Cecil Street

Cecil Street
Major Cecil John Charles Street
Replace this image male.svg
Born 1884 (1884)
Gibraltar
Died January 1965 (1965-02)
Allegiance United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch Flag of the British Army.svg British Army
Rank Major
Battles/wars
World War I
Irish War of Independence
Awards MC
OBE

Cecil John Charles Street, MC, OBE, (1884 - January 1965), known as CJC Street and John Street, began his military career as an artillery officer in the British army. During the course of World War I, he became a propagandist for MI7, in which role he held the rank of Major.[1] After the armistice, he alternated between Dublin and London during the Irish War of Independence as Information Officer for Dublin Castle, working closely with Lionel Curtis.[2] He later earned his living as a prolific writer of detective novels.

Contents

Novelist

He produced two long series of novels; one under the name of John Rhode featuring the forensic scientist Dr Priestley, and another under the name of Miles Burton featuring the investigator Desmond Merrion. Under the name Cecil Waye, Street produced four novels: The Figure of Eight; The End of the Chase; The Prime Minister's Pencil; and Murder at Monk's Barn. The Dr. Priestley novels were among the first after Sherlock Holmes to feature scientific detection of crime, such as analysing the mud on a suspect's shoes. Desmond Merrion is an amateur detective who works with Scotland Yard's Inspector Arnold.

Critic and author Julian Symons places this author as a prominent member of the "Humdrum" school of detective fiction. "Most of them came late to writing fiction, and few had much talent for it. They had some skill in constructing puzzles, nothing more, and ironically they fulfilled much better than S. S. Van Dine his dictum that the detective story properly belonged in the category of riddles or crossword puzzles. Most of the Humdrums were British, and among the best known of them were Major John Street ...".[3] Symons opinion has not however prevented the Rhode and Burton books becoming much sought after by collectors and many of the early ones can command high prices. Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor in their A Catalogue of Crime offer a different perspective to Symons, praising several of the Rhode books in particular, though they only review a small proportion of the more than 140 titles Street produced.

Bibliography

This bibliography has been confirmed against a standard reference.[4]

Dr. Priestley Novels

  • The Paddington Mystery (1925)
  • Dr. Priestley's Quest (1926)
  • The Ellerby Case (1927)
  • The Murders in Praed Street (1928), Reprinted Penguin (1937)
  • Tragedy at the Unicorn (1928)
  • The House on Tollard Ridge (1929)
  • The Davidson Case (1929) (U.S. title Murder at Bratton Grange)
  • Peril at Cranbury Hall (1930)
  • Pinehurst (1930) (U.S. title Dr. Priestley Investigates)
  • Tragedy on the Line (1931)
  • The Hanging Woman (1931)
  • Mystery at Greycombe Farm (1932) (U.S. title The Fire at Greycombe Farm)
  • Dead Men at the Folly (1932)
  • The Motor Rally Mystery (1933) (U.S. title Dr. Priestley Lays a Trap)
  • The Claverton Mystery (1933) (U.S. title The Claverton Affair)
  • The Venner Crime (1933)
  • The Robthorne Mystery (1934)
  • Poison for One (1934)
  • Shot at Dawn (1934)
  • The Corpse in the Car (1935)
  • Hendon's First Case (1935)
  • Mystery at Olympia (1935) (U.S. title Murder at the Motor Show)
  • Death at Breakfast (1936)
  • In Face of the Verdict (1936) (U.S. title In the Face of the Verdict)
  • Death in the Hop Fields (1937) (U.S. title The Harvest Murder)
  • Death on the Board (1937) (U.S. title Death Sits on the Board)
  • Proceed with Caution (1937) (U.S. title Body Unidentified)
  • Invisible Weapons (1938)
  • The Bloody Tower (1938) (U.S. title The Tower of Evil) - Inspector Waghorn identifies a ruthless murderer and solves a set of clues to the whereabouts of long-hidden treasure
  • Death Pays a Dividend (1939)
  • Death on Sunday (1939) (U.S. title The Elm Tree Murder)
  • Death on the Boat Train (1940)
  • Murder at Lilac Cottage (1940)
  • Death at the Helm (1941)
  • They Watched by Night (1941) (U.S. title Signal For Death)
  • The Fourth Bomb (1942)
  • Dead on the Track (1943)
  • Men Die at Cyprus Lodge (1943)
  • Death Invades the Meeting (1944)
  • Vegetable Duck (1944) (U.S. title Too Many Suspects)
  • The Bricklayer's Arms (1945) (U.S. title Shadow of a Crime)
  • The Lake House (1946) (U.S. title Secret of the Lake House)
  • Death in Harley Street (1946)
  • Nothing But the Truth (1947) (U.S. title Experiment in Crime)
  • Death of an Author (1947)
  • The Paper Bag (1948) (U.S. title The Links in the Chain)
  • Up the Garden Path (1949) (U.S. title The Fatal Garden)
  • The Telephone Call (1949) (U.S. title Shadow of an Alibi)
  • Blackthorn House (1949)
  • Family Affairs (1950) (U.S. title The Last Suspect)
  • The Two Graphs (1950) (U.S. title Double Identities)
  • The Secret Meeting (1951)
  • Dr. Goodwood's Locum (1951) (U.S. title The Affair of the Substitute Doctor)
  • Death at the Dance (1952)
  • Death in Wellington Road (1952)
  • Death at the Inn (1953) (U.S. title The Case of the Forty Thieves) - Inspector Waghorn breaks a gang of thieves who have found an ingenious way to defraud the Post Office and, along the way, murder a man by poisoning
  • By Registered Post (1953) (U.S. title The Mysterious Suspect)
  • Death on the Lawn (1954)
  • The Dovebury Murders (1954)
  • Death of a Godmother (1955) (U.S. title Delayed Payment)
  • The Domestic Agency (1955) (U.S. title Grave Matters)
  • An Artist Dies (1956) (U.S. title Death Of An Artist)
  • Open Verdict (1956)
  • Death of a Bridegroom (1957)
  • Robbery With Violence (1957)
  • Death Takes a Partner (1958)
  • Licensed For Murder (1958)
  • Murder at Derivale (1958)
  • Three Cousins Die (1959)
  • The Fatal Pool (1960)
  • Twice Dead (1960)
  • The Vanishing Diary (1961)

