The Hound Of The Baskervilles – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Considered by many to be Conan Doyle’s best Sherlock Holmes,
it certainly contains all the ingredients and is an efficient enough tale, but
it does suffer from a rushed ending and a lot of plot holes (for example, if
Holmes’s young helper on the moor was so easily spotted through the telescope,
why hadn’t the escaped convict and his helper been seen?). One could also wish
that Doyle had taken the time to explore in a little more depth the social
side, that it’s the toffs causing the problems and dumping on the lower classes
and cast out folk. That said, it is still an intriguing tale and an enjoyable
read.
The Valley
Of Fear
Although on the face of a mash-up of two novellas (one as
backstory to the other to make it up to novel length), there is more to the
structure of this book than first meets the eye. On the face of it, it is much
like ‘The Sign Of Four’ and, indeed, has a similar setting, replete with a
secretive society part of which has gone to the bad. But in this later novel,
Conan Doyle has used the same structure to add a layer of uncertainty. In the
first half we have a classic Holmes puzzle which leads to a denouement of some
uncertainty. The back story, presented in the second half, compounds that
uncertainty to the end. A very clever use of what could have been
straightforward and boring kept alive by turning reader assumptions on their
head several times.
His Last Bow – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Clearly not, of course, as there is a further collection,
but although Conan Doyle later declares that he has been happy writing the
Holmes stories it is clear that whilst there may be ideas, there is less
enthusiasm for their working out and presentation. One might argue that as
Holmes ages his style changes, but as the stories are not chronological it is
obviously more to do with the author. There are one or two intriguing stories
of the old style, but for the most part they read like reminiscences long after
the fact rather than having been written just after the event occurred.
The Case-Book Of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The final collection of Holmes stories is a hotch potch
affair. Different view points and approaches, all of which demonstrate Doyle
limitations as a writer – it is difficult to tell a narrative by Holmes from a
narrative by Watson as well as the fact they characters have not changed or
developed over time. But this is not serious literature. The Holmes stories are
entertainments and in that they succeed admirably.
The Franklin’s Tale – Geoffrey Chaucer
I did this for A level and as part of a plan to re-read all
those A level texts I finally got round to this (it is taking me considerably
longer than the original two years – so many other things keep attracting my attent – SQUIRREL). It is a
tribute to my English teacher (Colin Silk, a gentleman and excellent teacher) that
I could sit down and read the Chaucer in the original, straight through, with
no need to refer to notes. And enjoy it.
A tale of personal sovereignty and of sexual obsession it
clearly owes its genesis to the tales of chivalry and courtly love told by the
troubadors. I am inspired now to revisit the rest of the Tales which, I am
ashamed to say, I have only ever read in a modern English prose version.
The Lost World – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Although not the first work to posit the survival of
prehistoric species into the modern day (Verne used the idea years before),
Conan Doyle created the most plausible of settings compatible with scientific
understanding at the time. A remote, sheer-sided plateau in South
America on top of which species have been isolated from the rest
of the world. To this he added the memorable and annoying character of
Professor Challnger and the small group that makes the journey with him to
verify his claims.
It is a fairly straight forward, gung-ho adventure with some
(by modern standards) appalling attitudes. Which is instructive as Conan-Doyle
was fairly forward thinking for his day. Whilst it is fairly tame adventure by
today’s standards (and many of the film adaptations not only muck around with
the casting but add incidents to pep the story up), it is remarkable in that it
sets up a standard by which many subsequent and far worse stories have been
created. It also highlighted the fascination with dinosaurs which exists to
this day, creatures that have turned up in all sorts of isolated spots (or been
reborn) to cause wonder and havoc.
The Poison Belt – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A novella that brings together the characters of ‘The Lost
World’ at a moment when the Earth passes through a belt of poison gas that
affects everyone on the planet. Having had some foresight with regard to the
disaster, Professor Challenger has set up a room in which the characters sit
through the events, kept alive by oxygen. They witness a train crash and fires
and, in the aftermath, drive through a stricken London
Again, whilst not the first global disaster story (Mary
Shelley was an early precursor), it is a remarkable short piece that seems to
lay the foundations for works by the likes of John Wyndham. The depictions of the
everyday world brought to an end are particularly potent and it is a shame that
Conan Doyle did not develop the work into a full-length piece.
