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Ambrose Chitterwick #2
Trial and Error
A terminally ill man decides to murder someone evil, but an innocent man is accused of the crime. The well-meaning killer tries to prove his guilt (aided by Ambrose Chitterwick), and hires a lawyer to prosecute himself.
396 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1937
37 people are currently reading
535 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Berkeley
99 books162 followersAnthony Berkeley Cox was an English crime writer. He wrote under several pen-names, including Francis Iles, Anthony Berkeley Cox, and A. Monmouth Platts. One of the founders of The Detection Club
Cox was born in Watford and was educated at Sherborne School and University College London.
He served in the Army in World War I and thereafter worked as a journalist, contributing a series of humourous sketches to the magazine 'Punch'. These were later published collectively (1925) under the Anthony Berkeley pseudonym as 'Jugged Journalism' and the book was followed by a series of minor comic novels such as 'Brenda Entertains' (1925), 'The Family Witch' (1925) and 'The Professor on Paws' (1926).
It was also in 1925 when he published, anonymously to begin with, his first detective novel, 'The Layton Court Mystery', which was apparently written for the amusement of himself and his father, who was a big fan of the mystery genre. Later editions of the book had the author as Anthony Berkeley.
He discovered that the financial rewards were far better for detective fiction so he concentrated his efforts on that genre for the following 14 years, using mainly the Anthony Berkeley pseudonym but also writing four novels and three collections of short stories as Francis Isles and one novel as A Monmouth Platts.
In 1928 he founded the famous Detection Club in London and became its first honorary secretary.
In the mid-1930s he began reviewing novels, both mystery and non-mystery, for 'The Daily Telegraph' under the Francis Isles pseudonym, which he had first used for 'Malice Aforethought' in 1931.
In 1939 he gave up writing detective fiction for no apparent reason although it has been suggested that he came into a large inheritance at the time or that his alleged remark, 'When I find something that pays better than detective stories I shall write that' had some relevance. However, he produced nothing significant after he finished writing with 'Death in the House' (Berkeley) and 'As for the Woman' (Isles) in 1939.
He did, however, continue to review books for such as 'John O'London's Weekly', 'The Sunday Times', 'The Daily Telegraph' and, from the mid-1950s to 1970, 'The Guardian'. In addition he produced 'O England!', a study of social conditions and politics in 1934.
He and his wife lived in an old house in St John's Wood, London, and he had an office in The Strand where he was listed as one of the two directors of A B Cox Ltd, a company whose business was unspecified!
Alfred Hitchcock adapted the Francis Isles' title 'Before the Fact' for his film 'Suspicion' in 1941 and in the same year Cox supplied a script for another film 'Flight from Destiny', which was produced by Warner Brothers.
His most enduring character is Roger Sheringham who featured in 10 Anthony Berkeley novels and two posthumous collections of short stories.
He died on 9 March 1971.
Gerry Wolstenholme
January 2012 (less)
Cox was born in Watford and was educated at Sherborne School and University College London.
He served in the Army in World War I and thereafter worked as a journalist, contributing a series of humourous sketches to the magazine 'Punch'. These were later published collectively (1925) under the Anthony Berkeley pseudonym as 'Jugged Journalism' and the book was followed by a series of minor comic novels such as 'Brenda Entertains' (1925), 'The Family Witch' (1925) and 'The Professor on Paws' (1926).
It was also in 1925 when he published, anonymously to begin with, his first detective novel, 'The Layton Court Mystery', which was apparently written for the amusement of himself and his father, who was a big fan of the mystery genre. Later editions of the book had the author as Anthony Berkeley.
He discovered that the financial rewards were far better for detective fiction so he concentrated his efforts on that genre for the following 14 years, using mainly the Anthony Berkeley pseudonym but also writing four novels and three collections of short stories as Francis Isles and one novel as A Monmouth Platts.
In 1928 he founded the famous Detection Club in London and became its first honorary secretary.
In the mid-1930s he began reviewing novels, both mystery and non-mystery, for 'The Daily Telegraph' under the Francis Isles pseudonym, which he had first used for 'Malice Aforethought' in 1931.
In 1939 he gave up writing detective fiction for no apparent reason although it has been suggested that he came into a large inheritance at the time or that his alleged remark, 'When I find something that pays better than detective stories I shall write that' had some relevance. However, he produced nothing significant after he finished writing with 'Death in the House' (Berkeley) and 'As for the Woman' (Isles) in 1939.
He did, however, continue to review books for such as 'John O'London's Weekly', 'The Sunday Times', 'The Daily Telegraph' and, from the mid-1950s to 1970, 'The Guardian'. In addition he produced 'O England!', a study of social conditions and politics in 1934.
