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Nigel Strangeways #1
A Question of Proof
A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERY
The annual Sports Day at respected public school Sudeley Hall ends in tragedy when the headmaster's obnoxious nephew is found strangled in a haystack. The boy was despised by staff and students alike, but English master Michael Evans, who was seen sharing a kiss with the headmaster's beautiful young wife earlier that day, soon becomes a prime suspect for the murder. Luckily, his friend Nigel Strangeways, nephew to the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, is on hand to help investigate the case.
A Nigel Strangeways murder mystery - the perfect introduction to the most charming and erudite detective in Golden Age crime fiction.
The annual Sports Day at respected public school Sudeley Hall ends in tragedy when the headmaster's obnoxious nephew is found strangled in a haystack. The boy was despised by staff and students alike, but English master Michael Evans, who was seen sharing a kiss with the headmaster's beautiful young wife earlier that day, soon becomes a prime suspect for the murder. Luckily, his friend Nigel Strangeways, nephew to the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, is on hand to help investigate the case.
A Nigel Strangeways murder mystery - the perfect introduction to the most charming and erudite detective in Golden Age crime fiction.
276 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1935
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1,612 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Blake
89books72followersNicholas Blake is the pseudonym of poet Cecil Day-Lewis C. Day Lewis, who was born in Ireland in 1904. He was the son of the Reverend Frank Cecil Day-Lewis and his wife Kathleen (nee Squires). His mother died in 1906, and he and his father moved to London, where he was brought up by his father with the help of an aunt.
He spent his holidays in Wexford and regarded himself very much as Anglo-Irish, although when the Republic of Ireland was declared in 1948 he chose British citizenship.
He was married twice, to Mary King in 1928 and to Jill Balcon in 1951, and during the 1940s he had a long love affair with novelist Rosamond Lehmann. He had four children from his two marriages, with actor Daniel Day-Lewis, documentary filmmaker and television chef Tamasin Day-Lewis and TV critic and writer Sean Day-Lewis being three of his children.
He began work as a schoolmaster, and during World War II he worked as a publications editor in the Ministry of Information. After the war he joined Chatto & Windus as a senior editor and director, and then in 1946 he began lecturing at Cambridge University. He later taught poetry at Oxford University, where he was Professor of Poetry from 1951-1956, and from 1962-1963 he was the Norton Professor at Harvard University.
But he was by then earning his living mainly from his writings, having had some poetry published in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and then in 1935 beginning his career as a thriller writer under the pseudonym of Nicholas Blake with 'A Question of Proof', which featured his amateur sleuth Nigel Strangeways, reputedly modelled on W H Auden. He continued the Strangeways series, which finally totalled 16 novels, ending with 'The Morning After Death' in 1966. He also wrote four detective novels which did not feature Strangeways.
He continued to write poetry and became Poet Laureate in 1968, a post he held until his death in 1972. He was also awarded the CBE.
He died from pancreatic cancer on 22 May 1972 at the Hertfordshire home of Kingsley Amis and Elizabeth Jane Howard, where he and his wife were staying. He is buried in Stinsford churchyard, close to the grave of one of his heroes, Thomas Hardy, something that he had arranged before his death.
He spent his holidays in Wexford and regarded himself very much as Anglo-Irish, although when the Republic of Ireland was declared in 1948 he chose British citizenship.
He was married twice, to Mary King in 1928 and to Jill Balcon in 1951, and during the 1940s he had a long love affair with novelist Rosamond Lehmann. He had four children from his two marriages, with actor Daniel Day-Lewis, documentary filmmaker and television chef Tamasin Day-Lewis and TV critic and writer Sean Day-Lewis being three of his children.
He began work as a schoolmaster, and during World War II he worked as a publications editor in the Ministry of Information. After the war he joined Chatto & Windus as a senior editor and director, and then in 1946 he began lecturing at Cambridge University. He later taught poetry at Oxford University, where he was Professor of Poetry from 1951-1956, and from 1962-1963 he was the Norton Professor at Harvard University.
But he was by then earning his living mainly from his writings, having had some poetry published in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and then in 1935 beginning his career as a thriller writer under the pseudonym of Nicholas Blake with 'A Question of Proof', which featured his amateur sleuth Nigel Strangeways, reputedly modelled on W H Auden. He continued the Strangeways series, which finally totalled 16 novels, ending with 'The Morning After Death' in 1966. He also wrote four detective novels which did not feature Strangeways.
He continued to write poetry and became Poet Laureate in 1968, a post he held until his death in 1972. He was also awarded the CBE.
He died from pancreatic cancer on 22 May 1972 at the Hertfordshire home of Kingsley Amis and Elizabeth Jane Howard, where he and his wife were staying. He is buried in Stinsford churchyard, close to the grave of one of his heroes, Thomas Hardy, something that he had arranged before his death.
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November 6, 2014
”I think I know who the murderer is. But I doubt if I can ever prove it. A question of proof--that a good title for a detective story, if you ever write one--and I’ve not got enough proof to fill an acorn.�
Nigel Strangeways or Cecil Day-Lewis?
Nigel Strangeways has been summoned by his friend Michael Evans to a small preparatory school to sort out the rather sordid strangling of one of the students. The student is the obnoxious nephew of the headmaster Reverend Percival Vale and due to the unpleasant nature of the victim the list of suspects are longer than the list of people in the clear.
Strangeways is aptly named. He drinks hot tea almost continuously. If you expect him to stay settled and use that great brain of his to puzzle through clues then you must make sure there is a cup of tea in his hand and a fresh pot boiling. ”And he can’t sleep unless he has an enormous weight on his bed. if you don’t give him enough blankets for three, you’ll find that he has torn the carpets up or the curtains down.�
Eccentric or just plain crazy? All in the eye of the beholder.
Michael Evans becomes the prime suspect when his silver pencil is found at the murder scene. ”The pencil is a bit awkward.� His alibi is a bit tricky as well. At the time of the murder he was happily snogging with Hero Vale, the lovely, vivacious young wife of the headmaster.
Can Strangeways find the murderer before they strike again? Can he reveal the truth of the matter before Evans has to present his adorable alibi?
This is a whodunit in the grand British tradition of tricky villains and clever plots. The police are maybe not quite dolts, but certainly they are not paragons of brain power. The academics are backstabbing, ambitious, self-centered, pompous, and quite capable of being disloyal to a friend if it will further their career. I had flashbacks to the English department at the University of Arizona where fistfights in faculty meetings were a regular occurrence. Strangeways is a private detective who supports himself by unknown means. He takes cases for the pure pleasure of proving himself more clever than the criminal.
Daniel and Cecil Day-Lewis.
I have a feeling that Nicholas Blake A.K.A. Cecil Day-Lewis, the father of the best actor of his generation Daniel Day-Lewis, based the character of Strangeways on a more exaggerated version of himself. He wrote this book because he needed to fix a leaky roof and 1935 was part of the golden age of British detective fiction. Everyone was reading them from housewives to academics. A man or woman in need of quick money and possessing an agile mind could find a ready market for an interesting detective and a skillfully conceived plot.
Day-Lewis wrote twenty novels under the name Blake. He also wrote numerous books of poetry under his own name. He was named Poet Laureate in 1968. His personal relationships were always in flux. When he met the actress Jill Balcon, twenty years younger than himself, he had to break off relations with his wife and with his mistress the novelist Rosamond Lehmann to find enough time to woo the beautiful young woman. Jill’s father Michael Balcon, the famous British film producer, cut her off without a cent when he found out about her relationship with Day-Lewis. Who could blame him? I’m sure it didn’t take much digging into Day-Lewis’s past to discover a pattern that would lead to misery for any woman. The situation between Michael Evans and Hero Vale in this story were, I’m sure, based on the personal experiences of the author.
