Customer Reviews

Snobbery W/Violence -LP

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Set in the early years of the 20th century, this first-in-a-series entry introduces us to Lady Rose, a rebellious young lady of means who chafes at her society restrictions and sometimes absurd social requirements, and to Harry Cathcart, a wounded veteran of the Boer Wars who finds himself with no career and no visible means of support. Their lives are thrown together when Lady Rose, whose reputation is damaged when she is photographed at a suffragette rally, is wooed by a suitor who refuses to ask for her hand in marriage. Harry is recommended to Lady Rose's father and is asked to investigate her suitor.

As damaged goods, Lady Rose is asked to attend a get together at an absurdly tacky castle. It is obvious from the outset why she is there - to find a husband. But things get dicey when there is a death amongst the guests. Harry is called in to do damage control, but questions whether the person died of natural causes, suicide, or was murdered. Lady Rose, although blaming Harry for her downfall, cannot resist the lure of the excitement of helping Harry investigate the circumstances of her fellow guest's death.

This is a promising new series in the historical/cozy mystery genre. It took me a while to place the characters in their historical context because I apparently did not read the subtitle of the book, "An Edwardian Murder Mystery" on the front cover. I read historical mysteries because I love history and I love mysteries. However, there was little history in this mystery. With the exception of the mention of the suffragette movement and several references to that new contraption the automobile, there was no mention of the surrounding socio-political happenings.

The author did an admirable job of introduction the two main characters as well as several minor ones, the mysterious Becket, Harry's valet, Daisy, former vaudevillian and now Lady Rose's personal maid and confidante, and Lady Polly, Rose's mother. There were, of course, other minor characters, but these are the ones who will, presumably, return in other entries in this series. In addition, the author kept the story moving along by doling out clues without giving away the ending.

All in all a satisfying cozy that has the promise of becoming a very good historical mystery series.

Returned from the wars in Africa, Captain Harry Cathcart has retired to his (low-cost) club and is well behind on paying his friend and acting-gentleman's gentleman when he gets a strange request. The Earl of Hadshire is concerned that a young man has been paying court on his daughter, Lady Rose, yet no proposal has been forthcoming. Can Cathcart investigate and determine if the young man is all he seems? With this job, Cathcart launches into a career of helping hapless British aristocrats recover from social embarassment, blackmail, and other consequences of their foolish acts. For Lady Rose, however, the consequences are tragic--thanks to her impetuous announcement, everyone knows that the young man was tampering with her affections--and Lady Rose, not the young man, suffers a destroyed reputation.

A beautiful woman with a shady reputation becomes a target for any playboy and Edwardian England (the novel is set in 1907) has plenty of playboys. Cathcart is called in to head off embarrasment again--but even Cathcart draws the line at covering up murder. And when Lady Rose is invited to a house party in the country, deaths and disappearances start to happen too quickly to be called anything else--except by the local aristocrats who are willing to use all their powers to cover up anything that might stink of such commonness as murder.

Author Marion Chesney creates a charming tale that combines romantic tension (Lady Rose and Cathcart are attracted but in denial), mystery, and a look at a historical era where the British aristocracy cling to the vestiges of their Regency glories even as the rest of the world heads toward modernism and world war. Cathcart makes a fine romantic hero as well as an intriguing sleuth with Lady Rose available to provide impetuous advice and push him to extremes. Lady Rose, with her ambitions to become middle-class, support for woman's sufferage, and contempt for corsets, lives in an era where such beliefs are just possible--and is punished just as society would punish such an outrage--by being put on the shelf. Cathcart's servant and Rose's maid provide a secondary romantic interest as well as humor. I also appreciated the bolshevick police sergeant.

Chesney's writing draws the reader in, lets us share the romance but also the disgrace of Edwardian aristocracy, and propells a fine mystery through to its conclusions. I would be surprised if we don't see more of Lady Rose and Captain Cathcart--and look forward to the next installment.

This is a terrific Edwardian mystery/romance from Marion Chesney, who, as M.C. Beaton, writes my current favorite mystery series featuring Agatha Raisin. If you like the Agatha Raisin books, Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mysteries, and Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence Beresford adventures, you'll love this book.

Chesney creates 4 really memorable characters in this delightful story, told with her unique humor. Aristocratic Captain Harry Cathcart, a saturnine, anti-social Boer War veteran who must earn his living, turns to discreetly clearing up messes for the aristocracy and becomes quite successful.

Lady Rose Summer, beautiful daughter of an earl, is over-educated and far too independent for her class and time. She meets Captain Cathcart when her father hires him to investigate a young man she has become infatuated with. Lady Rose's father later hires Cathcart to handle another delicate situation regarding King Edward VII.

The two meet again and join forces to investigate the mysterious death of a fellow guest of Lady Rose's at a marquess's house party. The young woman has died of arsenic poisoning, and Cathcart and Lady Rose set about uncovering some sordid secrets among the aristocracy to find out why the girl was killed.

Cathcart's manservant Becket, a young man Cathcart found starving and nearly dead from hard labor, has worked hard to educate himself, and eagerly assists in the investigation. Lady Rose's maid Daisy, a former music hall performer, is educated by Lady Rose throughout the story, and also joins the investigation. Becket and Daisy are clearly fond of each other, and clearly intend to bring the feisty Lady Rose and the proud Cathcart together.

I hope Chesney intends to write more stories with these characters. This first novel would earn five stars, except for the fact Chesney over-populates the book with far too many characters for this rather short story.

Still, as with the Agatha Raisin series, I beg for more, more, and more!!