He and his wife lived in an old house in St John's Wood, London, and he had an office in The Strand where he was listed as one of the two directors of A B Cox Ltd, a company whose business was unspecified!
Alfred Hitchcock adapted the Francis Isles' title 'Before the Fact' for his film 'Suspicion' in 1941 and in the same year Cox supplied a script for another film 'Flight from Destiny', which was produced by Warner Brothers.
His most enduring character is Roger Sheringham who featured in 10 Anthony Berkeley novels and two posthumous collections of short stories.
He died on 9 March 1971.
Gerry Wolstenholme
January 2012 (less)
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November 29, 2020
This crime classic written and set in the 1930's, preWW2 England has been recently reprinted. I've given it 5 stars and would recommend this book to any fans of mystery.
Poor Mr. Todhunter has been informed by his Dr. that he has a heart aneurysm that could go off at any time. He has instructed him to take life easy and not to strain himself in his remaining months of life. Apparently in the 1930's this diagnosis was fatal unlike our more fortunate era.
Todhunter had always been referred to as 'delicate' during his youth, to the point that during WW1 he was rejected by the military for service. A small boned and weak man Todhunter was reared by his mother, his father being killed in the Boer war.
The adult Todhunter, although he doesn't need to work due to his inheritance, nevertheless felt obligated to do his part and worked occasionally at a private academy for boys.
The meek, humble, affable and kind of nerdy Todhunter had made many friends during his delicate life and soon decides to host a dinner party.
Todhunter needs guidance concerning a prickly subject and with his friends gathered around he brings up the subject of murder. If a man knew that he was soon to die, would it be a good deed to kill an evil person, such an one that brought misery to a group of people; perhaps a blackmailer?
So the story begins as Todhunter plans to remove just such a person from the world.
After finding the perfect subject and killing them, he is soon horrified to learn that an innocent person has been accused of the murder and is sentenced to hang.
The extremely conscientious Todhunter is horrified and turns himself into the police hoping to save a life, but the police don't believe him and think he's cuckoo.
Todhunter is soon busy with a group of trusted friends trying to plant evidence that will prove he is the real killer.
The book really takes off at this point and I found the suspense unbearable at times.
Todhunter is no longer following his Dr.'s advice about rest and taking it easy and instead works tirelessly to save the innocent man. Will he live long enough to complete his mission?
Just a great, old fashioned, mystery classic if you are looking for this type of book to read.
Poor Mr. Todhunter has been informed by his Dr. that he has a heart aneurysm that could go off at any time. He has instructed him to take life easy and not to strain himself in his remaining months of life. Apparently in the 1930's this diagnosis was fatal unlike our more fortunate era.
Todhunter had always been referred to as 'delicate' during his youth, to the point that during WW1 he was rejected by the military for service. A small boned and weak man Todhunter was reared by his mother, his father being killed in the Boer war.
The adult Todhunter, although he doesn't need to work due to his inheritance, nevertheless felt obligated to do his part and worked occasionally at a private academy for boys.
The meek, humble, affable and kind of nerdy Todhunter had made many friends during his delicate life and soon decides to host a dinner party.
Todhunter needs guidance concerning a prickly subject and with his friends gathered around he brings up the subject of murder. If a man knew that he was soon to die, would it be a good deed to kill an evil person, such an one that brought misery to a group of people; perhaps a blackmailer?
So the story begins as Todhunter plans to remove just such a person from the world.
After finding the perfect subject and killing them, he is soon horrified to learn that an innocent person has been accused of the murder and is sentenced to hang.
The extremely conscientious Todhunter is horrified and turns himself into the police hoping to save a life, but the police don't believe him and think he's cuckoo.
Todhunter is soon busy with a group of trusted friends trying to plant evidence that will prove he is the real killer.
The book really takes off at this point and I found the suspense unbearable at times.
Todhunter is no longer following his Dr.'s advice about rest and taking it easy and instead works tirelessly to save the innocent man. Will he live long enough to complete his mission?
Just a great, old fashioned, mystery classic if you are looking for this type of book to read.
Read
February 27, 2017The Hook - I wish I could remember exactly how Trial and Error came to my attention. I read lots of mystery publications and I would guess it was in one of these that my interest in this title was piqued. I had never heard of British Author, Anthony Berkeley, 1893-1971; quite prolific and seemingly well received in the mystery realm. Berkeley, along with Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and other mystery writers founded the Detection Club in London in 1930. This group not only met sociably and helped each other with their writing skills but also formed a code of ethics in which they agreed to give the reader a fighting chance to solve the puzzle presented.
"Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance on nor making use of Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence, or Act of God? Wikipedia
The club continues today though the rules have been relaxed. Berkeley also wrote under the pen name of Francis Iles.
