Kate Jackson of Cross Examining Crime is asking for suggestions for what out-of-print classic crime novel should be reprinted next. See the original discussion here: https://crossexaminingcrime.com/2026/01/17/my-2100th-post-open-call-to-bloggers-which-classic-crime-novel-should-be-reprinted-next/

My recommendation is for Blood on the Bosom Devine (J. B. Lippincott, 1948) by Alfred Bennett Harbage (1901-1976) writing as Thomas Kyd, the name of an Elizabethan dramatist and Shakespeare contemporary. This book was selected as part of The Fifty Classics of Crime Fiction 1900-1950 series, edited by Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor. Each volume has a preface written by Barzun and Taylor that briefly sets the context of the book and mentions some of its best features.

Harbage was a U.S. Shakespearean scholar. He had a distinguished career as an academic in English studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and Harvard University. Harbage was the general editor of the Pelican Books edition of the works of Shakespeare, and he wrote a number of books on the Shakespearean oeuvre. He also wrote three mysteries, all of which are out of print. It is quite logical that he would use his knowledge of theatres and their internal arrangements to devise a clever plot for a crime committed in a theatre, even a rundown playhouse like the Betterton Theatre which has a prominent role in Harbage’s third mystery.

I believe Harbage’s books have been too long overlooked and should be reprinted so that later generations of readers can appreciate his creativity.

My original review of the book is here:  https://happinessisabook.com/fridays-forgotten-book-blood-on-the-bosom-devine-by-thomas-kyd/