The Red House Mystery
Encyclopedia
The Red House Mystery is a "locked room
" whodunnit by A. A. Milne
, published in 1922. It was Milne's only mystery novel; he is better known for his humorous writing, children's stories, and poems.
, where Mark Ablett has been entertaining a house party
consisting of a widow and her marriageable daughter, a retired major, a wilful actress, and Bill Beverley, a young man about town. Mark's long-lost brother Robert, the black sheep
of the family, arrives from Australia and shortly thereafter is found dead, shot through the head. Mark Ablett has disappeared, so Tony Gillingham, a stranger who has just arrived to call on his friend Bill, decides to investigate. Gillingham plays Sherlock Holmes
to his younger counterpart's Doctor Watson; they progress almost playfully through the novel while the clues mount up and the theories abound.
called it "one of the three best mystery stories of all time", though Raymond Chandler
, in his 1944 essay The Simple Art of Murder
criticized Woollcott for that claim, referring to him as, "rather a fast man with a superlative". Chandler wrote of Milne's novel, "It is an agreeable book, light, amusing in the Punch style, written with a deceptive smoothness that is not as easy as it looks [...] Yet, however light in texture the story may be, it is offered as a problem of logic and deduction. If it is not that, it is nothing at all. There is nothing else for it to be. If the situation is false, you cannot even accept it as a light novel, for there is no story for the light novel to be about."
In his introduction to the 1926 UK edition, A. A. Milne said he had "a passion" for detective stories, having "all sorts of curious preferences" about them: though in real life the best detectives and criminals are professionals, Milne demanded that the detective be an unscientific amateur, accompanied by a likeable Watson, rubbing shoulders with an amateur villain against whom dossiers and fingerprints are of no avail.
Chandler's essay rejects this model, declaring that "It is the ladies and gentlemen of what Mr. Howard Haycraft (in his book Murder for Pleasure) calls the Golden Age of detective fiction
that really get me down." He uses The Red House Mystery to illustrate the problems he saw in many mystery stories of this type, particularly the central puzzle (which was intricate and clever but implausible in many ways) 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 a "brash amateur" romping through their territory. ("English police seem to endure him with their customary stoicism; but I shudder to think of what the boys down at the Homicide Bureau in my city would do to him.")
Chandler noted that The Red House Mystery seemed to have been in print in the US for about sixteen years. "That happens to few books of any kind." By 1948 there had been 23 editions published in the UK. The most recent UK reprints were the Vintage Classics
hardback in November 2008 and paperback in August 2009.
Locked room mystery
The locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder—is committed under apparently impossible circumstances. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene that no intruder could have entered or left, e.g., a locked room...
" whodunnit by A. A. Milne
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
, published in 1922. It was Milne's only mystery novel; he is better known for his humorous writing, children's stories, and poems.
Plot introduction
The setting is an English country houseEnglish country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
, where Mark Ablett has been entertaining a house party
House party
A house party in the English-speaking world is typically a type of party where medium to large groups of people gather at the residence of the party's host. In modern usage, a house party is typically associated with teenage or young adult crowds, loud music, dancing, and the consumption of alcohol...
consisting of a widow and her marriageable daughter, a retired major, a wilful actress, and Bill Beverley, a young man about town. Mark's long-lost brother Robert, the black sheep
Black sheep
In the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness...
of the family, arrives from Australia and shortly thereafter is found dead, shot through the head. Mark Ablett has disappeared, so Tony Gillingham, a stranger who has just arrived to call on his friend Bill, decides to investigate. Gillingham plays Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
to his younger counterpart's Doctor Watson; they progress almost playfully through the novel while the clues mount up and the theories abound.
Literary significance & criticism
The Red House Mystery was immediately popular; Alexander WoollcottAlexander Woollcott
Alexander Humphreys Woollcott was an American critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine and a member of the Algonquin Round Table....
called it "one of the three best mystery stories of all time", though Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
, in his 1944 essay The Simple Art of Murder
The Simple Art of Murder
"The Simple Art of Murder" refers to both a critical essay and a collection of short stories written by hard-boiled detective fiction author Raymond Chandler. The essay was first published in The Atlantic Monthly in December 1944...
criticized Woollcott for that claim, referring to him as, "rather a fast man with a superlative". Chandler wrote of Milne's novel, "It is an agreeable book, light, amusing in the Punch style, written with a deceptive smoothness that is not as easy as it looks [...] Yet, however light in texture the story may be, it is offered as a problem of logic and deduction. If it is not that, it is nothing at all. There is nothing else for it to be. If the situation is false, you cannot even accept it as a light novel, for there is no story for the light novel to be about."
In his introduction to the 1926 UK edition, A. A. Milne said he had "a passion" for detective stories, having "all sorts of curious preferences" about them: though in real life the best detectives and criminals are professionals, Milne demanded that the detective be an unscientific amateur, accompanied by a likeable Watson, rubbing shoulders with an amateur villain against whom dossiers and fingerprints are of no avail.
Chandler's essay rejects this model, declaring that "It is the ladies and gentlemen of what Mr. Howard Haycraft (in his book Murder for Pleasure) calls the Golden Age of detective fiction
Golden Age of Detective Fiction
The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels produced by various authors, all following similar patterns and style.-Origins:Mademoiselle de Scudéri, by E.T.A...
that really get me down." He uses The Red House Mystery to illustrate the problems he saw in many mystery stories of this type, particularly the central puzzle (which was intricate and clever but implausible in many ways) 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 a "brash amateur" romping through their territory. ("English police seem to endure him with their customary stoicism; but I shudder to think of what the boys down at the Homicide Bureau in my city would do to him.")
Chandler noted that The Red House Mystery seemed to have been in print in the US for about sixteen years. "That happens to few books of any kind." By 1948 there had been 23 editions published in the UK. The most recent UK reprints were the Vintage Classics
Vintage Classics
Vintage Classics is a paperback publisher of contemporary fiction and non-fiction. It is part of the Vintage imprint, which is itself a part of Random House Publishers. The famous American publisher Alfred A. Knopf originally founded Vintage Books in the United States in 1954 as a paperback home...
hardback in November 2008 and paperback in August 2009.
Release details
- 1922, UK, Methuen (ISBN ?), Pub date 6 April 1922, hardback (First edition)
- 1922, USA, E. P. Dutton (ISBN ?), Pub date ? ? 1922, hardback
- 1926, UK, Methuen, includes an introduction by A. A. Milne (dated April 1926)
- 1926 ? UK, The Library Press Ltd. In the Minerva Editions series. Inc: the 1926 introduction.
- 1937, UK, Methuen's Modern Classics, Pub date ? March 1937, hardback
- 1938, UK Odhams Press, hardback as "Four Great Detective Novels"
- 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
- 2008, UK, Vintage Classics (ISBN 978-0099521266), Pub date 6 November 2008, hardback
- 2009, UK, Vintage Classics (ISBN 978-0099521273), Pub date 6 August 2009, paperback.