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Last edited by bitnapper
September 10, 2023 | History
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H. C. Bailey

H. C. Bailey (full name Henry Christopher Bailey) was an English author of mysteries. He took to writing early, publishing My Lady of Orange (1901) during his senior year at Oxford, and spent many years as a journalist and author of romantic fiction before he began writing detective novels. Call Mr. Fortune (1920) introduced the world to Reggie Fortune, a brilliant investigator with a knack for solving chilling murder mysteries, who would become one of the most popular sleuths of the English golden age of detective fiction. Fortune's mannerisms and speech put him into the same class as Lord Peter Wimsey but the stories are much darker, and often involve murderous obsession, police corruption, financial skulduggery, child abuse and miscarriages of justice.
Fortune appeared in nine novels, yet it was in a series of 84 short stories that were published from 1920 to 1940 where he truly shone, combining elements of several popular archetypes—the eccentric logician, the forensic investigator, the hard-boiled interrogator, the psychological profiler, the defender of justice. Bailey’s classics are distinguished by well-clued puzzles, brilliant sleuthing, vivid description and social critique, with Fortune evoking images of Don Quixote and the Arthurian Knights in his pursuit of truth and justice in an uncaring world. (McFarland Books)

A second series character, Josiah Clunk, is a sanctimonious lawyer who exposes corruption and blackmail in local politics, and who manages to profit from the crimes. He appears in eleven novels published between 1930 and 1950, including The Sullen Sky Mystery (1935), widely regarded as Bailey's magnum opus.

Photo of H. C. Bailey

English writer (1878–1961)

Born 1878
Died 1961

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  • Cover of: Forty years after: the story of the Franco-German war, 1870

    First published in 1914 2 editions in 1 language — 2 previewable Cover of edition fortyyearsafter00bailgoog
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  • Cover of: The great game.

    First published in 1939 2 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Meet Mr. Fortune.

    First published in 1942 2 editions in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Mr. Fortune finds a pig.

    First published in 1943 2 editions in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Black land, white land: a Reggie Fortune novel.

    First published in 1937 1 edition in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Mr.Cardonnel.

    First published in 1931 1 edition in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Meet Mr. Fortune: a Reggie Fortune Omnibus

    First published in 1942 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Shrouded death.

    First published in 1950 1 edition in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Faeries

    1 edition in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: The flush of the dawn: notes on art education

    First published in 1910 1 edition in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Yankee notions

    First published in 1929 1 edition in 1 language
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  • Cover of: The red castle

    First published in 1932 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Highwayman : Annotations by: le Papillon Bleu

    First published in 2021 1 edition in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Mr. Fortune's Practice : Annotations by: le Papillon Bleu

    First published in 2021 1 edition in 1 language
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  • Cover of: The best of Mr. Fortune stories

    First published in 1943 1 edition in 1 language
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  • Cover of: His serene highness

    First published in 1922 1 edition in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Mr. Clunk's text

    First published in 1939 1 edition in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Mr. Fortune: eight of his adventures

    First published in 1976 1 edition in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: No murder

    First published in 1942 1 edition in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Orphan Ann

    First published in 1941 1 edition in 1 language
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Photo of H. C. Bailey

English writer (1878–1961)

Born 1878
Died 1961
Subjects
Fiction, Forensic scientists, English Detective and mystery stories, Fiction, historical, general, History, Anthology, Reggie Fortune (fictitious character), Short stories, Court and courtiers, Courts and courtiers, Detective and mystery stories, England, fiction, Fairy tales, Fantasy fiction, Fiction, science fiction, general, Folklore, Franco-Prussian War, 1870-1871, Histoire, Joshua Clunk (fictitious character), Mystery and detective stories, Queens, Reggie Fortune (Fictitious character), Romans, nouvelles
Places
Great Britain, Netherlands
Time
1920s, Wars of Independence, 1556-1648, Wars of the Roses, 1455-1485

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Alternative names

  • Henry Christopher Bailey

History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
September 10, 2023 Edited by bitnapper Edited without comment.
September 10, 2023 Edited by bitnapper merge authors
October 14, 2022 Edited by mheiman merge authors
September 11, 2022 Edited by Martha Carson Wade Edited without comment.
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import