March 2018 – Countdown John's Christie Journal

#6 – The Secret of Chimneys

Anthony Cade is entrusted by his friend Jimmy McGrath to deliver the memoirs of Count Stylptitch, former Prime Minister of Herzoslovakia, to a London publisher and to return some personal letters to a Virginia Revel.

At the same time, George Lomax is arranging for a meeting to take place at Chimneys (No. 3 in Historic Homes of England) between the likely new king of Herzoslovakia and a British syndicate interested in negotiating oil concessions.

Anthony deals with various factions interested in the memoirs before locating Mrs Revel, and having assisted her with a temporary inconvenience, arrives at Chimneys just as someone is shot dead.

Due to the sensitivity of the case, Superintendent Battle (a cut above Inspector Japp) is given control of the investigation, and whilst he doesn’t completely trust Anthony, he allows him his head to a certain extent and between them they manage to make everything turn out “all gas and gaiters”.

I had remembered this as being a traditional country house murder mystery, but it is nothing of the sort. It is much more a thriller, with Ruritanian influences, and due to the number of elements in play is superior to “The Secret Adversary” and “The Man in the Brown Suit”. As with them it is a nice read, but there is nothing in it to indicate that next time I will be reviewing one of the essential Golden Age Detection works, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”.

If you do like this book, then I can recommend James Anderson’s “The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy” which is a genuine homage to the Golden Age.

Recurring character development

Superintendent Battle

Works for Scotland Yard and has worked on the deplorable business of the party funds.

Is described as “a squarely built middle-aged man with a face so singularly devoid of expression as to be quite remarkable.”

Was given the rule “Never show emotion” and has found it very useful.

Is surprisingly agile for so stolid a man, shown when he vaults out of the library window.

Is married.

Signs of the Times

The story is set in 1926, a year after publication.

Jimmy implies that it won’t be a problem for Anthony to travel under his name as they’d probably have the same description on a passport. I assumed from this that British passports had no photograph at this time, but they were actually introduced in 1914.

The Wallace Collection was established in 1897 and can be found in Hertford House, London.

Anthony wonders what the Eugenic Society would make of one of the Comrades of the Red Hand. Francis Galton believed that desirable human qualities were hereditary traits and coined the term Eugenics in 1883 and it soon became an academic discipline, spawning the British Eugenics Education Society in 1907. Support for the idea peaked in the years before the Second World War, and then declined once the consequences of its implementation had been demonstrated by the Nazi regime in Germany. The related ethical issues are being considered again as varying degrees of genetic engineering become possible.

Virginia refers to visiting the police at Vine Street. A watch-house was established there in 1767 and it became a police station in 1829, becoming one of the main stations in Central London. It closed in 1940, was re-opened in 1966, then finally closed in 1997, before being demolished in 2005. Marlborough Street and Bow Street (see #4 – Poirot Investigates) are grouped with Vine Street in Monopoly because they are all associated with the law.

Anthony says that “all will be gas and gaiters”. At this time it meant that the outcome would be favourable, whereas the meaning has changed over time to refer to pomposity and verbosity.

King Nicholas IV married an actress of the Folies Bergère. This was designed as a Paris opera house and opened in 1869 as the Folies Trévise, but was renamed in 1872. It was at its most popular from the 1890s to the 1920s, but is still operating today.

Bill refers to King Victor as “this Arsène Lupin fellow”. Arsène Lupin is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created by Maurice Leblanc in 1905.

Bundle says that young people’s unpleasant ideas about love-making come from reading “The Sheik”. This is a 1919 novel by Edith Maude Hull, which revived the desert romance sub-genre of romantic fiction. It was made into a 1921 film of the same name starring Rudolph Valentino.

Panhard (originally Panhard et Levassor) is car manufacturer founded in 1887. It ceased production of civilian vehicles in 1967 to focus on military vehicles and was taken over by Renault Trucks Defense in 2005.

References to other works

The story begins in Southern Africa, where the previous book, “The Man in the Brown Suit” ends.

A line toward the end of the book refers to settling down in the country somewhere and growing vegetable marrows, which is what we find Poirot doing at the beginning of the next book, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”.

Vintage Reading Challenge

Fulfils “Where – At a country house”

#6 – The Secret of Chimneys – WITH SPOILERS

Anthony deals with various factions interested in the memoirs before locating Mrs Revel, and having assisted her with a temporary inconvenience, arrives at Chimneys just as someone is shot dead.

If you do like this book, then I can recommend James Anderson’s “The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy” which is a genuine homage to the Golden Age.

Recurring character development

Superintendent Battle

Works for Scotland Yard and has worked on the deplorable business of the party funds.

Is described as “a squarely built middle-aged man with a face so singularly devoid of expression as to be quite remarkable.”

Was given the rule “Never show emotion” and has found it very useful.

Is surprisingly agile for so stolid a man, shown when he vaults out of the library window.

Is married.

Signs of the Times

The story is set in 1926, a year after publication.

The Wallace Collection was established in 1897 and can be found in Hertford House, London.

