Today Dame Ngaio Marsh "Queen of Crime" turns 125. Here are 10 fascinating facts about the New Zealand crime writer, artist and theatre director who had a close association with the New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn.
Ngaio Marsh in the 1940s Photo: Public Domain
1. She was named after a fast-growing, flowering shrub. Māori would rub the leaves of the Ngaio bush over their skin to repel mosquitoes and sandflies.
2. Ngaio Marsh is one of the four original "Queens of Crime” — female writers who dominated the genre of crime fiction in the 1920s and 1930s, including Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham and Dorothy L Sayers.
3. When Marsh moved to England in 1928 (one of many stints) she made a living by working in the theatre, as a travel writer, and as an interior designer - even opening her own interior decorating business in Knightsbridge.
4. In 1931 Ngaio Marsh began writing novels, creating the very English Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn.
5. She wanted to be a professional painter and spent 6 years studying at Canterbury College School of Art. She used her painting knowledge for her novel ‘Artists in Crime’ in which Inspector Alleyn meets the painter Agatha Troy.
Cover of 'Overture to Death' by Ngaio Marsh Photo: First US edition of 'Overture to Death'
7. Marsh produced acclaimed productions of Shakespeare plays, and in the 1950s was involved with the influential New Zealand Players. The 430-seat Ngaio Marsh Theatre at the University of Canterbury is named in her honour.
8. Ngaio Marsh commissioned New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn to write music for some of her theatre productions, including 'Hamlet' and 'Othello'. You can hear some of this music and hear her talking about Lilburn and the intricacies of writing for the theatre in the documentary 'Douglas - Landscape of a New Zealand Composer - Episode 2' . What a voice!
9. Only four of her novels were set in New Zealand – ‘Vintage Murder’ (1937) and ‘Colour Scheme’ were set in the North Island; ‘Died in the Wool’ (1944) and ‘Photo Finish’ (1980) were set in the South Island.
10. You can visit her beloved home in Cashmere, Christchurch. She lived here for 76 years. It’s where her most famous works were created. The house is full of treasures and antiques she collected from around the world. There are even some of her own paintings hanging on the walls.
And here's actor Benedict Cumberbatch reading 'Artists in Crime'. You're welcome!
