Last Saturday was — as Kate, Puzzle Doctor, Moira, and Martin Edwards have already reported — the Bodies from the Library Conference 2018 at the British Library, and a superb day it was indeed.
I only got to speak to about six people, partly because I am very poor at socialising, and partly because, in any spare moment we could grab, Dan and I were preparing to interview Martin Edwards for our podcast. Yes, the Martin Edwards. No, this isn’t some hilarious bluff where we found someone who simply happens to share the name of the current Detection Club President, British Library Crime Classics consultant, author, and GAD expert and interviewed him in a click-baitish way. As if we’d troll you like that; honestly.
So, without much more ado, we hope you enjoy the following, covering the resurgence of Golden Age fiction, the forthcoming paperback of Martin’s companion piece to the BL Crime Classics series, The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, an impossible crime or two, and news of Martin’s new novel, due out this September…
Gigantic thanks once again to Martin for taking them time to talk to us, to everyone involved in organising another marvellous Bodies conference, and especially to Rob and Abbie at the British Library for enabling us to linger afterwards and record this. You may or may not have noticed that we’re doing an episode of this podcast every two months, and so The Men Who Explain Miracles will return in August; in the meantime, feel free to check out our previous episodes at the links below:
Over the summer I’ll set up a page here on this blog for all the episodes — I will, I will, I will — but that’ll have to wait for now. Thanks for listening!
14 thoughts on “#403: The Men Who Explain Miracles – Episode 6: An Interview with Martin Edwards”
An interesting listen. Impressive of you guys to get Mr. Edwards to participate.
I thought Martin had a number of interesting viewpoints, and my main takeaway is what he said about impossible crimes and novels vs. short stories, since that seems to correspond with what I’ve been claiming. 🙂
Haha, always nice to have one’s own view echoed by someone who knows what they’re talking about; I know wht you mean 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for listening. I still can’t actiually believe we interviewed Martin Edwards, either. If this whole thing turns out to be a long con perpetrated on me by Dan I’m going to be…well, impressed at his commitment, for one thing.
Martin was such a great guest, just hearing him list off novel after novel writer after writer with all the dates and locations stored in his head was wonderful. We plan to have him back again in the future once the book has come out.
Thanks to you and Dan for the recording. I was particularly excited by the sound of Martin Edwards’s upcoming publication. While I definitely appreciated his critical writing on the golden-age mystery novel, nothing beats having a brand-new work that pays tribute to the genre! Eagerly looking forward to its release. 🕺🏻
Pretty much all Dan and I do when recording, planning, or talking about these podcast episodes is geek out. Why else do you think we started it in the first place?
This is superb – I have been looking forward to listening to this since it first appeared on my feed and it made my morning commute today exceedingly entertaining!
I can’t say that I share Mr. Edwards’ love of the Limnelius title which I found quite disappointing as a locked room puzzle but he does make some interesting points about it. I enjoyed hearing about some of his own works and some of his views on the genre as a whole.
I remembered your reviewing The Medbury Fort Murder but couldn;t recall your conclusions, and so did come back to read your review again following the interview. Was it a recent reprint you read? I had a brief look, but can;t seem to find it anywhere…
Thanks for listening, really pleased you enjoyed it.
I believe it was reissued digitally a year or two ago by NightHawk Books. I gather it may be public domain based on its being accessible through Hathi Trust.
I finally had a chance to sit down and listen! (Well, actually I was cleaning my kitchen counters at the same time.) Martin is quite the charmer. I can’t help but point out that it was Agatha Christie who inspired him to write. Christie, gentlemen, Christie!
Dude, you spend much longer cleaning your kitchen counters than I spend cleaning mine. Either my hygiene standards leave a lot to be desired, or you have a GIGANTIC kitchen… Place your bets!
The Invisible Event 
An interesting listen. Impressive of you guys to get Mr. Edwards to participate.
I thought Martin had a number of interesting viewpoints, and my main takeaway is what he said about impossible crimes and novels vs. short stories, since that seems to correspond with what I’ve been claiming. 🙂
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Haha, always nice to have one’s own view echoed by someone who knows what they’re talking about; I know wht you mean 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for listening. I still can’t actiually believe we interviewed Martin Edwards, either. If this whole thing turns out to be a long con perpetrated on me by Dan I’m going to be…well, impressed at his commitment, for one thing.
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Martin was such a great guest, just hearing him list off novel after novel writer after writer with all the dates and locations stored in his head was wonderful. We plan to have him back again in the future once the book has come out.
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Thanks to you and Dan for the recording. I was particularly excited by the sound of Martin Edwards’s upcoming publication. While I definitely appreciated his critical writing on the golden-age mystery novel, nothing beats having a brand-new work that pays tribute to the genre! Eagerly looking forward to its release. 🕺🏻
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it does sound intriguing, doesn’t it? Roll on September, says me!
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Thanks JFW, a joy to produce as always. Super excited for Gallows Court. Head of Zeus is the publisher so we can keep an eye on their website.
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Great listen. I can just imagine you two geeking out during the section on Carr. At least I would have.
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Pretty much all Dan and I do when recording, planning, or talking about these podcast episodes is geek out. Why else do you think we started it in the first place?
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This is superb – I have been looking forward to listening to this since it first appeared on my feed and it made my morning commute today exceedingly entertaining!
I can’t say that I share Mr. Edwards’ love of the Limnelius title which I found quite disappointing as a locked room puzzle but he does make some interesting points about it. I enjoyed hearing about some of his own works and some of his views on the genre as a whole.
Great stuff!
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I remembered your reviewing The Medbury Fort Murder but couldn;t recall your conclusions, and so did come back to read your review again following the interview. Was it a recent reprint you read? I had a brief look, but can;t seem to find it anywhere…
Thanks for listening, really pleased you enjoyed it.
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I believe it was reissued digitally a year or two ago by NightHawk Books. I gather it may be public domain based on its being accessible through Hathi Trust.
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I finally had a chance to sit down and listen! (Well, actually I was cleaning my kitchen counters at the same time.) Martin is quite the charmer. I can’t help but point out that it was Agatha Christie who inspired him to write. Christie, gentlemen, Christie!
Nice interview!
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Dude, you spend much longer cleaning your kitchen counters than I spend cleaning mine. Either my hygiene standards leave a lot to be desired, or you have a GIGANTIC kitchen… Place your bets!
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It’s hygiene.
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