Anthony says that “all will be gas and gaiters”. At this time it meant that the outcome would be favourable, whereas the meaning has changed over time to refer to pomposity and verbosity.

Bill refers to King Victor as “this Arsène Lupin fellow”. Arsène Lupin is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created by Maurice Leblanc in 1905.

References to other works

The story begins in Southern Africa, where the previous book, “The Man in the Brown Suit” ends.

Vintage Reading Challenge

Fulfils “Where – At a country house”

SPOILERS

I think it is quite a feat for Christie to have juggled:

The memoirs, which although everyone is concerned about, are actually deadly dull,
The blackmail letters, which are actually the key to locating a stolen jewel,
The mysterious King Victor,
Law enforcers from three countries (Battle, Lemoine, and Fish),
A secret claimant to the Herzolovak throne and his personal romance; and not least
A murder.

Whilst I had forgotten much of the book, including the who and the why of the murder, it quickly becam obvious, that Anthony, with a very thin past, but a keen interest in Herzoslovakia, must be a claimant to the throne.

Vintage Reading Challenge – March 2018

Bats in the Belfry by E. C. R. Lorac

Fulfils “Who – an artist/photographer”

Bruce Attleton disappears shortly after a discussion with his family and friends on how best to dispose of a body. Why is his suitcase found in a crumbling studio called the Belfry? Who is the mysterious Debrette who may have been blackmailing him?

These are the questions that Inspector Macdonald must answer, but his task becomes more complicated, and more serious, when an unidentifiable corpse is discovered.

A complete aside, but I loved the fact noted in the introduction that Macdonald’s first name changes between books – that’s nothing – my favourite Boy’s Own romp “The Hole in the Ground” has a villain who changes from Derek to Felix half-way through.

Overall solid, but other reviewers seemed to have liked this quite a lot, so I was slightly underwhelmed.

Hamlet, Revenge by Michael Innes

Fulfils “When – during a performance of any kind”

The Lord Chancellor is shot dead whilst playing Polonius in an amateur, but highly prestigious, production of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”. Inspector Appleby, in his second outing, is personally tasked by the Prime Minister to solve the case quickly and without scandal.

He is helped by his friend, Giles Gott, detective novelist and producer of the play, and the key question they need to answer is whether this murder is personal, possibly revenge, as hinted at by various theatrical communications received by members of the cast, or political, by someone wanting to get their hands on “Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries: proposed Pike and Perch Joint Scheme”.

Having read this before, I thought there was a final chase around a maze (can anyone suggest what I may have mixed this up from?), although there is an outside climax involving a hiding in plain sight, that is certainly cold, and definitely improbable.

My memories of this book before re-reading were that it was not as good as most of the other Applebys that I have read, and with thirty pages to go I was definitely feeling underwhelmed, and perhaps that is what I remembered previously, but persisting to the end gave an outcome that was fully satisfactory.

I look forward to reading the next three in the series which I haven’t read before: “Lament for a Maker”, “Stop Press”, and “The Secret Vanguard”, which are all sitting on my TBR shelf.

Have His Carcase

Fulfils “Who – a journalist/writer”

Harriet Vane, detective author, is in the middle of a walking tour when she discovers a corpse with its throat cut from ear to ear lying on a rock in the middle of a deserted beach. With the tide rising rapidly, she gathers as much evidence as she can, before alerting the police.

Based on her testimony the constabulary lean towards a verdict of suicide, but Lord Peter Wimsey is not convinced. By a helpful coincidence, the razor that Harriet has retrieved can be traced to his exclusive barber, and that is his way into the case.

A whole chapter is devoted to the solving of a cipher – it’s easy for the author to crack a code they’ve created – I wonder how many writers could solve this sort of puzzle unaided?

The memorable ending comes via a hastily constructed acrostic, and whilst that element had firmly stuck in my mind from a previous reading, I had entirely forgotten the complexity of everything that had lead to that point. As with the rest of the series, which I have been re-reading in order since the middle of last year, this is highly recommended.

#5 – The Man in the Brown Suit

Anne Beddingfield, newly orphaned, is in search of adventure, and she finds it when a terrified man falls onto an Underground line. A scrap of paper from the dead man’s pocket reading “1 7.1 22 Kilmorden Castle” takes her on a trip to South Africa. En route she meets the Man in the Brown Suit, but can he be trusted? Can any of her new friends be relied upon and is one of them the mysterious “Colonel”?

Anne’s narrative is interspersed with extracts from Sir Eustace Pedler’s diary, and the contrast of voices is very convincing. A real page-turning thriller, with a touch of the Mills & Boon – not that I’ve read any but the reference to Sheik-cum-Stone-Age love making is what I expect features in such books.

As with “The Secret Adversary” I enjoyed re-reading this as part of my project, but don’t know whether I would read again.

Signs of the Times

Based on the days and dates quoted, the story is set in 1925, one year after publication.

