Among the long list of fine writers who created that Golden Age of Detective Fiction in England, there is one author in particular who is (and was) very well known to English audiences, but virtually unknown to Americans. That writer is Gladys Mitchell, the creator of Mrs. Bradley, a psychiatrist and psychologist by trade who has her own, very unique way of solving difficult and unusual cases. She does so in a series of more than 60 books (and a number of short stories), written between 1929 and Mitchell's death in 1983. Her stories were happily devoured by readers in the U.K., but remarkably few were available in the United States. Amazon, through its Thomas & Mercer imprint, has reissued (or, in some cases, issued for the first time) many of Mitchell's books, most in Kindle format but many in paper editions as well. Granted, Mrs. Bradley, with her reptilian features, cackling laugh and distinctly English eccentricities, is, I think, an acquired taste. But she's certainly worth a try if you're looking for unusual settings and generally unpredictable plot twists. Here's my review of Merlin's Furlong (1953), one of the books you might use as a jumping-off point for meeting Gladys Mitchell and Mrs. Bradley. (As usual, there has been some editing, mostly of time references):
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When you come right down to it, the whole story didn’t seem to make much sense. An old man got himself murdered – a bad-tempered old man who played the dangerous game (at least for characters in a mystery it’s dangerous) of altering his will and setting his heirs at odds with each other over their possible inheritances. But then you wound up with too many suspects. Too many people running around the murder scene. Too many unanswered questions. And, as it turned out, too many murders. Oh, and witchcraft – did I mention witchcraft? And too many places – by far – named after that master of Arthurian mysteries, Merlin. It required all the genius of Mrs. Beatrice Lestrange Bradley to sort it all out – which she does in Merlin’s Furlong, by Gladys Mitchell.
I have observed, in earlier reviews of Gladys Mitchell’s books, that she’s something of an acquired taste. Not very many of her books were published in the United States during her lifetime, and only a limited number are available now. I think that’s a shame, for an author who was regarded, in England at least, as the equal of such writers as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Mitchell specializes in quirky plots, with over-the-top eccentric characters and odd situations. Her detective character, a psychiatrist named Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley, is a wonderful personality – the best description, for those of us who have read the Hildegarde Withers books of Stuart Palmer, is that Mrs. Bradley is sort of a Hildy Withers, but a bit smarter and sharper and way way uglier. Mitchell frequently describes her looks as “reptilian.”
Of the Gladys Mitchell books that I’ve read, I think Merlin’s Furlong is one of the most approachable for an American audience. Its plot is dazzlingly complex, with lots of surprises along the way. The characters, as with so many of Mitchell’s books, are a combination of typically-English types and outright lunatic eccentrics. And, for once, Mrs. Bradley doesn’t keep all her deductions and observations to herself for most of the book; she solves the puzzles piecemeal and takes the audience along with her for the ride.
And it’s quite a ride. It begins with a disagreeable and rather repellent old man named Aumbrey, who calls his nephews together at his house – Merlin’s Furlong - to announce that he is changing his will. There are some peculiar events surrounding the writing of the new will, but it appears that Uncle Aumbrey’s wishes will be carried out.
But we are suddenly taken to a different group of people – three collegiate undergraduates, who set out on what they call a lark: they undertake to recover a religious object which, according to the college professor who hires them, has been stolen from him by Mr. Aumbrey. And so the trio set out for the house called Merlin’s Furlong – only to wind up lost. It seems there are a great many places in the neighborhood with similar names – Merlin’s Fort and Merlin’s Castle, in particular – and it takes them a couple of days to get everything straightened out to their satisfaction. But when they arrive at Merlin’s Furlong, they find the body of Mr. Aumbrey.
And that is where the story becomes truly complicated. There is another murder. Police aren’t sure whether the undergraduates are a part of the problem…or how to fit in those Aumbrey nephews we met earlier. And so Mrs. Bradley is called in; she has a reputation, of sorts, for helping to sort out difficult cases and has sympathy for collegiate undergraduates who get themselves into trouble.
The more Mrs. Bradley and her friends investigate, the more unsavory this case becomes. That professor turns out to have been deeply involved with the practice of witchcraft, among other things, and that becomes a major theme in the story. The 21st century reader should also be warned: there are some very early-20th-century attitudes and language used regarding non-English servant characters.
Mrs. Bradley eventually pieces it together and manages to explain all that has happened – and find the true culprit behind much of the mystification. But it’s a rough ride, with a lot of sudden twists. I found Gladys Mitchell’s “Merlin’s Furlong” thoroughly enjoyable – as I say, I would argue that it’s one of the most approachable Mrs. Bradley mysteries for an American audience.
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You can listen to the original audio review by clicking here.
Next: The Puzzle of the Silver Persian, by Stuart Palmer.
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