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Common Knowledge

Legal name: Cole, Dame Margaret Isabel Postgate
Other names: Cole, Margaret
Birthdate: 1893-05-06
Date of death: 1980-05-07
Gender: female
Nationality: UK
Places of residence: Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Education: Roedean School
Cambridge University (Girton College)
Occupations: teacher
Relationships: Cole, G.D.H. (husband)
Postgate, Raymond William (brother)
Postgate, John Percival (father)
Organizations: St Paul's School, London
Fabian Society
London County Council
Detection Club
Short biography: Margaret Cole, née Postgate, was educated at Roedean School and Cambridge University. She worked as a classics teacher at St. Paul's Girls' School. During World War I, she became a pacifist activist. In 1918, she married George Douglas Howard (G.D.H.) Cole, an economist and historian who shared her socialist views. They worked together for the Fabian Society before moving to Oxford in 1924 to teach and write. In the early 1930s, Margaret Cole abandoned her pacifism in reaction to the rise of fascism. She became a champion of education reform and a member of the Inner London Education Authority. She served as a Labour Party member of the London City Council as well. She wrote several books independently, including a biography of her husband. Together, the couple wrote many popular mystery novels.

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Reviews

Robert Owen of New Lanark by Margaret Cole

Genius, or lunatic? It would be easy to put either epithet to this restless man.

Robert Owen was light years ahead of his time. His belief in the equality of the working man and his right to decent living and working conditions, were amazing. His problem was that it was too large a problem for one man to take on. Owen set up one scheme after another and each was bigger than the last and, each collapsed due to the attitudes of the day.

I think I'll choose genius.

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the.ken.petersen | Jun 16, 2022 |

Dead man's watch by G. D. H. Cole

A highly entertaining read, among the best by this married double act. When a body is found in the sea near a Devonshire village, Sir Charles Wylie decides that the local police are not competent enough to investigate it and starts doing so himself. There's an interesting combination of amateur and professional detection, with Sir Charles a fairly sympathetic figure despite his flaws, and Superintendent Wilson intervening to bring the whole thing to a rather sedate but satisfying ending. The identity of the killer isn't a total surprise, but nevertheless many people won't fathom the whole of the plot… (more)

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JonRob | Sep 4, 2021 |

The Blatchington Tangle by G. D. H Cole

Dick Preston, at his aunt’s invitation, is staying at the country home of Lord and Lady Blatchington. After an early swim on his first morning there, Dick visits the library only to stumble across the dead body of a man, who is not a member of the house party. Of course, the many guests and the members of the household all seem to have something they want to hide from the police. When an arrest is imminent, Superintendent Wilson, no longer of Scotland Yard, is asked to prove the innocence of the suspect.

I’m enjoying this series by GDH and Margaret Cole, which are good examples of Golden Age detective fiction. Not as good as a Christie, Sayers, Marsh, or Allingham, they are nonetheless enjoyable works. I’m surprised that the books were never republished, although the attitude toward African natives in this book may be very jarring unless one keeps in mind that the book was written in the 1920s and was unfortunately reflective of that time. I plan to read as many in this series as I can get from interlibrary loans.… (more)

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rretzler | Jan 25, 2019 |

Death of a Millionaire by GDH Cole

The Death of a Millionaire is the second book in the Superintendent Wilson series by GHD and Margaret Cole, who were members of the Detection Club. It is an excellent example of a piece of the Golden Age of Detection fiction, and I’m a little surprised that the British Library hasn't republished the series. The copy I borrowed from ILL was a copy of the first US edition.

Superintendent Wilson and Inspector Braikie are very stumped with the case of a millionaire whose secretary seems to have murdered him in his hotel room. No body was found -however, the blood found at the scene, a witness locked in the closet and several eyewitnesses reporting that the secretary left the hotel with a large trunk and the missing millionaire seem to be conclusive evidence.

Although I highly enjoyed this book, the plot seemed a little unnecessarily complex. Overall, I thought it worked well, as it was an original idea. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Golden Age detective fiction.… (more)

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rretzler | Jan 17, 2019 |

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