This anthology includes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, P.D. James, and other famous English mystery writers in a series of delightful stories that take place in English country houses. I liked all of the stories in the book. I especially liked the one called "Death in the Sun" which has a corpse found nude on the roof of a villa and "The Man on the Roof" where everyone in the house and the village would benefit with the death of the Duke.This book is to be recommended to all who...

Do enjoy short stories and these are written by some great authors, Doyle, Christie, Sayers, Collins.

-The Adventure of the Abbey Grange by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 2*-A Marriage Tragedy by Wilkie Collins, 2*: Overly long and melodramatic-Lord Chizelrigg's Missing Fortune by Robert Barr, 3*-The Forwich Castle Mystery by Emmuska, Baroness Orczy, 3*-The Blue Scarab by R. Austin Freeman, 2*-The Doom of the Darnaways by G.K. Chesteron, 4*: This was way more my style; dripping with a Gothic aesthetic, but with a wickedly humourous twist of modern dialogue (very modern really, considering this was writ...

This is a wonderful anthology. In fact, I am writing this review after my second rereading. I am a fan of the older mystery writers and am using this as a way to remind myself of some authors I had frankly forgotten. So make a cup of tea, sit down by the fire and read a few stories. You'll be transported to a time when they didn't tell you in detail exactly how the corpse looked, or what happened after the romantic kiss. Not every story is perfect, but then that's the fun!English Country House M...

This collection of 22 murder mysteries draws together one of the best collections of stories representing classic authors of this genre including Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers, P. G. Wodehouse, P. D. James and G. K. Chesterton. Thomas Godfrey's introduction defines the English Country House Mysteries in 14 criteria and then goes on to describe the 'rules of the house' ie the characteristics of the house, the atmosphere and the characters that give it

3.5★I bought this book (in hard cover!) many years ago. I read The Usual Suspects, but couldn't get into the authors that had fallen into obscurity. I'm now an enthusiastic Golden Age mystery reader, so I thought I'd give these stories another try. The Adventure of Abbey Grange by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Not every story in this book is Golden Age - and what collection of mysteries would be complete without a Sherlock Holmes! This isn't one of Doyle's best, but it certainly gives some

A very broad and interesting collection of British manor house mysteries, Edited by Thomas Godfry. A must for all lovers of the genre.

An excellent compilation of 22 shorts featuring the quintessential writers of the genre. If you want a taste of what makes these authors so good at their craft, this is a nice reference book to begin with. Many of these (Ethel White, Christianna Brand and Nicholas Blake) were new to me, but after a sampling of their work, I'll be looking into longer books from them. Personal favorites include Ethel White's The Unlocked Window (deliciously creepy), Philip MacDonald's The Wood-for-the-Trees (a gre...

Another short story collection, but this one features the cream of the crop of mystery writers from the past and present: Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham, GK Chesterton, Wilkie Collins, Baroness Orczy, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Barr, R. Austin Freedman, John Dickinson Carr, Ruth Rendell, PD James, Michael Innes, PG Wodehouse, Nicolas Blake, Christianna Brand, Philip MacDonald, Cyril Hare, Ethel Lina White, Freeman Wills Crofts and James Miles. The stories are dif...

Note, Dec. 3, 2021: Since I'm reading this anthology intermittently, when I'm between other books for one reason or another, I'll similarly be sharing thoughts about it sporadically, as I read blocs of stories. (When I finish reading the whole book, I'll re-edit this review into a unified whole.) Beginning in the 19th century, British authors contributed substantially to the development of the mystery genre, and a number of mystery novels and stories are set in the British Isles. In the 1800s, a...

This is a collection of some of the best classic English mystery authors (Christie, Doyle, James, Rendell, Carr, Wodehouse, Allingham) doing the typical British Country House murder settings. Very fun. Only one I didnt really enjoy - so a very satisfying collection

Like all collections of short stories, this was uneven, but the items I liked best may be the ones you liked least. Godfrey certainly collects a number of fine mystery writers in this plump volume.

I'm generally not a short story lover - except for O. Henry that is! However, I chose this book of short stories because of it's amazing list of mystery writers. I wasn't disappointed at all! I enjoyed the editor's choices which varied in story construction and tone. There is nothing too gory for the squeamish reader. My most surprising discovery is that my least favorite story was by P. D. James who is usually a favorite author. I can't seem to decide on a favorite story. Two strong possible ch...

I swear I read this book! It looks so familiar.

A fun collection of mysteries of the English Country House variety. I knew many of the authors like Dorothy L Sayers, Ruth Rendell, PD James, etc, but many of the authors I hadn't heard of. Lots of fun.

Pretty good mystery short stories with a British country estate setting. I preferred some more than others. Thought it would be a good way to read new authors in this genre.

This is my third time through this collection, and for me this is an example of the sum being much greater than the individual parts. (And after 26 years, this dog-eared paperback is kept together by clear tape, paper clips and dreams, ready for another read.) The highlight here is the presence of the "Quartet of Golden Age Mistresses" (a term perhaps coined by editor Thomas Godfrey): Dame Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Dame Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham."The Adventury of the Abbey Gra...

A great book with short stories you can read each night before going to bed.The Adventure of the Abbey GrangeA Marriage TragedyLord Chizelrigg's Missing FortuneThe Fordwych Castle MysteryThe Blue ScarabThe Doom of the DarnawaysThe Shadow on the GlassThe Queen's SquareDeath on the AirThe Same to UsThe Hunt BallThe inacutious BurglarThe Long ShotJeeves and the Stolen VenusDeath in the SunAn Unloced WindowThe Wood-for-the-TreesThe Man on the RoofThe Death of Amy RobsartFen HallA Very Desirable Resi...

Very enjoyable set of stories. I knew about half the authors and am looking forward to finding books by most of the others.

Fun! A collection of short stories by the masters of the genre. Great book to finish on Halloween. You never know what gems you might find in the inventory of a used book store, such as Bright Leaf Bookshop in Winston-Salem, NC. Not surprisingly, some of the selections are stronger than others. To my taste, I'd save the more contemporary writers (Hare, Philip MacDonald, James and Miles) for last.