As an author, Margery Allingham has long been considered one of the "Crime Queens" of the British Golden Age of Detection. Her novels, most featuring amateur sleuth Albert Campion, are still read and enjoyed by fans. She was also a prolific writer of short stories, some of which were collected into anthologies both before and after her death. One of those collections, first published in 1973 as The Allingham Minibus (also known as Mr. Campion's Lucky Day and Other Stories), has just been re-released in an e-book edition from Agora Books, and the publisher provided me with an advance proof copy for this review. The Allingham Minibus is the subject of my audio review this week on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you are welcome to listen to the complete review by clicking here.
Fans of Albert Campion should be aware that he is featured in only three of the eighteen stories in this collection. On the other hand, this edition of The Allingham Minibus includes a tribute to Allingham written by Agatha Christie shortly after Allingham's death in 1966, a lovely tribute by one classic mystery writer to another. However, one of the reasons I find Allingham’s stories so appealing is that they are not solely dependent on Campion's presence to succeed. The author was quite versatile, and her flexibility of approach, of subject and of style serves us well in these collections.
The three stories with Campion include two that are so brief as to be really vignettes. The third story, called “The Man With the Sack,” is longer and has more of the gentle humor which may be found in Allingham’s best works, as Mr. Campion gently but firmly, ruins a carefully planned robbery. The other stories in the book range from brief and often eerie tales of mystery to an interesting story called “A Quarter of a Million,” which is really novella length. That one is more of a thriller, with a kidnapping, a theft, and a murder to be solved.
There are also several short stories that cross over to supernatural themes. There are a couple of stories dealing with revenge from beyond the grave; there’s a confrontation with the Devil, and there are others which are less frightening and more moving, but all are written with Allingham’s masterful style as she evokes the people and places that make her stories come alive. There are a few stories that are along the lines of classic puzzle-plot crime fiction, although not all deal with murder. And there are a few which defy being placed easily in stylistic pigeonholes. If you’re looking for a way to spend more time with Margery Allingham’s writings, you’re very likely to enjoy The Allingham Minibus.
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