When fed up and thoroughly peeved Chuny causes the train to crash, little does she know that her rage has sparked off a staggering chain of events involving an amnesiac who, in his quest to find a wanted criminal in order to resolve a case of mistaken identity, meets the formidable General de la Costa, learns a great deal about diamonds and becomes embroiled in an extraordinary affair involving the Bishop of Glasminster's mitre. This classic 'shocker' was written at the suggestion of Bentley's friend, John Buchan (The Thirty-Nine Steps).

Artist, connoisseur and private detective, Philip Trent, features in this classic and unputdownable collection, comprising eleven short stories. Including The Genuine Tabard, in which a clergyman and unique objets d'art are involved in a neat confidence trick; The Foolproof Lift, in which a blackmailing valet is found murdered; and The Ordinary Hairpins, in which a golden-haired opera singer commits suicide - but Trent is wisely suspicious.

English journalist, humorist and detective novelist E C Bentley is best remembered as the inventor of the 'clerihew' (a type of comical biographical verse) and as the author of Trent's Last Case, which is hailed by Dorothy L Sayers, among others, as the first work of The Golden Age of mystery fiction.
Complete Clerihews by Edmund Clerihew Bentley [075510322X]

In 1905, Edmund Clerihew Bentley published a volume of nonsense verse consisting of a series of four-liners designed to poke fun at distinguished personalities. Illustrated by Bentley's lifelong friend, eminent critic and author G K Chesterton, they were known as 'clerihews' and became as popular as the limerick form. In Complete Clerihews the entire collection is presented, with original illustrations. The assortment of over 100 participants includes: Karl Marx, Jane Austen, Mussolini, Henry VIII, Noel Coward, Tennyson, Dante, Leonardo Da Vinci, Dorothy Sayers, Aeschylus, Keats, President Roosevelt, Cleopatra and Lewis Carroll.

The title of Edmund Clerihew Bentley's memoirs refers to those days that began in the 1880s and ended with the outbreak of war in 1914 - a date he feels draws an abrupt line across history. Bentley is particularly interested in the contrast between those days and the time at which he was writing this volume, first published in 1940. Schooldays at the renowned St. Paul's, London are described with particular note to the uniquely gifted author G K Chesterton, who became his lifelong friend. And at Oxford University in the 1890s, Bentley describes his acquaintance with Hilaire Belloc and John Buchan, among other notable individuals. The launching of his career in journalism, the inspiration for the famous 'clerihew' and how he came to write what has been described by Agatha Christie as 'one of the three best detective stories ever written' (Trent's Last Case), are discussed with honesty and eloquence. But Bentley also looks outside his own life and shares his thoughts on the politics and culture of Britain during this interesting period.

When a scheming American capitalist is found dead in the garden of his English country house, two immediate matters confound amateur detective Philip Trent: why is the dead man not wearing his false teeth and why is his young widow seemingly relieved at his death? The newly widowed Mabel Manderson - 'the lady in black' - has a disarming effect on the refreshingly fallible and imaginative Trent, in this classic detective story that twists and turns as a result of the irresistible combination of ingenious deductions and misplaced assumptions.

'One of the three best detective stories ever written' (Agatha Christie)
'It is the one detective story of the present century which I am certain will go down to posterity as a classic. It is a masterpiece' (Dorothy L Sayers)

In 1905, Edmund Clerihew Bentley published a volume of nonsense verse consisting of a series of four-liners designed to poke fun at distinguished personalities. Illustrated by Bentley's lifelong friend, eminent critic and author G K Chesterton, they were known as 'clerihews' and became as popular as the limerick form. In Complete Clerihews the entire collection is presented, with original illustrations. The assortment of over 100 participants includes: Karl Marx, Jane Austen, Mussolini, Henry VIII, Noel Coward, Tennyson, Dante, Leonardo Da Vinci, Dorothy Sayers, Aeschylus, Keats, President Roosevelt, Cleopatra and Lewis Carroll.

About the Author English journalist, humorist and detective novelist E C Bentley is best remembered as the inventor of the 'clerihew' (a type of comical biographical verse) and as the author of Trent's Last Case, which is hailed by Dorothy L Sayers, among others, as the first work of The Golden Age of mystery fiction.

