- Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Press; Reissue edition (May 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312997167
- ISBN-13: 978-0312997168
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.8 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 516,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the first of a series of murder mysteries set in Britain in the first decade of the 20th century featuring Captain Harry Cathcart and Lady Rose Summer.
To date there are four books in the series, which are
Snobbery with Violence
Hasty Death
Sick of Shadows
Our Lady of Pain
The author writes romantic fiction, mostly humorous regency romances plus one or two set in the Edwardian period, under the name Marion Chesney, and mystery/detective stories such as the Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth series under the name M.C. Beaton.
This Edwardian series is a something of a cross-over between the two - part romance and part murder mystery - and the books often have both names on the cover (usually something like "M.C. Beaton writing as Marion Chesney.")
Tha main characters in the series are:
Captain Harry Cathcart, younger son of a Baron, has left the army after being injured in the Boer war. At the start of this book he carries out a service for Lady Rose's father, the Earl of Hadfield, for which he gains a reputation as a fixer, and eventually formally goes into business as the Edwardian equivalent of a Private Investigator
Lady Rose Summer, only daughter of the Earl and Countess of Hadfield, is slightly notorious as having briefly been involved with suffragettes. Chafes at the fact that society will not allow her a useful role, and when she is present at a murder, Lady Rose uses her considerable intellect to help solve it.
Detective Superintendent Kerridge is a senior policeman of humble origins and carefully supressed radical views, reinforced by the fact that whenever he has to interview an aristocrat they always threaten to report him to the Prime Minister. Plays Inspector Slack to Lady Rose's Miss Marple.
Despite that comparison, this is not in the same league as Agatha Christie as a detective story, and neither is it in the same league as Jane Austen as a romance. However, it is an amusing and entertaining light read.
To date there are four books in the series, which are
Snobbery with Violence
Hasty Death
Sick of Shadows
Our Lady of Pain
The author writes romantic fiction, mostly humorous regency romances plus one or two set in the Edwardian period, under the name Marion Chesney, and mystery/detective stories such as the Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth series under the name M.C. Beaton.
This Edwardian series is a something of a cross-over between the two - part romance and part murder mystery - and the books often have both names on the cover (usually something like "M.C. Beaton writing as Marion Chesney.")
Tha main characters in the series are:
Captain Harry Cathcart, younger son of a Baron, has left the army after being injured in the Boer war. At the start of this book he carries out a service for Lady Rose's father, the Earl of Hadfield, for which he gains a reputation as a fixer, and eventually formally goes into business as the Edwardian equivalent of a Private Investigator
Lady Rose Summer, only daughter of the Earl and Countess of Hadfield, is slightly notorious as having briefly been involved with suffragettes. Chafes at the fact that society will not allow her a useful role, and when she is present at a murder, Lady Rose uses her considerable intellect to help solve it.
Detective Superintendent Kerridge is a senior policeman of humble origins and carefully supressed radical views, reinforced by the fact that whenever he has to interview an aristocrat they always threaten to report him to the Prime Minister. Plays Inspector Slack to Lady Rose's Miss Marple.
Despite that comparison, this is not in the same league as Agatha Christie as a detective story, and neither is it in the same league as Jane Austen as a romance. However, it is an amusing and entertaining light read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I am a huge fan of the author's two other mystery series, that of Agatha Raisin and that of Hamish Macbeth, which she writes under the name M.C. Beaton. So, when I saw that the author had written an Edwardian murder mystery series, I decided to read the series. I confess that I am hooked on this series, as well.
It is a lighthearted mystery and a romp through Edwardian social mores. The author introduces the reader to the highly spirited Lady Rose Summer, who is the well-educated, outspoken, and beautiful daughter of a fabulously wealthy earl. Due to her suffragette leanings, however, Lady Rose is having a rough season as a debutante, when she finds herself romanced by the handsome Sir Geoffrey Blandon, who seems to be dragging his heels in terms of making a proposal. Her father, suspicious of his daughter's suitor who has only just returned to England after a four year hiatus in the States, calls upon Captain Harry Cathcart to discreetly investigate him. Recently returned from the Boer War, Captain Cathcart is a gentleman who is in somewhat financial straits. So, he undertakes the commission.
Due to the subsequent scandal surrounding her ill-fated romance, Lady Rose finds herself reluctantly attending a house party being held at Telby Castle by the Marques and Marchioness of Hedley for women whose matrimonial prospects have been dampened by the vicissitudes of fate. When murder strikes at Telby Castle, Lady Rose finds herself immersed in the mystery, and Captain Cathcart reappears in her life as a guest at the castle. Lady Rose and the Captain collaborate in finding out the truth when, suddenly, another murder occurs, and it becomes a matter of life or death for Lady Rose.
The main characters are likable, as are the secondary ones. The book is light-hearted and fast paced, and the mystery is really not the driving force of the book. What makes the book most enjoyable are the characters and their interactions with each other, as do the period details that are laced throughout. The book is a good addition to the genre of the cozy mystery. I look forward to reading the next one.
