Conservative Book Talk

Plot: This book is the first in the Amelia Peabody Mystery Adventures written under the pseudonym Elizabeth Peters. Our heroine, Amelia Peabody is an uptight victorian feminist who discovers the wonders of Egyptian Archeology. The book begins with Amelia inheriting a fortune from her father. This financial freedom allows her to see places which she has only read about, leading her to Egypt. There she encounters the rest of the players in this mystery, Evelyn Forbes, brothers Radcliffe and Walter Emerson, and Lucas (Evelyn’s distant cousins). Evelyn becomes Amelia’s travel companion as they navigate through Egypt. Upon reaching their first stop in Cairo, Amelia and Evelyn meet the Emerson brothers, who are a pair of archeologist. Quickly a romantic love-interest blooms between Walter and Evelyn, but just as quickly Amelia and Radcliffe loathe each other. Amelia and Evelyn eventually join the Emerson at their archeological site. Although Amelia and Radcliffe do not get along, they each have a mutual respect for the others love for archeology. However, things get complicated when Evelyn’s distant cousin, Lucas, shows up unexpectedly and propose marriage to her. As the romantic entanglements develop, a mummy suddenly begins nocturnal visitations, frighting the workers and halting the excavations. Amelia is called upon to support her friend and to solve the mystery of mummy harassing the camp.

Pros: The author takes a humorous and fun tone more then scary or mysterious. She takes each of the characters to the extreme, making them humorous and silly. There is really nothing objectionable found in this book, with possibly one exception. There are references to Evelyn’s soiled reputation and a brief question about what it was like having it soiled. But I expect that unless you know what is being discussed, a young reader may miss it completely.

Cons: Its not a serious book. so if you are looking for serious book on archeology and its adventures, you have come to the wrong place. Some readers may find, particularly male readers, Amelia’s feminism to be offensive or at least distasteful. Throughout the book you will find Amelia bullying other men and making references to how women are treated as second class. I personally find this feminist trait to be a character enhancement of Amelia, but you may not.

Overall: Its a fun story and well worth the read.

Tags: Barbara Mertz, Crocodile On The Sandbank, Elizabeth Peters, fiction, Mystery, Paul Gardenghi

Part 6 of 6

I’m not big on short stories, mysteries excepted. After reading this book, my horizons have been broadened, and I’m going to go find some more fun short stories to check out. Unfortunately, this anthology includes a selection of “mystery” stories that are more like horror, or fairy-tales gone amok; so I can’t recommend the whole batch of 50. That said, there are too many stories for one review: this is review 6 of 6, the (more than ten) short stories which are clearly NOT mysteries; with few exceptions, horror stories.
• The Clock, by A.E.W. Mason
• The Silver Mask, by High Walpole
• Suspicion, by Dorothy L. Sayers
• Treasure Trove, by F. Tennyson Jesse
• Philomel Cottage, by Agatha Christie, p. 2
• The Mad Tea Party, by Ellery Queen, p. 4
• The S. S., M.P. Shiel, Prince Zaleski.
• The Two Bottles of Relish, by Lord Dunsay, Mr. Linely
• The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell
• Faith, Hope, and Charity, by Irvin S. Cobb

I’m not bothering to recap these, because they are, by and large, that type of horror story that makes you shiver but is so stupid that, the second your brain kicks in, you start shaking with uncontrollable laughter. Three were reviewed in other sections anyway. And with that we wrap up a review of 101 Year’s Entertainment. I didn’t like it overall, but there were some good things to recommend, and an interesting lesson in history to be drawn.

The volume as a whole has several strengths. First, the historical aspect of each story is mentioned in some way, either in the story itself (set during 1800s England or what have you) or the editorial comments. The different genres within detective stories and mysteries are all given their turn, and the eras of each are evident by the context. Also, the different writing styles create a genre-within-a genre effect; the colorful language of the 1920s contrasting vividly with the refined philosophy of the 1840s. Most interesting of all, variety. There are all kinds of stories here, from the philosophical (The Problem of Cell 13) to the probing (The Criminologists’ Club) and the downright problematic (The Mad Tea Party).

It’s the problematic variety (mainly the stories above) that get to you after a couple hundred pages. Yes, there are some fine stories, and they are interesting to read in comparison to the other stories. Really, though, what is entertaining about justified mass murder (The S.S.), or torturous deaths (The Silver Mask and, more variously but still equally gruesome, Faith, Hope, and Charity)? Can’t we have variety and quality? The editor obviously thought so, but then, the editor’s taste leans toward the macabre (note, his own story gets into the “Criminals Win” and “Non-Mystery” categories); and therein lies the biggest problem with an anthology like this. Its totally up to the editor’s tastes as to what does and does not get included. And this editor, sadly, falls into his own category of “Doyle-imitators”; a mystery writer wannabe whose style is not entirely without merit, yet also without talent (and often without even that first qualifier, “mystery.”)

