On July 2, Author Katherine Bolger Hyde
braved the scorching heat of the Central Valley to visit with the San Joaquin
Sisters in Crime. Despite it being a holiday weekend, we provided a full
house.
To accompany her talk on her first mystery,
Arsenic With Austen, she opened with a quiz about Jane Austen. The librarians
attending scored well; the rest of us floundered.
This is something Katherine hopes to rectify
with her new series combining murder with the classics. She explained there is
a “Great Wall of China” between literary fiction and genre fiction. By
alphabetically including literary names in the titles of future mysteries, she
encourages readers to go further to explore literary authors.
What is “literary?” Katherine defined it for
us as books that have stood the test of time. They often explore the human
condition. She admits being more familiar with dead female British authors from
a time frame christened “The Golden Age.” Agatha Christie is a top-runner in
that category with Dorothy L. Sayers a close second. She regards Elizabeth
George, P.D. James, Louise Penny, Jacqueline Windspear, Catriona McPherson and
William Kent Kruger as writers of mysteries right up there with the classics.
“Jane Austen was a little difficult to work
with,” confessed Katherine. There are no murders in the Austen novels. Perhaps
she’ll have less trouble with future characters. “Bloodstains With Bronte” is a
working title for book 2. The third novel is, of course, Christie and the
fourth probably going to go to Dickens. Stay tuned.
I saw another post about this author and the Arsenic with Austen book. Sounds very good. I like the idea of combining murder with the classics. Good post.
ReplyDeleteI was blessed to read a copy of Ms. Hyde's book from NetGalley and really enjoyed it. I look forward to more in this series.
ReplyDeleteShe was a delight.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea for series titles! Every once in a while I see something and think, "I wish I had thought of that." This is one of those times. I will definitely check out Arsenic with Austen. Jane Austen is one of my favorites. Thanks, Sunny and Katherine!
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