Margery Allingham was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a family immersed in literature. Her first novel, Blackkerchief Dick, was published in 1923 when she was 19. Her first work of detective fiction was a serialized story published by the Daily Express in 1927. Entitled The White Cottage Mystery, it contained atypical themes for a woman writer of the era. Her breakthrough occurred in 1929 with the publication of The Crime at Black Dudley. This introduced Albert Campion, albeit originally as a minor character. He returned in Mystery Mile, thanks in part to pressure from her American publishers, much taken with the character. Campion proved so successful that Allingham made him the centrepiece of another 17 novels and over 20 short stories, continuing into the 1960s.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Blackkerchief Dick (1923)
The White Cottage Mystery (1928)
The Crime at Black Dudley (1929) (US: The Black Dudley Murder)
Mystery Mile (1930)
Look to the Lady (1931) (US: The Gyrth Chalice Mystery)
Police at the Funeral (1931)
Sweet Danger (1933) (US: Kingdom of Death/The Fear Sign)
Other Man’s Danger (1933) (US: The Man of Dangerous Secrets) (as Maxwell March)
Death of a Ghost (1934)
Rogue’s Holiday (1935) (as Maxwell March)
Flowers for the Judge (1936) (US: Legacy in Blood)
The Shadow in the House (1936) (as Maxwell March)
Mr. Campion: Criminologist (1937) (short stories)
The Case of the Late Pig (1937) (originally appeared in Mr Campion: Criminologist)
Dancers in Mourning (1937) (US: Who Killed Chloe?)
The Fashion in Shrouds (1938)
Mr. Campion and Others (1939) (short stories)
Black Plumes (1940)
Traitor’s Purse (1941) (US: The Sabotage Murder Mystery)
The Oaken Heart (1941) (autobiographical)
Dance of the Years (1943) (aka The Galantrys)
Coroner’s Pidgin (1945) (US: Pearls Before Swine)
Wanted: Someone Innocent (1946) (short stories)
The Casebook of Mr Campion (1947) (short stories)
More Work for the Undertaker (1948)
Deadly Duo (1949) (UK: Take Two at Bedtime (1950)) (two novellas)
The Tiger in the Smoke (1952)
No Love Lost (1954) (two novellas)
The Beckoning Lady (1955) (US: The Estate of the Beckoning Lady)
Hide My Eyes (1958) (US: Tether’s End/Ten Were Missing)
The China Governess (1962)
The Mind Readers (1965)
Cargo of Eagles (1968) (completed by Philip Youngman Carter)
The Allingham Case-Book (1969) (short stories)
Mr. Campion’s Farthing (1969) (by Philip Youngman Carter)
Mr. Campion’s Falcon (1970) (US: Mr. Campion’s Quarry) (by Philip Youngman Carter)
The Allingham Minibus (1973) (aka Mr. Campion’s Lucky Day) (short stories)
The Return of Mr. Campion (1989) (short stories)
The Darings of the Red Rose (1995) (originally an anonymously-published serial)
Room to Let: A Radio-Play (1999)