The Line - ”Mr. Todhunter began to feel, not without surprise, that he had really been excessively ordinary all his life, and if this drab record were ever to be broken now was the time.”
The Sinker
Lawrence Butterfield Todhunter is facing an imminent death. Mr. Todhunter (please don’t use the Butterfield) hosts a dinner gathering of his prominent friends none of which know his fate and think the question he poses regarding the killing of an evil person, one not fit to live, is pure speculation. Mr. Todhunter sees it as his duty to leave the world a better place on his demise, to do ”the best that he can for his fellows” by removing some villainous individual from our midst.
This simplistic beginning soon becomes one of those tangled webs we weave, complexly plotted and beautifully executed. Published in 1937 Trial and Error is stylistically written and formulates an intriguing and satisfying tale. I have not enjoyed a mystery as much in some time.
"Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance on nor making use of Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence, or Act of God? Wikipedia
The club continues today though the rules have been relaxed. Berkeley also wrote under the pen name of Francis Iles.
The Line - ”Mr. Todhunter began to feel, not without surprise, that he had really been excessively ordinary all his life, and if this drab record were ever to be broken now was the time.”
The Sinker
Lawrence Butterfield Todhunter is facing an imminent death. Mr. Todhunter (please don’t use the Butterfield) hosts a dinner gathering of his prominent friends none of which know his fate and think the question he poses regarding the killing of an evil person, one not fit to live, is pure speculation. Mr. Todhunter sees it as his duty to leave the world a better place on his demise, to do ”the best that he can for his fellows” by removing some villainous individual from our midst.
This simplistic beginning soon becomes one of those tangled webs we weave, complexly plotted and beautifully executed. Published in 1937 Trial and Error is stylistically written and formulates an intriguing and satisfying tale. I have not enjoyed a mystery as much in some time.
October 27, 2018
A mystery by noted critic Anthony Berkeley.
A dying man murders an obnoxious jerk. The police arrest an innocent person, and the killer has to prove himself guilty. A novel premise, but the book seemed awfully smug and self aware.
A dying man murders an obnoxious jerk. The police arrest an innocent person, and the killer has to prove himself guilty. A novel premise, but the book seemed awfully smug and self aware.
April 20, 2012
For my full review, please visit Casual Debris.
Its excellent premise is what attracted me to Anthony Berkeley's original, innovative and highly entertaining Trial and Error. Mild-mannered Lawrence Butterfield Todhunter learns that due to an aggressive aneurism he doesn't have much time left on this earth. Wanting to commit a great, humanitarian act before he goes, he throws a dinner party and tosses out a hypothetical, which leads nearly everyone to declare that great can be achieved through murder, so long as the victim is deserving of death. Hence Todhunter decides that before his impending doom he must seek out an appropriate victim and commit this terrible act.
There are a number of twists and I won't reveal anything more about the central plot. The novel also boasts great characters, dialogue and attention to detail that is simply riveting. The world Berkeley manages to create is very real, and the geography of the various UK locations are clear; we always know where we are and where the settings lie in relation to one another. Moreover, the novel is filled with a good deal of humour despite its premise and its incessant focus on death. Yet what elevates Trial and Error from a good British mystery to a great novel is its notions of absurdity. Throughout the novel is a pervasive sense that despite the high dramatic aspects of life, both selfish and altruistic actions are governed by nothing more than chance; no matter how we strive for control the idea that we can influence destiny, our own or someone else's, is ridiculous. It is clear that the universe has its plans and the minutest element can thrust and thwart our plans in any seemingly random direction. And in the final scene even these ideas are challenged, as Berkeley twists the entire story into something altogether different.
Trial and Error is additionally a success due to its innocuous protagonist. Lawrence Todhunter is barely a character, a simple man with simple ideas, impressionable and easily influenced, harmless in every dimension of his being. While it initially appears that such a character would undoubtedly fail in maintaining interest in any kind of novel, Todhunter succeeds in growing on the reader, not necessarily through his altruism, but through his determination and particularly because he does indeed transform.
The novel's only weak point is at the early stage of the trial, when Berkeley feels the need to restate details which the reader is already familiar with. This portion of the work suffers a little in its pacing, but once the cross-examination begins, the writing, particularly the dialogue, is so riveting that we nearly forget the slow progress of the previous thirty or so pages.
Its excellent premise is what attracted me to Anthony Berkeley's original, innovative and highly entertaining Trial and Error. Mild-mannered Lawrence Butterfield Todhunter learns that due to an aggressive aneurism he doesn't have much time left on this earth. Wanting to commit a great, humanitarian act before he goes, he throws a dinner party and tosses out a hypothetical, which leads nearly everyone to declare that great can be achieved through murder, so long as the victim is deserving of death. Hence Todhunter decides that before his impending doom he must seek out an appropriate victim and commit this terrible act.
