The Black Lizard And Beast in the Shadows
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Two Golden Age classics from Japan's grand master of mystery. A master criminal -- The Black Lizard, as deadly as she is beautiful -- wagers all in an epic battle with a master detective.
In Beast in the Shadows, a mystery writer vows to protect the woman he secretly loves, but disaster strikes when he turns detective himself.
From the Publisher
Edogawa Rampo (pseudonym of Hirai Taro, 1894-1965) is the acknowledged grand master of Japan's golden age of crime and mystery fiction. In the early part of his career, he created the Japanese gothic mystery, developing the work of Edgar Allan Poe and related nineteenth century writers in a distinctly Japanese form. This part of his career coincided with a great flowering in Japanese literature and culture, a relatively free and uninhibited popular press being a defining feature of the times. In this context, Rampo's dark vision and extravagant grotesquery found an avid readership, and had a profound influence on other writers. Public morals tightened in the years leading up to Japan's Asian and Pacific wars, and censorship was tight in the war years. Rampo's early work fell out of favour, and he turned to adventure stories with detective characters in leading roles. After the war, he concentrated on stories for young readers, and on developing the Japan Association of Mystery Writers. The Edogawa Rampo Prize, originally endowed by Rampo himself, is awarded annually to the finest work of the year in the mystery genre. It is the most important prize of its type in Japan. Edogawa Rampo -- whose name is meant to be read as a punning reference to 'Edgar Allan Poe' -- remains popular and influential in Japan. His work remains in print, in various different editions, and his stories provide the background for a steady stream of film, television, and theatrical adaptations.
Kurodahan Press takes great pleasure in presenting the first English language translations of these two short novels. We hope to bring more of Edogawa Rampo's unique brand of crime fiction to life in English, and there is no better place to start than in the cavernous hideaway of the Black Lizard.
The Black Lizard And Beast in the Shadows,Rampo Edogawa,Mark Schreiber,Ian Hughes,Kurodahan Press,4902075210,Fiction,Fiction - Mystery/ Detective,Mystery & Detective - General,Mystery/Suspense
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