Hollow Crown

Lord Edward Corinth & Verity Browne #3

by David Roberts

Having dealt with death in Sweet Poison and The Bones of the Buried, Lord Edward Corinth is invited by his friend Joe Weaver, the press lord and close friend of the British royal family, for the comparatively simpler case of recovering certain letters stolen from the king’s intimate friend Wallis Simpson. There is no mystery about who has taken these letters—it is a woman called Mrs. Raymond Harkness, a former mistress of the king and a close friend of Edward’s. When Edward goes down to Haling, the country house of conservative M.P. Leo Scannon where Mrs. Harkness is also a house guest, he cannot guess that retrieving stolen goods is to be complicated by a murder. Edward’s friend and fellow sleuth, the journalist Verity Browne, returned from the savagery of the Spanish Civil War, welcomes the distraction of helping Edward investigate what suddenly becomes a double murder. Both Edward and Verity are soon involved with political protest and the fight against Fascism—the Cable Street riots and the Jarrow March—and both battle to find the truth behind the hollow crown in what the poet W. H. Auden called “a low, dishonest decade.”

Genres: Mystery, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Crime, Romance, British Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
David Roberts is an English editor and novelist.
Roberts worked for several years as a book editor at Chatto and Windus, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, and Michael O'Mara Books. Since 2000 he has been a full-time writer, best known for a series of crime novels set during the late 1930s, and featuring the joint adventures of Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne. The novels use actual historical events as a backdrop and there is an Author's Note at the back of the books briefly outlining what happened to the historical characters subsequently.
Publishers Weekly has described his novels as "well-researched" and "first-rate fun".

Reviews

[Karen Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is the third in a series of murder mystery novels it does not matter if you haven't read the preceding stories - as I hadn't. The most salient facts from those stories, which have any relevance to this one, are recapped in such a way that the new reader does not feel left out and readers of the other books have their memory jogged. The book successfully captures the era of post-war Britain in the mid-1930s and the use of known historical facts (Edward & Mrs Simpson, Oswald Moseley, the Spanish Civil War) lend credence to the story. I can imagine this being made into a BBC drama! I'm now looking for the other books in the series.

[Verity W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good. An interesting story and some interesting character developments. I've read quite a bit of history about this period and the characters interwoven into the abdication crisis weren't jarring and didn't conflict with other things that I knew, so full credit to the author for that. Possibly the best of the series so far.

[Margaret Haigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, set just before the Abdication, referencing the rIse of the blackshirts and the war in Spain. An attractive pairing of detectives, a minor aristocrat and a communist reporter. Would read more by this author.

[Daisy Holder · Rating 2 out of 5]

just not my cup of tea, bit slow in bits

[Mary Newcomb]

Lord Edward and Verity get tangled up in the effort to regain some indiscreet letters written by the King. Before it is all over, two people are dead and the King has abdicated. Our intrepid detectives figure out who did it but may not ever understand the King's decisions.

[Yorky Caz · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book. The characters are great but I love the references to history and events happening at the time. I dont understand why these books don't get higher star ratings. they are a great read interesting and well written

[Ann Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great period whodunnit. I enjoyed immersing myself in the manners and politics of the mid-1960's. I learnt a lot about communism, fascism and politics in the 1930's in general. The chararcters are great, real and believable and the action bowls along very nicely.

[Mary G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very nice story. I always like Edward and Verity.

[Carol Kerry-Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is the best Corinth/Browne mystery yet, the characters are starting to flesh out and not be just caricatures - which is good. Will keep going but having a break first.

[Kathleen Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a much easier and quicker read than the first two and enjoyable.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this one has been my favorite so far. The resolution of the mystery was unexpected but believable, and there were a lot of fun historical details about Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting murder mystery set at the time of Edward VIII's abdication, Franco, Black Shirts & the rise of Hitler. Edward is a likeable character, Verity a pain in the neck.