Part dinner club, part semi-guild for detective fiction writers, the Detection Club was formed in 1930 Britain by a distinguished group of authors including such Cozy luminaries as Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, E.C. Bentley, and G.K. Chesterton, all of whom eventually served a tenure as president. The Detection Club was originally mostly English and Irish authors, though this was more due to the limitations of geography at the time than an inclination toward British born authors – Hungarian born immigrant to Britain Emma Orczy was among the founding members. Still, the Detection Club has always been a largely British group – John Dickson Carr was the first and only American added to the club in 1936, and he resided in the UK at the time. Always an invitation-only club, the Detection Club today includes some of the modern leaders of mystery fiction, including Colin Dexter and current president, Simon Brett.
Most sources indicate that the main reason the club originally formed was to provide a group of friends in the field; individuals who enjoyed spending time with one another with an excuse to meet regularly for dinner parties in London. However, they also took their careers very seriously, and in an attempt to avoid what they saw as a cheapening of the detective fiction field of literature, all members pledged an oath to uphold certain “fair play” rules. Of course, most of the Detection Club members rarely upheld these “rules” all the time – Agatha Christie in particular was famous for either bending the rules so far they were unrecognizable, or even occasionally breaking them outright.
In modern times many of these initial rules have been relaxed or discarded as sentiment toward them changed among detective fiction authors. (As a side note, I’ll be reviewing these rules and some of their modern applicability in two other upcoming articles.)
Most potential applicants were only considered if they had written at least two successfully published pieces of detective fiction, though a few rare exceptions were made for those who had written significantly in other fields – for example, A. A. Milne, author of the widely popular Winnie the Pooh series of children’s novels, was accepted into the club despite only writing one mystery book, The Red House Mystery. (The Kindle copy is FREE so if you want it, be sure to click on the link!) Likewise, as different styles of novels have risen and fallen over the decades, working in the field that would have been considered “detective fiction” has also fallen by the wayside, with many members having a much stronger background in thriller or supernatural mysteries than strictly detective works.
Overall, the Detection Club has been a mainstay of the for many years, and is still occasionally active, with an anthology of modern short works including pieces by P. D. James, Colin Dexter, and Reginald Hill published for the 75th anniversary of the Detection Club in 2005. The club also periodically re-releases out of print publications of their older anthologies, so if you happen to see a novel with something like “By Members of the Detection Club” on the cover, don’t hesitate to pick it up – it’s sure to include some great reads!
Knox’s Commandments – The 10 Rules of Golden Age Detective Fiction, Part 1
Knox’s Commandments – The 10 Rules of Golden Age Detective Fiction, Part 2
marion says
Very interesting. Thank you!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marion, I would have absolutely loved being able to eavesdrop at these club meetings!
Tessa~ says
what a delightful piece of new-to-me information!
thank you!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Tessa, I had heard about years ago, but my husband reminded me about it last month. A book he was reading mentioned the Detection Club. What fun they must have had!
Nancye says
Love your blogs. I am an avid reader, many genres over the years, but my favorites are mysteries. The cozy is first choice these days due time constraints, so your blogs are a fantastic help when looking for new books. Thanks
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Nancye, I’m so glad you found us over here! I can certainly understand Cozy Mysteries being first on your list of genres to read during your limited reading time. Great choice!
Joyce says
This information is new to me. What an interesting club that must be. I love English mysteries.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Joyce, it think it would be great to be a member!
Anne says
Danna, that’s a really interesting article as the others have said. I knew about the Detection Club because there is a book of short stories in my local library by the original members, and I remember reading the 2005 anthology, but I didn’t know they were still going as a social group. I’m looking forward to yr. upcomming articles on the “rules.”
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Anne, thanks for the information about The Detection Club Collection. With authors like Robert Barnard, Colin Dexter, Reginald Hill, P.D. James, and Margaret Yorke, I’m guessing this is a wonderful mystery anthology.
Anne says
P.S. – I’ve just read a novel by Agatha Christie written under the name of Mary Westmacott and it’s really good indeed. It’s called “The Rose and the Yew,” not a mystery but a story of 3 people caught in a love triangle. It’s not a “Womens’ Mag.” type of thing but more about the nature of life itself and how we all live the same day, just at different paces It was written at the end of WW2 but some of the themes are just as relevent today. An answer to those who say “oh she could write a good plot but not much else.”
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Anne, oh my gosh, I never heard that quote about Agatha Christie’s writing! Hmmm… a good plot and nothing else? If only all mystery authors could do what she did!
Lois says
Thanks Danna. I had not heard of The Detection Club and would love to find some of those anthologies. I will be searching our local used book stores for them. I really appreciate all the interesting information you put in your blog and find it very helpful. Looking forward to the next one.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lois, thank you for the kind words! Here’s the information on the anthology that I found:
The Detection Club Collection.
(I doubt it will be difficult to find…)
Angela says
Neat, I didn’t know this fun fact either. I have often wondered if some of those mystery writers were friends or if they were supportive of each other’s works. In today’s cozy mystery world you so often see authors beating the drum for their fellow cozy writers (which I think is very nice to see) and I wonder if the author’s in Christie’s age had similar relationships. Looking forward to more posts on the Detection Club!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Angela, I doubt it was as easy as it is these days, with the internet, for authors’ to promote other authors’work. Of course, if they had this club and met regularly, they no doubt became friends…
Patrick says
I love the Detection Club round robins. However, Harper Collins Canada is making marketing error.
They have reissued Six Against the Yard, As a Policeman and The Anatomy of Murder in trade paperbacks yet not The Floating Admiral or More Anatomy of Murder.
I hope that they soon do this and also put them all available for Harper Collins America so we can buy them at our favorite mystery bookstores.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Patrick, yes, sometimes it does seem that big publishers make strange decisions regarding their rerelease schedules… it certainly would be more convenient for us if they just tried to keep as many books in print as possible.
Patrick McIntosh says
Danna,
Hopefully, with the success of The Sinking Admiral & The Detection Collection Harper’s Canada will convince the American division that they’re a large enough fan base that loves all things Agatha Christie to reprint these classics.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Patrick, I hope you’re right. I’d certainly like to see more of these old classics enter print again as often as possible.