I don’t recommend the book, though if variety is the spice you want in your reading life, some of the short stories mentioned hereto would be a good place to start (I suggest parts 2, 3, or 5 of this review for a list: the stories above are, as I mentioned, more in the realm of terrifying stupidity than of stupefying mystery). Overall, however, the idea behind the book has led me to broaden my horizons in the short story realm. That bit of wisdom, however, can be easily shared without having to trudge through (all) the above.

Tags: 101 Years Entertainment, Ellery Queen, Mystery, Sincerelyornot

Part 4 of 6: Criminals Win

I’m not big on short stories, mysteries excepted. Unfortunately, this anthology includes a selection of “mystery” stories that are more like horror, or fairy-tales gone amok; so I can’t recommend the whole batch of 50. That said, there are too many stories for one review: this is review 4 of 6, the ten short stories in which the thief is our hero and/or is not brought to justice. Some of these I enjoyed to one degree or another, and where I recommend them, it is so noted. I object in principle to the whole idea of the thief as hero, so unless its circumstantially explained away, I vote no to the whole genre.
• The Red Silk Scarf, by Maurice LeBlanc, Arsene Lupin. A well-known crook gives a police detective all the clues he needs except one. Said crucial clue threatens to unravel all the hard work of the police, because said crook won’t give it up until the other half (of this red silk scarf) is found. Very clever, if unacceptably and overwhelmingly bumbling policemen weren’t the main feature of the story. The resolution, also, uses a bit of dues-ex-machina that’s not set up well and therefore unbelievable.
• The Cyprian Bees, by Anthony Wayne, Dr. Hailey. Average writing, stellar if rather scary mystery. So well wrapped is the plot hat explaining any of it requires SPOILERs; a doctor/beekeeper wants an inheritance and if he doesn’t get it, no one else in the family will either. END SPOILER Not A Night Read.
• Arsene Lupin in Prison, by Maurice LeBlanc, Arsene Lupin. For all the faults of this one, it was one of the genuinely humorous mysteries in the book (despite having a chapter by that title, there were very few that made me laugh out loud. This one succeeded). The whole thing is so clever one can almost forgive the thief for being a protagonist; almost.
• Blind Man’s Bluff, by Fredrick Irving Anderson, The Infallible Godahl. Another genuinely funny one. Godahl is a member of an elite social club that plays mean pranks for laughs on its stage. (Our thief, being also the hero, naturally, is disgusted with his clubmates and doesn’t like them.) This round it’s a blind black magician who happens to be a fellow thief of our hero. When the magician shows up for a show, our hero isn’t among the crowd, and soon, neither are everyone’s wallets. The ending line needs to be read twice for full appreciation; recommended.
• The Stolen Romney, by Edgar Wallace, Four Square Jane. Clever, if somewhat contrived story of a female thief who uses the stolen goods to make donations to charity, and the police are baffled by her most recent heist: a painting, stolen in broad daylight, that could not possibly have left the museum.
• Paris Adventure, by Leslie Charteris, The Saint. Interesting story along the lines of Edgar Allen Poe in that it’s a character study more than a mystery (which makes it worth recommending despite the “hero”); a famous thief is on the lam when he meets a lady in a bar (further details would spoil the story, but trust me, its really complex and fun). Recommended
• The Eleventh Juror, by Vincent Starrett. A man is about to be convicted of murder and the jury must convince our narrator to vote him guilty or else he’ll escape the electric chair (and may I say, this one also qualifies for “Most Poorly Executed”; the author wrote himself into a hole and then just pulls the plug on realism).
• A Chess Problem, by Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot. A chess genius dies two minutes into a tournament, his partner having just returned from iron-curtain Russia; who is the real victim, and why? Its Hercule Poirot’s job to find out, and I have to say, SPOILER if he’s such a great detective as he keeps telling us he is, why does the murderer get away with a fortune? END SPOILER not recommended; anyone know of a good Agatha Christie short story?
• The Sweet Shot, by E.C. Bentley, Philip Trent. This last is a truly ingenious mystery, with sublte turns of plot unraveled in true British style, over a tea at a golf club. A quietly nasty member of the community has no enemies but winds up dead, struck by lightening on a cloudless day, which blew him up but left his golf club untouched.
• The Criminologist’s Club, by Raffles A well known thief is invited to a dinner by London’s most distinguished detectives, to discuss the most recent criminal affairs of the city. Will they entrap him into confession, or will current criminal activity overtake them?

Overall, the thief stories were not my favorite. If you must find a guilty pleasure in criminal success, read the Artemis Fowl series, The Saint (mentioned above), or The Infallible Godahl (also mentioned above) for a more morally acceptable version of a good steal.

Tags: Ellery Queen, fiction, Mystery, Sincerelyornot