Professor Challenger is also an interesting character as he
seems to prefigure many of the brilliant, obstinate, and angry scientists
beloved of pulp fiction and B movies, perhaps culminating in Professor
Quatermass.
The Naked Nuns – Colin Watson
A Flaxborough novel, and if you don’t what that is, shame on
you. The Flaxborough novels are some of the finest humorous crime novels of the
twentieth century. Superb dry with, wonderful characterization, and a portrait
of a provincial town that is both over the top and deadly accurate. Because
beneath the respectable surface of Councillors and business owners, their wives
and all the the other folk of dubious means of support lies an unpleasant
truth: that these people are for the most part criminals, cheats, and liars.
And in some cases their actions lead to murder.
In Flaxborough, thankfully, the police have the superb
Inspector Purbright who understands exactly what these people are like and what
they are capable of. And Colin Watson delivers each of these books with superb
writing that looks simple but which is the work of a master.
Pulp – Charles Bukowski
Bukowskis final novel, a pastiche of the kind of noir
detective story in which the detective doesn’t detect, just stumbles around
getting beaten up until the case resolves itself. A bit like life. Which is
pretty much the point of the book. It is also about death and in fact the
central character, Nicky Belane, may already be dead when the book opens and
this is his rite of passage.
Bukowski substitutes the weird characters of America
The whole thing is written in Bukowski’s tight, unflinching
style and is a real joy to read.
The Hour Of The Star – Clarice Lispector
A short, intense, and demaning work that defies comparison
(despite attempts through the years). It also, in a number of ways, defies
categorisation. This is often described as a portrait of an anti-heroine, but
Macabea really is nothing of the sort. Born in a poor region of Brazil
For all its intensity and introspection there is a lightness
of touch to the style that creates an easy read. The book can be finished in a
few hours, but it is a story that will stay a lifetime because inconsequential
details and events start to surface long after the covers are closed and
Macabea has died.
There is an intriguing subtext as well in that the narrator at
one point admits he is her boss (although he also calls himself a writer and
speaks of her boss in the third person). The whole thing is also a metatext as
we are privy to the thoughts of the (fictional) author not only about the
character with whom he is falling in love despite her having no real redeeming
features, but about the process of creating her and telling her story.
Definitely a book to return to.
Lonelyheart 4122 – Colin Watson
Lonely women disappear, apparently after making use of a
matrimonial service. The police investigate, but the set-up seems to be above
board and fool-proof. But it’s not just the police who are investigating and we
are introduced to one of the truly enigmatic characters of crime fiction,
Lucilla Teatime. From what we learn of her, one suspects she is the type of
women who spent the second world war being parachuted into occupied Europe .
Whatever her past (which is not altogether on the right side of the law), she
develops into a wonderful addition to this series.
As well as all the other praise I could heap on these
novels, it is their subtlety I love. Watson does not spend pages telling us
about the motives of characters. They are there in front of us. Only once is
made explicit in this story and even then if you blink, you miss it. It is that
level of respect for the reader, that level of confidence and intelligence in
the writer that I really do appreciate in an age when subtlety has become
something of a lost art.
Charity Ends At Home – Colin Watson
Another fine example of Watson’s work with a wonderful
portrait of a couple gleaned mostly from the people around them and those
questioned during the murder investigation. The story is approached obliquely
and even the red herring does not look red, smell of fish or swim about.
The Flaxborough Crab – Colin Watson
Goings-on in the world of medicine as seen through the prism
of Flaxborough. Watson’s trademark dry wit creates convincing portraits of
people and a time. It also dissects social attitudes and finds them wanting.
Plaster Sinners – Colin Watson
This is an altogether more sombre book, despite the ‘guest
appearance’ of a London DI whose method of working is to upset people and see
what happens. It is sombre because it involves family and the lengths to which
some (in this case, landed gentry) will go to cover up past indiscretions. To
match the mood we get an excellent story, equally wonderful characters, and
Watson’s acidity aimed at the usual targets – very often the institutions that
dehumanise us.