Other Books written as John Rhode

  • A.S.F.: The Story of a Great Conspiracy (1924) (U.S. title The White Menace)
  • The Double Florin (1924)
  • The Alarm (1925)
  • Mademoiselle From Armentieres (1927)
  • Drop to His Death (1939) (U.S. title Fatal Descent) with "Carter Dickson", a pseudonym of John Dickson Carr
  • Night Exercise (1942) (U.S. title Dead of the Night)

Books written as Miles Burton

Series characters: Inspector Henry Arnold and Desmond Merrion, except The Hardway Diamonds Mystery and Murder at the Moorings.

  • The Secret of High Eldersham (1930) (aka The Mystery of High Eldersham)
  • The Hardway Diamonds Mystery (1930)
  • The Menace on the Downs (1931)
  • The Three Crimes (1931)
  • Death of Mr. Gantley (1932)
  • Murder at the Moorings (1932)
  • Fate at the Fair (1933)
  • Tragedy at the Thirteenth Hole (1933)
  • Death at the Crossroads (1933)
  • To Catch A Thief (1934)
  • The Charabanc Mystery (1934)
  • The Devereux Court Mystery (1935)
  • The Milk Churn Murder (1935) (U.S. title The Clue of the Silver Brush)
  • Where is Barbara Prentice? (1936) (U.S. title The Clue of the Silver Cellar)
  • Death in the Tunnel (1936) (U.S. title Dark Is the Tunnel)
  • Murder of a Chemist (1936)
  • Death At the Club (1937) (U.S. title The Clue of the Fourteen Keys)
  • Murder in Crown Passage (1937) (U.S. title The Man with the Tattooed Face)
  • Death at Low Tide (1938)
  • The Platinum Cat (1938)
  • Mr. Babbacombe Dies (1939)
  • Death Leaves No Card (1939)
  • Mr. Westerby Missing (1940)
  • Murder in the Coalhole (1940) (U.S. title Written in Dust)
  • Death Takes a Flat (1940) (U.S. title Vacancy With Corpse)
  • Up The Garden Path (1941) (U.S. title Death Visits Downspring)
  • Death of Two Brothers (1941)
  • This Undesirable Residence (1942) (U.S. title Death at Ash House)
  • Dead Stop (1943)
  • Murder M.D. (1943) (U.S. title Who Killed the Doctor?)
  • Four-Ply Yarn (1944) (U.S. title The Shadow on the Cliff)
  • The Three Corpse Trick (1944)
  • Early Morning Murder (1945) (U.S. title Accidents Do Happen)
  • Not A Leg to Stand On (1945)
  • The Cat Jumps (1946)
  • Situation Vacant (1946)
  • Heir to Lucifer (1947)
  • A Will in the Way (1947)
  • Devil's Reckoning (1948)
  • Death in Shallow Water (1948)
  • Death Takes the Living (1949) (U.S. title The Disappearing Parson)
  • Look Alive (1949)
  • Ground for Suspicion (1950)
  • A Village Afraid (1950)
  • Beware Your Neighbour (1951)
  • Murder Out of School (1951)
  • Murder On Duty (1952)
  • Heir to Murder (1953)
  • Something to Hide (1953)
  • Murder in Absence (1954)
  • Unwanted Corpse (1954)
  • A Crime In Time (1955)
  • Murder Unrecognized (1955)
  • Death in a Duffle Coat (1956)
  • Found Drowned (1956)
  • The Chinese Puzzle (1957)
  • The Moth-Watch Murder (1957)
  • Bones in the Brickfield (1958)
  • Death Takes a Detour (1958)
  • Return from the Dead (1959)
  • A Smell of Smoke (1950)
  • Death Paints a Picture (1960)
  • Legacy of Death (1960)