I’m sure Cecil Day Lewis was very charming. Pictured here with Jill Balcon.
Regardless of how crazy this relationships seemed to friends and families it did give the world the talents of Sir Daniel Day-Lewis and his chef/filmmaker sister Tamasin Day-Lewis.
I know this is going to be shocking, but Cecil did not stay faithful to Jill either.
I’ve read that the character of Nigel Strangeways continues to evolve throughout the series as he takes on the changing characteristics of his creator. An autobiography disguised as detective fiction. This was a fun, quick read made more interesting by all the associations that can be found in the plot surrounding the author and his life.
Nigel Strangeways or Cecil Day-Lewis?
Nigel Strangeways has been summoned by his friend Michael Evans to a small preparatory school to sort out the rather sordid strangling of one of the students. The student is the obnoxious nephew of the headmaster Reverend Percival Vale and due to the unpleasant nature of the victim the list of suspects are longer than the list of people in the clear.
Strangeways is aptly named. He drinks hot tea almost continuously. If you expect him to stay settled and use that great brain of his to puzzle through clues then you must make sure there is a cup of tea in his hand and a fresh pot boiling. ”And he can’t sleep unless he has an enormous weight on his bed. if you don’t give him enough blankets for three, you’ll find that he has torn the carpets up or the curtains down.�
Eccentric or just plain crazy? All in the eye of the beholder.
Michael Evans becomes the prime suspect when his silver pencil is found at the murder scene. ”The pencil is a bit awkward.� His alibi is a bit tricky as well. At the time of the murder he was happily snogging with Hero Vale, the lovely, vivacious young wife of the headmaster.
Can Strangeways find the murderer before they strike again? Can he reveal the truth of the matter before Evans has to present his adorable alibi?
This is a whodunit in the grand British tradition of tricky villains and clever plots. The police are maybe not quite dolts, but certainly they are not paragons of brain power. The academics are backstabbing, ambitious, self-centered, pompous, and quite capable of being disloyal to a friend if it will further their career. I had flashbacks to the English department at the University of Arizona where fistfights in faculty meetings were a regular occurrence. Strangeways is a private detective who supports himself by unknown means. He takes cases for the pure pleasure of proving himself more clever than the criminal.
Daniel and Cecil Day-Lewis.
I have a feeling that Nicholas Blake A.K.A. Cecil Day-Lewis, the father of the best actor of his generation Daniel Day-Lewis, based the character of Strangeways on a more exaggerated version of himself. He wrote this book because he needed to fix a leaky roof and 1935 was part of the golden age of British detective fiction. Everyone was reading them from housewives to academics. A man or woman in need of quick money and possessing an agile mind could find a ready market for an interesting detective and a skillfully conceived plot.
Day-Lewis wrote twenty novels under the name Blake. He also wrote numerous books of poetry under his own name. He was named Poet Laureate in 1968. His personal relationships were always in flux. When he met the actress Jill Balcon, twenty years younger than himself, he had to break off relations with his wife and with his mistress the novelist Rosamond Lehmann to find enough time to woo the beautiful young woman. Jill’s father Michael Balcon, the famous British film producer, cut her off without a cent when he found out about her relationship with Day-Lewis. Who could blame him? I’m sure it didn’t take much digging into Day-Lewis’s past to discover a pattern that would lead to misery for any woman. The situation between Michael Evans and Hero Vale in this story were, I’m sure, based on the personal experiences of the author.
I’m sure Cecil Day Lewis was very charming. Pictured here with Jill Balcon.
Regardless of how crazy this relationships seemed to friends and families it did give the world the talents of Sir Daniel Day-Lewis and his chef/filmmaker sister Tamasin Day-Lewis.
I know this is going to be shocking, but Cecil did not stay faithful to Jill either.
I’ve read that the character of Nigel Strangeways continues to evolve throughout the series as he takes on the changing characteristics of his creator. An autobiography disguised as detective fiction. This was a fun, quick read made more interesting by all the associations that can be found in the plot surrounding the author and his life.
September 12, 2016
This is the first Nigel Strangeways mystery by the late English Poet Laureate Nicholas Blake (Cecil Day-Lewis). Set in a 1935 prep school, this is a very interesting read and very much a Golden Age mystery novel. When the Headmaster's obnoxious nephew is killed Nigel's friend, a teacher at the school who has been having an affair with the Head's wife, is suspected of the murder. He calls in his friend, Nigel Strangeways, a Private Inquiry Agent and nephew of the Assistant Commissioner.
Cecil Day-Lewis worked in a prep school and this shows in his attention to detail and intimacy with the staff room. This is a very good read and shows a slice of life in 1930's England which is now gone (although minor prep schools are not of course!), as well as being a wonderful mystery.
I have long been a fan of the Nigel Strangeways novels and it is fantastic to find them now so readily available on kindle � and many on Audible. If you enjoy authors such as Agatha Christie, Christianna Brand or Dorothy L Sayers, then you will probably enjoy this mystery. If you want to read the next in the series, the second book is Thou Shell of Death (Nigel Strangeways).
Cecil Day-Lewis worked in a prep school and this shows in his attention to detail and intimacy with the staff room. This is a very good read and shows a slice of life in 1930's England which is now gone (although minor prep schools are not of course!), as well as being a wonderful mystery.
I have long been a fan of the Nigel Strangeways novels and it is fantastic to find them now so readily available on kindle � and many on Audible. If you enjoy authors such as Agatha Christie, Christianna Brand or Dorothy L Sayers, then you will probably enjoy this mystery. If you want to read the next in the series, the second book is Thou Shell of Death (Nigel Strangeways).
March 27, 2015
Description: The faculty and student body at Sudeley are shocked but scarcely saddened when the headmaster’s obnoxious nephew, Algernon Wyvern-Wemyss, is found dead in a haystack on Sports Day.
But when the young English master, Michael Evans, becomes a suspect in the case, he’s greatly relieved when his clever friend Nigel Strangeways, who is beginning to make a name for himself as a private inquiry agent, shows up to lend a hand to the local constabulary.
Strangeways immediately wins over the students and even becomes an initiate in one of their secret societies, The Black Spot, whose members provide him with some of the information he needs to solve the case.
In the meantime Michael and Hero Vale, the pretty young wife of the headmaster, continue their hopeless love affair. When another murder follows, Strangeways is soon certain of the murderer’s identity, but until he can prove it, he’s reluctant to share his theory with the unimaginative but thorough Superintendent Armstrong.
Published in 1935 while he was a schoolmaster himself, this is the first detective novel by C. Day-Lewis, the noted man of letters who went on to become England’s poet laureate.
Nicholas Blake aka Cecil Day Lewis. I wanted to sample something from the man who unceremoniously dumped Rosamund Lehmann and this is what I ended up with, a somewhat run of the mill whodunnit where the reading public is introduced to a new on-paper sleuth: Nigel Strangeways. The first chapter is rather arch, couched in high-blown prose, yet it does settle down into a competent and enjoyable story. Is the Michael/Hero storyline based on events from the author's past as some have posited?
I'd read another if it dropped in my lap.
But when the young English master, Michael Evans, becomes a suspect in the case, he’s greatly relieved when his clever friend Nigel Strangeways, who is beginning to make a name for himself as a private inquiry agent, shows up to lend a hand to the local constabulary.
