- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz (9 May 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 057505090X
- ISBN-13: 978-0575050907
- Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 10.8 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,004,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Darkness at Pemberley
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
A novel which begins in Cambridge as a sedate murder mystery and becomes a melodramatic thriller involving, among other things, poison gas and a car chase, and ending on the roof of a Derbyshire mansion. T.H.White's other writings included poetry and a re-telling of the Arthurian legend.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Was this, I wonder, the first Jane Austen fanfic? It's become rather fashionable of late to give mysteries Austen settings - we've had Lynn Shepherd's Murder at Mansfield and P.D. James' Death Comes to Pemberley, but this little oddity predates them by 70+ years. What this isn't is a whodunit - because you know who, almost from the very beginning - or even a howdunit, because you know that, too. It's what happens next that's important. And as the action moves from its opening in Cambridge to Pemberley, the excitement steps up with not one but two thrilling chases, as Inspector Buller and his old friend Charles Darcy (scion of the famous Mr Darcy) join forces. Sort of Jane Austen meets John Buchan.
To say much about the plot would be to spoil the fun, but it starts with two bodies in Cambridge (and a wonderful disclaimer at the beginning) - it's a classic locked room mystery, but is it a murder and a suicide or, as Buller begins to suspect, a double murder? He's a conscientious policeman, but unusually, one with an imagination, and the outcome of his investigation leaves him so hugely disillusioned that he feels he has no option but to resign. In many ways, Darkness at Pemberley reminds me most of Edmund Crispin's Gervase Fen novels, having the same mix of suspense and glee, plus an absolutely implausible plot. You also need to make some allowances for the period - White was, after all, what one of his characters describes as "a bit of a nationalist" (along with a number of other writers with whom he shared his affinity for nature).
Suspend your disbelief before you start, and you'll be in the right frame of mind to enjoy it.
To say much about the plot would be to spoil the fun, but it starts with two bodies in Cambridge (and a wonderful disclaimer at the beginning) - it's a classic locked room mystery, but is it a murder and a suicide or, as Buller begins to suspect, a double murder? He's a conscientious policeman, but unusually, one with an imagination, and the outcome of his investigation leaves him so hugely disillusioned that he feels he has no option but to resign. In many ways, Darkness at Pemberley reminds me most of Edmund Crispin's Gervase Fen novels, having the same mix of suspense and glee, plus an absolutely implausible plot. You also need to make some allowances for the period - White was, after all, what one of his characters describes as "a bit of a nationalist" (along with a number of other writers with whom he shared his affinity for nature).
Suspend your disbelief before you start, and you'll be in the right frame of mind to enjoy it.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Part Murder Mystery, Part Adventure/Thriller
8 Aug 2011
Format:Paperback
This is really two stories in one. The first part is an intellectual murder mystery set at a university very like Cambridge (White's own school) - an example of that school of English who-done-its whose solution depends on timelines and knowing where the furniture is placed about the room. (Dorothy Sayers would wholly approve.) The detective, Buller, is refreshingly clever: he figures out in 100pgs what would take most fictional detectives the whole novel to puzzle out, but the real fun of the first part of the novel is T.H. White's wonderfully dry wit. His send-up of college professors and Scotland Yard mini-celebrities made me laugh aloud more than once.
Then the story takes an abrupt turn, becoming a sort of cat-and-mouse adventure thriller in which Buller and the other members of the Pemberley estate are stalked by a mad murderer. Confess I didn't find this part nearly as entertaining, though think the fault has to do with time and changing tastes rather than any deficiency on the part of the writer. These days television and movies have accustomed us to spectacular chase scenes; in contrast, White's version - probably considered riveting and dramatic in its day - seems a little plodding and improbable. However, White's lovely prose and wit were enough to sustain me through the less-than-riveting bits, and the ending, when it comes, is satisfying.
I understand this is one of White's earlier works and I think it shows. There are elements of imagination here, but feel like the author let himself be constrained by the genre in which he was writing. Had he undertaken this later in his career, believe White probably could/would have shaped this material into something more unique, more cohesive, and more enduring. The fact remains, however, that even a relatively bad book by White outshines the best efforts of hundreds of other who-done-it authors who have come since!
Then the story takes an abrupt turn, becoming a sort of cat-and-mouse adventure thriller in which Buller and the other members of the Pemberley estate are stalked by a mad murderer. Confess I didn't find this part nearly as entertaining, though think the fault has to do with time and changing tastes rather than any deficiency on the part of the writer. These days television and movies have accustomed us to spectacular chase scenes; in contrast, White's version - probably considered riveting and dramatic in its day - seems a little plodding and improbable. However, White's lovely prose and wit were enough to sustain me through the less-than-riveting bits, and the ending, when it comes, is satisfying.
I understand this is one of White's earlier works and I think it shows. There are elements of imagination here, but feel like the author let himself be constrained by the genre in which he was writing. Had he undertaken this later in his career, believe White probably could/would have shaped this material into something more unique, more cohesive, and more enduring. The fact remains, however, that even a relatively bad book by White outshines the best efforts of hundreds of other who-done-it authors who have come since!
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
