Margery Allingham

One of the “Queens of Crime”, this Tolleshunt D’Arcy novelist was famous for her fictional detective Albert Campion

Allingham started writing in childhood, and her first novel, Blackkerchief Dick, an occult story allegedly based on a tale she had heard during a séance, was published in 1923. Her breakthrough occurred in 1929, however, with the publication of her first detective story, The Crime at Black Dudley. Although a fairly minor character in her first book, the detective Albert Campion caught the public’s attention and he returned in her next book Mystery Mile. He proved such a successful character that he became the centrepiece of another 17 novels and more than 20 short stories, continuing into the 1960s.

In 1941, Allingham published a non-fiction work, The Oaken Heart, in which she describes her experiences in Tolleshunt D’Arcy (which she nicknames Auburn) as the locals and troops prepared for the possibility of a German invasion. Allingham was heavily involved in the war effort as village billeting officer and first aid organiser, and her house became the Air Raid Precautions Post and accommodation for troops.

Allingham died from cancer in 1966, aged 62, and her final Campion novel, Cargo of Eagles, was completed by her husband at her request. She is buried in St Nicholas’ new churchyard, on the opposite side of the road from the church and to the south.

Her literary legacy regards her as one of the “Queens of Crime” from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers and Ngaio Marsh.