Strangeways immediately wins over the students and even becomes an initiate in one of their secret societies, The Black Spot, whose members provide him with some of the information he needs to solve the case.
In the meantime Michael and Hero Vale, the pretty young wife of the headmaster, continue their hopeless love affair. When another murder follows, Strangeways is soon certain of the murderer’s identity, but until he can prove it, he’s reluctant to share his theory with the unimaginative but thorough Superintendent Armstrong.
Published in 1935 while he was a schoolmaster himself, this is the first detective novel by C. Day-Lewis, the noted man of letters who went on to become England’s poet laureate.
Nicholas Blake aka Cecil Day Lewis. I wanted to sample something from the man who unceremoniously dumped Rosamund Lehmann and this is what I ended up with, a somewhat run of the mill whodunnit where the reading public is introduced to a new on-paper sleuth: Nigel Strangeways. The first chapter is rather arch, couched in high-blown prose, yet it does settle down into a competent and enjoyable story. Is the Michael/Hero storyline based on events from the author's past as some have posited?I'd read another if it dropped in my lap.
September 7, 2013
Cecil Day Lewis, the father of the actor, Daniel Day-Lewis, was eventually a successful poet and became Poet Laureate of England. But in his youth he needed to make more money than he was bringing in writing poems so he decided to write some murder mysteries. As he wanted to be taken serious as a literary figure he used a pseudonym, Nicholas Blake.
A Question of Proof is the first of the 16 Nicholas Strangeways mysteries. Published in 1935 it is in the classic detective story mode. Strangeways is a gentleman who was sent down from Oxford for writing all the answers to his exam questions in limericks. He is the nephew of the head of Scotland Yard. So we have the brilliant amateur, member of the gentry, with access to influence and information.
The story is simple: the body of one of the boys at a public school is found inside a haystack. Also found there is the silver mechanical pencil of one of the masters. Did he murder the boy? When was the murder done? What is the motive?
The local inspector is a little thick (they often are in classic detective stories.) So the accused man sends for his college friend, Nigel Strangeways, an eccentric based on W H Auden, though only in this first book of the series. Apparently Lewis had a falling out with Auden (didn't everyone?) and in later books Strangeways is not so . . . strange.
At the time this book was written Lewis/Blake was a member of the Communist Party, with whom he also had a falling-out. There are a few gentle allusions to "each according to his ability" and such but on the whole the story controls the book and there is little indoctrination.
When the headmaster of the school is stabbed in the back during a cricket match, his wife and Strangeways' friend are arrested. Although our hero knows who did the murders he has no proof and has to scramble to find something that will hold up in court in order to save his friend and the woman he loves.
Delightful start to a series.
Note 9/2013: I have decided to read all of the Strangeways mysteries in the next year or so and went back to re-read this first book as part of that project. It holds up in a second reading; it's still a five-star mystery.
A Question of Proof is the first of the 16 Nicholas Strangeways mysteries. Published in 1935 it is in the classic detective story mode. Strangeways is a gentleman who was sent down from Oxford for writing all the answers to his exam questions in limericks. He is the nephew of the head of Scotland Yard. So we have the brilliant amateur, member of the gentry, with access to influence and information.
The story is simple: the body of one of the boys at a public school is found inside a haystack. Also found there is the silver mechanical pencil of one of the masters. Did he murder the boy? When was the murder done? What is the motive?
The local inspector is a little thick (they often are in classic detective stories.) So the accused man sends for his college friend, Nigel Strangeways, an eccentric based on W H Auden, though only in this first book of the series. Apparently Lewis had a falling out with Auden (didn't everyone?) and in later books Strangeways is not so . . . strange.
At the time this book was written Lewis/Blake was a member of the Communist Party, with whom he also had a falling-out. There are a few gentle allusions to "each according to his ability" and such but on the whole the story controls the book and there is little indoctrination.
When the headmaster of the school is stabbed in the back during a cricket match, his wife and Strangeways' friend are arrested. Although our hero knows who did the murders he has no proof and has to scramble to find something that will hold up in court in order to save his friend and the woman he loves.
Delightful start to a series.
Note 9/2013: I have decided to read all of the Strangeways mysteries in the next year or so and went back to re-read this first book as part of that project. It holds up in a second reading; it's still a five-star mystery.
October 11, 2024
Kanıt Sorunu adıyla Ayrıksı Kitap'tan çıkan roman polisiyenin altın çağı kabul edilen 1935'de yazılıyor. Nicholas Blake aslen bir şair (ünlü oyuncu Daniel Day Lewis'in de babası), öğretmenlik yaptığı yıllarda geçinebilmek için polisiye yazmış. Öğretmenlik tecrübesini bu romanda kullanmış. Hikaye bir özel okulda geçiyor. Müdürün şımarık yeğeni okulun bahçesindeki saman yığınlarında boğularak öldürülmüş halde bulunuyor. Öğretmenlerden Michael ile müdürün karısı arasında da yasak bir ilişki var. Çocuğun öldürüldüğü saatlerde Micahel'la sevgilisi orada buluşmuşlar, Michael'ın kalemi de olay yerinde bulununca şüpheli duruma düşüyor. Bunun üzerine Michael özel dedektiflik yapan arkadaşı Nigel Strangeways'i yardıma çağırıyor.
Nigel Strangeways soyadından da anlaşıldığı gibi hem karakteri hem de kullandığı yöntemler itibariyle biraz tuhaf bir adam. Sürekli çay içmesi, özellikle göründüğü ilk sahnelerde her şeyi sarakaya alması biraz göze batıyor. Ama sonrasında daha inandırıcı bir karaktere bürünüyor.
Romanın bir şairin elinden çıktığı belli; hem çalakalem bir üslup yok hem de -özellikle İngiliz şairlerden- bol bol şiir alıntısı ve Shakespeare göndermesi var.
Polisiye açıdan beğendiğim bir kitaptı. Katilin cinayeti nasıl işlediğine dair çok hoş bir sürprizi var. Üstelik bu sürpriz kitabın içindeki bir olayda aşikar ediliyor, yani yazar cinayetin sırrını kitabın içindeki bir olayla göze sokarcasına veriyor (tabii ben bunu sonradan anladım).
Yazıldığı yıl itibariyle biraz fazla melodrama kaçan yerleri olsa da İngiliz alaycılığıyla işlenen karakterleriyle, dört dörtlük polisiye kurgusuyla okunası bir roman.
Nigel Strangeways soyadından da anlaşıldığı gibi hem karakteri hem de kullandığı yöntemler itibariyle biraz tuhaf bir adam. Sürekli çay içmesi, özellikle göründüğü ilk sahnelerde her şeyi sarakaya alması biraz göze batıyor. Ama sonrasında daha inandırıcı bir karaktere bürünüyor.
Romanın bir şairin elinden çıktığı belli; hem çalakalem bir üslup yok hem de -özellikle İngiliz şairlerden- bol bol şiir alıntısı ve Shakespeare göndermesi var.
Polisiye açıdan beğendiğim bir kitaptı. Katilin cinayeti nasıl işlediğine dair çok hoş bir sürprizi var. Üstelik bu sürpriz kitabın içindeki bir olayda aşikar ediliyor, yani yazar cinayetin sırrını kitabın içindeki bir olayla göze sokarcasına veriyor (tabii ben bunu sonradan anladım).
Yazıldığı yıl itibariyle biraz fazla melodrama kaçan yerleri olsa da İngiliz alaycılığıyla işlenen karakterleriyle, dört dörtlük polisiye kurgusuyla okunası bir roman.