There are a number of twists and I won't reveal anything more about the central plot. The novel also boasts great characters, dialogue and attention to detail that is simply riveting. The world Berkeley manages to create is very real, and the geography of the various UK locations are clear; we always know where we are and where the settings lie in relation to one another. Moreover, the novel is filled with a good deal of humour despite its premise and its incessant focus on death. Yet what elevates Trial and Error from a good British mystery to a great novel is its notions of absurdity. Throughout the novel is a pervasive sense that despite the high dramatic aspects of life, both selfish and altruistic actions are governed by nothing more than chance; no matter how we strive for control the idea that we can influence destiny, our own or someone else's, is ridiculous. It is clear that the universe has its plans and the minutest element can thrust and thwart our plans in any seemingly random direction. And in the final scene even these ideas are challenged, as Berkeley twists the entire story into something altogether different.
Trial and Error is additionally a success due to its innocuous protagonist. Lawrence Todhunter is barely a character, a simple man with simple ideas, impressionable and easily influenced, harmless in every dimension of his being. While it initially appears that such a character would undoubtedly fail in maintaining interest in any kind of novel, Todhunter succeeds in growing on the reader, not necessarily through his altruism, but through his determination and particularly because he does indeed transform.
The novel's only weak point is at the early stage of the trial, when Berkeley feels the need to restate details which the reader is already familiar with. This portion of the work suffers a little in its pacing, but once the cross-examination begins, the writing, particularly the dialogue, is so riveting that we nearly forget the slow progress of the previous thirty or so pages.
January 25, 2025
The altruistic murderer…
When a group of friends have an after-dinner chat that turns to the subject of what one should do if one finds one has only a few months left to live, they assume it’s all hypothetical and not to be taken too seriously. They conclude that the best thing to do would be to kill someone who is making life miserable for other people, on the basis that one would be dead before the hangman came calling. But for one of them, the question is not hypothetical – Mr Lawrence Todhunter has just been told by his doctor that he has an aneurism that could burst at any time, and that at best he has just a few months left to live. It is he who has steered the conversation in this direction, and while he’s surprised that his friends have come up with the notion of an altruistic murder, he’s rather taken with the idea. Now all he has to do is select a victim and work out a method. For while he’s not too bothered about being caught given he’s already under a death sentence, on the whole he’d rather live out his remaining time in freedom. But is it all a fantasy? Would he really have the guts to do it if the moment arose? Even he’s not sure about that…
Despite his murderous intentions, Mr Todhunter is a likeable man – a bachelor with a wide circle of friends, generous to his extended family, kind to his servants. He writes articles for the Literary Review, and otherwise his time is his own. He has perhaps drifted through life seeing only the best in people, so now that he’s actively looking for a suitable victim he is somewhat horrified to discover how often one malign person can cause misery to others – the unfeeling boss who dismisses people on a whim, the temptress who breaks up happy marriages, the con artist who squeezes his victims dry and then discards them. But eventually chance throws the perfect subject in his way and he is convinced that in this case murder would be fully justified.
This is a lot of fun. It’s all done in a very light-hearted way, so it’s not full of great weighty discussions over the moral question of whether murder can ever be justified. Like Poirot, I disapprove of murder, and I felt that the selected victim wasn’t the worst person in the world, although certainly not the best! But I was willing to suspend my disapproval, especially since it seemed that if Mr Todhunter didn’t murder his chosen target, someone else very well might, destroying even more lives and happiness in the process.
