Smallbone Deceased: Difference between revisions
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{{Image|Michael Gilbert Portrait - smaller.jpg|right|100px|Michael Gilbert on the back cover of [[Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens]], 1982}} | |||
'''''Smallbone Deceased''''' is a British mystery novel by [[Michael Gilbert]], first published in the United Kingdom in 1950 by [[Hodder and Stoughton]] and in the United States by [[Harper & Row|Harper & Brothers]]. A practicing lawyer himself, Gilbert made the setting of the novel a London solicitor's office. It was Gilbert's fourth novel and, like his three earlier ones, features [[Inspector Hazlerigg|Chief Inspector Hazlerigg]] as the official investigator; it also has an unofficial detective who works closely with Hazlerigg, a newly qualified solicitor named [[Henry Bohun]] who has just been hired by the firm in which the murders occur. A [[parainsomniac]] (a person who needs only a very few hours of sleep per night), Bohun, whose name is pronounced Boon, makes this his only appearance in a Gilbert novel but goes on to be the protagonist of a number of short stories. | |||
==Reception and/or Appraisal== | |||
Margery H. Oates at the ''[[New York Times]]'' called it "a first-rate job" upon its publication: | |||
<blockquote>When an anonymous corpse is found in a office strong box, when a trustee disappears and a young partner becomes erratic, the... atmosphere becomes tense... The author is a lawyer who looks at the law and the people in it with equal parts of mirth and wisdom. | |||
<ref>''Criminals at Large: Office Intrigue'', "The New York Times", 5 November 1950 at [http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/11/05/94077842.html?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=ArticleEndCTA®ion=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article&pageNumber=219]</ref></blockquote> | |||
A much later appraisal comes from [[Jacques Barzun|Barzun]] and Taylor's encyclopedic ''[[A Catalogue of Crime|Catalogue of Crime]]'': | |||
<blockquote>Two splendid murders on the premise of a London solicitor. The motives ae good, and one must call excellent the detection by Inspector Hazlerigg and an amateur assistant, who enjoys parainsomnia. As a bonus we are given a method of mortgaging property already fully mortgaged, and a pleasant bit of fooling about the Ascheim-Zondek test and its antecedents. All in all, Gilbert's masterwork.<ref>[[Jacques Barzun]] & Wendell Hertig Taylor, ''A Catalogue of Crime'', | |||
[[Harper & Row]], New York, "Second Impression Corrected", 1973, page 209</ref></blockquote> | |||
The ''[[The Guardian|Guardian's]]'' obituary of Gilbert by [[H. R. F. Keating]] described the novel as:<blockquote>a classic of the genre...rich with everyday details of a law practice, both good and naughty, dancing too with pawky humour; at the same time it sets a puzzle to please the most exigent of readers.<ref name="Guardian obituary">{{cite news |last=Keating |first=HRF |author-link=H. R. F. Keating |title=Obituary: Michael Gilbert |url=http://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/feb/10/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |accessdate=8 May 2016| date=10 February 2006}}</ref></blockquote> | |||
The book was ranked 64th in the ''[[The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time]]'', published in 1990 by the British-based [[Crime Writers' Association]].<ref>{{cite book |year=1990 |editor1-last=Moody |editor1-first=Susan |editor1-link=Susan Moody |title=The Hatchard's Crime Companion: 100 top Crime novels |location=London |publisher=[[Hatchards|Hatchard]] |isbn=978-0-904-03002-0 |oclc=60057335}}</ref> Five years later, it was ranked 80th in the ''[[The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time]]'', published by the [[Mystery Writers of America]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Penzler |first1=Otto |author-link1=Otto Penzler |editor1-last=Friedman |editor1-first=Mickey |title=The Crown crime companion: the top 100 mystery novels of all time |location=New York |publisher=[[Crown Trade Paperbacks]] |isbn=978-0-517-88115-6 |oclc=31605503}}</ref> | |||
The [[Daily Telegraph|''Telegraph's'']] obituary of Gilbert also praised it as "one of his finest novels".<ref name="Telegraph obituary">{{cite news |title=Michael Gilbert |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1510088/Michael-Gilbert.html |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |accessdate=8 May 2016 |date=10 February 2006}}</ref> | |||
==References== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
Latest revision as of 20:55, 24 January 2017
Smallbone Deceased is a British mystery novel by Michael Gilbert, first published in the United Kingdom in 1950 by Hodder and Stoughton and in the United States by Harper & Brothers. A practicing lawyer himself, Gilbert made the setting of the novel a London solicitor's office. It was Gilbert's fourth novel and, like his three earlier ones, features Chief Inspector Hazlerigg as the official investigator; it also has an unofficial detective who works closely with Hazlerigg, a newly qualified solicitor named Henry Bohun who has just been hired by the firm in which the murders occur. A parainsomniac (a person who needs only a very few hours of sleep per night), Bohun, whose name is pronounced Boon, makes this his only appearance in a Gilbert novel but goes on to be the protagonist of a number of short stories.
Reception and/or Appraisal
Margery H. Oates at the New York Times called it "a first-rate job" upon its publication:
When an anonymous corpse is found in a office strong box, when a trustee disappears and a young partner becomes erratic, the... atmosphere becomes tense... The author is a lawyer who looks at the law and the people in it with equal parts of mirth and wisdom. [1]
A much later appraisal comes from Barzun and Taylor's encyclopedic Catalogue of Crime:
Two splendid murders on the premise of a London solicitor. The motives ae good, and one must call excellent the detection by Inspector Hazlerigg and an amateur assistant, who enjoys parainsomnia. As a bonus we are given a method of mortgaging property already fully mortgaged, and a pleasant bit of fooling about the Ascheim-Zondek test and its antecedents. All in all, Gilbert's masterwork.[2]
The Guardian's obituary of Gilbert by H. R. F. Keating described the novel as:
a classic of the genre...rich with everyday details of a law practice, both good and naughty, dancing too with pawky humour; at the same time it sets a puzzle to please the most exigent of readers.[3]
The book was ranked 64th in the The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time, published in 1990 by the British-based Crime Writers' Association.[4] Five years later, it was ranked 80th in the The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time, published by the Mystery Writers of America.[5]
The Telegraph's obituary of Gilbert also praised it as "one of his finest novels".[6]
References
- ↑ Criminals at Large: Office Intrigue, "The New York Times", 5 November 1950 at [1]
- ↑ Jacques Barzun & Wendell Hertig Taylor, A Catalogue of Crime, Harper & Row, New York, "Second Impression Corrected", 1973, page 209
- ↑ Keating, HRF. Obituary: Michael Gilbert, 10 February 2006. Retrieved on 8 May 2016.
- ↑ (1990) The Hatchard's Crime Companion: 100 top Crime novels. London: Hatchard. ISBN 978-0-904-03002-0. OCLC 60057335.
- ↑ The Crown crime companion: the top 100 mystery novels of all time. New York: Crown Trade Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-517-88115-6. OCLC 31605503.
- ↑ Michael Gilbert, 10 February 2006. Retrieved on 8 May 2016.