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Ngaio Marsh

Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh was the last of the most famous English mystery writers, outliving her sisters-in-crime, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, and Dorothy Sayers. Although Dame Marsh died in 1982, her thirty-two classic English detective novels remain a delight to any dyed-in-the-wool mystery aficionado.

Ngaio Marsh was born in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1899. Her unusal first name was given to her by an uncle; it?s a Maori word meaning ?reflections on the water?. Her father was a banker, and her grandfather was one of the early colonists of New Zealand.

Dame Marsh attended St. Margaret?s College and the Canterbury University School. She then taught speech craft at the Christchurch School of Drama and Dancing. After a solid foundation acquiring skills in theatrical painting, acting and producing Dame Marsh eventually moved to Knightsbridge, England in 1928 to open an interior decorating business with a Mrs. Tahu Rhodes. Ngaio Marsh was then keen on a career as a painter, rather than writer.

Her first novel, A Man Lay Dead, appeared in 1934, however, introducing her protagonist, Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn, with a definite helping of Lord Peter Wimsey along with a more practical look at police work. This novel was the precursor of all subsequent writing, which just seemed to get better and better. Ngaio Marsh always had a soft spot for the theatre, and several of her books deal with the stage as a background. Ms. Marsh was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1949, then made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966. She was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1978, along with Dame Daphne du Maurier. Ngaio Marsh has directed and produced a number of plays herself, including Shakespeare. Excellent writing and characterizations are typical of this author.

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