Margery Allingham by AS Byatt

I thought you might be interested in reading this article by AS Byatt which was published in yesterday’s Guardian review. Although I’ve read quite a lot of Allingham’s books, I haven’t read Traitor’s Purse. Byatt is obviously a big fan of Allingham, as was John Le Carre apparently.

This week’s Review seems to be reminding me of how many books and authors I haven’t read. You might be interested in this article by Erika Johansen in which she celebrated life’s fighters. Ten uncompromising female protagonists – I haven’t read any of the books in which these females appear.

I’m always going to avoid reading Gone with the Wind and Stephen King, but I wonder if I’m missing something in not having read the others. Although I read children’s classics, I can’t see myself reading Harry Potter somehow.

6 thoughts on “Margery Allingham by AS Byatt

  1. I am rereading some of the Allingham books, but I have four more to go before I get to Traitor’s Purse. I saw this article and wished I could skip ahead.

    On the list of female protagonists, I have heard that the VI Warshawski novels by Sara Paretsky are very good. I may have read some of them back when they first came out, but I am going to try them again.

    • tracybham,
      I wish I had read Allingham’s books in order because Campion’s character did change quite a lot as he got older, as it should I suppose.
      Maybe I should give Sara Paretsky a go too.

  2. I was thinking the same thing about the Paretsky books. I know I read one or two, but I can’t remember anything about them.

    A good article on Allingham, which does make me want to re-read too.

    • Lisa,
      In the past it has always been The Tiger in the Smoke which people have said was her best work, so I was quite surprised by this article. I’ll definitely be reading more by Allingham.

  3. I have actually read Traitor’s Purse twice. It is a really good book. It does use amnesia as a plot device, which is not really original, but it uses it well. It allows us to see both Lugg and Amanda in different lights. Amanda has a very active role in this book, and Lugg is shown in a pretty serious mood here.

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