THE RED HOUSE MYSTERY

'''The Red House Mystery''' is a mystery novel by A. A. Milne, published in 1922. It was Milne's only mystery novel; he is better known for his children's stories and poems.

Contents

Plot introduction

Literary significance & criticism

Release details

External link

Plot introduction

The setting is an English country house loaded with guests, including a British major, a wilful actress, and a young jock athlete.
Tony Gillingham and his friend Bill are bent on solving a murder there, and progress almost playfully through the novel while the clues mount up the theories abound.

Literary significance & criticism

''The Red House Mystery'' was immediately popular; Alexander Woollcott called it "one of the three best mystery stories of all time". Other critics were less kind: Raymond Chandler, in his essay ''The Simple Art of Murder'', used ''The Red House Mystery'' as an example to illustrate the problems he saw in many mystery stories of its type, particularly the central puzzle (which was intricate and clever but not very realistic) and the fact that the amateur detective's chance to shine comes only because the police are incompetent (and surprisingly willing to put up with an amateur romping through their territory).

Release details

★ 1922, UK, Methuen (ISBN ?), Pub date ? ? 1922, hardback (First edition)

★ 1922, USA, E. P. Dutton (ISBN ?), Pub date ? ? 1922, hardback

★ 1970, USA, E. P. Dutton (ISBN 0-525-18941-6), Pub date ? May 1970, hardback

★ 1980, USA, Dell Publishing (ISBN 0-440-17376-0), Pub date ? November 1980, paperback (a Murder Ink(R) Mystery)

★ 1983, UK, Methuen Publishing (ISBN 0-413-52040-4), Pub date 5 May 1983, hardback

★ 1992, UK, John Curley & Assoc (ISBN 0-7927-0853-9), Pub date ? March 1992, paperback (Large print books)

★ 2000, UK, Dover Publications (ISBN 0-486-40129-4), Pub date 1 February 2000, paperback

★ 2002, USA, BJU Press (ISBN 1-57924-702-4), Pub date ? January 2002, paperback

★ 2003, UK, Wildside Press (ISBN 1-59224-219-7), Pub date ? October 2003, paperback

★ 2005, UK, Dodo Press (ISBN 1-905432-90-9), Pub date 30 September 2005, paperback

External link

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