De Beer’s diamonds play a significant part in the plot. De Beers was founded in 1888 by Cecil Rhodes and until the early 21^st century had a virtual monopoly over the international diamond market. Rhodes (1853 – 1902) was a businessman and politician who had a huge impact on the history of Southern Africa. His legacy is highly controversial to this day as shown by the “Rhodes Must Fall” protests at universities in South Africa, the UK, and the USA.

Anne enjoys a weekly episode of “The Perils of Pamela” at the cinema. In real life, there were similar series called “The Perils of Pauline” and “The Exploits of Elaine”, both made in 1914 and then repeated through the 1920s.

When speaking of a trip to Africa, Anne’s father refers to “Cook’s”. Thomas Cook founded a company with his own name in 1841 to carry temperance supporters between English towns by railway. In 1855 he organised tours to Europe and in 1866 to the USA. Many changes of name and ownership have occurred and today it is called Thomas Cook AG and is owned by the German company C&N Touristic AG.

Down Street underground station is referred to. This was situated between Hyde Park Corner and Dover Street (now Green Park) and was closed in 1932.

When trying to find Kilmorden Castle, Anne refers to “Whitaker” and a Gazetteer. The former is an almanac, published annually since 1868, the latter a geographical dictionary or directory to be used in conjunction with an atlas.

Anne receives a roll of Kodak films. Kodak were founded in 1888 and for most of the 20^th century were the dominant player in the photographic industry, until they were late in switching to digital, going bankrupt in 2012. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 2013 and now focuses on business printing.

Sir Eustace is asked to deliver some documents personally to General Smuts. Jan Smuts (1870 – 1950) was Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa 1919 – 1924 and 1939 – 1948.

Crippen is mentioned as being a charming murderer, caught on an ocean liner. Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen fled London in 1910 under suspicion of having murdered his wife. He was recognised by the captain of the SS Montrose, who sent a wireless telegram back to London before his ship sailed outside the range of its transmitter. Inspector Walter Dew of Scotland Yard overtook Crippen by travelling on the faster SS Laurentic, and arrested him on his arrival in Canada. He was found guilty of murder and executed later that year.

Sir Eustace has read “The Upper Berth”. This is an 1886 short story by F. Marion Crawford about a haunted ship’s cabin.

Diamonds may have been found by two young men in British Guiana. This country had been settled by the Dutch in 1616 before coming under British control in 1796. Independence was gained in 1966 and the country’s name became Guyana.

The term “Kafir” (more commonly Kaffir) is used, which originally was used to refer to black Africans, with no negative connotations (inasmuch as that can be said to be possible of a term created by one group and used by them to refer to another group). It is now recognised as being extremely offensive, and has been actionable under South African law since 1976.

Reference is made to a speech by Tylman Roos. Tielman Roos (1879 – 1935) was the South African Justice Minister (1924 – 1929).

They travel from Cape Town through Bechuanaland to Rhodesia. The Protectorate of Bechuanaland was established by the British in 1885 and became the independent country of Botswana in 1966. The territory of Southern Zambezia became known as Southern Rhodesia, in honour of Cecil Rhodes (see above), in 1895. Eventually the country gained full independence in 1980 as Zimbabwe.

Vintage Reading Challenge

Fulfils “What – Colour in the title”

#5 – The Man in the Brown Suit – WITH SPOILERS

As with “The Secret Adversary” I enjoyed re-reading this as part of my project, but don’t know whether I would read again.

Signs of the Times

Based on the days and dates quoted, the story is set in 1925, one year after publication.

Down Street underground station is referred to. This was situated between Hyde Park Corner and Dover Street (now Green Park) and was closed in 1932.

Sir Eustace is asked to deliver some documents personally to General Smuts. Jan Smuts (1870 – 1950) was Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa 1919 – 1924 and 1939 – 1948.

Sir Eustace has read “The Upper Berth”. This is an 1886 short story by F. Marion Crawford about a haunted ship’s cabin.

Reference is made to a speech by Tylman Roos. Tielman Roos (1879 – 1935) was the South African Justice Minister (1924 – 1929).

Vintage Reading Challenge

Fulfils “What – Colour in the title”

SPOILERS

I love the fact that Pagett’s mysterious secret is so inconsequential and that he is so worried about the consequences of having been seen in Marlow, that he doesn’t for a minute question what Sir Eustace was doing there around the time of the murder. I also enjoyed the late reveal that Minks/Chichester/Pettigrew was also the Count from the Prologue.

There is also the teaser throughout as to whether Colonel Race is the “Colonel” as part of a huge double-bluff – on his part at choosing a nickname that was his actual rank, and on Christie’s part of it being so obvious that it couldn’t possibly be the case – or could it? I’m fairly sure that the first time I read this, I’d already come across Race – that is one of the definite advantages of reading a series in order, as often someone who becomes a recurring character, has been under suspicion in their first appearance.

The use of the diaries is a nice touch, as it seems like a familiar literary device of a secondary character being able to fill in gaps in the primary narrative e.g. Doctor Livesey in “Treasure Island”, but as it is a diary, the reader should have been wary. The diarist is normally just writing for themselves, and therefore it will be an incomplete account. They aren’t deliberately misleading anyone, because they don’t expect it to be read.