It is a lighthearted mystery and a romp through Edwardian social mores. The author introduces the reader to the highly spirited Lady Rose Summer, who is the well-educated, outspoken, and beautiful daughter of a fabulously wealthy earl. Due to her suffragette leanings, however, Lady Rose is having a rough season as a debutante, when she finds herself romanced by the handsome Sir Geoffrey Blandon, who seems to be dragging his heels in terms of making a proposal. Her father, suspicious of his daughter's suitor who has only just returned to England after a four year hiatus in the States, calls upon Captain Harry Cathcart to discreetly investigate him. Recently returned from the Boer War, Captain Cathcart is a gentleman who is in somewhat financial straits. So, he undertakes the commission.
Due to the subsequent scandal surrounding her ill-fated romance, Lady Rose finds herself reluctantly attending a house party being held at Telby Castle by the Marques and Marchioness of Hedley for women whose matrimonial prospects have been dampened by the vicissitudes of fate. When murder strikes at Telby Castle, Lady Rose finds herself immersed in the mystery, and Captain Cathcart reappears in her life as a guest at the castle. Lady Rose and the Captain collaborate in finding out the truth when, suddenly, another murder occurs, and it becomes a matter of life or death for Lady Rose.
The main characters are likable, as are the secondary ones. The book is light-hearted and fast paced, and the mystery is really not the driving force of the book. What makes the book most enjoyable are the characters and their interactions with each other, as do the period details that are laced throughout. The book is a good addition to the genre of the cozy mystery. I look forward to reading the next one.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Marian Chesney is known to me as a writer of Regency romances. This is her first Edwardian crime novel that I have read and it's based around Lady Rose, an Earl's daughter who is rather too `modern' for her family - she's a suffragette (at least some of the time), is well-read and knows her own mind.
Captain Harry Cathcart was wounded in the Boer War and has returned to London with little money, just his faithful manservant. He finds himself investigating for the upper classes (blackmail attempts, checking out prospective suitors) and through this meets Lady Rose - he discovers her suitor is trying to seduce her without marriage. He does a number of small jobs for Rose's father which brings him to the notice of Detective Superintendent Alfred Kerridge.
Rose is invited to a house party with just her maid, Daisy (a former actress) and whilst at the house party they realise something is wrong. An apparent suicide by one of the lady guests is questionable, there is a missing maid and a lot of the other single women guests seem to have something to hide. Rose finds herself the target of practical jokes by some of the single men. When Harry Cathcart arrives at the request of her father she's initially still annoyed with him for interfering in her life previously but soon she starts to work with him and between them they uncover the plot and the murderer, with the help of Kerridge.
In some ways this book reads like a children's book. Marian Chesney's writing style is very plain, her characterisation almost non-existent (her characters seem to be only differentiated by their actions, not really by their thoughts or words or natures) and it was an amazingly untaxing-read. However the subject matter often wasn't for children - there's a theme of men with syphilis seducing virgins in order to heal themselves. The class divide is a significant part of the plot but all the characters behave woodenly within their classes - for example, most of the aristocrats have double-barrelled names and assume that nothing but themselves matter. Equally, every lower class person has a colossal chip on their shoulder. Perhaps this was true then but I somehow doubt it.
The resolution of the book isn't as neat as you might expect for this kind of novel but none of the rest of the book was much of a surprise. It hasn't inspired me to read any of her other detective novels as this one just wasn't special enough.
Captain Harry Cathcart was wounded in the Boer War and has returned to London with little money, just his faithful manservant. He finds himself investigating for the upper classes (blackmail attempts, checking out prospective suitors) and through this meets Lady Rose - he discovers her suitor is trying to seduce her without marriage. He does a number of small jobs for Rose's father which brings him to the notice of Detective Superintendent Alfred Kerridge.
Rose is invited to a house party with just her maid, Daisy (a former actress) and whilst at the house party they realise something is wrong. An apparent suicide by one of the lady guests is questionable, there is a missing maid and a lot of the other single women guests seem to have something to hide. Rose finds herself the target of practical jokes by some of the single men. When Harry Cathcart arrives at the request of her father she's initially still annoyed with him for interfering in her life previously but soon she starts to work with him and between them they uncover the plot and the murderer, with the help of Kerridge.
In some ways this book reads like a children's book. Marian Chesney's writing style is very plain, her characterisation almost non-existent (her characters seem to be only differentiated by their actions, not really by their thoughts or words or natures) and it was an amazingly untaxing-read. However the subject matter often wasn't for children - there's a theme of men with syphilis seducing virgins in order to heal themselves. The class divide is a significant part of the plot but all the characters behave woodenly within their classes - for example, most of the aristocrats have double-barrelled names and assume that nothing but themselves matter. Equally, every lower class person has a colossal chip on their shoulder. Perhaps this was true then but I somehow doubt it.
The resolution of the book isn't as neat as you might expect for this kind of novel but none of the rest of the book was much of a surprise. It hasn't inspired me to read any of her other detective novels as this one just wasn't special enough.
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