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April |
The Compleat Sarah Caudwell
Sarah Caudwell was the pseudonym of English barrister Sarah Cockburn, who wrote four witty (and veddy British) mystery novels featuring the adventures of four Lincoln's Inn barristers and Oxford law professor Hilary Tamar.
Her novels are a delightful mix of classic British mystery tropes in the tradition of Tey and Sayers, with a decidedly modern twist and a charming epistolary style.
Four, though. Only four novels in twenty years. And then, alas, she passed on prematurely.
As a consequence, some rabid fans (vide myself) have become obsessively completist about her work in the mystery genre.
After finding no decently thorough catalogue of her oeuvre online, I have taken it upon myself to collect this Completist's Guide to the Works of Sarah Caudwell.
The Novels:
Thus Was Adonis Murdered (1981) The Shortest Way To Hades (1985) The Sirens Sang Of Murder (1989) The Sibyl In Her Grave (2000)
Note: The novels are best read in chronological order. All are currently in print in mass-market paperback editions in the U.S.
Other Works:
Collaborative Works:
Hitt, Jack, Caudwell, et al. The Perfect Murder, HarperCollins, 1991. OUT OF PRINT
Note: This very amusing book is an expansion of an article from Harper's magazine that gathered together 5 mystery writers with moderator Jack Hitt for an imagined correspondence imagining the "perfect" murder. I don't have bibliographical details at hand for the article, but the book extends the article's content significantly anyway. Highly recommended book.
Short Fiction:
"An Acquaintance with Mr. Collins",
—Suit of Diamonds, ed. Anon., Collins, 1990. NOT IN PRINT —The Oxford Book of Detective Stories, ed. Patricia Cross, Oxford University Press, 2000. IN PRINT"Malice Among Friends", Malice Domestic 6, Anne Perry, Pocket, 1997. IN PRINT
"The Triumph of Eve", Women Before the Bench, ed. Carolyn Wheat, Prime Crime, 2001. IN PRINT
Puzzles:
"Cryptic Crime Acrostic" (with Michael Z. Lewin), 2nd Culprit (1993), ed. Liza Cody, Michael Z. Lewin, Chatto & Windus, 1993. NOT IN PRINT
"Cryptic Crime Acrostic" (with Michael Z. Lewin), 3rd Culprit (1994), ed. Liza Cody, Michael Z. Lewin & Peter Lovesey, Chatto & Windus, 1994. NOT IN PRINT
If you have anything to add to this list, please let me know.
I recommend checking Amazon's used listings, alibris, Half.com, and your local used booksellers for the out of print books. Most of them are readily available on the used market.