Part of Series
Under the pseudonym of Michael Innes, Oxford don John Innes Macintosh Stewart (1906-1994) was a dominant figure in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, when the mystery story was an elegant and witty entertainment, when all the clues were given so that the reader (if quick-witted enough) could reach the solution at the same time as the detective. Innes' sleuth, Inspector Appleby (later, Sir John Appleby, Commissioner of Scotland Yard), who first appeared in 1936, is sophisticated and educated, just as capable of making an obscure allusion to an English poet as he is to read the clues left by the criminal. The cases Appleby investigates are often convoluted but with a touch of the fantastic, set often in the aristocratic world of country estates and gentleman's clubs. Appleby Talks About Crime includes 18 previously uncollected stories, often told by Appleby himself to the six-member Mystery Club, and all have the marvelous gloss of superb storyteller. The book includes an introduction by the editor, an essay on Appleby by Michael Innes, a reminiscence of her father by Dr. Margaret Macintosh Harrison, and a complete list of all the Appleby short stories.
Author
Michael Innes was the pseudonym of John Innes MacKintosh (J.I.M.) Stewart (J.I.M. Stewart). He was born in Edinburgh, and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Oriel College, Oxford. He was Lecturer in English at the University of Leeds from 1930 - 1935, and spent the succeeding ten years as Jury Professor of English at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1949, to become a Lecturer at the Queen's University of Belfast. In 1949 he became a Student (Fellow) of Christ Church, Oxford, becoming a Professor by the time of his retirement in 1973. As J.I.M. Stewart he published a number of works of non-fiction, mainly critical studies of authors, including Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling, as well as about twenty works of fiction and a memoir, 'Myself and Michael Innes'. As Michael Innes, he published numerous mystery novels and short story collections, most featuring the Scotland Yard detective John Appleby.
