BONUS: Grantchester’s James Runcie on the Golden Age of Crime

James Runcie is author of the acclaimed Grantchester Mysteries - the focus of six books and a hugely successful ITV television series - following vicar-sleuth Sidney Chambers in his sleuthing career from the early 1950s to the late 1970s. James talks to Jonty about where he finds the gold in the Golden Age of Crime. In particular, Dorothy L Sayers, Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr. He then talks about the inspiration behind the Grantchester Mysteries, which develops into a conversation about his father - who was Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1980s - and the trials and tribulations of the Church of England in the late 20th Century.

The Grantchester Mysteries are:

1. Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death (2012)
2. Sidney Chambers and The Perils of the Night (2013)
3. Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil (2014)
4. Sidney Chambers and The Forgiveness of Sins (2015)
5. Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation (2016)
6. Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love (2017)
7. The Road to Grantchester (2019)

As well as discussing many books from the Golden Age, James and Jonty both enthused about David Kynaston's brilliant and ongoing 'Tales of a New Jerusalem' cycle of history books focused on Britain after the Second World War. The cycle, which started with Austerity Britain (2007), has been a big influence on Grantchester.

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