78 talk about ‘well-written’ mysteries Wilson, ‘Who cares who killed Roger Ackroyd?’, The New Yorker, 20 Jan 1945; quoted in Haycraft, The Art of the Mystery Story, p. 395.
78 There must be no Wright, ‘Twenty rules for writing detective stories’, The American Magazine, Sep 1928; quoted in Haycraft, The Art of the Mystery Story, pp. 189-90.
80 I always tried Winn (ed.), Murderess Ink, p. 142.
80 I wanted to be told flatly BB, p. 99.
82 I enjoyed best the nights Ibid, pp. 100-01.
83 Mr Wallwork was pushing Olivia Spencer Bower Papers, Archives, CAG Te Puna o Waiwhetu.
84 On the road outside Camberley NM, ‘The Canterbury Pilgrim Again: Before the Coronation’, The Press, 29 May 1937, p. 14.
86 Where Conan Doyle Hume, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, pp. xiii-xiv.
88 [execution information] Gatrell, The Hanging Tree, pp. 589-611, 618-19.
89 Death in a White Tie might have been called Winn, Murderess Ink, p. 143.
90 this officer is keen Edward Griffith Bristed, WW1 6/1786, Archives New Zealand, Wellington.
91 We said at the beginning [and following] ‘The Canterbury Pilgrim Again: Journey into the Past’, The Press, 29 Jan 1938, p. 18.
92 It is difficult to order [and following] ‘The Canterbury Pilgrim Again: Across Belgium’, The Press, 12 Feb 1938, p. 20.
95 They even bathed to orders Manuscript for radio broadcast, St Margaret’s College Archive, Christchurch.
96 Miss Marsh is a novelist [and following reviews] MSX-2741, ATL.
97 a terrible bore [and following quotes] Ibid.
97 a series hero Mann, Deadlier Than the Male, p. 109.
99 She has excelled herself Wagstaff and Poole, Agatha Christie: A reader’s companion, p. 137.
101-02 Although I would have considerable difficulty [and following reviews] MSX-2741, ATL.
103 not Miss Marsh’s metier MSX-2741, ATL.
103-104 Fox represents Slate McDorman, Ngaio Marsh, p. 92.
104 For days on end BB, p. 232.
105 The itch for travel Manuscript for radio broadcast, St Margaret’s College Archive, Christchurch.
Chapter Four
Death Down Under
107 There can be no doubt BB, p. 164.
108 ‘Poor lassie! Seager, Edward William Seager, p. 27.
108 carriages and gigs BB, p. 36.
108-09 After the final performance Ibid, p. 166.
109 lived on a scale Ibid, p. 167.
109-10 While the Lampreys Ibid, p. 169.
114 Her strongest card MSX-2741, ATL.
115 Her own personal performances ‘Lords of lethal weapons: Ngaio Marsh meets the Detection Club,’ NZL, 29 Mar 1940, p. 55; ‘Detective fiction: “It’s tough, that’s what it is,” says Ngaio Marsh’, NZL, 16 Aug 1940, p. 15.
115 Miss Marsh is Detected ‘Miss Marsh is Detected…’, NZL, 9 Aug 1940, p. 31.
115 Not only will this detective novel ‘Ngaio Marsh to read her new thrill at 2YA,’ NZL, 7 Feb 1941, p. 9.
115 Surfeit of Lampreys was played to 2YA: ‘Around the Nationals’, NZL, 27 Jun 1941, p. 24.
115 a new series of talks ‘Crime is her subject: a parlour game began it’, NZL, 4 Dec 1942, p. 13.
117 She was a strong woman Crabtree interview with author.
118 Although the puzzle is intricate [and following reviews] MSX-2741, ATL.
119 there are no dull Chandler, ‘The simple art of murder’, The Atlantic Monthly, vol. CLXXIV, Jul-Dec 1944, p. 57.
119 It is the same careful Ibid., p. 56.
120 Hammett took murder Ibid., p. 58.
120 ran about the hills BB, p. 234.
120 I could see Ibid, p. 235.
120-21 Why have they left NM with Burden, New Zealand, p. 13.
121 When white-skinned men Ibid., p. 16.
121 The strong have Ibid., p. 27.
121 In some ways Ibid., pp. 7, 30.
121 New Zealand stands Ibid., p. 34.
122 but Pohutukawa Ibid., p. 47.
123 I experienced…absolute happiness BB, p. 90.
123 the girls could rid Ibid, p. 94.
123 I do not know Ibid, p. 95.
124 our presence here Ibid, p. 94.
125 We were plunged Ibid, pp. 106-07.
125 a straggle of huts Ibid, p. 108
125 I did a painting Ibid, p. 114
125 We learned about the behaviour Ibid, p. 115.
126 very pretty woman Ibid, p. 120.