February 23, 2023
Great scene setting in the common room of Sudeley Hall preparatory school where all the main participants are introduced. Thereafter it is dramatic action with one of the pupils found strangled in a haycastle. But not just any haycastle, one used by two of the protaginists for a secret assignment.
The police begin investigating and it is soon obvious that they need some other brain to assist their investigations. And Nigel Strangeways is called in.
The action races along in this beautifully written thriller and when another murder takes place, the police are at their wit's ends. But not Strangeways. His quiet, but effective, investigations bear fruit and eventually the killer is unmasked and ... a fresh pot of tea is called for!
The police begin investigating and it is soon obvious that they need some other brain to assist their investigations. And Nigel Strangeways is called in.
The action races along in this beautifully written thriller and when another murder takes place, the police are at their wit's ends. But not Strangeways. His quiet, but effective, investigations bear fruit and eventually the killer is unmasked and ... a fresh pot of tea is called for!
February 22, 2019
An engaging example of the Golden Age mystery. No English country house here. This time it is a boys' prep school. O, damn-ed are you for harboring repressed male emotions. No wonder there aren't more murders.
And because it is a boys' school - and the boys are upper class and the policeman aren't, Nigel Strangeways comes in as he knows how these places operate and is able to get the boys to talk. And - he is a strangely inoffensive man, so the killer underestimates him until it is too late.
All detectives need a quirk. And apparently Strangeways' quirk is he drinks scads and scads of tea. So much I was beginning just how big his bladder WAS.
Very enjoyable book though.
And because it is a boys' school - and the boys are upper class and the policeman aren't, Nigel Strangeways comes in as he knows how these places operate and is able to get the boys to talk. And - he is a strangely inoffensive man, so the killer underestimates him until it is too late.
All detectives need a quirk. And apparently Strangeways' quirk is he drinks scads and scads of tea. So much I was beginning just how big his bladder WAS.
Very enjoyable book though.
November 3, 2019
The murder of one of the young men who are pupils at a boarding school sets up a mystery and police investigation that seems to point to the headmaster's wife and one of the teachers as suspects. Fortunately, Michael, the teacher who is under suspicion, has a former school chum who is a private investigator. Enter Nigel Strangeways.
Part police procedural, part private investigation, part cozy, A Question of Proof has just the right balance of wit, suspense and action to hook the reader and keep his/her interest through the last pages.
Part police procedural, part private investigation, part cozy, A Question of Proof has just the right balance of wit, suspense and action to hook the reader and keep his/her interest through the last pages.
October 23, 2011
I decided to read the Blake book as my first entry into JNCL's Read Your Own Library Challenge. I'm in for the basic--Running Behind--level. Just committed to reading one book from my own library per month. I chose it because I was in the mood for a vintage mystery (written in 1935) and one that had an academic setting. I do love me a good academic mystery.
A Question of Proof is the first mystery in Blake's (aka Cecil Day-Lewis, England's Poet Laureate from 1968-72) series starring the charming and erudite Nigel Strangeways. The story is set a Sudeley Hall, a typical boys' preparatory school with the typical mix of popular boys and miscreants; favorite schoolmasters and loathsome teachers. Strangeways is called in when one of the obnoxious boys--the headmaster's nephew no less--is found strangled in one of the haystacks near the school.
The police soon focus their suspicions on Strangeways' friend Michael Evans, a schoolmaster who happens to be in love with the headmaster's wife....and who coincidentally met his love earlier that day in that same haystack. It doesn't help that he managed to lose a silver pencil while wooing his fair lady. Fortunately, the circumstantial evidence isn't quite strong enough to warrant an arrest and Strangeways has a chance to use his charm and his wits to get to ferret out clues--mostly psychological. When the headmaster himself is stabbed and the police decide to arrest their favorite suspects (Evans and the wife), Strangeways puts together a reenactment of the crime and brings down the final curtain.
This was a very nicely done first mystery. The language is lovely--as you would expect from a future Poet Laureate--and the characters are finely drawn. The superintendent may be a bit of a stereotype as a thick-headed policeman, but I think Blake/Day-Lewis is spot-on with his portrayal of the boys at school. Strangeways is most charming, yet a bit odd as it seems vintage detectives should be. The story held my interest and kept me guessing. I thought about the actual criminal, but couldn't really come up with a motive. Three and a half stars.
A Question of Proof is the first mystery in Blake's (aka Cecil Day-Lewis, England's Poet Laureate from 1968-72) series starring the charming and erudite Nigel Strangeways. The story is set a Sudeley Hall, a typical boys' preparatory school with the typical mix of popular boys and miscreants; favorite schoolmasters and loathsome teachers. Strangeways is called in when one of the obnoxious boys--the headmaster's nephew no less--is found strangled in one of the haystacks near the school.
The police soon focus their suspicions on Strangeways' friend Michael Evans, a schoolmaster who happens to be in love with the headmaster's wife....and who coincidentally met his love earlier that day in that same haystack. It doesn't help that he managed to lose a silver pencil while wooing his fair lady. Fortunately, the circumstantial evidence isn't quite strong enough to warrant an arrest and Strangeways has a chance to use his charm and his wits to get to ferret out clues--mostly psychological. When the headmaster himself is stabbed and the police decide to arrest their favorite suspects (Evans and the wife), Strangeways puts together a reenactment of the crime and brings down the final curtain.
This was a very nicely done first mystery. The language is lovely--as you would expect from a future Poet Laureate--and the characters are finely drawn. The superintendent may be a bit of a stereotype as a thick-headed policeman, but I think Blake/Day-Lewis is spot-on with his portrayal of the boys at school. Strangeways is most charming, yet a bit odd as it seems vintage detectives should be. The story held my interest and kept me guessing. I thought about the actual criminal, but couldn't really come up with a motive. Three and a half stars.
February 22, 2020
Amateur sleuth Nigel Strangeways, the protagonist of a 15-book series penned by Nicholas Blake, certainly lives up to his name: His ways are plenty strange. Strangeways is an Oxford dropout who takes to sleuthing as “the only career left which offered scope to good manners and scientific curiosity.� Yes, Strangeways is that pretentious. based her character Albert Campion on � Lord Peter Wimsey, and I wonder if Blake (the pseudonym used by poet laureate Cecil Day-Lewis) wrote Strangeways as a send-up of silly Lord Peter and his elitist ideas. Without meant or not, I took A Question of Proof, first released in 1935, as a post-modern satire, and enjoyed it very much.
An odious schoolboy with the ridiculous name of Algernon Wyvern-Wemyss (pronounced “Wiv-urn Weems�) disappears and, shortly thereafter, is killed. There are millions of loathsome 13-year-old boys, but very few get murdered. So who needed Wemyss dead? Strangeways and police Superintendent Armstrong jointly investigate the murder (with Armstrong being chummier with Strangeways than I thought likely), but, of course, it is Strangeways and his strange ways that discover the murderer and his motive.
The murderer’s motivation seems implausible, as sometimes happens in Golden Age novels; in this case, it derives from an implausible mishmash of the then-new Freudian psychology. However, plenty of humor and an off-beat amateur detective made me enjoy this debut novel. Look forward to the rest of the series.
An odious schoolboy with the ridiculous name of Algernon Wyvern-Wemyss (pronounced “Wiv-urn Weems�) disappears and, shortly thereafter, is killed. There are millions of loathsome 13-year-old boys, but very few get murdered. So who needed Wemyss dead? Strangeways and police Superintendent Armstrong jointly investigate the murder (with Armstrong being chummier with Strangeways than I thought likely), but, of course, it is Strangeways and his strange ways that discover the murderer and his motive.