Edmund Clerihew Bentley Trent's Own Case with H.Warner Allen Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755103289

English journalist, humorist and detective novelist E C Bentley is best remembered as the inventor of the 'clerihew' (a type of comical biographical verse) and as the author of Trent's Last Case, which is hailed by Dorothy L Sayers, among others, as the first work of The Golden Age of mystery fiction.

Anthony Berkeley The Layton Court Mystery Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755102150

A journalist as well as a novelist, Anthony Berkeley was a founding member of the Detection Club and one of crime fiction's greatest innovators. He was one of the first to predict the development of the 'psychological' crime novel and he sometimes wrote under the pseudonym of Francis Iles. He wrote twenty-four novels, ten of which feature his amateur detective, Roger Sheringham.

Anthony Berkeley The Piccadilly Murder Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755102177

Anthony Berkeley Murder in the Basement Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755102142

A journalist as well as a novelist, Anthony Berkeley was a founding member of the Detection Club and one of crime fiction's greatest innovators. He was one of the first to predict the development of the 'psychological' crime novel and he sometimes wrote under the pseudonym of Francis Iles. He wrote twenty-four novels, ten of which feature his amateur detective, Roger Sheringham.

Anthony Berkeley Top Storey Murder Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755102134

Anthony Berkeley Death in the House Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755102126

A journalist as well as a novelist, Anthony Berkeley was a founding member of the Detection Club and one of crime fiction's greatest innovators. He was one of the first to predict the development of the 'psychological' crime novel and he sometimes wrote under the pseudonym of Francis Iles. He wrote twenty-four novels, ten of which feature his amateur detective, Roger Sheringham.

Anthony Berkeley Not to Be Taken Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755102118

Anthony Berkeley Panic Parly?? Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 075510210X

Anthony Berkeley The Silk Stocking Murders Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755102096

Anthony Berkeley Jumping Jenny Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755102088

A journalist as well as a novelist, Anthony Berkeley was a founding member of the Detection Club and one of crime fiction's greatest innovators. He was one of the first to predict the development of the 'psychological' crime novel and he sometimes wrote under the pseudonym of Francis Iles. He wrote twenty-four novels, ten of which feature his amateur detective, Roger Sheringham.

Anthony Berkeley The Second Shot Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £0.00 ISBN: 075510207X

Anthony Berkeley The Poisoned Chocolates Case Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755102061

Anthony Berkeley Trial and Error Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755102053

Anthony Berkeley Vane Mystery Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755106342

Alice Thomas Ellis Secrets of Strangers Pbk published September 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755105958

R.Austin Freeman Silent Witness Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 0755103777

Cyril Hare That Yew Tree's Shade Pbk published July 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 1842326546

Cyril Hare was the pseudonym of Judge Gordon Clark. Born at Mickleham near Dorking in 1900, he was educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. At the bar his practice was largely in the criminal courts. During the Second World War he was on the staff of the Director of Public Prosecutions; but later, as a County Court judge, his work concerned civil disputes only – and his sole connection with crime was through his fiction. He turned to writing detective stories at the age of thirty-six and some of his first short stories were published in Punch. Hare went on to write a series of detective novels. He died in 1958.

Cyril Hare With a Bare Bodkin Pbk published August 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 1842326562

Cyril Hare was the pseudonym of Judge Gordon Clark. Born at Mickleham near Dorking in 1900, he was educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. At the bar his practice was largely in the criminal courts. During the Second World War he was on the staff of the Director of Public Prosecutions; but later, as a County Court judge, his work concerned civil disputes only – and his sole connection with crime was through his fiction. He turned to writing detective stories at the age of thirty-six and some of his first short stories were published in Punch. Hare went on to write a series of detective novels. He died in 1958.

Cyril Hare Tenant for Death Pbk published July 2001 by Stratus at £6.99 ISBN: 1842326538

Cyril Hare was the pseudonym of Judge Gordon Clark. Born at Mickleham near Dorking in 1900, he was educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. At the bar his practice was largely in the criminal courts. During the Second World War he was on the staff of the Director of Public Prosecutions; but later, as a County Court judge, his work concerned civil disputes only – and his sole connection with crime was through his fiction. He turned to writing detective stories at the age of thirty-six and some of his first short stories were published in Punch. Hare went on to write a series of detective novels. He died in 1958.