Malice Aforethought - Hardcover

Iles, Francis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1509889361 ISBN 13: 9781509889365

Publisher: Macmillan Collector's Library, 2019

Synopsis

Malice Aforethought is one of the earliest and finest examples of the inverted detective story – we know who committed the crime, the question is, will he get away with it?

Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an afterword by crime writing expert and award-winning writer Barry Forshaw.

Dr Edmund Bickleigh and his insufferable wife Julia are hosting a tennis party where gossip rivals tennis as the most interesting sport. The seemingly genteel doctor is unable to tolerate Julia’s incessant henpecking any longer, and as his passion for the mysterious Madeleine Cranmere grows so does his resolve to murder his wife. Set in stuffy 1920s England and told from the perspective of the devious Dr Bickleigh himself, Malice Aforethought is impeccably plotted and darkly comic.

About this title

About the Author

Francis Iles was the pseudonym for Anthony Berkeley Cox (1893 - 1971). Born in Watford and educated at Oxford before serving in World War One, he went on to become a journalist for Punch and The Humorist magazines. He wrote his first novel in 1925 and enjoyed success with his many detective novels and short stories. In 1930 he co-founded the famous Detection Club alongside famous crime writers such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. He wrote three novels under the pseudonym Francis Iles of which Malice Aforethought was the most famous. On publication it created a storm by revealing the criminal right from the start and focusing on the character's psychological state instead. He also wrote book reviews for the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times, and The Guardian under the same pseudonym.

Review

A pioneer of psychological suspense fiction with a seasoning of cynical wit * MysteryScene * This classic crime novel, with its focus on the mind-set of a murderer, set the genre in a new direction * Publisher's Weekly * A fascinating insight into a troubled mind, and a gripping thriller, the novel has been twice adapted for television with Hywel Bennett and Ben Miller in the main part. -- `1000 novels everyone must read: Crime' * The Guardian *

About this edition

• Publisher: Macmillan Collector's Library
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1509889361
• ISBN 13: 9781509889365
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 480