Thomas Lord Audley School in Colchester and Thurstable School in Tiptree . The main access to the island is via a causeway known as the Strood, carrying the Mersea–Colchester road ( B1025 ). The road can be covered for up to an hour at high tide, especially during spring tides . On average

6478-410: Was featured in several novels written by Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee , serving as both a character and pen name. In such novels, clues may be analyzed by the protagonist in tandem with the viewer, generating the possibility of understanding the narrative before it is revealed in the book. Past the Golden Age, events such as the Great Depression and the transition between World Wars ushered in

6560-547: Was granted the following year. On 4 June 2012, as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, the island declared a mock independence from the UK for that day. Anyone travelling to the island across the Strood paid 50p for a "passport", the proceeds of which went towards the war veteran charity Help for Heroes . Mersea Island School is a foundation primary school in West Mersea with 450 pupils aged 4–11. The school has an additional nursery for 52 children aged 2–4. The school

6642-419: Was published in 1860, while The Moonstone (1868) is often thought to be his masterpiece. French author Émile Gaboriau 's Monsieur Lecoq (1868) laid the groundwork for the methodical, scientifically minded detective. The evolution of locked-room mysteries was one of the landmarks in the history of crime fiction. The Sherlock Holmes mysteries of Doyle's are said to have been singularly responsible for

6724-619: Was the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould . Baring-Gould was the writer of the hymn " Onward, Christian Soldiers " and the author of the novel Mehalah: A Story of the Salt Marshes which was set in Mersea. East Mersea was a site in the Survey of English Dialects in the 1950s. The island retained some rhoticity , which had otherwise died out in eastern England. The Mersea Week is a week-long August festival of boat racing organised by

#277722