A woman is on trial for her life, charged with the murder of her young nephew. The ultimate decision about her fate will rest in the hands of ten men and two women, the members of the British jury who will try her. But will they base their decision solely on the facts presented in evidence? Or will each of the jurors bring his or her own prejudices and life experiences to the jury deliberations - and what will be the effect on their verdict? That's the question posed in a powerful mystery novel by Raymond Postgate called Verdict of Twelve. Originally published in 1940, Verdict of Twelve is being re-published as part of the British Library Crime Classics series. Poisoned Pen Press will be releasing the book early in October, and the publisher has made an advanced reading copy available to me for this review. The book is the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the complete review by clicking here.
Verdict of Twelve will focus our attention on the individual members of the jury. Postgate spends more than a third of the book with the stories of each juror's life experiences - and you should be forewarned that some of the stories are quite harrowing. But all of those experiences, from the trivial to the life-changing, have a significant impact on the viewpoints that each of the jurors brings to the trial and to their deliberations. Many of these jurors come from the lower classes within English society (circa 1940), and the stories of their lives may shock you. If you have heard the expression, “the banality of evil,” you are likely to find disturbing examples in some of the histories of the assembled jurors.
After meeting the jurors, we are told the story of the crime itself – the deteriorating relationship between a young boy (who has a violent temper and perhaps a touch of madness) and his aunt, the woman accused of murder. Again, the focus here is on the characters – not only those of the woman and the boy, but also of the two servants in their house, the over-the-hill doctor who so clearly should no longer be practicing medicine, and other witnesses to what certainly appears to have been the murder of a child.
And then, after the witnesses are heard in court and the jurors retire to the jury room to consider their verdict, we are shown how they do so – and we learn their decision and the reasons why they decide the case as they do. Will they convict the accused? Will justice be done? Read Verdict of Twelve by Raymond Postgate to find out. It is a powerful book, very highly regarded by many critics - with considerable justification. Once again, mystery historian Martin Edwards provides a thoughtful introduction. The U. S. publication date is October 3, but it is available now for pre-order and also available now in the U.K. I recommend it highly indeed.
For another viewpoint, here's what Puzzle Doctor had to say on his fine blog, "In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel." https://classicmystery.wordpress.com/2017/09/17/verdict-of-twelve-by-raymond-postgate/#more-7751
Posted by: Les Blatt | September 18, 2017 at 07:06 AM