What George Orwell can teach us about detective fiction.

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get extra Shedunnit episodes every month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Books and essays mentioned in this episode:
— "Decline of the English Murder" by George Orwell
— Animal Farm by George Orwell
— The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
— "The Vernon Murder" by George Orwell
— The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
— "The Ethics of the Detective Story from Raffles to Miss Blandish" by George Orwell
— No Orchids for Miss Blandish by James Hadley
— "The Simple Art of Murder" by Raymond Chandler

To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The childhood nightmare that informed a crime writing career.

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get extra Shedunnit episodes every month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Books mentioned in this episode:
— An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
— Giant's Bread by Mary Westmacott
— Unfinished Portrait by Mary Westmacott
— "The House of Dreams" by Agatha Christie
— Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie
— Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
— Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie
— Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie
— Third Girl by Agatha Christie
— At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie
— Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie
— Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie
— Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
— Absent in the Spring by Mary Westmacott

To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Noy joins Caroline for some Jolly Adventures in a castle.

No major plot spoilers until you hear Caroline say we are "entering the spoiler zone", at 14:58. After that, expect full spoilers.

Please note: This book contains the deliberate killing of an animal, which is discussed from 36:57 to 40:18.

A full list of titles in the Penguin series can be found at penguinfirsteditions.com. The next book discussed in this series will be The Murders in Praed Street by John Rhode.

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get extra Shedunnit episodes every month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Books mentioned in this episode:
— The Sanfield Scandal by Richard Keverne
— Carteret's Cure by Richard Keverne
— The Pretender by Clifford Hosken
— The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L. Sayers and Robert Eustace
— The Famous Five adventure novels by Enid Blyton
— The Abbey Girls Series by Elsie J. Oxenham
— The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
— The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
— The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
— The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie
— The Problem of the Green Capsule by John Dickson Carr
— The Murders in Praed Street by John Rhode

Related Shedunnit episodes:
— The Locked Room
— The Long Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe

To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What could possibly go wrong?

Books and stories mentioned in this episode:

— "The Perfect Plan" by James Hilton

— Lost Horizon by James Hilton

— Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton

— Murder at School by James Hilton

To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fascinating history of divorce in detective fiction.

My guest was Dr Jen Aston, Associate Professor in Law at Northumbria University. In addition to her other academic work, she's currently leading a project looking at approaches to the history of divorce. Learn more about that at northumbria.ac.uk/divorce_history.

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get extra Shedunnit episodes every month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Books mentioned in this episode:
— "Murder!" by Arnold Bennett, collected in Resorting to Murder
— Jumping Jenny by Anthony Berkeley
— “The Case of the Discontented Husband” by Agatha Christie, collected in Parker Pyne Investigates
— Death in High Heels by Christianna Brand
— Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L Sayers
— The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L Sayers and Robert Eustace
— Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles
— Holy Deadlock by A.P. Herbert
— Love All by Dorothy L Sayers
— Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L Sayers
— "The Incredible Elopement" by Dorothy L Sayers, collected in Hangman's Holiday

Related Shedunnit episodes:
— The Lady Detective

To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.

Some book links are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The best murder mysteries transport us to another era.

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get extra Shedunnit episodes every month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Books mentioned in this episode:
— The Conjure-Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher
— Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Croft
— The Walls of Jericho by Rudolph Fisher

To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Victoria Stewart joins Caroline to discuss Dorothy L. Sayers’ epistolary poisoning mystery.

No major plot spoilers until you hear Caroline say we are "entering the spoiler zone", at 14:59. After that, expect full spoilers.

A full list of titles in the Penguin series can be found at penguinfirsteditions.com. The next book discussed in this series will be The Sandfield Scandal by Richard Keverne.

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get extra Shedunnit episodes every month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Books mentioned in this episode:
— The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L. Sayers and Robert Eustace
— Crime Writing in Interwar Britain by Victoria Stewart
— Literature and Justice in Mid-Twentieth Century Literature by Victoria Stewart
— The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
— Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
— Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
— A Pin to See the Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse

To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Was this Agatha Christie's greatest piece of misdirection?

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get extra Shedunnit episodes every month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Books mentioned in order:

— Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie
— The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
— Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
— Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie
— The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie
— Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie
— The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
— Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie
— Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
— Mrs McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie
— The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie
— Curtain by Agatha Christie
— Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie
— Third Girl by Agatha Christie
— The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
— Giant's Bread by Mary Westmacott
— Unfinished Portrait by Mary Westmacott
— An Autobiography by Agatha Christie

Some book links are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve got puffins, peacocks and penguins galore!

A full list of titles in the Penguin series can be found at penguinfirsteditions.com. The next book discussed in this series will be The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L. Sayers and Robert Eustace.

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get extra Shedunnit episodes every month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Books mentioned in this episode:
— The Missing Moneylender by W. Stanley Sykes
— A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
— Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
— Apple Bough by Noel Streatfeild
— Jennings and Darbishire by Anthony Buckeridge
— How to Be Topp by Geoffrey Willans
— Still She Wished For Company by Margaret Irwin
— I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
— Raffles by E.W. Hornung
— The Four Just Men by Edgar Wallace
— Green for Danger by Christiana Brand
— The Plague Court Murders by John Dickson Carr
— The Red Widow Murders by John Dickson Carr
— The White Priory by John Dickson Carr
— The House on Tollard Ridge by John Rhode
— The Dangerfield Talisman by J.J. Connington
— The Man in the Dark by John Ferguson
— In Spite of Thunder by John Dickson Carr
— Postern to Fate by Agatha Christie
— Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie
— Trent's Last Case by E.C. Bentley
— The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
— The Chinese Gold Murders by Robert Van Gulik
— The Rasp by Philip MacDonald
— The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham
— The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
— Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
— The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L. Sayers and Robert Eustace

NB: Links to Blackwell's are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you). Blackwell's is a UK bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge.

To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Make sure nobody has tampered with your turkey…

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get extra Shedunnit episodes every month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Books mentioned in this episode:
— The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrées by Agatha Christie
— Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie
— "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" by Arthur Conan Doyle, collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
— "Stuffing" by Edgar Wallace, collected in Silent Nights
— Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer
— “The Santa Claus Club” by Julian Symons, collected in Crimson Snow
— The Corpse in the Snowman by Nicholas Blake
— "Cambric Tea" by Marjorie Bowen, collected in Silent Nights
— An English Murder by Cyril Hare
— Who Killed the Curate? by Joan Coggin
— Crime at Christmas by C.H.B. Kitchin

More Christmas and wintry Shedunnit episodes:
— Let It Snow (Replay)
— Father Christmas
— The Murderless Christmas Mystery

To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices