Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British author. His publications have included cookery books and works on history, but he is best known for his spy novels.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1934.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie, introducing her fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, and first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head on 21 January 1921.
The Swallows and Amazons series is a series of twelve children's adventure novels by English author Arthur Ransome. Set in the interwar period, the novels involve group adventures by children, mainly in the school holidays and mainly in England. They revolve around outdoor activities, especially sailing. Literary critic Peter Hunt believes it "changed British literature, affected a whole generation's view of holidays, helped to create the national image of the English Lake District and added Arthur Ransome's name to the select list of classic British children's authors." The series remains popular and inspires visits to the Lake District and Norfolk Broads, where many of the books are set.
The Secret of Chimneys is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by The Bodley Head in June 1925 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. It introduces the characters of Superintendent Battle and Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00.
The Far Side of the World is the tenth historical novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1984. The story is set during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.
Victor Canning was a prolific British writer of novels and thrillers who flourished in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He was personally reticent, writing no memoirs and giving relatively few newspaper interviews.
Robert Cedric Sherriff, FSA, FRSL was an English writer best known for his play Journey's End, which was based on his experiences as an army officer in the First World War. He wrote several plays, many novels, and multiple screenplays, and was nominated for an Academy Award and two BAFTA awards.
Elephants Can Remember is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in 1972. It features her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and the recurring character Ariadne Oliver. This was the last novel to feature either character, although it was succeeded by Curtain: Poirot's Last Case, which had been written in the early 1940s but was published last. Elephants Can Remember concentrates on memory and oral testimony.
A Caribbean Mystery is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 16 November 1964 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at sixteen shillings (16/-) and the US edition at $4.50. It features the detective Miss Marple.
North and South is a social novel published in 1854–55 by English author Elizabeth Gaskell. With Wives and Daughters (1865) and Cranford (1853), it is one of her best-known novels and was adapted for television three times. At first, Gaskell wanted the novel to be titled after the heroine, Margaret Hale, but Charles Dickens, the editor of Household Words, the magazine in which the novel was serialised, insisted on North and South.
Arthur Stuart-Menteth Hutchinson, commonly known by his initials A. S. M. Hutchinson, was a British novelist.
Mr. Finchley is a fictional character in three comic novels by Victor Canning, a novelist who later gained great success with thrillers. He first appears in Canning's very first book, Mr. Finchley Discovers His England, published in 1934 and as Mr. Finchley's Holiday in the USA in 1935.
Miss Brown of X. Y. O. is a 1927 mystery thriller novel by the British writer E. Phillips Oppenheim. It was notable amongst thrillers of the time for its use of an everyday female character as heroine.
Mr. Finchley Goes to Paris is a comedy novel by the British writer Victor Canning. It was the second of a trilogy featuring the mild-mannered Edgar Finchley. The first publication in 1938 was by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK and Carrick and Evans in the USA. It was included in the Heinemann Uniform Edition of 1974, and a new edition has recently appeared (2019) from Farrago Books. In 1990 it was adapted for radio by the BBC starring Richard Griffiths
Mr. Finchley Takes the Road is a 1940 comedy novel by the British writer Victor Canning. It was the final part of a trilogy featuring the mild-mannered Edgar Finchley who had been introduced in the 1934 novel Mr. Finchley Discovers His England. First publication was by Hodder and Stoughton with an American edition by Carrick and Evans. It was included in the 1973 Uniform Edition by Heinemann, and has been reissued by Farrago Books in 2019. In 1990 it was adapted for radio by the BBC starring Richard Griffiths.
Fountain Inn is a 1939 mystery detective novel by the British writer Victor Canning. Canning had made his name with his comedy novels featuring Mr. Finchley. This was his first attempt at a thriller, but after the war he increasingly switched to writing thrillers. It received positive reviews with The Guardian noting "Fountain Inn, which is extremely well written, is the attractive kind of detective story in which the main interest is not “Who?” but “How?”". The first edition was by Hodder and Stoughton, but there was a reissue in 1974 by Heinemann, and it was republished in 2019 by Farrago Books.
The Chasm is a 1947 thriller novel by the British writer Victor Canning. It was his first novel since the Second World War during which he had served in the Royal Artillery and was largely absent from the writing world. The novel is inspired by the events of the partisan republic of Corniolo, on the Forlì Apennines. He increasingly turned to espionage and crime novels. It takes place in Italy where Canning had served during the Italian campaign.
Green Battlefield is a 1943 war thriller novel by the British writer Victor Canning. It was published by Hodder & Stoughton and was the only novel he wrote during his military service in the Royal Artillery. Although comparatively successful, and reprinted in 1944, Canning himself was later dismissive of the novel saying "It was a topical book. I spun it off to cash in on the war story thing. It was quite a competent story, but nothing I’d want in the canon of works!." Nevertheless, it was translated into Italian and French, the first time his work had appeared in those languages.
Matthew Silverman is a 1937 novel by the British writer Victor Canning, his sixth. Canning had made his name with the comedy novel Mr. Finchley Discovers His England and wrote a number of works focusing on more everyday aspects of British life before later switching to be a well-known author of thrillers. The first publisher was Hodder and Stoughton, but a new edition has recently (2019) appeared from Farrago Books under the title The Uncertain Future of the Silvermans.
