H. C. Bailey

Henry Christopher Bailey

Born: 1 February 1878, London

Died: 24 March 1961, Llanfairfechan, UK

Detectives: Reginald Fortune, scientific advisor to Scotland Yard; Joshua Clunk, shyster lawyer

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“Mr. Fortune’s position among readers of detective stories is unique.  Some cannot read about him at any price; many regard him as merely one of several first-class practitioners; but many more still, the other and my side idolatry, mark time between Mr. Bailey’s chronicles.  To us any case of “Reggie sighed” is criminologically royal…”

Torquemada, The Observer, 31st March 1935

H. C. Bailey was one of the Big Five writers of detective fiction in the Golden Age, and mentioned in the same breath as Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Today, he is largely – and unjustly – forgotten.  His books are powerful morality plays about guilt and innocence, justice and compassion, which combine compelling psychological studies with a religious sensibility and a crusading sense of social justice.

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Works

1. Call Mr. Fortune (1920; short stories)
2. Mr. Fortune’s Practice (1923; short stories)
3. Mr. Fortune’s Trials (1925; short stories)
4. Mr. Fortune, Please (1928; short stories)
5. Mr. Fortune Speaking (1930; short stories)
6. Garstons (1930; Clunk) ***(+)
7. Mr. Fortune Explains (1930; short stories)
8. Case for Mr. Fortune (1932; short stories)
9. The Red Castle (1932; Clunk; aka The Red Castle Mystery) ***
10. The Man in the Cape (1933) *
11. Mr. Fortune Wonders (1933; short stories)
12. Shadow on the Wall (1934; Mr. Fortune) *****
13. Mr. Fortune Objects (1935; short stories)
14. The Sullen Sky Mystery (1935; Clunk) *****
15. A Clue for Mr. Fortune (1936; short stories)
16. Black Land, White Land (1937; Mr. Fortune) *****
17. Clunk’s Claimant (1937; Clunk; aka The Twittering Bird Mystery) **
18. This is Mr. Fortune (1938; short stories)
19. The Great Game (1939; Mr. Fortune) **(+)
20. The Veron Mystery (1939; Clunk; aka Mr. Clunk’s Text) **
21. Mr. Fortune Here (1940; short stories)
22. The Bishop’s Crime (1940; Mr. Fortune) ****
23. The Little Captain (1941; Clunk; aka Orphan Ann) **(+)
24. No Murder (1942; Mr. Fortune; aka The Apprehensive Dog) ***
25. Dead Man’s Shoes (1942; Clunk; aka Nobody’s Vineyard) *(+)
26. Mr. Fortune Finds a Pig (1943) **
27. Slippery Ann (1944; Clunk; aka The Queen of Spades) ****
28. Dead Man’s Effects (1945; Mr. Fortune; aka The Cat’s Whisker) ***
29. The Wrong Man (1946; Clunk) *
30. The Life Sentence (1946; Mr. Fortune) *
31. Honour Among Thieves (1947; Clunk) **
32. Saving a Rope (1948; Mr. Fortune; aka Save a Rope) *
33. Shrouded Death (1950; Clunk)

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Recommendations

Short stories

• Call Mr. Fortune (1920)
  • The Nice Girl
  • The Efficient Assassin
  • The Business Minister
• Mr. Fortune’s Practice (1923)
  • The Young Doctor
  • The Magic Stone
  • The Unknown Murderer
• Mr. Fortune’s Trials (1925)
  • The Furnished Cottage
  • The Only Son
  • The Hermit Crab
  • The Long Barrow
  • The Profiteers
• Mr. Fortune, Please (1927)
  • The Cat Burglar
  • The Little House
• Mr. Fortune Speaking (1929)
  • Zodiacs
  • The Pink Macaw
  • The Hazel Ice
• Mr. Fortune Explains (1930)
  • The Silver Cross
  • The Bicycle Lamp
• Case for Mr. Fortune (1932)
  • The Mountain Meadow
• Mr. Fortune Wonders (1933)
  • The Cigarette Case
  • The Old Bible
• Mr. Fortune Objects (1935)
  • The Broken Toad
  • The Angel’s Eye
  • The Little Finger
  • The Long Dinner
  • The Yellow Slugs
• Clue for Mr. Fortune (1936)
  • The Holy Well
  • The Dead Leaves
• This is Mr. Fortune (1938)
  • The Burnt Tout
  • The Key of the Door
• Mr. Fortune Here (1940)
  • The Primrose Petals
  • The Bottle Party

Novels

• Shadow on the Wall (1934)
• The Sullen Sky Mystery (1935)
• Black Land, White Land (1937)
• The Bishop’s Crime (1940)