126 To find such a slice NM and Burden, New Zealand, p. 8.
126-27 I confess it was [and following review] MSX-2741, ATL.
130-31 marvellous sense of comedy Ibid.
133 [Hers] was very much the Edwardian psyche Crabtree interview with author.
133 Anyone could take her down Ibid.
134 When you took literature Dacres-Mannings interview with author.
135 the multiple role Carole Acheson, ‘Cultural ambivalence’, p. 170.
136 Well I can’t keep on lugging ‘Dame Ngaio: detective fiction writer’, 10 Mar 1978, BBC, British Sound Archives, British Library, London.
136 Died in the Wool, though competent MSX-2741, ATL.
Chapter Five
A Stage Set for Tragedy
139 at the end of each line Strange, The Little Theatre, pp. 79-80.
140 ‘Hamlet’—in modern dress MSY-2397, ATL.
141 open on a Monday night Norman, Douglas Lilburn, p. 118.
141 The good Ngaio Quoted in Strange, The Little Theatre, p. 87.
141 the very breath MSY-2397, ATL.
142 This was the beginning BB, p. 243.
143 I wasn’t very good at reading Webb (née Reay) interview with author.
143 coterie of young men Webb interview.
144 Just imagine Quoted in Strange, The Little Theatre, p. 91.
144 We had three acting ‘Acting in self-defence: New Zealand makes its own plays’, NZL, 8 Sep 1944, p. 11.
144-45 seats for the whole [and following reviews] MSY-2397, ATL.
145 submissive to the meaning Ibid.
145 I was walking through town Ibid.
145 he stepped up the tempo Quoted in Strange, The Little Theatre, pp. 9-10.
145 the G.O.M. ‘Acting in self-defence’, p. 11.
146 Some friends are coming Ibid, p. 11.
147 Miss Marsh’s imagery [and following review] MSY-2397, ATL.
148 He could be a tyrant Dacres Manning interview with author.
148 It was the first of many such occasions BB, p. 147.
149 For fully five minutes [and following reviews] MSY-2397, ATL.
149 an enormous contribution Strange, The Little Theatre, p. 106.
149 I was put in the Railway Hotel Webb interview.
150 it was done in like manner [and following letters] MSY-2397, ATL.
151 Miss Ngaio Marsh’s Hamlet MSY-2397, ATL.
152 For who in the cast MSY-2397, ATL.
154 Great green eyebrows Ibid.
154 As before, in the Drama Society’s Ibid.
155 [Max McGlashan and screwdriver] Strange, The Little Theatre, p. 119.
156 Settings almost stark in their simplicity [and following material] MSY-2397, ATL.
156 These notes, too slight for dedication NM, A Play Toward, n.p.
157 series of spoken movements Ibid, p. 12.
157 infinitely variable Ibid, pp. 26-27.
157 The producer’s script Ibid, p. 20.
157 Don’t snap Ibid, p. 25.
157 If you can’t make Ibid, pp. 8-9.
158 the kind…on which Hooper, ‘Ngaio Marsh: A life for the theatre’, Return to Black Beech, Acheson and Lidgaurd (eds), p. 12.
158 real objects possessing Bushnell, ‘The most ephemeral of the arts’, Return to Black Beech, p. 87.
161 Another of Ngaio’s delightful who-dun-its [and following reviews] MSY-2397, ATL.
162 It would be impossible Wilson, ‘Who cares who killed Roger Ackroyd
?’, The New Yorker, 20 Jan 1945; quoted in Haycraft, The Art of the Mystery Story, p. 395.
162 The local colour in these books ‘Great critics have their allergies: a defence of the detective story’, NZL, 19 Oct 1945, p. 13.
162-63 I think that the character ‘Is the detective story dying?’, NZL, 17 Oct 1947, p. 8.
164 I fairly took to the country [and all following Henry Marsh memoir quotes] MS-Group-1635, ATL.
165 children, unreproved BB, p. 60.
166 was keen on detective stories Margaret Fox, ‘Ngaio Marsh’, The Press, 30 Nov 1955, p. 15.
166 Ngaio left me in charge Crabtree interview with author.
167 Why are you, Coleman, Olivier, p. 191.
167 the tour was a grand gesture Ibid, p. 191.
167 Over, God be praised Ibid, p. 200.
167 You may not realise it Ibid, p. 200.
168-69 The entire power Email from Alistair Johnson to author, 20 Dec 2007.
169 At the end [of the performance] Email from Harry Atkinson to author, 3 Dec 2007.
169 I soared into the sky Coleman, Olivier, p. 201.
169 She has star quality NM, in Mason, ‘Brigid Lenihan’, p. 7.
170 the right air MSX-2741, ATL.
