Cecil Street

Major (Cecil) John (Charles) Street
Born 1884 (1884)
Gibraltar
Died 8 December 1964(1964-12-08) (aged 79–80)
Eastbourne
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Rank Major
Battles/wars
World War I
Irish War of Independence
Awards MC
OBE

Cecil John Charles Street, MC, OBE (1884 – 8 December 1964; widely reported as January 1965 due to a very late obituary), who was known to his colleagues, family and friends as John Street, began his military career as an artillery officer in the British army. During the course of World War I, he became a propagandist for MI7, in which role he held the rank of Major.[1] After the armistice, he alternated between Dublin and London during the Irish War of Independence as Information Officer for Dublin Castle, working closely with Lionel Curtis.[2] He later earned his living as a prolific writer of detective novels.

Novelist

He produced two long series of novels; one under the name of John Rhode featuring the forensic scientist Dr. Priestley,[3] and another under the name of Miles Burton featuring the investigator Desmond Merrion. Under the name Cecil Waye, Street produced four novels: The Figure of Eight; The End of the Chase; The Prime Minister's Pencil; and Murder at Monk's Barn. The Dr. Priestley novels were among the first after Dr Thorndyke to feature scientific detection of crime,[3] such as analysing the mud on a suspect's shoes. Desmond Merrion is an amateur detective who works with Scotland Yard's Inspector Arnold.

Critic and author Julian Symons places this author as a prominent member of the "Humdrum" school of detective fiction. "Most of them came late to writing fiction, and few had much talent for it. They had some skill in constructing puzzles, nothing more, and ironically they fulfilled much better than S. S. Van Dine his dictum that the detective story properly belonged in the category of riddles or crossword puzzles. Most of the Humdrums were British, and among the best known of them were Major John Street ...".[4] Symons opinion has not however prevented the Rhode and Burton books becoming much sought after by collectors and many of the early ones can command high prices. Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor in their A Catalogue of Crime offer a different perspective to Symons, praising several of the Rhode books in particular, though they only review a small proportion of the more than 140 titles Street produced. Curt Evans has written the only detailed account of Street's life and works "I wrote my new book, Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920–1961 (published by McFarland Press) in part to give a long overdue reappraisal of these "Humdrum" detection writers as accomplished literary artists. Not only did they produce a goodly number of fine fair play puzzles, but their clever tales have more intrinsic interest as social documents and even sometimes as literary novels than they have been credited with having.

Bibliography

This bibliography has been confirmed against a standard reference.[5]

