The Case of the Gilded Fly
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Review
"has all the ingredients of a Golden Age detective story". --Independent on Sunday
Book Description
The Case of the Gilded Fly is the first Gervase Fen story and is a funny, clever and intriguing locked-room mystery from the Golden Age of crime writing
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the Oxford of Dorothy L Sayers and some of the characters from The Case of the Gilded Fly would be equally at home in Sayers' Gaudy Night. Gervase Fen - Professor of Literature at Oxford - is an amateur detective and friendly with the Chief Constable of Oxford which allows him to get involved in solving murder cases. This case revolves round the production of a new play. Some of the cast already know each other and know Fen himself.
I found the evocation of war time Oxford excellent and reading the book now over sixty years later it is clear how many attitudes have changed. Some may find the opinions expressed offensive but the reader needs to bear in mind that the book was written when such ideas were common place and it needs to be read in the context of the time in which it was written. The plot is well crafted and the murder simple when the reader has seen the mystery unravelled towards the end of the story. I did not manage to work out `how' or `who' before the end. The corpse is a particularly unlikeable young woman whom almost every character had a motive to kill.
I like Gervase Fen - ebullient, enthusiastic sometimes morose and sometimes rude. He bounds through the pages of the book like an overgrown Labrador puppy stepping on toes and upsetting people in his quest for the truth. But he does think deeply about the ethics of crime detection and is often puzzled about the best course of action to take. Mrs Fen - Dolly - keeps him under control and frequently inserts the spoonful of common sense which is necessary to keep Fen himself grounded.
If you like detective stories in the classic mould you will enjoy Edmund Crispin.
I found the evocation of war time Oxford excellent and reading the book now over sixty years later it is clear how many attitudes have changed. Some may find the opinions expressed offensive but the reader needs to bear in mind that the book was written when such ideas were common place and it needs to be read in the context of the time in which it was written. The plot is well crafted and the murder simple when the reader has seen the mystery unravelled towards the end of the story. I did not manage to work out `how' or `who' before the end. The corpse is a particularly unlikeable young woman whom almost every character had a motive to kill.
I like Gervase Fen - ebullient, enthusiastic sometimes morose and sometimes rude. He bounds through the pages of the book like an overgrown Labrador puppy stepping on toes and upsetting people in his quest for the truth. But he does think deeply about the ethics of crime detection and is often puzzled about the best course of action to take. Mrs Fen - Dolly - keeps him under control and frequently inserts the spoonful of common sense which is necessary to keep Fen himself grounded.
If you like detective stories in the classic mould you will enjoy Edmund Crispin.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I always find it difficult to write about mysteries. Difficult to say what you want to say without giving too much away. So here's a reminder what the cover tells you, and then I'll expand a little with my reaction:
"Yseut Haskell, a pretty but spiteful young actress with a talent for destroying men's lives, is found dead in a college room just metres from unconventional Oxford don Gervase Fen's office. The victim is found wearing an unusual ring, a reproduction of a piece in the British Museum featuring a gold gilded fly but does this shed any light on her murder? As they delve deeper into Yseut's unhappy life the police soon realise that anyone who knew her would have shot her, but can Fen discover who could have shot her? "The Case of the Gilded Fly" is the first Gervase Fen mystery and is the perfect introduction to this most idiosyncratic, eccentric and entertaining detective."
Gervase Fen is an Oxford don. His subject is English literature and he has a keen interest in the art of detection.
His old friend, Sir Richard Freeman is Chief Constable of Oxford and he is fascinated by books and literature.
Two wonderfully drawn characters, giving a very interesting perspective on the events which will unfold.
Both are travelling back to Oxford by train.
The story opens with a passage describing the varying behaviour of passengers as a train approaches its destination. Maybe not essential to the plot but, because it is so perfectly observed, so engaging and so beautifully written, that it is the perfect appetizer.
All of the principals in the story that is to come are travelling to Oxford by train too. Each in turn is carefully described. a little contrived maybe, but it is so well done that you really can't mind. And the relationships of the theatrical troupe at the centre of things are quite complex, so its useful to be able to refer back.
There is a death. A strange death. It couldn't have been suicide, it couldn't have been an accident, and it definitely happened, so it must be murder. There is no shortage of suspects - pretty much anybody could have had a motive for this particular killing. But just how the murderer did it is quite baffling.
That makes this mystery particularly compelling, and a wonderful cast of characters gives it life and depth.
Fen has the solution almost immediately, but he struggles with his conscience when it comes to identifying the murderer.
That solution, when it comes is extraordinary, but utterly logical and possible.
And so you have a perfect mystery, beautifully written and perfectly evoking time and place.