The first half of the book involves the lead-up to the murder and its immediate aftermath. But then it all goes wrong – someone else is arrested and charged with the crime, and Mr Todhunter is horrified. The second half is taken up with his attempts to prove to the police that they have got the wrong person. The police however are convinced of their case, and have already had the usual handful of attention seekers claiming guilt – a category to which they are happy to add poor Mr Todhunter. It’s time for Mr Todhunter to call on all his friends to rally round to help prove that he’s a murderer and send him to the gallows…
There is a twist in the tail, but I must admit I felt that it was fairly obvious from early on that that was where we were heading. It didn’t matter though – the mystery element in this one is slight almost to the point of non-existence, and is entirely secondary to the fun of watching poor Mr Todhunter do his best to stay alive long enough to get himself hanged. Along the way he makes new friends, learns a lot about the justice system which he incorporates into a series of articles for the Literary Review, and discovers all kinds of talents he never knew he had. In fact, he finds a sense of purpose and probably leads a more fulfilling life in these last few months than in all the preceding years. And, like the reader, he enjoys the experience!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one – it’s full of humour, with lots of little asides about the way the justice system works and about the public’s fascination with murder cases. It doesn’t deliberately make a serious point of it, but it raises the question of why state execution should be considered more morally acceptable than a ‘private’ murder done for altruistic reasons. Although I’ll never be an advocate for murder, I was rooting for Mr Todhunter all the way – his heart was in the right place. One of the nicest murderers I’ve ever come across!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
When a group of friends have an after-dinner chat that turns to the subject of what one should do if one finds one has only a few months left to live, they assume it’s all hypothetical and not to be taken too seriously. They conclude that the best thing to do would be to kill someone who is making life miserable for other people, on the basis that one would be dead before the hangman came calling. But for one of them, the question is not hypothetical – Mr Lawrence Todhunter has just been told by his doctor that he has an aneurism that could burst at any time, and that at best he has just a few months left to live. It is he who has steered the conversation in this direction, and while he’s surprised that his friends have come up with the notion of an altruistic murder, he’s rather taken with the idea. Now all he has to do is select a victim and work out a method. For while he’s not too bothered about being caught given he’s already under a death sentence, on the whole he’d rather live out his remaining time in freedom. But is it all a fantasy? Would he really have the guts to do it if the moment arose? Even he’s not sure about that…
Despite his murderous intentions, Mr Todhunter is a likeable man – a bachelor with a wide circle of friends, generous to his extended family, kind to his servants. He writes articles for the Literary Review, and otherwise his time is his own. He has perhaps drifted through life seeing only the best in people, so now that he’s actively looking for a suitable victim he is somewhat horrified to discover how often one malign person can cause misery to others – the unfeeling boss who dismisses people on a whim, the temptress who breaks up happy marriages, the con artist who squeezes his victims dry and then discards them. But eventually chance throws the perfect subject in his way and he is convinced that in this case murder would be fully justified.
This is a lot of fun. It’s all done in a very light-hearted way, so it’s not full of great weighty discussions over the moral question of whether murder can ever be justified. Like Poirot, I disapprove of murder, and I felt that the selected victim wasn’t the worst person in the world, although certainly not the best! But I was willing to suspend my disapproval, especially since it seemed that if Mr Todhunter didn’t murder his chosen target, someone else very well might, destroying even more lives and happiness in the process.
The first half of the book involves the lead-up to the murder and its immediate aftermath. But then it all goes wrong – someone else is arrested and charged with the crime, and Mr Todhunter is horrified. The second half is taken up with his attempts to prove to the police that they have got the wrong person. The police however are convinced of their case, and have already had the usual handful of attention seekers claiming guilt – a category to which they are happy to add poor Mr Todhunter. It’s time for Mr Todhunter to call on all his friends to rally round to help prove that he’s a murderer and send him to the gallows…
There is a twist in the tail, but I must admit I felt that it was fairly obvious from early on that that was where we were heading. It didn’t matter though – the mystery element in this one is slight almost to the point of non-existence, and is entirely secondary to the fun of watching poor Mr Todhunter do his best to stay alive long enough to get himself hanged. Along the way he makes new friends, learns a lot about the justice system which he incorporates into a series of articles for the Literary Review, and discovers all kinds of talents he never knew he had. In fact, he finds a sense of purpose and probably leads a more fulfilling life in these last few months than in all the preceding years. And, like the reader, he enjoys the experience!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one – it’s full of humour, with lots of little asides about the way the justice system works and about the public’s fascination with murder cases. It doesn’t deliberately make a serious point of it, but it raises the question of why state execution should be considered more morally acceptable than a ‘private’ murder done for altruistic reasons. Although I’ll never be an advocate for murder, I was rooting for Mr Todhunter all the way – his heart was in the right place. One of the nicest murderers I’ve ever come across!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
September 9, 2018
Middle-aged Mr Todhunter asks a group of friends a seemingly hypothetical question — what’s the best use some one can make of their life when they have only a short time left? The answer is almost unanimous — become a benefactor to humanity by murdering a deserving victim. In this creative twist on the usual murder mystery, Mr Todhunter undertakes a quest to do just that, but how can he find one? An engaging and sonetimes humorous “backwards” mystery.
March 12, 2021
It has been surprisingly difficult to get ahold of Berkeley’s mysteries, since the library only has the Chinese translations and I couldn’t really find his books in stores. Until I stumbled across Trial and Error in BookXcess (that wonderful remaindered book website) and promptly got a copy.
One of the novelists during the Golden Age of Mystery, Berkeley was a prolific writer and one of the founding members of the Detective Club. As with most Golden Age novelists whose books that I’ve managed to read, it’s a pity that he’s relatively unknown today (at least, I hadn’t heard of him until I started reading up about the Golden Age of Mystery).
