We know from Rowling’s interviews with fellow authors Val McDermid and J. J. Marsh that she both loves and re-reads Ngaio Marsh among the ‘big four’ of crime authors:
Val McDermid: How did that love affair with crime start for you?
JKR: Probably…I know I was reading Christies when I was quite young. All of the Big Four – Marsh, Allingham, Christie and Sayers – I’ve read and loved….
Val McDermid Interviews Robert Galbraith at Harrosgate Festival
J. J. Marsh: Are there any books you re-read?
JKR: Lots and lots. When I’m working, I find it incredibly difficult to read new books (although when I’m between my own novels, I devour other people’s). So if I’m writing, I re-read. I’ve re-read all of Jane Austen so often I can actually visualize the type on the page; I love Colette, Katherine Mansfield, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, E. F. Benson and P. G. Wodehouse, all of whom are always beside my bed. I read a lot of diaries and biographies, too; Chips Channon’s also a fixture on the bedside bookshelves, as is the afore-mentioned Secrets of the Flesh, and everything by Frances Donaldson is eminently re-readable.
This post attempts to argue that we have some non-textual evidence to suggest that to Rowling, Ngaio Marsh is a special case, certainly among crime authors. Join me after the jump to find out more!
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