The murderer’s motivation seems implausible, as sometimes happens in Golden Age novels; in this case, it derives from an implausible mishmash of the then-new Freudian psychology. However, plenty of humor and an off-beat amateur detective made me enjoy this debut novel. Look forward to the rest of the series.
November 28, 2020
I was a bit surprised to learn that this is a reprint of the book that was first released in 1935. Some things just don't lose their appeal and this was certainly one of them. I don't know where the author came up with the name of the victim...maybe it's a common name in England but we meet 13 year old Algernon Wyvern-Wemyss (pronounced “Wiv-urn Weems�.) After wrapping your tongue around that name a few times, you just tend to skip over it every time it appears and get on to a well written very entertaining mystery of a disappearance and eventual murder. The book was written in a much different era than it would be today. There are a plethora of suspects. The murders are a bit implausible...and it seems the victims are being plucked out of the bunch of obnoxious 13 year old boys at random. The case does get resolved but is presented in a very much prolonged explanation at the end. If you remember that life was viewed differently in the era in which it was written...you should enjoy the story.
February 5, 2019
An interesting little mystery. Starts poorly (Initially I found it difficult to keep up with and identify all the different characters), but soon improves and is worth staying with.
Somewhat dated in its style and containing more references to classic literature and quotations than anything I’ve read recently (suitably reminded of the many gaps in my literary knowledge), but that is also its attraction.
Couple of clever twists in there too!
Somewhat dated in its style and containing more references to classic literature and quotations than anything I’ve read recently (suitably reminded of the many gaps in my literary knowledge), but that is also its attraction.
Couple of clever twists in there too!
September 21, 2016
This 1938 mystery, set in an English boys' school, introduces Nigel Strangeways. I had a fun afternoon reading this and could not figure out who the murderer was or what the motive was. I even went back to earlier parts and reread them looking for clues that Strangeways says are there.
I look forward to reading some more of this series, especially since I own some :)
I look forward to reading some more of this series, especially since I own some :)
Read
October 5, 2015DNF at page 66.
The language is to hard to get through and it takes forever for me to read a few pages. Also, there are so many characters that it's hard to keep track of them. Finally, the main investigator Nigel Strangeways still hasn't showed up. So, I am done!
The language is to hard to get through and it takes forever for me to read a few pages. Also, there are so many characters that it's hard to keep track of them. Finally, the main investigator Nigel Strangeways still hasn't showed up. So, I am done!
October 17, 2021
This whodunnit is set in the closed community of a preparatory school, was first published in 1935 and in respect of jargon and social mores, is very much a book of that period. It is therefore at the same time a detective novel and a novel about the hot house community of the private school.
Who is the victim? One of the boys. An unpopular pupil has been found strangled. As with many detective thrillers, the relative indifference to the victim of everybody under suspicion in "A Question of Proof" is something I find hard to credit. The reaction of the boy's uncle for example-what the murder will do for the reputation of the school-displays a level of callousness which, perhaps naively, I do not believe a majority of suspects would sink to.
The usual tropes are there:suspicious characters with secrets which make them likely candidates for murder, the shock at realising "the murderer must be one of us", the police inspector who works cleverly and methodically but lacks the acumen and imagination of the private sleuth and is finally outsmarted by him, not least because of the latter's sharper insight into the human psyche and tribal values.
The plot is well managed and the characters are vivid. The novel is a little out of character for a whodunnit, in my opinion in two respects, one trivial and one less so.
In the same way as Ian Fleming (remember that long account of the golf match in "Goldfinger"?) the writer expects the reader to be as interested as he in a sport, in this case cricket, and there is a very long account of a match played (soon after the first murder) which anyone who does not enjoy cricket will find tedious.
The second and much more interesting idiosyncrasy of this thriller: the writer seems more concerned with psychology and dark motivation than the uncovering of the "bad 'un" as such. I do not think it is exactly a spoiler to say that I think that the story and the crime itself is a lesson in psychology, or rather, several lessons in psychology. It is psychological insight which leads the amateur sleuth, Nigel Strangeways, to the right conclusion and it is through psychological acumen that he is able to get the murderer to give him/her self away. What is more, the reader gains insight into the psychology, the likes and dislikes of the crime writer himself. At least I don't think I have ever read a whodunnit in which the inherent cruelty of the investigating police is displayed and where the writer clearly has experience of it and it angers him. Condemning the police for cruelty is the one strikingly modern aspect of a thriller which is in most respects quaintly dated.
There is an unusual palpablke tension even anger in this tale; the writer's own obsessions and interests intrude. The author's experience and character are hard to ignore. I suspect that a psychologist might be able to make some shrewd hunches about Nicholas Blake's own anxieties, secret feelings and passions just from reading this thriller.
The language, both of description and the dialogue, is magnificently of its time. I have read many English language novels from this 1930's; I don't know many which can be so easily dated by virtue of the language alone as this one is. “Damned smart� “Mm rather� “jolly decent of you� “old Pedantic swings a pretty hefty cane� and much more of the same. The boys especially are delightfully colourful period pieces. (The victim's name is Algernon Wyvern-Wenyss!)
The psychology of the murderer is for me the most interesting feature of this thriller. It rings true, albeit lurid and highlighted for the purposes of writing a murder mystery. That motivation explains the comportment and views of many people today and the psychology of the killer is not dated in any way. Far from it.
Who is the victim? One of the boys. An unpopular pupil has been found strangled. As with many detective thrillers, the relative indifference to the victim of everybody under suspicion in "A Question of Proof" is something I find hard to credit. The reaction of the boy's uncle for example-what the murder will do for the reputation of the school-displays a level of callousness which, perhaps naively, I do not believe a majority of suspects would sink to.
The usual tropes are there:suspicious characters with secrets which make them likely candidates for murder, the shock at realising "the murderer must be one of us", the police inspector who works cleverly and methodically but lacks the acumen and imagination of the private sleuth and is finally outsmarted by him, not least because of the latter's sharper insight into the human psyche and tribal values.
The plot is well managed and the characters are vivid. The novel is a little out of character for a whodunnit, in my opinion in two respects, one trivial and one less so.
In the same way as Ian Fleming (remember that long account of the golf match in "Goldfinger"?) the writer expects the reader to be as interested as he in a sport, in this case cricket, and there is a very long account of a match played (soon after the first murder) which anyone who does not enjoy cricket will find tedious.
The second and much more interesting idiosyncrasy of this thriller: the writer seems more concerned with psychology and dark motivation than the uncovering of the "bad 'un" as such. I do not think it is exactly a spoiler to say that I think that the story and the crime itself is a lesson in psychology, or rather, several lessons in psychology. It is psychological insight which leads the amateur sleuth, Nigel Strangeways, to the right conclusion and it is through psychological acumen that he is able to get the murderer to give him/her self away. What is more, the reader gains insight into the psychology, the likes and dislikes of the crime writer himself. At least I don't think I have ever read a whodunnit in which the inherent cruelty of the investigating police is displayed and where the writer clearly has experience of it and it angers him. Condemning the police for cruelty is the one strikingly modern aspect of a thriller which is in most respects quaintly dated.
There is an unusual palpablke tension even anger in this tale; the writer's own obsessions and interests intrude. The author's experience and character are hard to ignore. I suspect that a psychologist might be able to make some shrewd hunches about Nicholas Blake's own anxieties, secret feelings and passions just from reading this thriller.
The language, both of description and the dialogue, is magnificently of its time. I have read many English language novels from this 1930's; I don't know many which can be so easily dated by virtue of the language alone as this one is. “Damned smart� “Mm rather� “jolly decent of you� “old Pedantic swings a pretty hefty cane� and much more of the same. The boys especially are delightfully colourful period pieces. (The victim's name is Algernon Wyvern-Wenyss!)
