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Julian Gustave Symons

ジュリアン・シモンズ

Julian Symons

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1912-05-30 （London）
Died
1994-11-23 （Kent, England） age 82
Nationality
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Residence History
London → Kent, England

Career

Occupations
crime novelist, critic, poet
Active Years
1945-1994
Affiliations
The Detection Club
Memberships
The Detection Club, Mystery Writers of America (affiliated)
Influenced By
Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, Edgar Allan Poe

Awards

Gold Dagger (Crime Writers' Association)
1957
Work: The Colour of Murder
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: 受賞
Silver Dagger (Crime Writers' Association)
1960
Work: The Progress of a Crime
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: 受賞
Edgar Award — Best Novel
1961
Work: The Progress of a Crime
Category: 長編賞
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞
Martin Beck Award
1971
Work: The Thirty-First of February
Organization: Svenska Deckarakademin (Swedish Crime Writers' Academy)
Result: 受賞
Swedish Crime Writers' Academy — Grand Master
1977
Organization: Swedish Crime Writers' Academy
Result: 受賞
Edgar Award — Special Award
1973
Work: Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞
Mystery Writers of America — Grand Master
1982
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞（巨匠賞）
Diamond Dagger
1990
Category: 功労賞
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Colour of Murder

1957 crime fiction

A psychologically driven crime novel about an ordinary man drawn into adultery and murder, notable for its moral ambiguity.

psychological characterizationmiddle-class breakdownmoral ambiguity

The Progress of a Crime

1960 crime novel

Focuses on the psychology and motives surrounding a crime from inception to resolution. Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel.

motive analysiscrime and justice

A Three-Pipe Problem

1975 pastiche / detective fiction

A Sherlock Holmes pastiche set in the 1920s featuring a television actor playing Holmes; it explores Holmesian tropes in a modern context.

performance and the pastreinterpretation of the detective

The Blackheath Poisonings

1978 historical mystery

A historical mystery set in a late-19th-century atmosphere, depicting a series of poisonings within a family. Adapted for television.

family secretspoisoninghistorical setting
Adaptations
  • [TV film] The Blackheath Poisonings (TV film) (1992)

Bibliography

  • The Immaterial Murder Case (1945)
  • The Colour of Murder (1957)
  • The Progress of a Crime (1960)
  • Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel (1972)
  • A Three-Pipe Problem (1975)
  • The Blackheath Poisonings (1978)

Adaptations

  • The Blackheath Poisonings — TV film (1992)
  • The Man Who Killed Himself — film adaptation 'Arthur? Arthur!' (1969)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
psychologically focused, leaning toward modern crime novelconcise, observant proseuse of black humor
Recurring Motifs
ordinary people drawn into crimeethical dilemmasfamily and close-relationship secrets

Legacy

Julian Symons was an important postwar British crime writer and critic. He is highly regarded for both his fiction and his critical histories of crime fiction, won major awards (including the Edgar and Gold Dagger), and served as a leading figure in genre institutions such as the Detection Club.

Archives

  • British Library (holds related materials)
  • National Library of Sweden (related holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • 'The Colour of Murder' selected in lists of top crime novels

Trivia

  • His elder brother was biographer A. J. A. Symons.
  • He left school at age 14.
  • Served in the Royal Armoured Corps during WWII and was later discharged from service.