Hi, Susan,

Welcome to our little club....

Alleyn is phonetically prononouced (AL- (short "A") Lane) The stress is on the first syllable. Ngaio is prounounced (NYE-oh) stress on the first syllable.

Anyone who tells you different didn't watch a filmed interview of the great Dame Ngaio pronouncing these herself!

:) Lilly

I've read all the messages and am very glad I found this page. I personally found Death and the Dancing Footman an absolutely delightful book. Everything a cozy ought to be. I;ve been jotting down titles, websites and notes so I can check all these things out. It's great to meet you all and I hope to hear from you very soon.

I don't know if anyone still posts here, but I just finished Night at the Vulcan last night and thought it was absolutely wonderful. To of my passions are mysteries and the theatre, and it was neat to find a novel that combined them so skillfully... This is the first book by Ngaio Marsh that I have read, but I think I would like to read some others. Anyone have suggestions on some good ones to start with?

I also have a Marsh question-- I read a book decades ago by her that had the killer using a "colorless liquid" to kill the victim. Does anyone remember what book this is?

ummmm - is it the one about the actress and the perfume bottle? Don't want to give too much away. I can't think of the name right now, but I think her name was Mary, an aging grand dame of the stage. That is the only one I can think of with a 'colourless liquid', but they work out fairly quickly what it was.

Simon - there are a lot of her books set in the theatre, she was actually given her title (Dame Commander, Order of the British Empire, or DBE), for her services to theatre, and I understand that she practically revived the theatre industry in her native New Zealand singlehandedly.

A Man Lay Dead was her very first one. Offhand, I can think of Vintage Murder, Enter a Murderer, Death at the Dolphin and Light Thickens (my personal favourite, and about the 'perfect' production of Macbeth) which involve the theatre. I know there are others, just can't think of the titles.

There are also quite a few about artists, and Alleyn's wife Troy features in some of these. I think Artists in Crime was the first featuring Troy (but again, can't remember exactly), plus A Clutch of Constables, Final Curtain, Spinsters in Jepardy, Singing in the Shrouds.

And my very favourite (other than Light Thickens) is A Surfeit of Lampreys. But check all the titles - these are English / Australian ones.

Jesse - the book I was thinking of eariler was False Scent, another one set in the theatre.

Jesse-- I think the book you are thinking of by Ngaio Marsh is Final Curtain. The killer uses something called "thallium acetate."

Does anyone have Ngaio Marsh Inspector Alleyn videos I could purchase? Thanks

susan

Oh, poor neglected author/folder! I just stumbled across Ngaio Marsh's books in the local library during one of my 'randomization' sprees (I grab random books off the shelves and read them, regardless of who they're by or what they're about.)

I absolutely ADORE her work. Unfortunately our small library only has a few titles.

I remember years back when I had read all the library had of Christie I found Marsh. I like her and still have many of her books on my shelf.