The psychology of the murderer is for me the most interesting feature of this thriller. It rings true, albeit lurid and highlighted for the purposes of writing a murder mystery. That motivation explains the comportment and views of many people today and the psychology of the killer is not dated in any way. Far from it.
January 6, 2019
Available for free through KU.
I like Nigel Strangeways. This is my second of the series in a couple of weeks and I find Blake's writing to be very engaging - it is less wooden that many of the GA writers. The mysteries are complicated, but sensible. He's not so good as Christie or Sayers, but is very enjoyable nonetheless.
The third book in the Strangeways series is not available on KU, and the kindle book is an overpriced $8.89, so I'll be skipping it. The fourth book, The Beast Must Die, is featured in by Martin Edwards, and is free, so I'll pick that up when I find myself wanting to read more about Nigel.
I like Nigel Strangeways. This is my second of the series in a couple of weeks and I find Blake's writing to be very engaging - it is less wooden that many of the GA writers. The mysteries are complicated, but sensible. He's not so good as Christie or Sayers, but is very enjoyable nonetheless.
The third book in the Strangeways series is not available on KU, and the kindle book is an overpriced $8.89, so I'll be skipping it. The fourth book, The Beast Must Die, is featured in by Martin Edwards, and is free, so I'll pick that up when I find myself wanting to read more about Nigel.
Read
December 29, 2020Loved the idea of this vintage crime novel set in a boys' boarding-school but something about Nicholas Blake's (aka poet C. Day-Lewis) style here didn't work for me. The plot and the characterisation didn't seem to mesh somehow. Although the representation of the murder victim, a schoolboy, seemed to function more as an object in the narrative acting as a catalyst for the investigation than as anything else. I couldn't help comparing this to the more emotive ways that a child's murder would most likely to be presented in a contemporary crime novel.
April 20, 2020
#20for2020 Classic Mystery
Nicholas Blake was the pen name of Cecil Day-Lewis, father the actor Daniel. Blake contributed to the era of the classic murder mysteries with his amatuer dectective Nigel Strangeways.
This first Nigel book is quite entertaining. I did not guess the murderer although I thought I had. Ithad all my favorite murder mystery tropes with a generous sprinkling of Shakespearean quotes. I will say the ending was a tiny bit disappointing with its stereotypical view of the Puritans. Nevertheless, onward and upward with Nigel Strangeways.
Nicholas Blake was the pen name of Cecil Day-Lewis, father the actor Daniel. Blake contributed to the era of the classic murder mysteries with his amatuer dectective Nigel Strangeways.
This first Nigel book is quite entertaining. I did not guess the murderer although I thought I had. Ithad all my favorite murder mystery tropes with a generous sprinkling of Shakespearean quotes. I will say the ending was a tiny bit disappointing with its stereotypical view of the Puritans. Nevertheless, onward and upward with Nigel Strangeways.
Read
June 17, 2017After reaching the end of book one, I've decided it was a little toooo old fashioned for me to continue with the series, that said, I enjoyed this cozy mystery read. Old fashioned it may be, but sometimes that's all I need; spending a few calm hours where my mind isn't expected to work too hard is a pleasure. I've heard there are 19 in this series.
February 27, 2019
An amusing, unconventional Golden Age detective story that's stronger on descriptive language and acute observation than on plot.
I picked up "A Question Of Proof after reading a discussion on Themis' blog where it emerged that Nicholas Blake and C Day Lewis were the same man.
I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to read a detective story by a Poet Laureate, so I listened to the audiobook sample.I was captured by the delicious language, slightly archaic to the modern ear but razor-sharp, and the use of the narrator in a raconteur / Greek chorus mode. The text sparkled. I was hooked.
Written in 1935, the story is set in a boy's Prep School, where a master, engaged in a dalliance with the Headmaster's wife, finds himself the prime suspect for the murder of an unpopular student. In a reflexive act of self-preservation, the master invites his bright-but-odd friend, Nigel Strangeways, to come and look into the case and clear the master's name.
Strangeways is a wonderful creation and the main reason for reading the book. He is a gentle, witty, effortlessly erudite man who is unable either to abstain from detection or to feel fully confident that it's the sort of thing a gentleman should do.
When Strangeways arrives to investigate the crime, he seems to set about doing so by doing by deconstructing the workings of a Public School with a sharpness that borders on vivisection while being completely free from malice.
Strangeways is fully aware of the nuances of class and the barriers to communication that they create. He understands the minds of prep-school boys, sent away from parents and their homes from as young as five-years-old and raised in a pack with a strict hierarchy and taught to repress the expression of all emotions save only disdain for others and enthusiasm for the accomplishments of one's own team.
He uses both of these things to acquire information that is not available to the Inspector investigating the case and finding patterns in the data that would only be apparent to those fully initiated into the strange rituals and magical thinking of staff and boys at an English Prep School.
The plot is not a thing of beauty. It is clever but not entirely plausible. The mode of exposition is clunky and the final reveal lacked both realism and storytelling flair.
But the language, the dialogue, the deep understanding of the oddity that was an English Prep School after World War I and the creation of the inimitable Nigel Strangeways, made "A Question Of Proof" worth reading.
I picked up "A Question Of Proof after reading a discussion on Themis' blog where it emerged that Nicholas Blake and C Day Lewis were the same man.
I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to read a detective story by a Poet Laureate, so I listened to the audiobook sample.I was captured by the delicious language, slightly archaic to the modern ear but razor-sharp, and the use of the narrator in a raconteur / Greek chorus mode. The text sparkled. I was hooked.
Written in 1935, the story is set in a boy's Prep School, where a master, engaged in a dalliance with the Headmaster's wife, finds himself the prime suspect for the murder of an unpopular student. In a reflexive act of self-preservation, the master invites his bright-but-odd friend, Nigel Strangeways, to come and look into the case and clear the master's name.
Strangeways is a wonderful creation and the main reason for reading the book. He is a gentle, witty, effortlessly erudite man who is unable either to abstain from detection or to feel fully confident that it's the sort of thing a gentleman should do.
When Strangeways arrives to investigate the crime, he seems to set about doing so by doing by deconstructing the workings of a Public School with a sharpness that borders on vivisection while being completely free from malice.
Strangeways is fully aware of the nuances of class and the barriers to communication that they create. He understands the minds of prep-school boys, sent away from parents and their homes from as young as five-years-old and raised in a pack with a strict hierarchy and taught to repress the expression of all emotions save only disdain for others and enthusiasm for the accomplishments of one's own team.
He uses both of these things to acquire information that is not available to the Inspector investigating the case and finding patterns in the data that would only be apparent to those fully initiated into the strange rituals and magical thinking of staff and boys at an English Prep School.
The plot is not a thing of beauty. It is clever but not entirely plausible. The mode of exposition is clunky and the final reveal lacked both realism and storytelling flair.
But the language, the dialogue, the deep understanding of the oddity that was an English Prep School after World War I and the creation of the inimitable Nigel Strangeways, made "A Question Of Proof" worth reading.
June 17, 2021
In summary: this book is a mixed bag, but I don't recommend it unless the prospective reader is already a huge fan of Nigel Strangeways. There is a modest spoiler in the comments below: _caveat lector_.
