tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post3235841806003384029..comments2024-03-18T11:01:42.459-05:00Comments on Pretty Sinister Books: FFB: Thrilling Stories of the Railway - Victor L WhitechurchJ F Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-1723479968282741722014-04-04T01:40:05.106-05:002014-04-04T01:40:05.106-05:00I just reviewed his Murder at the Pageant. It was ...I just reviewed his Murder at the Pageant. It was an okay read. Going by your review this seems more interesting.neerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01986509319841061021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-47523886484228308052014-02-03T09:45:51.840-06:002014-02-03T09:45:51.840-06:00Coming later this week: a less than glowing reivew...Coming later this week: a less than glowing reivew about Whitechurch's imitiation Wodehouse comic crime novel <i>Mixed Relations</i>. As far removed in cleverness and wit from this debut as Oscar Wilde is to Adam Sandler.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-62142338286480662642014-02-02T20:05:39.065-06:002014-02-02T20:05:39.065-06:00I love a good railroad mystery...several would be ...I love a good railroad mystery...several would be an excellent prize, particularly after your tantalizing review. Adding another to the TBF list.... And, Passing Tramp: Thanks for the Cumberbatch link!Bev Hankinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01127476456755776574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-10923201443928515002014-02-02T19:30:36.257-06:002014-02-02T19:30:36.257-06:00For all the Cumberbatchers out there:
http://www....For all the Cumberbatchers out there:<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Benedict-Cumberbatch-Reads-Railway-Thrillers/dp/1471366162/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391390936&sr=8-1&keywords=victor+whitechurch+railwayThe Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-3490958091100639232014-02-02T19:25:32.044-06:002014-02-02T19:25:32.044-06:00I've never read the book, though some of the s...I've never read the book, though some of the stories are anthologized of course. I must say, Whitechurch's later genre work has always struck me as quite bland, but you make these sounds very interesting.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-15535591595611963782014-02-01T11:58:12.989-06:002014-02-01T11:58:12.989-06:00I've been interested in trains, real and model...I've been interested in trains, real and model railroading, since I was a tad, so this is of great interest to me. I'll have to look for a copy, and yes I saw what you said about availability.Rick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978136287154214297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-51507708719298322182014-02-01T05:24:21.085-06:002014-02-01T05:24:21.085-06:00You do know I didn't need that much encouragem...You do know I didn't need <i>that</i> much encouragement to make this collection a top priority, right? :) I'll first have to take a look at some recent arrivals, but you've definitely piqued my interest. <br /><br />Adey's <i>Locked Room Murders</i> really seems outdated today and the revised edition already lists over a thousand titles. <br />TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-79234224779201335752014-02-01T03:52:31.366-06:002014-02-01T03:52:31.366-06:00I see one was in the Greene anthology "The Fu...I see one was in the Greene anthology "The Further Rivals of Sherlock Holmes", so I must have read it; but there are so many good writers from that early period, that he didn't really register. Curiously, after reading a review on a different blog of this book, I found that there's a Japanese translation in print, ソープ・ヘイズルの事件簿 ("Thorpe Hazell's Casebook"). There seems to be a big market for railway mysteries in Japan.nigel.holmeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00387290866972027637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-1461796492823453322014-01-31T22:48:56.195-06:002014-01-31T22:48:56.195-06:00Found one on Abe books. Ships from the UK. About s...Found one on Abe books. Ships from the UK. About seven bucks. Not bad. Says it's hard cover.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-73559480672117138662014-01-31T17:35:32.399-06:002014-01-31T17:35:32.399-06:00This book is not out of reach at all, Yvette. Like...This book is not out of reach at all, Yvette. Like I've mentioned above you can pick up a nice copy of the edition I own (the second one pictured) for under $10. Or even a brand new one from Coachwhip (with 13 more stories!) for about $14.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-47316908451032856982014-01-31T13:02:08.910-06:002014-01-31T13:02:08.910-06:00Very intriguing, John. I like the way you always l...Very intriguing, John. I like the way you always like to keep things just a little bit out of reach. :) I remember years ago reading Freeman Wills Croft's railroad tails and liking them very much. My ex and I used to read them together. Coincidentally I'm currently reading THE NECROPOLIS RAILWAY by Andrew Martin, a very creepy tale. