Acclaimed crime fiction expert and author Martin Edwards opens a Portico Library series on crime writing with a talk on his new book.

Martin Edwards introduces the first major history of crime fiction in fifty years, The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators. Martin traces the evolution of the genre from the eighteenth century to the present, offering brand-new perspective on the world’s most popular form of fiction.

This event will have live BSL interpretation.

Martin Edwards received the CWA Diamond Dagger, the highest honour in UK crime writing, in 2020. He has been described by Otto Penzler as ‘the best living practitioner of the classic detective story’ and by the British Library as ‘the leading expert on classic crime’. He is the author of twenty-one novels, including Gallows Court and Mortmain Hall. His latest book is The Life of Crime, a history of the crime genre, and he also conceived and edited Howdunit, an award-winning masterclass in crime writing by members of the legendary Detection Club.