"All this blood and violence. God help us. It is like a bad dream. When shall we wake?"It is the summer of 1943, and the height of the war in Italy. Alda Olivier's quiet life at the Villa Gualtieri is violently disrupted when a wounded English paratrooper lands in the area. Alda shelters the handsome Englishman, Richard Drew, in an abandoned tomb, attempting to evade enemies and fascist forces who surround them. Soon, however, the poisonous machinations of those enemies lead to murder, while the war inevitably closes in on them all. Can a stalwart young Englishman come daringly to the rescue of a fair damsel in a tumultuous foreign land where he himself needs rescuing?A contemporary review compares Death at the Villa to "classical Italian opera"; its "narrative of jealousy, violence, tragedy and innocence against a somber background" makes for "convincing and gripping reading." More recently Jacques Barzun has praised the novel's "tense situation, beautifully plotted and narrated," and its "admirably diversified characters and . . . picture of the times."Death at the Villa was first published in 1946. This new edition includes an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.
"Life hasn't always been easy here, but nobody has tried to murder me before."Roger Fordyce, a little battered by an unhappy affair, visits the Albergo Del Castello, a splendid hotel located in a little town outside Rome. While wandering the grounds one morning, Roger believes he sees a dead body with long black hair floating in a water tank. The hotel-owner dismisses the corpse as the body of a mongrel dog, and Roger returns to England. Little does he heed the ripples now set in motion, which will have fearsome consequences for himself and many others.Before long Roger is forced back to Italy, having joined forces with an unlikely band of amateur sleuths, including British writer Francis Gale, his schoolgirl daughter Anne, disgraced piano teacher Lily, earnest British embassy official Ronald, and the high-born Marchese Luigi de Sanctis.The Murder of Eve was first published in 1945. This new edition includes an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.
"The man's heart was dicky. It couldn't stand a shock. The question is-what shock?"Roger Frere is delighted to meet the lovely Celia Holland. But Celia is leaving for the South American republic of San Rinaldo, taking a post as governess. When Celia gets accidentally mixed up in a bloody San Rinaldo revolution, she manages to return to England . . . and finds herself plunged into murderous local mysteries.A stranger has been discovered in the forest, having apparently died of sheer fright. Roger, now married, lives at Frere Court, with his bride Nina, plus a grasping stepmother and a theatrical half-brother. Also in the neighbourhood is Major Enderby, a solitary individual, retired after service in India. The Major seems to knowing more than he lets on about strange events in the area. These now include creepy nocturnal prowlings by a creature unknown; the poisoning murder of a housemaid; and an attempt to dispose of Celia Holland using a gift of dates-sprinkled with ground glass.Inspector Collier comes down from Scotland Yard to learn what's going on. He is presented with a truly extraordinary problem, one which should baffle and enthrall the devoted Dalton reader.Death in the Forest was first published in 1939. This new edition includes an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.
"The truth can't hurt anyone," she said rather faintly.He did not speak for a minute. Then he said without looking at her. "Not if he's innocent."David Merle, a young circus acrobat, is arrested and convicted of the murder in London of wealthy eccentric Joshua Fallowes. Only his sister, Judy, and their aunt really believe in his innocence, although kindly Ben Levy stands by Judy (with whom he is rather smitten).Things are looking bad for David until his sister gets a note from thirteen-year-old Toby (last seen in The Mystery of the Kneeling Woman). He has discovered some points of interest concerning the case, and this information sends Judy off to Sard Manor, a run-down country mansion complete with a privately-run zoo. She sets to work, sleuthing as an undercover housemaid. Fortunately Judy has a loyal friend in Toby, who comes furnished with a heroic Scotland Yard stepfather-none other than Inspector Collier. She'll need all the help she can get, when the potential antagonists include not only the denizens of the Manor, but the beasts which lurk without.Death in the Dark was first published in 1938. This new edition includes an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.
"Not another murder!""You've said it."Kindly Reverend John Clare pays a social call upon the saturnine Simon Killick at his forbidding house, The Grange. Killick is a virtual recluse who relies on three dogs and a parrot for company.Killick is soon found murdered in his home, while in a nearby wood a local schoolboy, Toby, discovers a dying stranger whose last words refer to a "kneeling woman." This kick-starts a complicated case for the local police and it is not long before Scotland Yard, in the form of Inspector Collier, is called in. Yet more murders follow-this time by poisoned chocolates. Are all the deaths connected, and is the "kneeling woman" the link? What might Sir Henry Webber, the new owner of Brock Hall, know about the case, or, for that matter, his snobbish wife Beryl, and their two ghastly sons? Or odd jobs man Tommy Yates, or Florrie Soper, cook at the Hall, who adores Edgar Wallace thrillers and is intent on marrying Tommy.At least Collier has the eager assistance of Toby . . . and his widowed mother Sandra. Has love finally entered the life of Inspector Collier? Let's just say Sandra and, especially, Toby reappear in the next Inspector Collier case, Death in the Dark.The Mystery of the Kneeling Woman was first published in 1936. This new edition includes an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.
