From misty, empty moorlands to atmospheric country estates, the backdrops against which crime stories unfold frequently determine their entire structure.
Christina Hardyment, a writer based in Cumnor, has explored the locations that influenced figures such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Colin Dexter and Arthur Ransome in her latest publication, Novel Crime Scenes: Twenty Deadly Landscapes.
With a Cambridge University education but residing close to Oxford alongside her husband, Mrs Hardyment dedicated two years to travelling throughout Britain, spanning from East Anglia to Dorset, the Outer Hebrides to the streets of the City of Dreaming Spires.
She has explained that literary geography volumes have always captivated her. Having authored numerous works, she began contemplating how estates and environments serve crucial functions within crime narratives, and she sought out writers drawn to particular locations.
Her opening chapter investigates how Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles emerged from a fortuitous meeting in Cromer along the North Norfolk coastline, where the author learned the legend of a dark hound that ripped out a potential attacker’s throat amid the wilds of Dartmoor.
Conan Doyle told his publisher The Strand Magazine that he had found a compelling story for them before venturing onto the moor himself.
During her research, Mrs Hardyment discovered Conan Doyle to be an unexpectedly complex figure. He eliminated Sherlock Holmes because he had grown weary of chronicling the detective’s adventures, tumbling over the falls alongside Moriarty. However, after a journalist shared the Dartmoor legend with him, he found it necessary to resurrect the famous sleuth to align the story with the setting.
The publication also considers how a handsome Georgian residence sparked Agatha Christie’s Dead Man’s Folly. She characterises Christie as deeply focused on domestic matters, with country estates featuring prominently in her work, ideally with a corpse in the library. Nevertheless, the celebrated crime writer also composed works inspired by the scenery of her beloved Devon homeland.
For enthusiasts of Colin Dexter’s output, a familiar presence within Oxford’s literary community, a dedicated chapter explores the Inspector Morse author’s adventures.
Wytham Woods and Park Town rank among the Oxford locations central to these celebrated narratives, providing mysterious and intriguing settings for countless readers.
As Mrs Hardyment observes, Oxford receives more visitors nowadays due to Inspector Morse than on account of its renowned university.
She notes that although the television adaptation prompted many to engage with the Oxford-based novels, it could not replicate the vivid depictions and historical context that the written works themselves supply for their settings.
During the creation of this illuminating volume, Mrs Hardyment retraced the journeys of numerous authors to comprehend what these landscapes signified to them.
Her work, enriched with artwork and maps, uncovers the essence of locations that have proved pivotal for those who enjoy solving mysteries from their armchairs.
The publication traverses territory from John Buchan’s Galloway Hills and Gwen Moffat’s Cape Wrath to Ellis Peters’ Shropshire, Margery Allingham’s Essex and Sam Llewellyn’s Isles of Scilly.
Regarding the audience for this work, Mrs Hardyment noted that it appeals broadly because it illuminates why an author crafted a particular story. This perspective proves applicable to any novel or book, serving readers who take pleasure in discovering or understanding where a narrative is situated.
Mrs Hardyment recognises the significance of truly comprehending a location, a lesson reinforced through her own professional journey.
She described her arrival in Oxford during 1983 alongside her three daughters, explaining that they selected the area because her husband was taking up a teaching position and her children required a reputable school. Her own Cambridge background meant Oxford held entirely novel experiences for her. She began authoring a work for Blackwells before becoming editor of the alumni publication Oxford Today. This proved an excellent method for gaining deeper knowledge of Oxford, and she came to appreciate how thorough familiarity with a location enhances understanding. Such insight into a community opens up an entirely new dimension and level of comprehension.
For this author, settings prove just as fundamental to outstanding writing as the beloved characters themselves, whether Sherlock Holmes or Inspector Morse.
Novel Crime Scenes: Twenty Deadly Landscapes by Christina Hardyment is published by Bodleian Library Publishing and runs to 192 pages. The hardback edition costs £25.
Mrs Hardyment has also written Novel Houses (2019) and Writing the Thames (2016), both released by Bodleian Library Publishing.