Saturday, November 21, 2015

I write about eight women crime writers in The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer published my review of Women Crime Writers: Eight Novels of Suspense from the 1940's and '50s, edited by Sarah Weinman for the Library of America.
I had fun writing the piece, especially quoting this timely bit from Vera Caspary's Laura:
"I have never stooped to the narration of a mystery story. At the risk of seeming somewhat less than modest, I shall quote from my own works. The sentence, so often reprinted, that opens my essay 'Of Sound and Fury' is reprinted here:  
" 'When, during the 1936 campaign, I learned that the President was a devotee of mystery stories, I voted a straight Republican ticket.' " 
 © Peter Rozovsky 2015

Labels: ,

8 Comments:

Blogger seana graham said...

Nice work, Peter. Yes, let's hope that all these writers get more attention with the LOA edition. I've read at least three of them and enjoyed them a lot.

November 21, 2015  
Blogger RTD said...

Bravo! I'll be buying this one. Thanks!

November 22, 2015  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

Seana, i'll take for granted that Highsmith is one of the one's you've read, and i have vague memories of having discussed Charlotte Armstrong or Dolores Hitchens around or during Bouchercon in Long Beach. And the collection seems to be getting lots of attention.

A bouquet to the Library of America for its page that properly calls this collection a "boxed" rather than the lazy and, presumably, ignorant "box" set.

November 22, 2015  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

R.T., there's some good stuff in this set. That Sarah Weinman is to be congratulated for her hard work promoting these writers.

November 22, 2015  
Blogger seana graham said...

Highsmith is not one of the ones I've read, unfortunately, though I've seen at least a couple movie adaptations. But I did read Hitchens around Bouchercon last year and enjoyed her enough to order another book of hers which somehow never arrived. And I've read pretty much all of Dorothy Hughes. I think I read a Charlotte Armstrong when I was in high school and I'm pretty sure I read one Margaret Millar although it may not have been one of her best because it made no impression on me.

November 22, 2015  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

Charlotte Armstrong's "The Unsuspected" was a highlight of my reading last year; I called it a mix of Chrsitie, Simenon, and cornell Woolrich, and I also liked Dolores Hitchens' "Sleep With Strangers." And Vera Caspary's "Laura" knocked my socks off,

November 23, 2015  
Blogger Kevin McCarthy said...

Declan Hughes gave this a great review in the Irish Times Crime Fic round up on Saturday.

November 23, 2015  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

Aha! Thanks; I'll look for it. I know that Declan is a big fan of Margaret Millar's.

November 23, 2015  

Post a Comment

<< Home