tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857832752297480627.post5964703450114338125..comments2023-05-07T03:44:16.072-07:00Comments on Howdunit?: The Cask, 1920 - Freeman W. CroftsStefanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05000900457511641277noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857832752297480627.post-70952569632432744712016-01-04T10:01:44.252-08:002016-01-04T10:01:44.252-08:00Glad you liked my post. I shall have to check out ...Glad you liked my post. I shall have to check out yours on The Rasp. Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05616800837907092489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857832752297480627.post-31488019540592688472016-01-03T14:51:32.021-08:002016-01-03T14:51:32.021-08:00Yes, I read The Spectrum of Murder some months ago...Yes, I read The Spectrum of Murder some months ago, and I think it is a very informative and interesting book. Although Evans mostly deals with two authors, he is able to uncover aspects of the Golden Age that have been previously completely discarded. Differently from Masters of Humdrum, I think it is a more 'politic' book, focused on social and political issues correlated with some Golden Age writers. Anyway, it is an enjoyable reading.<br />I read your piece on MacDonald and I liked your points. I reviewed The Rasp some months ago as well.Stefanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05000900457511641277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857832752297480627.post-87722337538696679202016-01-03T13:40:36.340-08:002016-01-03T13:40:36.340-08:00I hope you get a chance to get back to blogging so...I hope you get a chance to get back to blogging soon and it was interesting to read a piece by someone who likes Croft's work (it being a rarity), as for me I like the initial premises of the novels, but then dislike how French goes about solving the cases. I haven't read Evan's book but I have been meaning to get hold of a copy, along with his other book, The Spectrum of Murder - have you read that one?Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05616800837907092489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857832752297480627.post-76601619474402154132015-12-30T05:52:47.432-08:002015-12-30T05:52:47.432-08:00Thank you Kate, I am happy to know that you enjoye...Thank you Kate, I am happy to know that you enjoyed my post. Honestly, I would like to restart posting as soon as possible, but I have been very busy in the past few months (we talked about it some weeks ago on FB).<br />I emphasized the differences between Christie and Crofts because though they are usually regarded as those who launched the Golden Age, they have almost nothing in common. Curt Evans wrote excellent pages on Crofts in Masters of Humdrum Mystery; I found out a lot of characteristics of Croft's personality that helped me in better understanding his literature.<br />I understand your concerns about some dull and long-winded passages in his novels (especially when Crofts tries to reproduce Cockney working class dialect), but I really like his plots and I think he is a strong and fascinating writer. Honestly, I do not remember The Hog's Back Mystery very well, but I think it is in line with many Croft's works in the 1930s (complex timetables, elaborated alibis etc). The Cask is certainly a better work, anyway.Stefanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05000900457511641277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857832752297480627.post-19728422532687142682015-12-30T03:57:41.011-08:002015-12-30T03:57:41.011-08:00Wonderful post, I particularly enjoyed the way you...Wonderful post, I particularly enjoyed the way you contrasted Christie and Crofts. I've 3 novels by Crofts and I'm afraid they weren't great reads, as although they start off interesting enough, Inspector's French's dogged, step by step investigations, are so dull and take so long I just get really bored. I much prefer Christie, despite the implausibility, because I can easily get sucked into the books she writes, whereas I can't get as excited as French does over tracking down a car parking ticket (The Hog's Back Mystery). Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05616800837907092489noreply@blogger.com