The Queens of Crime, by Marie Benedict

 

Female authors in the book:

·       Dorothy Sayers 1893 – 1957 – founding member of The Detection Club

·       Agatha Christie 1890 – 1976

·       Baroness Emma Orczy 1865 – 1947, known for Scarlet Pimpernel novels

·       Ngaio Marsh 1895 – 1982, main detective Inspector Alleyn

·       Margery Allingham 1904 – 1966, main detective Albert Campion

Novels mentioned in the book:

·       The Five Red Herrings, Dorothy Sayers

·       Have His Carcase, Dorothy Sayers

·       Peril at End House, Agatha Christie

·       The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Agatha Christie

·       The Secret of Chimneys, Agatha Christie

Description of the genre – from Wikipedia

Certain conventions and clichés were established that limited any surprises on the part of the reader to the details of the plot and, primarily, to the identity of the murderer. The majority of novels of that era were "whodunits", and several authors excelled, after misleading their readers successfully, in revealing the least likely suspect convincingly as the villain. There was also a predilection for certain casts of characters and certain settings in a secluded English country house and its upper-class inhabitants (although they were generally landed gentry; not aristocracy with their country house as a second house). The rules of the game – and Golden Age mysteries were considered games – were codified in 1929 by Ronald Knox.^[5]

According to Knox, a detective story "must have as its main interest the unravelling of a mystery; a mystery whose elements are clearly presented to the reader at an early stage in the proceedings, and whose nature is such as to arouse curiosity, a curiosity which is gratified at the end." Knox's "Ten Commandments", also known as "Knox Decalogue", are as follows:

1.     The criminal must be mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to know.

2.     All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.

3.     Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.

4.     No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.

5.     No Chinaman must figure in the story. (NOTE: This is a reaction to anti-Chinese stereotypes in 1920s)

6.     No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.

7.     The detective himself must not commit the crime.

8.     The detective is bound to declare any clues which he may discover.

9.     The "sidekick" of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal from the reader any thoughts which pass through his mind: his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.

10.  Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.

The Queens of Crime, by Marie Benedict

 

People and Characters
Real	Fictional
Detection Club The Floating Admiral – 12 chapters each written by a different club member   Dorothy Sayers - narrator Mac Fleming – husband, reporter and author, How to See the Battlefields John Anthony – Dorothy’s son Ivy – cousin, raising John Anthony   Agatha Christie Mysteriously disappeared in 1926 for 11 days Max – second husband   Baroness Emma Orczy   Ngaio Marsh   Margery Allingham   May Daniels – murder victim (case not solved in real life)	Leonora Denning – first missing girl, musician and college student, worked on “Cavalcade”     Mather’s Insurance Jeremy – father, started business, born poor Louis – son, bought May dresses to go to theater Millicent Bennett – receptionist and working for Chapman   Sir Alfred Chapman – theater director and producer “Cavalcade” - current production   Celia McCarthy – May’s friend, waited outside restroom for her

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2025 hardback edition.

1.     The goal of the Detection Club in 1931 was to “elevate our genre so reviewers see that our detective novels are every bit as good as so-called literary fiction” (page 25).  Do you think mysteries today get the same respect as literary fiction?  What about “cozy mysteries?”

 

2.     There are several references to the books the female authors have written, especially the Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Winsey characters from Dorothy Sayer’s novels.  If you have read any of the books or not, how do you think this influenced your reading and enjoyment of this book?

 

3.     Both Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers had secrets they did not want made public.  How did this affect their undertaking of solving the disappearance of the young women?

 

4.     How important was Dorothy Sayers unplanned pregnancy to the story of Leonora and May and the focus of this novel?

 

5.     There was a lot of emphasis on the view of women in the 1930s.  For example, after the war May and Celia were called “surplus women” (page 58) because so many men were killed in the war that there were not enough husbands.  Also, the five women thought that many men treated women “as though they were disposable” (page 297).  How was the view of women at that time important to the novel?

 

6.     Also, in an article about May Daniels, she was referred to as “was bobbed Miss Daniels leading a loose life?” (page 84).  Dorothy, reflecting on the different hairstyles of the 5 women writers, thought that “Eschewing a complicated, conventional coiffure for that more modern style is an effort to send a message: the wearer leads a busy life and hasn’t the time for fussy updos.  But the message received by a traditional few – especially men – is that the woman is fast and loose” (page 84).  Likewise, the five women each dressed differently.  “Each woman selects particular apparel and adopts a certain demeanor to assume a chosen role, one our group then reinforces with our interactions” (page 139).  Do we still make judgements on people today regarding their style and then treat them differently than someone dressed differently?

 

7.     Did you find the ending satisfying?  Did Chapman get off too easily?  Jimmy said he would say that he confessed to May’s murder before falling down the steps and dying.  

 

8.     Did you agree that Millicent should not be at all connected with Chapman’s death?

 

9.     How well did the novel follow the description of the genre from Wikipedia?  There was a red herring (the syringe found by May’s body) and there were clues from the analysis of the threatening note sent to Dorothy (pages 245 and 246).

 

10.  Would you recommend this book to a friend?  Why or why not?

 

11.  What other mysteries have you read that you enjoyed?   Have you ever solved the mystery before it was revealed in the book?