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-40393733969038756012014-01-31T11:34:04.923-06:002014-01-31T11:34:04.923-06:00Why yes I am! I guess I'm more open to the cr...Why yes I am! I guess I'm more open to the criteria of an impossilbe crime and to be fair some of them are solved almost immediately. But still -- I counted a murder in a locked train compartment, a boy disappearing, a train car disappearing, and the vanished contents of a bag. To be honest, I posted this essay before I was completely done with the book. I have three more stories to read (all without Thorpe Hazell) and there might be more!J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-70444933813593554572014-01-31T11:20:14.797-06:002014-01-31T11:20:14.797-06:00Are you suggesting, between the lines, someone wit...Are you suggesting, between the lines, someone with some sort of experise on locked room mysteries should give this collection a look, because "at least four" implies there might be more of them. Now I'm curious!TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-14590423521581907382014-01-31T09:49:02.073-06:002014-01-31T09:49:02.073-06:00As I mentioned once before I have quite a lot of P...As I mentioned once before I have quite a lot of Packard's books. I've read only one - <i>The Locked Book.</i> I know I had a copy of <i>The Wire Devils</i> a while ago, but it might've been sold. I definitely have <i>The Miracle Man</i> and have wanted to read it for a long time now. I'll have to add Packard to the list this year, along with Arthur Stringer who I didn't get to last year.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-34836182036186857772014-01-31T09:40:57.791-06:002014-01-31T09:40:57.791-06:00Isn't everything on amazon.com these days? [gr...Isn't everything on amazon.com these days? [grumble, grumble] That's the Coachwhip reprint. Some of those additional thirteen tales are about trains, but none of them feature Thorpe Hazell. There are only nine stories with Hazell.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-85010456429215328352014-01-31T09:40:07.310-06:002014-01-31T09:40:07.310-06:00Coachwhip Publications, the indie press that Curt ...Coachwhip Publications, the indie press that Curt Evans works with frequently, has their own edition which they retitled: <i>The Thorpe Hazell Mysteries, and More Thrilling Tales On and Off the Rails</i>. It includes all 15 stories of the original plus 13 more stories that appeared only in magazines. But I'd go for the facsimile reprint because of the interesting foreword that includes biographical tidbits about Whitechurch and the advertisements in the front and rear matter that make it feel like you're reading the real original edition.<br /><br />My revised edition of Adey's <i>Locked Room Murder</i> doesn't even list all the impossible crimes that I would count. It only includes "Sir Gilbert Murrell's Picture" from this volume plus one story published only in Pearson's magazine. I would say at least four other stories qualify.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-8761759971011611412014-01-31T06:46:33.082-06:002014-01-31T06:46:33.082-06:00Looks like someone collected all of the TH mysteri...Looks like someone collected all of the TH mysteries in "The Thorpe Hazell Mysteries, and More Thrilling Tales on and Off the Rails" reasonably priced on Amazon.Bill Peschelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15257587479467531187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-15666140472112584202014-01-31T04:44:05.970-06:002014-01-31T04:44:05.970-06:00I knew of this collection, but not it was anything...I knew of this collection, but not it was anything more than a collection of novelty stories about a railway detective and I'll have to track down a copy now. Not a first edition, of course, but wasn't this collection recently reprinted? Thanks for the heads up. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-54586661011134486452014-01-31T02:41:02.746-06:002014-01-31T02:41:02.746-06:00John, I feel the same way as Sergio did. Stories a...John, I feel the same way as Sergio did. Stories about an oddball detective with knowledge of trains and railway lines has to be good and your excellent review has already got me rooting for this vintage collection. Of course, I'd be lucky to find a copy in my neck of the woods. But one never knows. Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-27189943052188153892014-01-31T02:16:34.313-06:002014-01-31T02:16:34.313-06:00Well, I'm positively salivating now John - sou...Well, I'm positively salivating now John - sounds marvellous and I have never come across this in my second bookstore perusals - well done on your find mate! Us mere mortals are clearly going to have to fork out a little more but it sounds like it is really worth it - thanks chum - and by the way, love that you give the grid settings with each review. As always, you get there first!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-22430562619529295072014-01-31T01:42:57.619-06:002014-01-31T01:42:57.619-06:00More railway mysteries? It wasn't until a few ...More railway mysteries? It wasn't until a few years ago that I learned such things existed. My introduction came through Frank L. Packard, former employee of the Canadian Pacific. If interested, his 1918 novel, <a href="http://mtlreviewofbooks.ca/reviews/the-wire-devils/" rel="nofollow"><i>The Wire Devils</i></a>, was reissued last year by the University of Minnesota Press. A railway mystery and a "wire thriller", it's not the best Packard I've read (see: <a href="http://brianbusby.blogspot.ca/2011/03/miracle-man-on-paper-and-nitrate-film.html" rel="nofollow"><i>The Miracle Man</i></a> ) but I really did learn quite a bit about communications and the workings of railways in the early twentieth century.Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.com