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Thursday 23 April 2015

Ngaio Marsh's Google Doodle Typing GIF

Today's Google Doodle is a GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) celebrating the 120th anniversary of the birth of New Zealand writer Dame Ngaio Marsh. Ironically, while this is a "first" for a typing Google Doodle, Marsh didn't in fact type her own works.
Ngaio (pronounced Ni-O) is a Māori word which comes from the Mousehole tree.
Marsh's typescripts were all typed on an Imperial 50 standard manual typewriter, seen here in Marsh's house in the Cashmere Hills outside Christchurch in New Zealand, which is now a Marsh museum:
Marsh's long-time secretary, Rosemary Greene, typed from the author's handwritten manuscripts.
Edith Ngaio Marsh was born in Christchurch on April 23, 1895. She died there on February 18, 1982, aged 86. A crime writer and theatre director, she was internationally known for her creation Inspector Roderick Alleyn, a gentleman detective who works for the Metropolitan Police in London. She had 32 detective novels published between 1934 and 1982.
Thus Marsh was one of the four original "Queens of Crime", alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham.
Marsh, right, meets Agatha Christie at the Savoy Hotel in London in June 1960. 

7 comments:

Richard P said...

It's very nice that Google (at least Down Under) is featuring an Antipodal typist -- even if she wasn't a typist in real life, and even if, when you think about it, she must be typing in Hebrew or Arabic in the GIF!

Richard P said...

I suppose I should say "Antipodean."

Anonymous said...

Must get that first day cover! :)

Anonymous said...

Found it! AUD$ 0.83 plus postage.

Robert Messenger said...

Richard, I thought there was something a bit peculiar about that carriage movement. Trust you to pick it up!
PS: Yes, Antipodean.
Steve, I have a spare if you haven't already bought one.

Robert Messenger said...

PS Steve: Mansfield used a Corona 3. I have seen it in real life. It's in her old home in Wellington.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the offer Robert, but I already impulse bought one! Four interesting writers to investigate ...