Introduction
This collection includes offerings from some of the most famous
British writers of detective and mystery , but is found to be
central to the solution of the mystery.
Elliott O'Donnell (1872-1965) had a lifelong interest in ghosts
and mysterious or unexplained events, and produced several
serious books on the subject, such as Some Haunted Houses of
England and Wales (1908) and Strange Sea Mysteries (1926). He also
carried this interest into his stories, a good example of which is
'The Unlucky Theatre', included in this collection. His best-
known book is The Sorcery Club (1912), about three men who put
the dark secrets of Atlantis to their own evil use.
The setting for 'The Mezzotint' is very ordinary. But
into this Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) suddenly
introduces unexplained and frightening events. James wrote four
collections of ghost stories. In his working life he was a highly
respected historian who produced many books on his subject.
Margery Allingham (1904-66) was a social historian as well as a
writer of mystery stories. Her most famous character is the
detective Albert Campion, who appears in many of her books as
well as in this short story, 'Family Affair'. Like Chesterton's Father
Brown, Campion is a character who surprises those who do not
take him seriously.
Dennis Wheatley (1897-1977) wrote many types of books,
including mystery and crime stories, and has been widel
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translated. His best-known characters are the secret agents Roger
Brook and Gregory Sallust. 'The Case of the Thing That
Whimpered' appears at first to be a ghost story, but the mysterious
noises belong to a more familiar world.
The Blue Cross G. K. Chesterton
Early one morning the boat arrived at Harwich and from it
poured a crowd of travellers. Among them the man that we must
follow did not look out of place in any way - nor did he wish to.
There was nothing out of the ordinary about him, except a slight
difference between the
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