 First edition (UK) | |
| Author | Cecil Day-Lewis |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Nigel Strangeways |
| Genre | Detective |
| Publisher | Collins Crime Club |
Publication date | 1935 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Followed by | Thou Shell of Death |
A Question of Proof is a 1935 detective novel by Cecil Day-Lewis, written under the pen name of Nicholas Blake.[1] It is the first in a series of novels featuring the private detective Nigel Strangeways.[2] Day-Lewis chose to write under an assumed name as he feared writing in the popular detective genre would harm his growing reputation as a serious-minded poet. Consequently, the publishers Collins advertised the book as being written by a "well-known writer" using a pen name.[3] It was a commercial success selling around 200,000 copies in Britain and launching Day-Lewis, who quickly did become widely identified as the author, as one of the leading writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.[4]