What happens when you bring literary plot and pattern design together?

Margery Allingham was one of the undoubted queens of British detective fiction’s Golden Age, and this bringing together of novel-inspired handknits with critical, contextual essays offers an in-the-round celebration of her work. Kate Davies’ collection speaks to the detective author’s inventive spirit: a single, unbroken strand of yarn transforms itself into a three-dimensional slipper; hats and pullovers are knitted from side to side, while a triangular shawl up-ends itself to eventually become a cardigan. The techniques are all contemporary, but there’s a nod to classic twentieth-century knitting style as well: narrow garter-stitch stripes meet modern short row shaping, while slipped stitches and Art Deco chevrons are incoporated into light knits that will work in many wardrobes. Alongside this most mysterious collection, literary contributors explore themes that illuminate Margery Allingham’s creative world: from the relationship between patterns and plotting, to the fashion, film and popular culture of the 1930s and 1940s; from the wide ranging role played by knitting and knitters in detective fiction, to the distinctive Essex landscape that inspired Margery Allingham throughout her life. Chock full of revelations, plot twists, and (of course) the occasional red herring, this highly original exploration of one of detective fiction’s most ingenious authors is sure to surprise and delight.

Contributors: Tom Barr, Caroline Crampton, Kate Davies, Veronica Horwell, Julia Jones, Sarah Mackay, Imogen Robertson.

published in October 2024

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