In addition to meeting for dinners and helping each other with technical aspects in their individual writings, the members of the club agreed to adhere to Knox's Commandments in their writing to give the reader a fair chance at guessing the guilty party. These fair-play "rules" were summarised by one of the members, Ronald Knox, in an introduction to an anthology of detective stories. They were never intended as more than guidelines, and not all the members took them seriously. The first American member (though then living in the UK) was John Dickson Carr, elected in 1936.
The club continues to exist, although the fair-play rules have been considerably relaxed.
A number of works were published under the club's sponsorship; most of these were written by multiple members of the club, each contributing one or more chapters in turn. In the case of The Floating Admiral, each author also provided a sealed "solution" to the mystery as he or she had written it, including the previous chapters. This was done to prevent a writer from adding impossible complications with no reasonable solution in mind. The various partial solutions were published as part of the final book.
Membership was initially limited to those considered to be writing pure detective novels, rather than mystery thrillers. This began to change when Eric Ambler, known for his thrillers and spy novels, was elected in 1952.[4] Several notable detective writers including Philip MacDonald and Josephine Tey were never invited to join the club, while Georgette Heyer who wrote detective stories alongside her better-known regency novels turned down an invitation. Daily Express columnist Nancy Spain was considered for membership but was rejected.[5] Future president Julian Symons was initially rejected before eventually being admitted in 1951. Ngaio Marsh, a major figure in detective writing, only joined later in life.[6]
Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance on nor making use of Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition , Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence or Act of God?[7]
Lord Gorell shared the presidency with Agatha Christie, who only agreed to accept the role if a co-president was appointed to conduct the club's proceedings.[10]
The Anatomy of a Murder (1936) (US title The Anatomy of Murder (New York, Macmillan, 1937) True crime essays
Detection Medley (1939; US title, Line-Up, 1940; short stories, some original, some reprints; edited by John Rhode)
Mystery Playhouse presents The Detection Club (January 1948); six 30 minute radio plays by club members on BBC Light Programme written in aid of club funds
No Flowers By Request (round-robin novella, 1953)
Verdict of Thirteen (1978; original short stories, edited by Julian Symons, published by Faber and by Harper & Row)
The Man Who... (1992); original short stories in honor of Julian Symons's 80th birthday, edited by H. R. F. Keating, published by Macmillan])
The Detection Collection (2005; original short stories in recognition of the Club's 75th anniversary, edited by Simon Brett, published by Orion and by St. Martin;'s (2006))
Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club (2020; edited by Martin Edwards, published by Collins Crime Club).
Eric the Skull (2020; a 45-minute BBC Radio 4 play, being a fictionalised account of the setting up of the club, written by Simon Brett and produced by Liz Anstee).
References
^Edwards, Martin. The Golden Age of Murder. HarperCollins, 2015.
^Edwards, Martin. The Golden Age of Murder. HarperCollins, 2015.
^Hallett, Judith P. & Stray, Christopher. British Classics Outside England: The Academy and Beyond. Baylor University Press, 2009. p.50
