The Schirmer Inheritance [Paperback]

Eric Ambler (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Fontana; paperback / softback edition (1972)
• ASIN: B000R4L882
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Eric Ambler is the recipient of four Gold Dagger Awards and one Silver. In 1975, he was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars want to write an adventure story? Read Schirmer first., April 19, 2002

By 

mheckman (former New Amsterdam) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Schirmer Inheritance (Mass Market Paperback)

Ambler had developed the modern spy novel in the 1930s, then took time off from novel writing for army service in WWII. During the war, several of his early novels were made into Hollywood films he detested. When he resumed his output of novels in the early 50s, it would seem he had determined to exercise a degree of control over the eventual movies his stories might become by writing with a simple, vivid, forcefulness that no movie adapter could misinterpret or screw up. The prologue to Schirmer Inheritance is breathtaking in the speed and skill in which you are swept up into the story of the wounded Prussian cavalry sergeant, Franz Schirmer, who deserts during a retreat from a battle against Napolean. Fast forward 140 years to a Philadelphia law firm which is attempting to find heirs to the considerable estate of an elderly, childless woman, who turns out to be a descendant of the Prussian sergeant. A young associate at the firm is sent off to Germany to look for relatives and discovers that the only possible relative was last seen alive in 1945 in a Wehrmacht truck convey which was attacked on a Greek mountain road by partisans. No survivors were ever found including the NCO in charge of the convoy, Sgt. Franz Schirmer. The lawyer travels to Greece and Yugoslavia to try to get more definite proof of death which will satisfy the Pennsylvania Probate Court. The plot twists are ingenious without seeming contrived. The writing, as I said, is vivid. Schirmer Inheritance should be read in every college course on the modern English novel as a model of excitement with economy.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Ambler's Best, January 9, 2004

By 

Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Schirmer Inheritance (Paperback)

I am a huge fan of Eric Ambler. I have read all of the recent Ambler re-issues put out by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard and I think this is his weakest book. I would recommend it to an Ambler fan but it is not the best book to start with.

Although the story is good, it has none of the over the top flair of A Coffin for Dimitrios or Journey into Fear nor any of the weirdness of Judgement on Deltchev. In style, this book reminds me more of Epitaph for a Spy. It is a good procedural type story but the ultimate pay off just was not there for me.

Eric Ambler is a master of espionage genre. Even his weaker efforts are a lot better than most of the books coming out today.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating reading!, February 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Schirmer Inheritance (Paperback)

I can't believe that it's taken me so long to discover Ambler. I first read Coffin for Demitrios on a whim (and a little help from Amazon), and The Schirmer Inheritance is the third Ambler book I've read. In relatively short novels, Ambler combines intrigue, vivid detail, political intrigue and complex character development. The Schirmer Inheritance stands out for its historical context, the ongoing and developing tension between the two main protagonists, and Ambler's ability to keep you completely engaged throughout the novel. Think of this book as a series of mouse-traps laid out in a dark room. As you carefully walk across the room, you "feel" the traps, know that one or more will spring, yet you are drawn to the other side of the room by the power of the story-telling. Great fun!