Shedunnit

The tragic tale of Alma Rattenbury. 

Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at shedunnitshow.com/membership.

Mentioned in the episode:

— The Anatomy of Murder by The Detection Club

— Stay of Execution by Eliot Crawshay-Williams

— The Fatal Passions of Alma Rattenbury by Sean O'Connor

— Cause Célèbre by Terence Rattigan

Related Shedunnit episodes:

— Edith Thompson

— The Trials of Madeleine Smith

— Florence Maybrick I and Florence Maybrick II

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.

The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.

Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/thevillamurdertranscript.

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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The parallel lives of a writer and her detective.

Thanks to my guest, Julia Jones. Her biography of Margery Allingham is available now through all good bookshops.

Mentioned in the episode:

— Margery Allingham: A Biography by Julia Jones

— The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham

— Blackkerchief Dick by Margery Allingham

— Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham

— Dancers in Mourning by Margery Allingham

— Coroner's Pidgin by Margery Allingham

— The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham

— The China Governess by Margery Allingham

— Look to the Lady by Margery Allingham

— The Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham

— The Fashion in Shrouds by Margery Allingham

— Traitor's Purse by Margery Allingham

— The Oaken Heart by Margery Allingham

— The Relay by Margery Allingham

— Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham

— The Mind Readers by Margery Allingham

— Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham

— Death of a Ghost by Margery Allingham

— Fifty Years in the Fiction Factory by Julia Jones

Related Shedunnit episodes:

— Margery Allingham Waits for the Invasion

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.

The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.

Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/theevolutionofmargeryallinghamtranscript

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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If you need a golden age detective fiction recommendation, we are at your service.

To take part in future interactive episodes, become a member of the Shedunnit Book Club now at shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Books mentioned in the episode:

— A Grave Mistake by Ngaio Marsh

— Common or Garden Crime by Sheila Pim

— Unholy Dying by RT Campbell

— The Death Cap by RT Campbell

— Black Orchids by Rex Stout

— Up the Garden Path by John Rhode

— False Scent by Ngaio Marsh

— A Rum Affair: A True Story of Botanical Fraud by Karl Sabbagh

— Dead Man's Quarry by Ianthe Jerrold

— The Murder of My Aunt by Richard Hull

— Death on Tiptoe by RC Ashby

— Noonday and Night by Gladys Mitchell

— The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

— Death of Mr Dodsley by John Ferguson

— Death of an Author by ECR Lorac

— The Mysterious Mr Badman by WF Harvey

— Murder in the Bookshop by Carolyn Wells

— Bodies in a Bookshop by RT Campbell

— Murder by the Book, edited by Martin Edwards

— Bibliomysteries: Stories of Crime in the World of Books and Bookstores, edited by Otto Penzler

— The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

— A Case of Books by Bruce Graeme

— The Widening Stain by W. Bolingbroke Johnson

— Mystery at Geneva by Rose Macaulay

— The Death of a Diplomat by Peter Oldfeld

— Murder at School by Glen Trevor

— "Manx Gold" by Agatha Christie, featured in The Harlequin Tea Set and While the Light Lasts

— These Names Make Clues by ECR Lorac

— The Chinese Orange Mystery by Ellery Queen

— The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

— Enter A Murderer by Ngaio Marsh

— Opening Night by Ngaio Marsh

— Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh

— Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh

— Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh

— Death at the Dolphin by Ngaio Marsh

— The Bungalow Mystery by Anne Haynes

— Dancers in Mourning by Margery Allingham

— Quick Curtain by Alan Melville

— Black Express by Conyth Little

— The Norths Meet Murder by Frances and Richard Lockridge

— The Dain Curse by Dashiell Hammett

— Murder on Safari by Elspeth Huxley

— The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer

— Twice Round the Clock by Billie Houston

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.

The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.

Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/themurdermysteryhotlinetranscript.

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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Golf and murder have been close companions for a whole century.

To support the podcast, be part of a superb bookish community, and get two bonus episodes a month, become a member of the Shedunnit Book Club now at shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Mentioned in the episode:

— The Murder on the Links (1923) by Agatha Christie

— “The Murder on the Golf Links” (1907) by Matthias McDonnell Bodkin, featured in Resorting to Murder: Holiday Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards

— A Lost Leader (1906) by E. Phillips Oppenheim

— Hints on the Game of Golf by Horace G Hutchinson

— The Book of Golf and Golfers by Horace G Hutchinson

— The Lost Golfer (1930) by Horace G Hutchinson

— Tish Plays the Game (1921) by Mary Roberts Rinehart

— The Viaduct Murder (1925) by Ronald Knox

— The Bunker at the 5th (1927) by Marcus Dods

— “The Red Golf Ball” by Gerald Verner, featured in Settling Scores: Sporting Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards

— Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1934) by Agatha Christie

— The Murder on the Sixth Hole (aka The Strange Death of Martin Green) by David Frome