This was the first novel by "Nicholas Blake" (a pseudonym for the eminent British poet C. Day-Lewis) and it's not completely unpromising. The setting, a British middle-class school for boys, was fairly original for a murder mystery at the time (paving the way for better books like Innes' THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE or Le Carré's A MURDER OF QUALITY). There is some interesting detail about the lives of the school's denizens and the tensions between them, and a bold use of the 3rd-person-omniscient point of view. Hardcore fans of the British "cozy" will find a lot to like here.
I'm less enthusiastic about the detective, Nigel Strangeways. In this book he was a bit of a Mary Sue (beloved of all, whether there was reason for it or not) and his bundle of mannerisms never raise his persona into a recognizable personality. More importantly, he and the narrative voice conceal relevant data from the reader, making it difficult or impossible to play the game of a classic mystery novel.
Worst of all is the solution, where a conveniently insane person explains everything and assumes all the blame. Any difficulties are swept away with the non-explanation "X was crazy".
I understand that later books in the series have a good reputation, and I might give them a try sometime.
Then again, I might not. The classism, the narrative padding, and the abominable ending were all deeply annoying to me. _De gustibus non disputandum est_, as Nigel Strangeways would no doubt observe, looking down his nose at nothing in particular.
FYI: I read the ebook for Kindle produced by Agora Books. It was a high-quality ebook, free from the typos, missing or garbled text, etc., that often bedevil electronic editions.
This was the first novel by "Nicholas Blake" (a pseudonym for the eminent British poet C. Day-Lewis) and it's not completely unpromising. The setting, a British middle-class school for boys, was fairly original for a murder mystery at the time (paving the way for better books like Innes' THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE or Le Carré's A MURDER OF QUALITY). There is some interesting detail about the lives of the school's denizens and the tensions between them, and a bold use of the 3rd-person-omniscient point of view. Hardcore fans of the British "cozy" will find a lot to like here.
I'm less enthusiastic about the detective, Nigel Strangeways. In this book he was a bit of a Mary Sue (beloved of all, whether there was reason for it or not) and his bundle of mannerisms never raise his persona into a recognizable personality. More importantly, he and the narrative voice conceal relevant data from the reader, making it difficult or impossible to play the game of a classic mystery novel.
Worst of all is the solution, where a conveniently insane person explains everything and assumes all the blame. Any difficulties are swept away with the non-explanation "X was crazy".
I understand that later books in the series have a good reputation, and I might give them a try sometime.
Then again, I might not. The classism, the narrative padding, and the abominable ending were all deeply annoying to me. _De gustibus non disputandum est_, as Nigel Strangeways would no doubt observe, looking down his nose at nothing in particular.
FYI: I read the ebook for Kindle produced by Agora Books. It was a high-quality ebook, free from the typos, missing or garbled text, etc., that often bedevil electronic editions.
November 23, 2014
Rather pedestrian schoolyard murder mystery...
July 29, 2022
Terrible. Day-Lewis first attempt as a mystery writer is atrocious. He tries to be original and fails miserably at it. The rhythm is all wrong, the dialogues badly constructed, the poetical descriptions entirely out of place. No appealling characters. Only redeeming feature of the book are the depictions of the young students. Sadly, their appearances are too few. Very disappointing read.
May 25, 2011
In 1935 poet Cecil Day-Lewis published his first work of detective fiction, under the name Nicholas Blake. I must assume that the writing was lucrative or enjoyable, or maybe even both, as he went on to write another nineteen over a period of more than thirty years.
And that first book was entitled “A Question of Proof�, allowing me to use the potentially tricky letter Q in my Crime Fiction Alphabet to see just what a former Poet Laureate might have brought to the golden age of crime writing.
Of course he brought lovely writing, and he also brought a nice little mystery.
A schoolboy, the headmaster’s rather unpopular nephew, is found dead, strangled, in a haystack on Sports Day at an English preparatory school. Nobody saw anything. Nobody heard anything.
There is just one clue: the propelling pencil found in the haystack. That put the teacher who it belonged to in a rather difficult position. Because he dropped the pencil during the course of an assignation with the headmaster’s wife. Did the boy see something he shouldn’t have? Was he killed to keep him quiet?
Maybe. But other possibilities present themselves.
There is no evidence though. No proof.
The headmaster, concerned that the local police are not making progress, calls in gentleman detective Nigel Strangeways.
The detective, who is both charming and intelligent, wins the trust of both teachers and pupils. He watches, he listens, and he deduces who the killer must be.
Still though, there is the question of proof.
And there is another murder before that question is finally answered�
I was transported to that school in the 1930s.
Because the characters were so simply and so clearly drawn. I could hear their voices and I could believe in their relationships.
Because the evocation of time and place was wonderful, rich with details that really brought it to life.
At first the pace was slow and the style a little self conscious. I rather resented the omniscient narrator steering me this way and that. I wondered what I wasn’t being allowed to see, and whether those authorial flourishes were padding to disguise a slight story.
But things soon settled down. The story hit its stride, and that narrator took a step back and steered me so gently that I was hardly aware he was there.
Something was missing though. The mystery lacked the depth, the possibilities to ponder that can be found in many golden age mysteries.
But that second murder was very, very clever.
And it did hold me. I read happily until the denouement came. It was dramatic, it was surprising, but I wasn’t sure that the motivation for murder was really there.
So I’m can’t file A Question of Proof under great, but I am going to file it under promising. After all, it’s the first of a series that could well grow in stature �
And that first book was entitled “A Question of Proof�, allowing me to use the potentially tricky letter Q in my Crime Fiction Alphabet to see just what a former Poet Laureate might have brought to the golden age of crime writing.
Of course he brought lovely writing, and he also brought a nice little mystery.
A schoolboy, the headmaster’s rather unpopular nephew, is found dead, strangled, in a haystack on Sports Day at an English preparatory school. Nobody saw anything. Nobody heard anything.
There is just one clue: the propelling pencil found in the haystack. That put the teacher who it belonged to in a rather difficult position. Because he dropped the pencil during the course of an assignation with the headmaster’s wife. Did the boy see something he shouldn’t have? Was he killed to keep him quiet?
Maybe. But other possibilities present themselves.
There is no evidence though. No proof.
The headmaster, concerned that the local police are not making progress, calls in gentleman detective Nigel Strangeways.
The detective, who is both charming and intelligent, wins the trust of both teachers and pupils. He watches, he listens, and he deduces who the killer must be.
Still though, there is the question of proof.
And there is another murder before that question is finally answered�
I was transported to that school in the 1930s.
Because the characters were so simply and so clearly drawn. I could hear their voices and I could believe in their relationships.
Because the evocation of time and place was wonderful, rich with details that really brought it to life.
At first the pace was slow and the style a little self conscious. I rather resented the omniscient narrator steering me this way and that. I wondered what I wasn’t being allowed to see, and whether those authorial flourishes were padding to disguise a slight story.
But things soon settled down. The story hit its stride, and that narrator took a step back and steered me so gently that I was hardly aware he was there.
Something was missing though. The mystery lacked the depth, the possibilities to ponder that can be found in many golden age mysteries.
But that second murder was very, very clever.
And it did hold me. I read happily until the denouement came. It was dramatic, it was surprising, but I wasn’t sure that the motivation for murder was really there.
So I’m can’t file A Question of Proof under great, but I am going to file it under promising. After all, it’s the first of a series that could well grow in stature �
June 7, 2018
During Sports Day at a small prep school, one of the pupils is found strangled in a haystack. The boy was the headmaster's nephew and generally unpopular, but no one can explain his death or where he had been during the day. Superintendent Armstrong suspects Michael Evans, one of the masters, who has been conducting a secret romance with the headmaster's wife, but Evans calls in his friend, private investigator Nigel Strangeways, to investigate on behalf of the school, and to clear his name.
