  edmund crispin was the pseudonym of robert bruce montgomery (usually credited as bruce montgomery) (2 october 1921&nbsp;â 15 september 1978), an english crime writer and composer. ==life and work== montgomery was born in chesham bois, buckinghamshire.whittle, david (2007). bruce montgomery/edmund crispin: a life in music and books. aldershot: ashgate, p. 4. he was educated at merchant taylors' school and graduated from st john's college, oxford, in 1943, with a ba in modern languages, having for two years been its organ scholarjohn bowen in the oldie, april 2011 and choirmaster. from 1943 to 1945 he taught at shrewsbury school. he first became established under his own name as a composer of vocal and choral music, including an oxford requiem (1951), but later turned to film work, writing the scores for many british comedies of the 1950s. for the carry on series he composed six scores, ending with carry on cruising, including the original carry on theme subsequently adapted for later films by eric rogers. montgomery was responsible for both the screenplay and score of raising the wind (1961). montgomery wrote nine detective novels and two collections of short stories under the pseudonym edmund crispin (taken from a character in michael innes's hamlet, revenge!). the stories feature oxford don gervase fen,grosset, philip. "gervase fen" who is a professor of english at the university and a fellow of st christopher's college, a fictional institution that crispin locates next to st john's college. fen is an eccentric, sometimes absent-minded, character reportedly based on the oxford professor w. e. moore. the whodunit novels have complex plots and fantastic, somewhat unbelievable solutions, including examples of the locked room mystery. they are written in a humorous, literary and sometimes farcical style and contain frequent references to english literature, poetry, and music. they are also among the few mystery novels to break the fourth wall occasionally and speak directly to the audience. perhaps the best example is from the moving toyshop, during a chase sequence&nbsp;â "let's go left", cadogan suggested. "after all, gollancz is publishing this book."crispin, edmund (1946). the moving toyshop 
1921_births 1978_deaths 20th-century_novelists Alcohol-related_deaths_in_England Alumni_of_St_John\'s_College,_Oxford Deaths_from_myocardial_infarction English_composers English_crime_fiction_writers Members_of_the_Detection_Club People_educated_at_Merchant_Taylors\'_School,_Northwood People_from_Chiltern_(district)