Margery Allingham is ranked among the most distinguished and beloved detective fiction writers of the 'Golden Age' alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh. Allingham is J.K. Rowling's favourite Golden Age author and Agatha Christie said of Allingham that out of all the detective stories she remembers, Margery Allingham 'stands out like a shining light'. Born in London in 1904, Allingham published her first novel, Blackkerchief Dick, at the age of 19. The White Cottage Mystery was her first detective story, written as a serial for the Daily Express in 1927 and published as a book a year later.