Dr. Priestley Novels

  • The Paddington Mystery (1925)
  • Dr. Priestley's Quest (1926)
  • The Ellerby Case (1927)
  • The Murders in Praed Street (1928), Reprinted Penguin (1937)
  • Tragedy at the Unicorn (1928)
  • The House on Tollard Ridge (1929)
  • The Davidson Case (1929) (U.S. title Murder at Bratton Grange)
  • Peril at Cranbury Hall (1930)
  • Pinehurst (1930) (U.S. title Dr. Priestley Investigates)
  • Tragedy on the Line (1931)
  • The Hanging Woman (1931)
  • Mystery at Greycombe Farm (1932) (U.S. title The Fire at Greycombe Farm)
  • Dead Men at the Folly (1932)
  • The Motor Rally Mystery (1933) (U.S. title Dr. Priestley Lays a Trap)
  • The Claverton Mystery (1933) (U.S. title The Claverton Affair)
  • The Venner Crime (1933)
  • The Robthorne Mystery (1934) When one of the Robthorne twins commits suicide, there is a question over which one it is and whether it was suicide or murder.
  • Poison for One (1934)
  • Shot at Dawn (1934)
  • The Corpse in the Car (1935) Dr. Priestley solves how Lady Misterton was killed whilst sitting, alone, in her car. Supt Hanslet attempts to track down her killer.
  • Hendon's First Case (1935)
  • Mystery at Olympia (1935) (U.S. title Murder at the Motor Show)
  • Death at Breakfast (1936)
  • In Face of the Verdict (1936) (U.S. title In the Face of the Verdict)
  • Death in the Hop Fields (1937) (U.S. title The Harvest Murder)
  • Death on the Board (1937) (U.S. title Death Sits on the Board)
  • Proceed with Caution (1937) (U.S. title Body Unidentified)
  • Invisible Weapons (1938)
  • The Bloody Tower (1938) (U.S. title The Tower of Evil) – Inspector Waghorn identifies a ruthless murderer and solves a set of clues to the whereabouts of long-hidden treasure
  • Death Pays a Dividend (1939)
  • Death on Sunday (1939) (U.S. title The Elm Tree Murder)
  • Death on the Boat Train (1940)
  • Murder at Lilac Cottage (1940)
  • Death at the Helm (1941)
  • They Watched by Night (1941) (U.S. title Signal For Death)
  • The Fourth Bomb (1942)
  • Dead on the Track (1943)
  • Men Die at Cyprus Lodge (1943)
  • Death Invades the Meeting (1944)
  • Vegetable Duck (1944) (U.S. title Too Many Suspects)
  • Bricklayer's Arms (1945) (U.S. title Shadow of a Crime) (Dr. Priestley plays only a minor role in this book, all the actual detection being done by Inspector Waghorn)
  • The Lake House (1946) (U.S. title Secret of the Lake House)
  • Death in Harley Street (1946)
  • Nothing But the Truth (1947) (U.S. title Experiment in Crime)
  • Death of an Author (1947)
  • The Paper Bag (1948) (U.S. title The Links in the Chain)
  • Up the Garden Path (1949) (U.S. title The Fatal Garden)
  • The Telephone Call (1949) (U.S. title Shadow of an Alibi)
  • Blackthorn House (1949)
  • Family Affairs (1950) (U.S. title The Last Suspect)
  • The Two Graphs (1950) (U.S. title Double Identities)
  • The Secret Meeting (1951)
  • Dr. Goodwood's Locum (1951) (U.S. title The Affair of the Substitute Doctor)
  • Death at the Dance (1952)
  • Death in Wellington Road (1952)
  • Death at the Inn (1953) (U.S. title The Case of the Forty Thieves) – Inspector Waghorn breaks a gang of thieves who have found an ingenious way to defraud the Post Office and, along the way, murder a man by poisoning
  • By Registered Post (1953) (U.S. title The Mysterious Suspect)
  • Death on the Lawn (1954)
  • The Dovebury Murders (1954)
  • Death of a Godmother (1955) (U.S. title Delayed Payment)
  • The Domestic Agency (1955) (U.S. title Grave Matters)
  • An Artist Dies (1956) (U.S. title Death of an Artist)
  • Open Verdict (1956)
  • Death of a Bridegroom (1957)
  • Robbery With Violence (1957)
  • Death Takes a Partner (1958)
  • Licensed For Murder (1958)
  • Murder at Derivale (1958)
  • Three Cousins Die (1959)
  • The Fatal Pool (1960)
  • Twice Dead (1960)
  • The Vanishing Diary (1961)

Other Books written as John Rhode

Books written as Miles Burton

Series characters: Inspector Henry Arnold and Desmond Merrion, except The Hardway Diamonds Mystery and Murder at the Moorings.

