10 Underrated Golden Age Detective Novelists

Golden Age Detective Novels tops the list of books that keep people guessing. Some writers can write truly page-turning mystery novels. Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham were the best-known of these golden age authors, but many other excellent authors have been forgotten. Several of their novels have been reprinted in the past few years, but they remain under the radar for most readers.

Margaret Armstrong

Margaret Neilson Armstrong (1867-1944) was one of the lesser known HIBK authors praised by Howard Haycraft in his classic 1941 mystery genre survey, Murder for Pleasure. Armstrong’s father was David Maitland Armstrong, an interesting combination of diplomat and stained glass artist. Margaret’s great uncle was Governor of New York and U.S. Secretary of State under President Ulysses S. Grant. She wrote three critically praised mystery novels near the end of her life. Margaret Armstrong has been called “the most productive and accomplished American book designer of the 1890s and early 1900s”. Her brother, Hamilton (Ham) Fish Armstrong, was editor of Foreign Affairs from 1928 to 1972. Another brother, Edward Maitland Armstrong, married into the King family of Newport, Rhode Island. Some examples of Armstrong stained glass design are give below.

Marie Belloc Lowndes

Marie Belloc Lowndes was one of the most successful and prolific mystery writers of her time. She wrote more than 45 novels, many of which were bestsellers, and was a master of suspense. Her stories often featured strong, independent women who used their wit and intelligence to solve crimes.

Lowndes wrote many novels in her early years, but it was her most popular novel, The Lodger (1913), that made her a household name. The Lodger is based on the true story of Jack the Ripper, and its success led to a number of mysteries. Lowndes also wrote several stand-alone novels, non-fiction pieces and biographies.

Despite her success as a novelist, Lowndes was always humble about her work. In an interview with The Paris Review in 1953, she said: “I don’t think my books are particularly good… But people seem to like them.” Clearly, Lowndes’ modesty belied her talent – she was one of the most popular authors of her day, and her work is still revered by mystery fans today.

Clifford Witting

Witting was an English novelist who produced sixteen detective novels between 1937 and 1968. Prior to becoming more well-known in the 1940s, Witting’s initial works were enjoyable mysteries with humorous elements. His works are admired not just for his masterful plotting, but also for their comedy and characterisation. He is often credited with changing the hard-boiled, darker tradition of American detective novels into a more upbeat, tongue-in-cheek style that focused more on clever puzzle plots than on morally objectionable characters the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Virgil Markham

Virgil Markham (1899-1973) spent over half of his life in the Shadow of his father, Edwin Markham (1852-1940), a poet and man of letters who was once renowned and much loved. Virgil Markham still held on to his father’s literary reputation even after he died, still best known for being the son of Edwin Markham.

 As a detective novelist, Virgil Markham’s career spanned from 1928 to 1936. Critics of crime fiction routinely overlook his work due to the brevity of his venture into the genre. But before John Dickson Carr made his debut, he devised elaborate puzzles to solve seemingly impossible crimes. In Death in the Dusk, his first novel, he tells a sensational and exceptional story. The Black Door, also known as Shock, is equally fascinating and compelling.

C.H.B. Kitchin

Clifford Henry Benn Kitchin wrote novels during the early twentieth century. Among Kitchin’s many books, there are a variety of themes and topics. His most celebrated detective novels are Death of My Aunt and The Murder of My Aunt, featuring urbane stockbroker Malcolm Warren (not the same person as Richard Hull’s sequel, The Murder of My Aunt). Birthday Party, however, is my favorite country house crime story because it uses multiple viewpoints to great effect. All of his other works are highly regarded though. He was one of Francis King’s two mentors, the other being J. R. Ackerley. Five of his novels with gay themes have been reprinted.

Milward Kennedy

After writing crime as a collaborator, Milward Rodon Kennedy Burge branched out on his own as Milward Kennedy. In his first solo effort, The Corpse on the Mat, Kennedy created a lighthearted mystery name-checked by Lord Peter Wimsey in Five Red Herrings. Still, his stories became increasingly original and ironic as Anthony Berkeley, alias Francis Iles, influenced him. Unlike other village murder mysteries, Poison in the Parish offers a unique perspective on the genre.

Elisabeth Sanxay Holding

Despite being admired by Raymond Chandler, her gripping books haven’t received the level of admiration they deserve since she died. In The Unfinished Crime, she developed the notion of domestic suspense following the footsteps of Marie Belloc Lowndes. Although her post-war books are more well-known, her 1930s books are also highly readable.

Virginia Rath

Virginia Rath (1905-1950) was an American writer, educated at the University of California and active in San Francisco literary circles. She produced thirteen novels in two mystery series. The first series featured Rocky Allan, sheriff of a rural county not far from San Francisco. The second series, featuring couturier Michael Dundas, was set chiefly around San Francisco  and involved Dundas and his wife Valerie. His first book was Death at Dayton’s Folly, which was written in 1935.

 H.C. Bailey

A major figure in the genre during his heyday, Henry Christopher Bailey, was praised by T.S. He was praised by Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and T.S. Eliot, among others. Reggie Fortune was the main detective in the series, and the longish short story showcased his skills to their best advantage. There is a darkness at the core of many of Bailey’s tales, as well as his novel Shadow on the Wall, which is striking and memorable despite its over-explanatory prose style.

C. Daly King

He was an American psychologist who lived from 1895 to 1963. The Newark Academy, Yale University, and Columbia University were among the institutions where he was educated. He trained in psychology after serving in the Army during WW1. An American psychiatrist, at times annoying and occasionally breathtaking, begins our list of the top three. There is no doubt that The Curious Mr. Tarrant is a famous collection of short stories, but it is his three ‘obelist’ novels, each of which has its own elaborate ‘cluefinder’ at the end which highlights the clues in the text, that fascinate me the most. In Mortmain Hall, my latest novel, I revive the concept of the ‘cluefinder’ by paying tribute to Obelists Fly High in several ways.

Who would be on your list of top golden age detective novelists or books?

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