I'd had this novel on my TBR pile for a long time and finally decided to give it a whirl to accompany the other novel set in Edwardian times that I intended to read. Snobbery with Violence is fun, entertaining and enjoyable -- sort of like mystery theater in book form. Lady Rose is the daughter of an earl who is considered to be "ruined" by society after one of her suitors makes a bet to seduce her. Her only hope of being accepted again is by finding another suitor. So she agrees to attend a gathering at a castle that cater to young ladies who failed to find marriage during the London season. But things become complicated when someone there dies. No one knows if the death is a suicide or a murder, but Rose takes it upon herself to figure it out. She gets help from Captain Harry Cartwright, a veteran of the Boer War. He is there to help with the investigation, but inevitable attraction occurs when he and Lady Rose spend a lot of time together. He has taken it upon herself to protect her. He, after all, had been the one to investigate the cad who had led to her ruin. There are some twists throughout the novel.

Snobbery with Violence does have mystery theater written all over it. The mystery aspect is quite interesting and well done and it kept me guessing toward the end. There are various characters that you just know will be around for the next installment (this is the first part of Edwardian Murder Mysteries), and they are likeable for the most part. The protagonists are great. They show a lot of promise and the romantic tension between them is quite palatable and I look forward to reading more about them. There aren't that very many historical references though. The author does mention a few wars and movements that occurred in that period as well as mentions some of the wardrobe and automobiles, but overall I didn't get the historical feel as much as I should have, especially since the cover emphasizes the fact that this is an "Edwardian Mystery." But all in all, Snobbery with Violence was an enjoyable read. Marion Chesney is an author worth giving a whirl again. I recommend this if you're in the bargain for a fun mystery.

Marion Chesney has combined her period romance writing with her knack for writing an amusing mystery with witty characters in "Snobbery with Violence".

It may not be great literature but it's certainly light-hearted and fun entertainment. Chesney has the ability to deliniate the characters with just a few phrases and her style is as engaging and easy-to-read as it gets.

After being wounded while fighting in the Boer War, Captain Harry Cartwright, the youngest son of Baron Derrington, returns home to London. His only income is his army pension and a pittance from the family trust. Through a mutual friend, Harry is recommended to the Earl of Hoodshire to investigate Sir Geoffrey Blandon to see if he is suitable to marry his daughter Rose. Harry's investigation leads him to discover that Sir Geoffrey's goal is seduction not marriage and his career as a private investigator is born.

Word of mouth spreads about Harry's discreet inquiries. At a weekend party given by the Marquis of Hedrey at Telby Castle, one of the guests dies and the police are called to investigate. The Marquis hires Harry to make sure the police rule it a suicide but they do that without his help. When Rose, a guest at the castle, is pushed off the roof, Harry jumps into the moat to rescue her. They find the body of the missing lady's maid who was definitely murdered. The police return, but this time Rose and Harry are helping them.

Marion Chesney, well known for her historical romances, also writes the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth mystery series under the name M.C. Beaton. Her new "Edwardian murder mystery" series combines history, romance, and intrigue resulting in a delightful romantic mystery. The two protagonists, both belonging to the upper class, do not fit in the polite society very well, and find themselves drawn to one another. The who-done-it is well developed and captures reader interest from the outset. SNOBBERY WITH VIOLENCE gives readers a glimpse into the aristocracy during the Edwardian era.

Harriet Klausner

I am a huge Marion Chesney/MC Beaton/Jennie Tremaine, etc. fan. I own every single book she ever wrote, I believe, even some pretty obscure ones. I was so excited to see she was writing something new and got Snobbery with Violence immediately. You can imagine my surprise when I found that this new mystery is a total snore. The characters are bland and don't hold my interest at all, and this book lacks any of the laugh out loud moments of Marion Chesney's earler works. I'm going to try and hide my disappointment and go re-read the School for Manners. Hopefully the next book will be better.

Although I found the plot a bit slow and meandering at times, the picture it provided of the social structure and mores of the Edwardian period was fascinating. The book is classic M.C. Beaton in that the diversity of characters is the strength of the story, rather than the plot. In all, this is a light bit of stuff.

Having never read anything from this author before, I didn't really have many expectations about the quality of her work. The story felt rushed at the very beginning, and contained several scenes that seemed only to exist to give background on the characters. While there's nothing inherently wrong with this, the scenes do nothing at all to move the plot forward.

Speaking of plot, the book is subtitled "An Edwardian Mystery," but the mystery doesn't make its debut until about a third of the way in, and the book was two thirds done before anything became truly compelling.

Despite having what I feel to be a rather thin plot, shallowly conceived characters and a setting that is not immersive and only superficially Edwardian, I would not say it is a complete miss. For all its flaws, I did find myself engrossed by that last third, and it is enough to give me hope that my major gripes are just part of setting the stage for the series, and I will give the next one a shot.

This is the second book I've read in the Edwardian Murder Mystery series, and I'll have to read the two others that follow. There is a blend of charm, wry humor coupled with mystery and social commentary that is most unusual.

A group of young women, all seeking husbands and all failing to meet the social standards necessary to make a good match, one way or another, are invited to a country estate in England. It is an odd, uncomfortable situation, especially when a poisoning occurs, and then another young woman disappears.

But the mystery plot is not what held my interest. It was the fake castle of recent construction, complete with a moat; it was the most artificial mores, the chamber pots carried down the back stairs by maids, the myriad details of the lives of pretty much useless people who thought themselves superior. And all of it is tempered by humor, by a high-born girl, Lady Rose, who doesn't fit at all and who is threatened with a trip to India if no husband is forthcoming.

There's a bit of Wodehouse here, of country manor house mystery, of Jane Austen, of Peter Lovesey. Put it all together and it is a delightful book to read.