Masters of the Humdrum Mystery

<p> In 1972 in an attempt to elevate the stature of the crime novel influential crime writer and critic Julian Symons cast numerous Golden Age detective fiction writers into literary perdition as Humdrums condemning their focus on puzzle plots over stylish writing and explorations of character setting and theme. This volume explores the works of three prominent British Humdrums--Cecil John Charles Street Freeman Wills Crofts and Alfred Walter Stewart--revealing their work to be more complex as puzzles and as social documents than Symons allowed. By championing the intrinsic merit of these mystery writers the study demonstrates that reintegrating the Humdrums into mystery genre studies provides a fuller understanding of the Golden Age of detective fiction and its aftermath.</p>