A great example of the classic Golden Age mystery with its varied cast of characters, clever plotting and sprinkling of red herrings. The setting of the prep school with pompous headmaster, rowdy classrooms and cricket matches is vividly brought to life, and there are some sparkling interchanges between Strangeways and the boys which made me laugh out loud.
The book really comes to life once Strangeways arrives - in fact, my reason for giving this 4 stars rather than 5 is that it took a bit too long for him to appear, and I'd started to tire of the bickering between the schoolmasters. Overall, though, this was a really enjoyable and satisfying mystery with a few surprises and a charming protagonist in Strangeways.
A great example of the classic Golden Age mystery with its varied cast of characters, clever plotting and sprinkling of red herrings. The setting of the prep school with pompous headmaster, rowdy classrooms and cricket matches is vividly brought to life, and there are some sparkling interchanges between Strangeways and the boys which made me laugh out loud.
The book really comes to life once Strangeways arrives - in fact, my reason for giving this 4 stars rather than 5 is that it took a bit too long for him to appear, and I'd started to tire of the bickering between the schoolmasters. Overall, though, this was a really enjoyable and satisfying mystery with a few surprises and a charming protagonist in Strangeways.
July 2, 2013
This is the first book in the Nigel Strangeways series and here, unlike Malice In Wonderland , we get a lot more of Strangeways' personality, and he is central to the story. It is funny, tongue in cheek, and also unintentionally so when 1930's culture and attitudes seem quite alien, e.g. here a thirteen-year-old is strangled but there's not much urgency and no one seems that bothered or disturbed by it. The English Boarding school setting also took a bit of getting used to, what is the difference between a day room and a common room? I obviously don't run in the right circles to understand all the rituals observed there, but then again with the slang this is a bit of a museum piece, which dates far more than Agatha Christie ever does. I quite liked Strangeways' vice of constantly drinking tea and being upset when he has to share a teapot though. A good whodunit.
February 7, 2025
The first novel by Nicholas Blake to feature his amateur detective, Nigel Strangeways. Set in a boys� Preparatory School (8-13 year-olds) in the early 1930’s it involves the murder of an unpopular pupil. This is rather shocking but no one seems especially upset except about the possible diminution of the school’s reputation. “Jennings Goes to School� it certainly is not. Strangeways is roped in by a master with whom he was at Oxford and conducts a mutually agreed and competitive parallel enquiry with the local police superintendent. He plays his cards close to his chest and soon discovers the murderer but, lacking concrete evidence, has to watch while another death occurs.
Blake’s description of the schoolboys� lingo and antics are convincingly authentic as is their accurate and vicious opinion of the masters. Strangeways� ordeal as part of his induction into their secret ‘Black Spot� society is very funny.
Blake’s description of the schoolboys� lingo and antics are convincingly authentic as is their accurate and vicious opinion of the masters. Strangeways� ordeal as part of his induction into their secret ‘Black Spot� society is very funny.
June 27, 2021
I picked this up because one of the matic poems I am teaching this year is written by Cecil Day-Lewis, otherwise known as Nicholas Blake. I figured that was a good enough reason to give one of his books a read.
What made this interesting from the beginning was that Blake a.k.a. Day-Lewis was a teacher. While I am super lucky to say that my current staffroom does not house the level of animosity and aggression as the one in the book does - nor the level of intrigue (that I know of), he did manage to capture a lot of emotion that is perhaps not advertised.
As to the crime itself, it was a clever case and I enjoyed the read. perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had there been a better role for the ladies.... But that is a sign of the patriarchal times in which this was written.
What made this interesting from the beginning was that Blake a.k.a. Day-Lewis was a teacher. While I am super lucky to say that my current staffroom does not house the level of animosity and aggression as the one in the book does - nor the level of intrigue (that I know of), he did manage to capture a lot of emotion that is perhaps not advertised.
As to the crime itself, it was a clever case and I enjoyed the read. perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had there been a better role for the ladies.... But that is a sign of the patriarchal times in which this was written.
May 26, 2022
A Question of Proof by Nicholas Blake is the first book in the Nigel Strangeways Mystery series. The headmaster's nephew is found strangled in a haystack on the school's sports day and when English master, Michael Evans, is suspected, he calls on his friend Nigel Strangeways, a private investigator, to help the police. A classic Golden Age detective mystery. Rather dated but still interesting and cleverly solved. It started rather slow with introducing us to multiple characters but picked up once we met Nigel Strangeways, an interesting and unique character. An enjoyable book overall.
July 27, 2021
A Golden Age Mystery
Review of the Agora Books paperback edition (2018) of the Collins Crime Club hardcover original (1935)
I read (1938), the 4th Nigel Strangeways mystery, after seeing its 2021 BritBox TV series adaptation. Author was a penname of Cecil Day-Lewis (1904-1972) who was also the father of renowned actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis had apparently based some of the personal quirks of his amateur detective Nigel Strangeways on those of his fellow poet (1907-1973). I've long been a fan of the Golden Age of Crime writers such as Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Agatha Christie et al, but had never read Blake/Day-Lewis previously. After enjoying the twist elements of The Beast Must Die (which did not have quite the same dramatic effect in its screen adaptation), I decided to make a gradual start on the Strangeways novels in order as best as I am able to source them.
A Question of Proof takes place in a boys' school named Sudeley Hall. The setup is that the English tutor Michael Evans is having an affair with the headmaster's wife, and they have a liaison in a haystack. Later on after a school sporting event, the headmaster's nephew, a spoiled brat who is disliked by just about everybody, is found murdered in the same haystack. Michael Evans becomes the chief suspect when a pencil of his is found on the scene. He calls in his friend, amateur sleuth NIgel Strangeways, to help clear his name.
I enjoyed A Question of Proof for its old school twists and classical references (often Shakespeare quotes) even if it did feel somewhat antiquated and stiff in its writing style. The final reveal and resolution was a bit of a let down and actually had a diabolical twist which was not exactly satisfactory, but was certainly unique.
Review of the Agora Books paperback edition (2018) of the Collins Crime Club hardcover original (1935)
A question of proof. That's a good title for a detective story, if you ever write one. - excerpt from A Question of Proof
I read (1938), the 4th Nigel Strangeways mystery, after seeing its 2021 BritBox TV series adaptation. Author was a penname of Cecil Day-Lewis (1904-1972) who was also the father of renowned actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis had apparently based some of the personal quirks of his amateur detective Nigel Strangeways on those of his fellow poet (1907-1973). I've long been a fan of the Golden Age of Crime writers such as Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Agatha Christie et al, but had never read Blake/Day-Lewis previously. After enjoying the twist elements of The Beast Must Die (which did not have quite the same dramatic effect in its screen adaptation), I decided to make a gradual start on the Strangeways novels in order as best as I am able to source them.
A Question of Proof takes place in a boys' school named Sudeley Hall. The setup is that the English tutor Michael Evans is having an affair with the headmaster's wife, and they have a liaison in a haystack. Later on after a school sporting event, the headmaster's nephew, a spoiled brat who is disliked by just about everybody, is found murdered in the same haystack. Michael Evans becomes the chief suspect when a pencil of his is found on the scene. He calls in his friend, amateur sleuth NIgel Strangeways, to help clear his name.
I enjoyed A Question of Proof for its old school twists and classical references (often Shakespeare quotes) even if it did feel somewhat antiquated and stiff in its writing style. The final reveal and resolution was a bit of a let down and actually had a diabolical twist which was not exactly satisfactory, but was certainly unique.
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