Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
A favourite of Raymond Chandler and a master of psychological suspense, bridging the puzzle and the modern thriller.
The Blank Wall · Net of Cobwebs
A Public-Domain Field Guide · EU, 2026
The Golden Ageof Detection
The masters of the locked room, the impossible crime and the fair-play puzzle — the authors whose work is now free to read, copy and reprint across the European Union, and exactly where to find it online.
Every author who died in 1955 or earlier is now in the public domain in the EU.
The Rule
Seventy years after the last breath
In the European Union — Germany included — a literary work enters the public domain on 1 January of the year following the 70th anniversary of the author's death (the post mortem auctoris rule).
That single line of arithmetic is what frees a century of detective fiction. Count seventy years from an author's death, roll forward to the next New Year, and the work is yours — to read, to share, to translate, to reprint, to set as a play or a podcast, without a licence and without a fee.
As of 2026, that line falls just after 1955. Everyone who died in 1955 or before has crossed it. The "Big Four" of the genre — Christie, Sayers, Allingham, Marsh — are still under copyright or only just on the cusp, but the Golden Age was deep, and a remarkable roster of its writers is now wide open.
+70
Years after death
1955
Death-year cutoff
25+
Authors featured
€0
Cost to read them
Class of 2026
Newly in the public domain
These authors died in 1955 — their work crossed the line on 1 January 2026.
J. Jefferson Farjeon
The poet of the "atmospheric" mystery — travellers trapped by snow and fog — lately rediscovered by the British Library Crime Classics.
Mystery in White · Thirteen Guests
Otto Soyka
A significant figure of early German-language crime and speculative fiction; his "Detektiv Dr. Sarcany" stories are now free.
The Case Files
Where to begin
Six ways into the collection — from household names to French locked-room engineers.
No. 01
The Authors
The heavy hitters and the half-forgotten greats — Conan Doyle, Chesterton, Tey, Freeman and more, as case-file cards with links to read them.
Browse authors → No. 02The Locked Rooms
The impossible-crime specialists: Leroux, Zangwill, Futrelle and the "French John Dickson Carr," Noël Vindry.
Enter the sealed room → No. 03The German Market
Glauser, Rosenhayn and Soyka — the founders of the German-language Krimi, and where to read them in German.
Der deutsche Krimi → No. 04Where to Find Them
Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, Standard Ebooks, Faded Page and more — plus how to search, and why jurisdiction matters.
Find the books → No. 05Coming Soon
Bentley, Sayers, Crofts, Chandler, Christie — the legends still under copyright, with a live countdown to freedom.
Watch the clock → No. 06The Fine Print
Translations, Spain's 80-year rule and the EU-vs-US divide — the traps that catch reprinters and readers alike.
Read the notes →