171 far more interesting and compelling Ibid.
171 People sat in Collins Street Quoted in Strange, The Little Theatre, pp. 157-58.
Chapter Six
The Marsh Million Murders
172-73 I am always asked BB, pp. 252-53.
173 They guarantee 175,000 copies Memo to NM, 21 Jul 1943, Box: UGD 243-1-11-6, Glasgow University Archives, Scotland.
173 I have read your new MS Letter from William Collins to NM, 1 Aug 1944, Box: UGD 243-1-11-6, Glasgow University Archives, Scotland.
173 Here in New Zealand Letter from NM to William Collins, 30 Oct 1944, Box: UGD 243-1-11-6, Glasgow University Archives, Scotland.
174 What can a New Zealander ‘London revisited’, Sep 1949, CDA 14383, BBC Sound Archives, British Library, London.
174 An entire year may pass Haycraft, Murder for Pleasure, pp. 260-61.
176 an absurd 97.5 per cent Coleman, Olivier, p. 205.
176 one pound and seven pence Harding, The Star, 24 Feb 1982, NM File, HC, Glasgow.
176 [We] are sharing this flat Letter from NM to Winsome and John Schroder, 15 Jan 1950, MS-Papers-0280-29, ATL.
176 I could hear minuscule BB, pp. 251-52.
177 sixty-two productions Lewis, Ngaio Marsh, p. 128.
177 director and instructor Advertisement, NZL, 17 Oct 1947, p. 9.
177 She was late NM, in Mason, ‘Brigid Lenihan’, p. 8.
181 We’ve invited a few people Hooper interview with author.
181-82 [Nelly] and I joined BB, p. 252.
183 We breakfasted at her flat BB, p. 252.
184 sent down to the shop Greene, ‘Ngaio, the writer—as seen from a secretary’s viewpoint’, speech given at the ‘return to Black Beech: Centenary Symposium on Ngaio Marsh 1895-1995’, Christchurch, 1995, n.p.
184 With a group of fellow art-students MS-Group-1635, ATL.
185 She is talent-scouting Letter from Allen Curnow to JS, 13 Dec 1949, MS-Papers-0280-29, ATL.
186 D’Arcy Cresswell turned up Letter from NM to Winsome and John Schroder, 15 Jan 1950, MS-Papers-0280-29, ATL.
186 It struck me as strange Letter from Allen Curnow to JS, MS-Papers-0280-29, ATL.
187 Mr Howell’s play BB, p. 254.
187 conventional spy thriller Christie, Agatha Christie, 1993, p. 448.
189 shared her huge disappointment NM, in Mason, ‘Brigid Lenihan’, p. 9.
189 I shared the coldest winter Ibid., p. 8.
189 Ngaio Marsh, author of 16 [and following reviews] Marsh File, Theatre Museum Archive, Victoria and Albert, London.
191 It was ‘a play’ BB, p. 256.
191 dissonances of all sorts Ibid, p. 256.
191 Things were so clearly going wrong Shirley O’Connor, in conversation with the author, Wellington, 17 Nov 2007.
191-92 Yours is not a letter Letter from NM to JS, 27 Aug 1951, MS-Papers-0280-29, ATL.
192 Rats darted BB, p. 258.
192-93 The first rounds Dacres-Mannings interview with author.
193 They were immensely BB, p. 258.
194 What phrases Ibid, p. 260.
195 The background was not Orwell, Decline of the English Murder: and other essays, pp. 12-13.
196 As soon as we were shown BB, p. 265.
196 Essie had agreed Ibid, p. 268.
198 Just a scribble Letter from NM to DM, 22 Jul 1963, MS-Papers-1946, ATL.
198-99 Excellently characterised [and following reviews] MSY-2395, ATL.
199 I am forwarding MS-Papers-1397, ATL.
200 Miss Marsh’s style MSY-2395, ATL.
202 My Chemist known as Letter from NM to JS, c. 29 Dec 1958, MS-Papers-0280-29, ATL.
202 Val (Vladimir) is an Esthonian Letter from NM to JS, c. 29 Dec 1958, ibid.
203 In his jester’s suit Unidentified review entitled ‘King Lear: Canterbury College Production: noteworthy achievement’, AF’s private papers.
203 No praise can be too high Unidentified review entitled ‘The essential Lear finely brought out in brave production,’ JE’s private papers.
203-04 On either side [and following quote] Unidentified article entitled ‘Connection between King Lear and ritual dances “more than feasible”’, JE’s private papers.
204 Pattern is enhanced ‘“Henry V” not so great’, Canta, 7 Aug 1957, JE’s private papers.
Ngaio Marsh Her Life in Crime Page 41