Trial and Error is an extremely innovative book because the protagonist, Todhunter, is trying to prove his guilt. After being diagnosed with a life-threatening condition and told he only has months to live, Todhunter gathers a group of friends to see what he should do to make his last months worth it. The answer, it seems, is murder. A bit shocked, Todhunter scouts for a suitable victim and finds one, only to see the police arrest and try the wrong man! With the help of his friends, Todhunter spends his last few months trying to prove that he was the murderer.
I found this to be a very enjoyable and ingenious mystery, not least because it starts with a known criminal who’s trying to detect his own crime. The twists and turns of the court case was fascinating and I had so much fun reading about how Todhunter was trying to prove his guilt and how his friends were striking a balance between helping him and making sure that he doesn’t die.
As a character, Todhunter was a very interesting person. He’s a self-proclaimed cranky old man, but it’s clear that all his young relatives like him and he’s quite able to make friends. He turns the stereotype of the invalid upside down and his drive to keep an innocent man from hanging is probably the only thing that kept him alive all these months.
I may be wrong, but I felt like Berkeley had a lot of fun writing this. The character of Todhunter is amusing and the narration has humour sprinkled all over it. The one that made me laugh out loud was the opening of the chapter after Todhunter is convicted, as the book describes how the various newspapers react to the verdict:
The only nitpick I have about this was that there were some pretty obvious typos in the book (I remember seeing Mr Chitterwick’s name being spelt as Critterwick). I’m not sure if this edition was printed from scanned versions of the original and the OCR made a mistake, but I would hope that future reprints fix this issue.
Overall, this was a refreshing and well-written mystery. To me, it proves that we’ve got many overlooked gems from the Golden Age of Mystery, and I hope that we’ll see more of such stories reprinted and made widely available.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
One of the novelists during the Golden Age of Mystery, Berkeley was a prolific writer and one of the founding members of the Detective Club. As with most Golden Age novelists whose books that I’ve managed to read, it’s a pity that he’s relatively unknown today (at least, I hadn’t heard of him until I started reading up about the Golden Age of Mystery).
Trial and Error is an extremely innovative book because the protagonist, Todhunter, is trying to prove his guilt. After being diagnosed with a life-threatening condition and told he only has months to live, Todhunter gathers a group of friends to see what he should do to make his last months worth it. The answer, it seems, is murder. A bit shocked, Todhunter scouts for a suitable victim and finds one, only to see the police arrest and try the wrong man! With the help of his friends, Todhunter spends his last few months trying to prove that he was the murderer.
I found this to be a very enjoyable and ingenious mystery, not least because it starts with a known criminal who’s trying to detect his own crime. The twists and turns of the court case was fascinating and I had so much fun reading about how Todhunter was trying to prove his guilt and how his friends were striking a balance between helping him and making sure that he doesn’t die.
As a character, Todhunter was a very interesting person. He’s a self-proclaimed cranky old man, but it’s clear that all his young relatives like him and he’s quite able to make friends. He turns the stereotype of the invalid upside down and his drive to keep an innocent man from hanging is probably the only thing that kept him alive all these months.
I may be wrong, but I felt like Berkeley had a lot of fun writing this. The character of Todhunter is amusing and the narration has humour sprinkled all over it. The one that made me laugh out loud was the opening of the chapter after Todhunter is convicted, as the book describes how the various newspapers react to the verdict:
“Did the incomparable British judicial system then contain such traps as might catch an innocent man and let the guilty escape?
“The Times had a thoughtful leader proving that there was nothing wrong with the system and inclined to deplore the fact that, in spite of the cautious attitude of the judge, Mr Todhunter should have gotten himself convicted, at the same time equally deprecating the fact that Vincent Palmer had not somehow managed to get himself acquitted. The Daily Telegraphy had an equally thoughtful leader saying at length exactly nothing at all. The Morning Post was inclined to believe that some subtle Communist propaganda had been at work. The News Chronicle was more certain than ever that the civil war in Spain was the indirect outcome of the whole unfortunate affair.”
The only nitpick I have about this was that there were some pretty obvious typos in the book (I remember seeing Mr Chitterwick’s name being spelt as Critterwick). I’m not sure if this edition was printed from scanned versions of the original and the OCR made a mistake, but I would hope that future reprints fix this issue.