Books written as Cecil Waye

Series characters: Christopher and Vivienne Perrin - 'Perrins, Private Investigators'.

  • Murder at Monk's Barn (1931)
  • The Figure of Eight (1931)
  • The End of the Chase (1932)
  • The Prime Minister's Pencil (1933)

Books written as F.O.O (Forward Observation Officer)

Books written as I.O (Intelligence Officer)

Non-fiction

Books written as C J C Street

Non-fiction

Translations

  • Vauban, Builder of Fortresses, by Daniel Halvey, translated with notes, 1929
  • The Life and Voyages of Captain Cook, by Maurice Thiery, translated with notes, 1929

Short Stories

  • On the High Seas, Cassell's Magazine of Fiction, September 1920
  • The Ship's Doctor, "Sea Stories", 5 October 1923
  • The Elusive Bullet, Short Stories of Detection, Ed. Dorothy L Sayers, 1936
  • The Yellow Sphere, Sunday Dispatch, 3 April 1938
  • The Vanishing Diamond, 1st publication unknown
  • The Purple Line, Evening Standard, 20 January 1950

Non Fiction - newspapers and magazines

  • Propaganda behind the Lines, Cornhill Magazine, November 1919
  • Transport Problems and Reconstruction, Windsor Magazine, December 1919
  • The Wireless Telephone and the Development of Modern Communications, Windsor Magazine, June 1920
  • Railways of Czechoslovakia, as by Major CJC Street, "The Railway Gazette", 14 December 1923
  • Slovak Peasant Art, Illustrated Review, 1923
  • Slovakia Past and Present, Illustrated Review [Not confirmed], 1923
  • Eastward through Czechoslovakia, Illustrated Review [Not confirmed], 1923
  • In the Land of the Ruthvenes, Illustrated Review [Not confirmed], 1924
  • Why People Like Detective Stories, The Listener, 2 October 1935
  • Unsolved Mysteries No. 6: Solution to the "Mystery of the Murdered Lieutenant", The Star, 1938

Theatre

  • Sixpennyworth, featuring Inspector Jimmy Waghorn (Unperformed). The play is set in the lounge of The Spotted Dog, a pub in a town whose name is not given, "emphatically so", and involves a neat method of creating an instant blackout.

Unpublished material

  • Untitled, 48 page typescript of the opening chapters of an apparently non-series novel, set in the villages of Kildersham and Dreford and concerning a death at a pheasant shoot.

Radio

  • Dr Priestley, BBC Empire Service, talk as part of the series 'Meet the Detective', 1935
  • The Strange Affair at the Old Dutch Mill, play featuring Inspector Jimmy Waghorn, BBC National Service, 7 October 1938, as part of the series 'What Happened at 8:20"
  • Death Travels First, play featuring Inspector Jimmy Waghorn, BBC Home Service, 2 and 9 July 1940 as part of a series of plays by members of the Detection Club

References

  1. ^ Director 'M.I.7(b)(1)' from April - November 1918
  2. ^ The Administration of Ireland, 1920 Reprint, 2001 by Athol Books. Introduction by Dr. Pat Walsh p5
  3. ^ Symons, Julian (1974). Bloody Murder. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-140-03794-2. 
  4. ^ Hubin, Allen J. (1980). Crime fiction, 1749-1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography. New York: Garland Publishing. ISBN 0-824-09219-8. 

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