Special Guest David Whittle

David Whittle is a music scholar, educator, and author whose research has helped illuminate the remarkable life and legacy of Bruce Montgomery, better known to detective fiction readers as Edmund Crispin. He studied music at the University of Nottingham, where he completed his PhD on Montgomery, examining the intertwined careers of the acclaimed composer and Golden Age mystery writer.

David’s book, Bruce Montgomery/Edmund Crispin: A Life in Music and Books, is the definitive biography of Bruce Montgomery, drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with those who knew him. The biography explores Montgomery’s extraordinary dual career as the creator of the beloved Gervase Fen mysteries and as the composer of concert works and the scores for nearly fifty feature films, including the Doctor series and the first six Carry On films.

David has also contributed to numerous reference works, including The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and Irish Musical Studies.

A classically trained musician, David served as Director of Music at Leicester Grammar School for 32 years while remaining active in folk and big band music. His lifelong passion for both music and detective fiction made him uniquely qualified to tell the story of Edmund Crispin, offering readers fresh insight into one of the Golden Age’s most gifted—and most fascinating—creative figures.