— Tragedy at the Thirteenth Hole (1933) by Miles Burton

— Fer-de-Lance (1934) by Rex Stout

— Murder in the Mews (1937) by Agatha Christie

— “The Sweet Shot” (1939) by EC Bentley

— Trent’s Own Case (1936) by EC Bentley

— Trent's Last Case by EC Bentley

— Mr. Malcolm Presents (1932) by Gerard Fairlie

— The Case of the Green Felt Hat (1937) by Christopher Bush

— Unexpected Night (1940) by Elizabeth Daly

— The Body in the Bunker by Herbert Adams

— Death Off the Fairway by Herbert Adams

— Nineteenth Hole Mystery by Herbert Adams

— Death on the First Tee by Herbert Adams

— The Secret of Bogey House (1924) by Herbert Adams

— Unfinished Portrait (1934) by Mary Westmacott

— My Late Wives (1946) by Carter Dickson

— An Awkward Lie (1952) by Michael Innes

— Fair Prey (1956) by William Campbell Gault

— The Big Gamble (1958) by George Harmon Coxe

— Murder at the Open (1965) by Angus MacVicar

— Deadly Putter (1979) by Ted Dexter and Clifford Makins

— Death of a Low-Handicap Man (1974) by Brian Ball

— A Hole in One (2005) by Catherine Aird

— Administration Can Be Murder (2000) by Richard L. Baldwin

— Death from the Ladies' Tee (1992) by James Y Bartlett

— Murder in the Rough, collection edited by Otto Penzler

— Open Season (2005) by Jim Moriarty

— Par for the Corpse by Kathleen Kelly Sprissler

Other golf-related titles not mentioned:

— The Heart of a Goof (1926) by PG Wodehouse

Related Shedunnit episodes:

— The Death of the Country House

— Murder on Holiday

— The Many Afterlives of Hercule Poirot

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.

The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.

Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/deathunderpartranscript Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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Step inside the mortuary.

Thanks to my guest, Carla Valentine, for joining me. Her book, Murder Isn't Easy: The Forensics of Agatha Christie, has lots more on this subject, as does her previous appearance on Shedunnit, Murder Isn't Easy.

Mentioned in the episode:

— Murder Isn't Easy by Carla Valentine

— The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

— The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

— 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie

— Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers

— "The Lernean Hydra" by Agatha Christie, featured in The Labours of Hercules

— Notable Trials books (Shedunnit episode on the subject linked below)

— One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie

Related Shedunnit episodes:

— Murder Isn't Easy

— Notable Trials

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.

The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.

Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/thegoldenageautopsytranscript

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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

Come with me on a tour of Greenway.

Special thanks to Clive and everyone at the National Trust for making me and my microphone welcome at Greenway, and to Sarah Thrift for arranging it. I'm also grateful to my friend Elizabeth Minkel, who spent the afternoon doing this even though she has only read one Christie novel in her whole life. She has her own podcast, Fansplaining, which I highly recommend.

Books mentioned in this episode:

— Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie

— Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie

— Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie

— Towards Zero by Agatha Christie

— Agatha Christie An Autobiography by Agatha Christie

— Tied Up In Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh

Related Shedunnit episodes about Agatha Christie:

— Agatha Christie Writes Alone

— Agatha's Archaeologists

— The Dispenser

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.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/shedunnit.

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

The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.

Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/athomewithagathachristietranscript 

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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

What if you are found neither innocent nor guilty?

Books mentioned in this episode

— The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins

— The House in Queen Anne Square by William Darling Lyell

— Madeleine Smith: A Tragi-Comedy in Two Acts by Winifred Duke

— Trial of Madeleine Smith (Notable British Trials), appraisal by F. Tennyson Jesse

— Murder and Morality in Victorian Britain by Eleanor Gordon and Gwyneth Nair

— The Strange Affair of Madeleine Smith by Douglas MacGowan

— Letty Lynton by Marie Belloc Lowndes

— Alas, for Her That Met Me! by Mary Ann Ashe (Christianna Brand)

Previous Shedunnit episodes mentioned

— Florence Maybrick I and Florence Maybrick II, originally published 15 May and 12 June 2019

— Edith Thompson, originally published 9 January 2019

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.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/shedunnit.

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

The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.

Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/thetrialsofmadeleinesmithtranscript

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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

A most golden age murder.

Books mentioned in this episode

— Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence

— The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

— Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

— The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham

— There Came Both Mist and Snow by Michael Innes

— Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie

— Too Soon to Die by Henry Wade

— The Stately Home Murder by Catherine Aird

— Strange Bedfellows by Andrew Soutar

— Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

— Orlando by Virginia Woolf

— Coming Up for Air by George Orwell

— Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

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.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/shedunnit.

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

The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.

Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/thedeathofthecountryhousetranscript

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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

How do you say goodbye to a long-running character?

Many thanks to my guest, Elly Griffiths. Her latest book is The Last Remains. There are no spoilers in this episode for the contents of the book, beyond the fact that it is the last "for now", which Elly has already announced.

Books mentioned in this episode

— Cat Among The Pigeons by Agatha Christie

— The Clocks by Agatha Christie

— Curtain by Agatha Christie

— The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths

— The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths

— The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

— The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths

— A Room Full Of Bones by Elly Griffiths

— The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

— The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths

— Marple: Twelve New Stories

Previous Shedunnit episodes mentioned

— Swan Song

— Agatha Christie Writes Alone

— Golden Age Inspiration with guest Elly Griffiths

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.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/shedunnit.

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

The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.

Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/themysteriousdorothybowerstranscript

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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

She wrote five successful murder mysteries and then vanished without a trace.

Mentioned in this episode: 

— Postscript to Poison by Dorothy Bowers

— Shadows Before by Dorothy Bowers

— A Deed Without A Name by Dorothy Bowers

— Fear For Miss Betony by Dorothy Bowers

— The Bells at Old Bailey by Dorothy Bowers

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.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/shedunnit.

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

The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.

Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/themysteriousdorothybowerstranscript Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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