Overall, this was a refreshing and well-written mystery. To me, it proves that we’ve got many overlooked gems from the Golden Age of Mystery, and I hope that we’ll see more of such stories reprinted and made widely available.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
March 11, 2021
This was one of the cleverest and most fun books I've read in a while. Berkeley is a wonderfully witty writer with a gift for the telling observation. The plot is tight and compelling, and the characterization is handled well. Mr Todhunter begins as a nondescript little man who gets an idea: since he's going to die soon of a heart ailment, why not do something for the betterment of humanity before he dies? Simple enough, but what should he do? He consults with friends, posing the question as a hypothetical, and the idea they come up with is that such a person should kill a bad person and thus reduce the misery of those the bad person is harming. But whom to kill? Now there's a puzzler. Hitler or Mussolini seem to Mr Todhunter good possibilities, but how to get to them? And would killing them bring the movements they head to an end anyways? No, he decides his aims should be more modest. Find someone who's creating misery to a small group of ordinary people, whose death would be a gain to some and a serious loss to nobody. So that's what he does. Then, exhausted by his activities he goes on a little trip, leaving a confession behind to be opened after his death. But someone else, an innocent person, is arrested, so Mr Todhunter hurries home to take the blame. Who could have predicted that it would be so hard to get anyone to believe him? Now he has to go to enormous trouble to prove himself guilty.
Honestly, this book was a delight.
Honestly, this book was a delight.
January 7, 2015
Totally brilliant! This is deservedly a classic of crime fiction. A man with a terminal illness, and just weeks to live, decides to benefit humanity by killing a Villain. But who? He chooses a total monster and does the deed efficiently, or so it seems. But an innocent man is then accused of the murder. And the police dismiss the confessions of the true killer as the ravings of a lunatic.
Solution: the killer must prosecute himself! Anthony Berkeley has great fun with the resulting court room farce in which the defendant struggles to prove his own guilt against the stupidities of the legal system and British politics. Of course, there's a wonderful last chapter twist that I (for one) didn't see coming...
If you have time read just one period detective novel this year, make it this one.
Solution: the killer must prosecute himself! Anthony Berkeley has great fun with the resulting court room farce in which the defendant struggles to prove his own guilt against the stupidities of the legal system and British politics. Of course, there's a wonderful last chapter twist that I (for one) didn't see coming...
If you have time read just one period detective novel this year, make it this one.
January 3, 2012
It is impossible to express how clever this book is without spoiling it. It is criminally out-of-print but well worth getting your hands on.
August 25, 2024
2.5 really
Read
May 12, 2020An altruistic English mystery novel – from 1937? Yes, it’s possible. Goodness can always appear, in any time – even during the rise of Mussolini & Hitler (to which this book tellingly alludes). Like the first issue of Superman, which appeared the year later, "Trial and Error” responds obliquely to fascism – though it’s written not by two Cleveland Jews but by an ink-besmirched London journalist. (And journalism is one of its themes. It’s a long book – 443 pages (in the Dell paperback version) – and therefore divided into parts. Part IV is actually entitled “JOURNALISTIC” (subtitle: “Scene in Court”). I hate to reveal the plot of any book, movie, or videogame, but I will tell you that much.)
Also, the work’s saintliness is not obvious, let me assure you, until three minutes after you finish the last page (and then thumb through the ads in the back, for the “Alfred Hitchcock series,” “Chilling Mysteries by the Incomparable Agatha Christie,” and Kurt Vonnegut’s hot new novel, “Jailbird”). Let me show you a few paragraphs at random:
“Oh, undoubtedly,” Mr. Chitterwick began to beam, but the worried look did not altogether leave his face.
“Then what’s troubling you?”
“Well, you see, the thing is, will the police accept that these marks were made so long ago, even if we were able to make a connected line of them leading into Miss Norwood’s garden? They may hold that they are – er – casual marks, and we have selected them arbitrarily.”
“But we haven’t.”
You can’t see it in this excerpt, but “Trial and Error” – fabulous title – has an experimental side, as if Berkeley is constantly discarding his novel’s outline and letting Mr. Lawrence Todhunter (the protagonist) dictate the disarming plot twists.
Also, the work’s saintliness is not obvious, let me assure you, until three minutes after you finish the last page (and then thumb through the ads in the back, for the “Alfred Hitchcock series,” “Chilling Mysteries by the Incomparable Agatha Christie,” and Kurt Vonnegut’s hot new novel, “Jailbird”). Let me show you a few paragraphs at random:
“Oh, undoubtedly,” Mr. Chitterwick began to beam, but the worried look did not altogether leave his face.
“Then what’s troubling you?”
“Well, you see, the thing is, will the police accept that these marks were made so long ago, even if we were able to make a connected line of them leading into Miss Norwood’s garden? They may hold that they are – er – casual marks, and we have selected them arbitrarily.”
“But we haven’t.”
