The Black Dudley Murder (Allingham, Margery) (Paperback)

~ Margery Allingham (Author) "The view from the narrow window was dreary and inexpressibly lonely..." (more)
Key Phrases: garage man, little black eyes, little doctor, Albert Campion, Colonel Coombe, Black Dudley (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An extremely fine tale of death in an English country house" -- New York Times

"In Margery Allingham’s hands the detective novel is transformed from a craft into an art" -- Sunday Telegraph (UK) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

Murder turns a weekend house party at Black Dudley Manor into a deadly affair when the host is discovered brutally slain. Nor do gruesome rituals, callous interrogations, and perilous traps add to the fun. Fatal mystification might win the day, if Albert Campion were not there to sift through the motives and clues as with brilliant detection and his signature charm he penetrates the heart of the crime.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (March 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786707542
• ISBN-13: 978-0786707546
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #133,038 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Campion Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The First of the Campion Series, February 18, 2001

By	Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

I've recently been inspired to reread my Margery Allingham books. It's been some 30 years and I've clean forgotten all the plots. I haven't forgotten how much fun they were, though.

Margery Allingham is one of the grand dames of British mystery fiction, usual ranked with Sayers, Marsh and Christie. Pretty heady company!! Allingham has, for the most part, a lighter style than the others. Her hero, Campion has much in common with Lord Peter, but he lacks Whimsey's total perfection and flaunts his heritage (and education) a bit less. Initially cast as a 'zany', he has a great deal of fun in him. In later novels he will gradually mature into a genuinely remarkable character.

The Black Dudley Murder was the first novel in which Campion appears. Written in 1928 when she was 23 (and just recently married) the book is quite a bit different from later volumes. Campion is only sketched in. While an important character, he is by no means the central hero of the plot. And the story is very youth oriented, composed primarily of post-war (WW I) youth vs. villainous older male criminals. The first time I read this book I was of an age with the younger half of the cast. It was something of a shock to read it when I had more in common with the crooks.

The plot is the purest of British mystery confections. A group of young folk are invited to a gloomy, desolate mansion for a week-end frolic as the request of the uncle of one of their number. During a strange game of hide and seek played with an ancient dagger the uncle is murdered. Campion has wormed his way into the party to recieve a set of plans from the old man, which he promptly misplaces, only to have them destroyed by the real protagonist of the book George Abbershaw. One of the uncles compatriots turns out to be a German master criminal. He wants the plans very badly. badly enough to take the young folks prisoner and demand that they turn over the documents or else. To complicate matters more, Abbershaw has destroy the plans in a fit of what can only be described as British ethicality.

Without fail, the plot thickens. Before the book is over you will have crawled through endless secret passages, been rescued by a fox hunt, and chased a cleverly disguised Rolls Royce across England. There is perhaps a little too much silliness going on, but I have begun to suspect that Allingham is pulling our legs straight thru the somewhat melodramatic ending.

All in all a good read. Certainly The Black Dudley Murder is not Allingham's best, but it foreshadows many of the novels to come. In her early work Allingham has a bright and distinctive approach to the problems and pleasures of the young men and women of post-war Britain. This gave her a tremendous and well deserved readership that grew up along with her and her erratic hero. Seventy years later she is still wonderful entertainment!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read, But Not Her Best, July 24, 2000

By	kanga (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews

Margery Allingham has a wonderful way with words, and weaves a mystery with all the red herrings, dark crimes and hidden motives that anyone could hope for, all done with a light and humorous hand. Her hero is the somewhat unlikely Albert Campion, man of mystery and well-hidden talents. The time is between the First and Second World Wars in England.

In the Black Dudley Murder, Campion is part of a house party at the forbidding Black Dudley mansion, where murder is committed during an after-dinner game. And there could be no better setting for the crime than in the Black Dudley, where secret passageways abound, few of the players are what they seem, and rescue comes from the least expected sources...

If you have never read an Allingham mystery, then this is a wonderful introduction, and will encourage you to buy more of her work. If you have read other Campion stories before, then you may be a little disappointed that Campion plays a more cameo role than usual.

If you like a very English tale of mystery, with wittily described characters, an urbane hero, and a happy ending, then read this book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Campion's First Flowering, July 25, 2002

By	Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Crime at Black Dudley (Hardcover)

Margery Allingham is one of the grand dames of British mystery fiction, usual ranked with Sayers, Marsh and Christie. Pretty heady company!! Allingham has, for the most part, a lighter style than the others. Her hero, Albert Campion has much in common with Lord Peter, but he lacks Whimsey's total perfection and flaunts his heritage (and education) a bit less. Initially cast as a 'zany', he has a great deal of fun in him. In later novels he will gradually mature into a genuinely remarkable character.

The Crime at Black Dudley was the first novel in which Campion appears. Written in 1928 when Allingham was 23 (and just recently married) the book is quite a bit different from later volumes. Campion is only sketched in. While an important character, he is by no means the central hero of the plot. And the story is very youth oriented, composed primarily of post-war (WW I) youth vs. villainous older male criminals. The first time I read this book I was of an age with the younger half of the cast. It was something of a shock to read it when I had more in common with the crooks.

The plot is the purest of British mystery confections. A group of young folk are invited to a gloomy, desolate mansion for a week-end frolic as the request of the uncle of one of their number. During a strange game of hide and seek played with an ancient dagger the uncle is murdered. Campion has wormed his way into the party to recieve a set of plans from the old man, which he promptly misplaces, only to have them taken by the real protagonist of the book George Abbershaw. One of the uncles compatriots turns out to be a German master criminal. He wants the plans very badly. badly enough to take the young folks prisoner and demand that they turn over the documents or else. To complicate matters more, Abbershaw destroys the plans in a fit of what can only be described as British ethicality, making everyone very, very unhappy.

Without fail, the plot thickens. Before the book is over you will have crawled through endless secret passages, been rescued by a fox hunt, and chased a cleverly disguised Rolls Royce across England. There is perhaps a little too much silliness going on, but I have begun to suspect that Allingham was pulling our legs straight through to the somewhat melodramatic ending.

All in all a good read. Certainly The Crime at the Black Dudley is not Allingham's best, but it foreshadows many of the novels to come. In her early work Allingham has a bright and distinctive approach to the problems and pleasures of the young men and women of post-war Britain. This gave her a tremendous and well deserved readership that grew up along with her and her erratic hero. Seventy years later she is still wonderful entertainment!