Gervase Fenn though is a character you are likely to either love or hate. He is erudite but has a tendency to be verbose; his conversations are peppered with literary illusions - some I picked up and some passed me by; and he has immense confidence in his own abilities.
For me it was love, and I look forward to meeting him again.
"Yseut Haskell, a pretty but spiteful young actress with a talent for destroying men's lives, is found dead in a college room just metres from unconventional Oxford don Gervase Fen's office. The victim is found wearing an unusual ring, a reproduction of a piece in the British Museum featuring a gold gilded fly but does this shed any light on her murder? As they delve deeper into Yseut's unhappy life the police soon realise that anyone who knew her would have shot her, but can Fen discover who could have shot her? "The Case of the Gilded Fly" is the first Gervase Fen mystery and is the perfect introduction to this most idiosyncratic, eccentric and entertaining detective."
Gervase Fen is an Oxford don. His subject is English literature and he has a keen interest in the art of detection.
His old friend, Sir Richard Freeman is Chief Constable of Oxford and he is fascinated by books and literature.
Two wonderfully drawn characters, giving a very interesting perspective on the events which will unfold.
Both are travelling back to Oxford by train.
The story opens with a passage describing the varying behaviour of passengers as a train approaches its destination. Maybe not essential to the plot but, because it is so perfectly observed, so engaging and so beautifully written, that it is the perfect appetizer.
All of the principals in the story that is to come are travelling to Oxford by train too. Each in turn is carefully described. a little contrived maybe, but it is so well done that you really can't mind. And the relationships of the theatrical troupe at the centre of things are quite complex, so its useful to be able to refer back.
There is a death. A strange death. It couldn't have been suicide, it couldn't have been an accident, and it definitely happened, so it must be murder. There is no shortage of suspects - pretty much anybody could have had a motive for this particular killing. But just how the murderer did it is quite baffling.
That makes this mystery particularly compelling, and a wonderful cast of characters gives it life and depth.
Fen has the solution almost immediately, but he struggles with his conscience when it comes to identifying the murderer.
That solution, when it comes is extraordinary, but utterly logical and possible.
And so you have a perfect mystery, beautifully written and perfectly evoking time and place.
Gervase Fenn though is a character you are likely to either love or hate. He is erudite but has a tendency to be verbose; his conversations are peppered with literary illusions - some I picked up and some passed me by; and he has immense confidence in his own abilities.
For me it was love, and I look forward to meeting him again.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Edmund Crispin sets up an intriguing mystery around a collection of characters involved with a rep theatre company in Oxford, set (and written) during the second world war. The detective is Gervase Fen, an Oxford don, who is as eccentric as he is brilliant. He is helped along by Nigel, a slightly confused and clueless journalist and Oxford graduate who plays the role of the reader - stumbling across information but unable to solve the crime as effortlessly as Fen. The cast of the story, and the suspects in the murder, are an agreeably dislikeable bunch of stereotypes, and the central puzzle is well worked out, with a few clever twists.
Crispin is clearly a fan of the murder mystery format, and he respects it here as an intellectual game. There is not a hint of psychological realism, and the book is littered with self-conscious references to the genre and to literature in general. Characters often quote famous literary passages, and their speech is sometimes described according to its grammatical correctness. In other words, The Case of the Gilded Fly is well written and well constructed, albeit in a way that puts everything at service to the main mystery. As a result, the puzzle is as darkly simple as a cryptic crossword puzzle, but the story occasionally stretches a little too far beyond the bounds of credibility.
There are a few touches that struck me as in bad taste, but that is probably because of the time when this book was written - there is an underlying trail of misogyny and classism, for instance. All in all, not one of his best books, but a good fun read nevertheless.
Crispin is clearly a fan of the murder mystery format, and he respects it here as an intellectual game. There is not a hint of psychological realism, and the book is littered with self-conscious references to the genre and to literature in general. Characters often quote famous literary passages, and their speech is sometimes described according to its grammatical correctness. In other words, The Case of the Gilded Fly is well written and well constructed, albeit in a way that puts everything at service to the main mystery. As a result, the puzzle is as darkly simple as a cryptic crossword puzzle, but the story occasionally stretches a little too far beyond the bounds of credibility.
There are a few touches that struck me as in bad taste, but that is probably because of the time when this book was written - there is an underlying trail of misogyny and classism, for instance. All in all, not one of his best books, but a good fun read nevertheless.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fen's First Fling!
This is the first of Edmund Crispin's 'Gervase Fen' detective novels and was written whilst he was still an undergraduate. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Kenneth F. Mcara
Welcome return
I was very pleased to see that this old school author has been revived. A treat instead of the usual Agatha Christies and Peter Wimseys.
Published 11 months ago by herladyship
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