The Land
Of Mist
Thirteen years after his last outing, Professor Challenger
is revived as a minor character (to Malone’s central role) in this work.
Malone, still working for his newspaper is tasked with writing a series of
articles (along with Enid Challenger, the Professor’s daughter) about religion.
Each week they take a different one and eventually attend a Spiritualist
meeting. Thereafter, Malone investigates much more deeply and becomes convinced
of the truth that lies behind Spiritualism.
Not so much a novel as a means of presenting a Spiritualist
case to the public, this is nonetheless well written and thoughtful (if at
times overly sentimental). Doyle’s involvement with Spiritualism is well known
and he was clearly well read and well versed. If nothing else this is an
interesting fictional documentation of a movement that gripped the public
imagination in the aftermath of the First World War.
Blue Murder – Colin Watson
Whilst the humour is still there, this is a much more
serious outing and with a much more convoluted (although plausible) plot. The
focus here is on a group of outsiders – a team of journalists from a Sunday
newspaper intent on digging the dirt on what they have been told is the
production of blue films by the local photographic society. As a background, it
could not be more relevant as it is clear the newspaper in question is modelled
on a newspaper that is mired in sleaze of its own making.
The story itself also grows out of the misery caused by the
sanctimonious dirt digging of such newspapers and the collateral damage that
ensues. As such it is the most realistic of the Flaxborough novels.
Whatever’s Been Going On At Mumblesby? – Colin Watson
Snobbery with violence. It’s the title of a book by Colin
Watson in which he discusses murder mysteries. It can also apply to this, his
final novel. Although there is a degree of exaggeration in his character
portraits, it is only a degree. He has caught exactly the degree to which
certain people think they are (a) above the law and (b) entitled to behave
exactly as they wish toward people not in their own feral group. Exactly how
that manifests is the fascinating plot of this book.
I was a little disappointed by the device used toward the
end (letter left to be opened in the event of death explaining most of the
plot), although given that it was a lawyer, not entirely out of character. That
aside, a wonderful addition to the Flaxborough series.
In A German Pension – Katherine Mansfield
Considered by Mansfield
The narrator/observer is always coy about their own reason
for being there and one really only need look at Mansfield
There are also other stories here which owe more to fiction
than observation as they look into events and lives to which Mansfield
The Sleeper Awakes – H G Wells
One of Wells’ fictions – a future history in which a man
goes into a coma, is left a fortune, and on waking finds he owns half the
planet and that those administering in his name have created the kind of
society we can see evolving at this very moment. Giant corporations rule,
democracy is dead, the workers earn just enough to live in company workhouses
and the wealthy migrate to Pleasure Cities.
Unfortunately, fascinating as it is, the story on which this
is hung is thin stuff and is clearly a device for Wells’ warning about what the
future might hold. If it is read as political tract, it works a lot better, but
even then it cannot be considered one of Wells’ better fictions. Neither fish
nor fowl, even Wells wasn’t that happy with it. It was written in haste as a
serial and he extensively rewrote it when it became a novel. Even then, it is
clear the flaw is in the structure and without changing that it was never going
to be more than one of his ‘other’ works.
The Mystery Of A Butcher’s Shop – Gladys Mitchell
Superb. Glorious. I have always enjoyed Mitchell’s books.
Far superior to Christie in every way in my opinion. Better written. More
intriguing plots . A central character far better conceived (and as ageless) as
any other detective in fiction. And not afraid to be off the wall. Indeed, it
is the battiness and sheer fun of the puzzle in Mitchell’s books that I find so
attractive.
In this, a dismembered and headless body is found one
morning hanging in a butcher’s shop. Who it is and how it got there takes us
back to a fairly stard country house scenario but with a cast of characters
that are broadly drawn but intriguing. And one by one they all fall under
suspicion and indeed most of them had opportunity. But piecing it all together
and always one step ahead of the police with her speculations is Mrs Bradley.
If you enjoy golden age detective fiction then you should give
Mitchell a go. Her work is sadly neglected, only about ten of her sixty plus
novels are in print. But they can be found if you hunt them out.