  • The Hardway Diamonds Mystery (1930)
  • The Secret of High Eldersham (1930) (aka The Mystery of High Eldersham)
  • The Menace on the Downs (1931)
  • The Three Crimes (1931)
  • Death of Mr. Gantley (1932)
  • Murder at the Moorings (1932)
  • Fate at the Fair (1933)
  • Tragedy at the Thirteenth Hole (1933)
  • Death at the Crossroads (1933)
  • To Catch A Thief (1934)
  • The Charabanc Mystery (1934)
  • The Devereux Court Mystery (1935)
  • The Milk Churn Murder (1935) (U.S. title The Clue of the Silver Brush)
  • Where is Barbara Prentice? (1936) (U.S. title The Clue of the Silver Cellar)
  • Death in the Tunnel (1936) (U.S. title Dark Is the Tunnel)
  • Murder of a Chemist (1936)
  • Death at the Club (1937) (U.S. title The Clue of the Fourteen Keys)
  • Murder in Crown Passage (1937) (U.S. title The Man with the Tattooed Face)
  • Death at Low Tide (1938)
  • The Platinum Cat (1938)
  • Mr. Babbacombe Dies (1939)
  • Death Leaves No Card (1939)
  • Mr. Westerby Missing (1940)
  • Murder in the Coalhole (1940) (U.S. title Written in Dust)
  • Death Takes a Flat (1940) (U.S. title Vacancy With Corpse)
  • Up The Garden Path (1941) (U.S. title Death Visits Downspring)
  • Death of Two Brothers (1941)
  • This Undesirable Residence (1942) (U.S. title Death at Ash House)
  • Dead Stop (1943)
  • Murder M.D. (1943) (U.S. title Who Killed the Doctor?)
  • Four-Ply Yarn (1944) (U.S. title The Shadow on the Cliff)
  • The Three Corpse Trick (1944)
  • Early Morning Murder (1945) (U.S. title Accidents Do Happen)
  • Not A Leg to Stand On (1945)
  • The Cat Jumps (1946)
  • Situation Vacant (1946) -Two secretaries for Alys Whyttington die within months of each other. Arnold, Merrion and local confidant Mr Clipsham investigate the deaths and the mysterious past of Mrs Whyttington.
  • Heir to Lucifer (1947)
  • A Will in the Way (1947)
  • Devil's Reckoning (1948)
  • Death in Shallow Water (1948)
  • Death Takes the Living (1949) (U.S. title The Disappearing Parson)
  • Look Alive (1949)
  • Ground for Suspicion (1950)
  • A Village Afraid (1950)
  • Beware Your Neighbour (1951)
  • Murder Out of School (1951)
  • Murder on Duty (1952)
  • Heir to Murder (1953)
  • Something to Hide (1953)
  • Murder in Absence (1954)
  • Unwanted Corpse (1954)
  • A Crime in Time (1955)
  • Murder Unrecognized (1955)
  • Death in a Duffle Coat (1956)
  • Found Drowned (1956)
  • The Chinese Puzzle (1957)
  • The Moth-Watch Murder (1957)
  • Bones in the Brickfield (1958)
  • Death Takes a Detour (1958)
  • Return from the Dead (1959)
  • A Smell of Smoke (1960)
  • Death Paints a Picture (1960)
  • Legacy of Death (1960)

Books written as Cecil Waye

Series characters: Christopher and Vivienne Perrin – 'Perrins, Private Investigators'.

  • Murder at Monk's Barn (1931)
  • The Figure of Eight (1931)
  • The End of the Chase (1932)
  • The Prime Minister's Pencil (1933)

Books written as F.O.O (Forward Observation Officer)

Books written as I.O (Intelligence Officer)

Non-fiction

Books written as C J C Street

Non-fiction

Translations

Short Stories

Non Fiction – newspapers and magazines

Theatre

Unpublished material

Radio

References

  1. ↑ Director 'M.I.7(b)(1)' from April – November 1918
  2. ↑ The Administration of Ireland, 1920 Reprint, 2001 by Athol Books. Introduction by Dr. Pat Walsh p5
  3. 1 2 T. J. Binyon (1989). Murder will out. Oxford University Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-19-219223-X.
  4. ↑ Symons, Julian (1974). Bloody Murder. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-003794-2.
  5. ↑ Hubin, Allen J. (1980). Crime fiction, 1749–1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography. New York: Garland Publishing. ISBN 0-8240-9219-8.
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