It was the last day of school term and, though nobody knew it except herself, an important day for Ruth. Tomorrow, when the holidays started, was the day when, guided by her friend, the author of The Mind and the Child, she would start her plan for freeing Paul's ego.Worried about her son Paul, who's showing signs of complexes (or perhaps just being spoiled?), Ruth Tring consults a work of child psychology. When a film crew spots the boy at his school and a major director decides he should be a star, Ruth thinks it's just what the doctor ordered. But her husband and father-in-law would be dead set against it, so Ruth consults the wise matriarch of the family and manages to get Paul his close-up. But is it really the best thing for him? And will the family survive the resulting jealousies and upheavals? In this page-turning novel, we get an inside look at the British film industry, realistic family dynamics, and a healthy dose of savvy psychology.Love in a Mist is the last of twelve charming, page-turning romances published under the pseudonym "Susan Scarlett" by none other than beloved children's author and novelist Noel Streatfeild. Out of print for decades, they were rediscovered by Greyladies Books in the early 2010s, and Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow are delighted now to make all twelve available to a wider audience."A writer who shows a rich experience in her writing and a charm" Nottingham Journal
"Dancing is not, as with some of the other arts, a matter of short inspiration and quick effects; dancing is a vocation. A girl whom I choose to star as much gives her life to dancing as a novice entering a nunnery gives her life to religion."So says the demanding Madame Tania as she offers a long-awaited starring role to young Judith Nell, who has strived her whole life for success in the ballet. But her big break arrives just as she's falling for Paul, who has demands of his own. The resulting conflict, and the pressure from Judith's mother, who tries to make up for her own stifled ambitions by obsessing over Judith's career, form the crux of a riveting, poignant tale by an author who knows the ins and outs of ballet better than anyone. Enriching the main story are Judith's fellow dancers-including a young girl who has sacrificed her youth only to grow too tall for a career-and her brothers. Not to mention the fearsome Madame Tania, who ends by getting told off in no uncertain terms!Pirouette is the eleventh of twelve charming, page-turning romances published under the pseudonym "Susan Scarlett" by none other than beloved children's author and novelist Noel Streatfeild. Out of print for decades, they were rediscovered by Greyladies Books in the early 2010s, and Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow are delighted now to make all twelve available to a wider audience."A writer who shows a rich experience in her writing and a charm" Nottingham Journal
This one week's holiday was all that most of the audience could get, they were free for one week from food queues, housework and even, for many hours a day, the care of their children. It was a week of absolute rest, but everybody in the audience knew that outside the camp lay the hard, difficult world of 1946.The Corners and the Binns are show business families on the verge of dire straits due to lack of jobs in the postwar economy. But crisis is averted when they snag a summer gig performing a variety show at a holiday camp. It's not all smooth sailing, however. The Corners' daughter Dulcie is attractive and talented, but a bit of a diva, and when she sets her sights on the show's pianist and composer, Tom Pollard, gets not a flicker of response, then discovers that his focus is on Nella Binns, a dancer with real talent but no ability to "put herself over", danger signs flash. The resulting drama, with a lush array of details about the perils of mounting a stage show, postwar life, and the lingering scars of war, is an irresistibly entertaining tale of family dynamics, ambition, and love.Poppies for England, first published in 1948, is the tenth of twelve charming, page-turning romances published under the pseudonym "Susan Scarlett" by none other than beloved children's author and novelist Noel Streatfeild. Out of print for decades, they were rediscovered by Greyladies Books in the early 2010s, and Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow are delighted now to make all twelve available to a wider audience."A writer who shows a rich experience in her writing and a charm" Nottingham Journal
There was silence. In it Janet heard the twittering of innumerable birds chatting as they settled down for the night. Some rooks cawed overhead. The baa of a sheep came from a distant field. London had been so noisy, with its crashes at night, and blastings and hammerings at smashed buildings by day, that the quiet and peace fell on her spirit like a cold hand on a sprained ankle.Janet Brain has been bombed out of her job in a London office and comes to the village of Worsingford (surely a case of going from bad to Worsingford), where her self-absorbed sister Sheila and their mother Maggie are weathering the war. Maggie has a bad heart and should be resting, but Sheila's too busy fancying herself a film star to help out. Close at hand are Donald, a handsome young widower, and his adorable daughter, as well as Barbara, a charming girl whose love is away on active service, and Barbara's curmudgeonly but likeable old father, a retired colonel (not to mention the ghosts in his house). There should be happy endings for all, but Donald's possessive young housekeeper and a series of misunderstandings precipitated by Sheila's selfishness will have to be dealt with first.Summer Pudding is the eighth of twelve charming, page-turning romances published under the pseudonym "Susan Scarlett" by none other than beloved children's author and novelist Noel Streatfeild. Out of print for decades, they were rediscovered by Greyladies Books in the early 2010s, and Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow are delighted now to make all twelve available to a wider audience."A writer who shows a rich experience in her writing and a charm" Nottingham Journal
