ECR Lorac was the pseudonym of Edith Caroline Rivett (1894-1958) who also wrote as Carol Carnac. ('Lorac' is 'Carol' backwards). Rivett was born in London and educated at South Hampstead High School and the Central School of Arts and Crafts. She wrote The Murder on the Burrows (1931) followed by almost two novels a year, usually featuring Scottish Chief Inspector Robert MacDonald. The novels written as Carol Carnac feature Inspector Julian Rivers.

 

“I praised the last three of Mr. Lorac’s books each for a different quality, for pleasantness of style, for ingenuity, and for sound characterisation. Now I find all these qualities present in A Pall for a Painter. So it is safe to bet that this author will soon find himself an accepted member of that very small band which writes first-rate detective stories that are also literature.” – Torquemada, Observer, 27th September 1936

 

I am afraid that I disagree with Torquemada. The three Lorac novels I’ve read struck me as decidedly pedestrian and forgettable. One was extremely inconsistent and muddled; another was dull and decidedly humdrum; and the last had one of the stupidest solutions of them all. Is Lorac really so bad? Or was I reading the wrong ones? No doubt I will read more Lorac in years to come, but not in the near future…

 

Nick Fuller

 

Bibliography

 

The Murder on the Burrows (1931)

The Affair on Thor's Head (1932)

The Greenwell Mystery (1932)

Death on the Oxford Road (1933)

The Case of Colonel Marchand (1933)

Murder in St John's Wood (1934)

Murder in Chelsea (1934)

The Organ Speaks (1934)

Death of an Author (1935)

Crime Counter Crime (1936)

Post After Post-mortem (1936)

A Pall for a Painter (1936)

Bats in the Belfry (1937)

These Names Make Clues (1937)

The Devil and the CID (1938)

Slippery Staircase (1938)

John Brown's Body (1938)

Black Beadle (1939)

Death at Dyke's Corner (1940)

Tryst for a Tragedy (1940)

Case in the Clinic (1941)

Rope's End, Rogue's End (1942)

The Sixteenth Stair (1942)

Death Came Softly (1943)

Checkmate to Murder (1944)

Fell Murder (1944)

Murder by Matchlight (1945)

Fire in the Thatch (1946)

The Theft of the Iron Dogs (1946) aka, Murderer's Mistake

Relative to Poison (1947)

Death Before Dinner (1948) aka A Screen for Murder

Part for a Poisoner (1948) aka Place for a Poisoner

Still Waters (1949)

Policemen in the Precinct (1949) aka And Then Put Out the Light

Accident by Design (1950)

Murder of a Martinet (1951) aka, I Could Murder Her

The Dog It Was That Died (1952)

Murder in the Millrace (1952) aka Speak Justly of the Dead

Crook o'Lune (1953) aka Shepherd's Crook

Shroud of Darkness (1954)

Let Well Alone (1954)

Ask a Policeman (1955)

Murder in Vienna (1956)

Picture of Death (1957)

Dangerous Domicile (1957)

Death in Triplicate (1958) aka People Will Talk

Murder on a Monument (1958)

Dishonour Among Thieves (1959) aka The Last Escape

 

Novels by Carol Carnac

Triple Death (1936)

Murder at Mornington (1937)

The Missing Rope (1937)

When the Devil Was Sick (1939)

The Case of the First-class Carriage (1939)

Death in the Diving-pool (1940)

A Double for Detection (1945)

The Striped Suitcase (1946)

Clue Sinister (1947)

Over the Garden Wall (1948)

Upstairs, Downstairs (1950) aka Upstairs and Downstairs

Copy for Crime (1950)

It's Her Own Funeral (1951)

Crossed Skis (1952)

Murder as a Fine Art (1953)

A Policeman at the Door (1953)

Impact of Evidence (1954)

Murder Among Members (1955)

Rigging the Evidence (1955)

The Double Turn (1956) aka The Late Miss Trimming

The Burning Question (1957)

Long Shadows (1958) aka Affair at Helen's Court

Death of a Lady Killer (1959)

 

Uncollected stories

The Live Wire (1939)

Remember to Ring Twice (1950)

Chance is a Great Thing (1950)

Death at the Bridge Table (1950)

Permanent Policeman (1951)