To those who saw Saltings first on a hot day in summer-when heat shimmered in the hollows-that churchyard, and those sheep, and the surrounding cottages with their flaming gardens, stood for ever as a picture of peaceful England.Martin Richards, a dedicated, idealistic vicar, has been moved, for health reasons, from London to the idyllic village of Saltings, watched over by a dedicated housekeeper and surrounded by the beauties of the countryside. But his peace is disrupted when he takes in his newly-orphaned niece and nephew, and (far more reluctantly) his ghastly Aunt Connie. Then peace is dispelled altogether with the arrival of Judy Griffiths, the kind young woman hired to care for the children, who is seeking solace from a mysterious and difficult past. But Judy soon finds herself in trouble again, having triggered the jealousy of wealthy, widowed Lady Blacke, the attentions of the local schoolmaster, and the bitter vitriol of Aunt Connie. How these problems are resolved makes for an utterly delicious tale of romance and misadventure.Under the Rainbow, first published in 1942, is the seventh of twelve charming, page-turning romances published under the pseudonym "Susan Scarlett" by none other than beloved children's author and novelist Noel Streatfeild. Out of print for decades, they were rediscovered by Greyladies Books in the early 2010s, and Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow are delighted now to make all twelve available to a wider audience."A writer who shows a rich experience in her writing and a charm" Nottingham Journal
"I thought we were allowed to sit. I mean I thought it was the Shop Act or something that we had to have something to sit on."Jenny laughed."So they say, but it doesn't work out that way. You won't get sacked for sitting, but if you sit you'll get the sack."Lovely Beth Carson is just out of school and beginning her first job at Babbacombe's department store. She is pure as the driven snow, and knows her "place", but she can hardly be blamed for tripping over a charming young man's dog, can she? And how could she help being trapped in an elevator with the same man a few days later, and giving him a piece of her mind before learning that he just happens to be David Babbacombe, the ne'er-do-well son of the store's wealthy owner? How could she possibly have known that her careless words would inspire him to take a new lease on life? Along with vivid supporting characters, wholly believable family dynamics, and fascinating details about the inner workings of a department store, we get here a delightful frolic packed with humour, unlikely romance, and even a store detective.Babbacombe's, first published in 1941, is the sixth of twelve charming, page-turning romances published under the pseudonym "Susan Scarlett" by none other than beloved children's author and novelist Noel Streatfeild. Out of print for decades, they were rediscovered by Greyladies Books in the early 2010s, and Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow are delighted now to make all twelve available to a wider audience."A writer who shows a rich experience in her writing and a charm" Nottingham Journal
"Yes, and then I'll go over Miss Kay's rooms with either you or the housekeeper.""There is no housekeeper, Miss."From his voice it sounded as if the housekeeper had been strangled and her body put in the cellar; it nearly made Marda giggle.James Longford, a wealthy former racing car driver with vision loss from an accident several years before, hires 26-year-old Marda Mayne as companion to his newly-orphaned 17-year-old American ward Shirley. His main concern is to avoid being troubled so he can continue to live in self-imposed isolation, but as plucky, practical Marda and flirtatious, kind-hearted Shirley take his intimidating household staff in hand (and find an unexpected ally in that surly butler), they also begin to revive James' interest in life. The trio will have to brace themselves, however, when his self-absorbed, manipulative sister Vera-who sees his fortune as practically already hers-announces a visit.The Man in the Dark is the fifth of twelve charming, page-turning romances published under the pseudonym "Susan Scarlett" by none other than beloved children's author and novelist Noel Streatfeild. Out of print for decades, they were rediscovered by Greyladies Books in the early 2010s, and Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow are delighted now to make all twelve available to a wider audience."A writer who shows a rich experience in her writing and a charm" Nottingham Journal
It is not fun being the plain one of the family. But being the plain one of twins is a wretched position. That's why parables about grains of mustard seed, which grew up and startled everybody by their magnificence, did Pauline good.Petronella and Pauline Lane are 17-year-old twins, but not identical. "Peter", kind but utterly self-absorbed, is ravishingly beautiful while "Paul"-practical, sensitive, and loved by all-tends to slip through the cracks. Their father is the local vicar ("so much of a saint that if he wasn't a great dear he'd be a prig"), but malleable in their mother's hands, so that she (with an eye for getting them married) is able to arrange for the girls to work in a London dress shop run by David, son of local aristocracy in the unforgettable form of Lady Bliss. However, David's dishonest, fortune-hunting manageress is anything but pleased by their arrival, especially when Peter becomes the inspiration for David's new designs, and sets about to rid herself of them. Her machinations and their unpredictable results, unfolding amid fascinating details about the workings of a dress shop, make for a funny, sweet, and irresistible concoction.Peter and Paul, first published in 1940, is the third of twelve charming, page-turning romances published under the pseudonym "Susan Scarlett" by none other than beloved children's author and novelist Noel Streatfeild. Out of print for decades, they were rediscovered by Greyladies Books in the early 2010s, and Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow are delighted now to make all twelve available to a wider audience."A writer who shows a rich experience in her writing and a charm" Nottingham Journal
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