You can’t see it in this excerpt, but “Trial and Error” – fabulous title – has an experimental side, as if Berkeley is constantly discarding his novel’s outline and letting Mr. Lawrence Todhunter (the protagonist) dictate the disarming plot twists.
July 25, 2020
The victim is so wicked, the killer so determined, the trial so absurd, the twists so unexpected, the tone so amusing, and the book soooooo good. I’ll definitely have to track down more of this author’s works. I loved it!
August 11, 2015
Excellent Golden Age mystery. Had me laughing out loud several times on the bus.
May 26, 2020
3.5
It is a good murder story (not sure if mystery would be the proper word to use here), so there is no point in getting into the negative stuff- like the choice of the victim. Never was a fan of La Belle Dame Sans Merci.
It could have done with significant editing though. But again, a delightful read.
Note: This is a Frances Iles novel. I suppose Anthony Berkeley used his own name because he wanted to use Chitterwick, or actually, I can not presume to know what he wanted, but this is a Frances Iles novel.
It is a good murder story (not sure if mystery would be the proper word to use here), so there is no point in getting into the negative stuff- like the choice of the victim. Never was a fan of La Belle Dame Sans Merci.
It could have done with significant editing though. But again, a delightful read.
Note: This is a Frances Iles novel. I suppose Anthony Berkeley used his own name because he wanted to use Chitterwick, or actually, I can not presume to know what he wanted, but this is a Frances Iles novel.
Want to read
May 17, 2017Recommendet by Laurie, thanks. Not so sure, wether it is a book for me, but the blurb and the review by Laurieare interesting enough, so I bought it instantly. Also, I am still bored by The Circle, which at 30% left to read I do not really want to DNF, more like FastForward to see how it ends.
February 13, 2022
More Francis Iles than Anthony Berkeley. Too long and the anti-Semitism is always unpleasant.
September 1, 2017
First published in 1937, this deservedly belongs to the Golden Age of mystery fiction. Lawrence Todhunter, upon given a medical prognosis of an aneurysm, and with only months to live (at best), decides to do one good deed before dying: to rid the world of the person who has done the most harm to others. After discounting Mussolini and Hitler, he is thrown into the path of the glamorous and successful actress Jean Norwood, and it is she whom he targets. And she is duly dispatched.
The only problem is that another man is arrested for the murder, and the honourable (if homicidal) Todhunter must prove his guilt.
This is a sardonic, black-humoured look at the British justice system and is a pleasure to read.
The only problem is that another man is arrested for the murder, and the honourable (if homicidal) Todhunter must prove his guilt.
This is a sardonic, black-humoured look at the British justice system and is a pleasure to read.
April 10, 2013
Trial and Error is a re-issue of Anthony Berkeley's 1937 novel. It fits fairly neatly into the 'classical puzzle' pigeon hole of crime fiction in that it's the mystery itself that takes centre stage, as opposed to the psychological elements that are more the hallmark of contemporary examples of the genre.
Mr Todhunter is a late middle aged fussy bachelor who, when given a diagnosis of a terminal illness, decides to commit a murder (as you do!). The first half of the story concerns his motivations (such as they are) for the murder and then the selection of his victim. It's a clever story and the puzzle is complex and satisfying, but I had to read this with increasing amounts of disbelief and frustration at its preposterousness. None of the characters or their behaviour were in any way believable and the fussiness and preciseness of the writing were another distraction.
A book for diehard officionardos of crime fiction only, I would suggest.
© Koplowitz 2013
Mr Todhunter is a late middle aged fussy bachelor who, when given a diagnosis of a terminal illness, decides to commit a murder (as you do!). The first half of the story concerns his motivations (such as they are) for the murder and then the selection of his victim. It's a clever story and the puzzle is complex and satisfying, but I had to read this with increasing amounts of disbelief and frustration at its preposterousness. None of the characters or their behaviour were in any way believable and the fussiness and preciseness of the writing were another distraction.
A book for diehard officionardos of crime fiction only, I would suggest.
© Koplowitz 2013
April 30, 2017
After reading Berkeley's The Poisoned Chocolates Case, I had quite high expectations for this book. The premise - about a man whose doctor says that he only has a short time left to live and therefore plans a murder, which then an innocent person gets arrested for - seemed to back that up. However, the book had nearly none of the charm and plot twists of the previous books and indeed a weaker ending. Much of the book is either focused on a case which then has no impact on the rest of the book or on the trial. The trial is well-written and both emotional and intelligent, but ultimately not enough to rescue what could have been a really tricky detective story. The main character, Mr Todhunter, is remarkably uninteresting, and not even Mr Chitterwick who returns from The Poisoned Chocolates Case is allowed to shine.
September 24, 2019
Another brilliant novel from Anthony Berkeley. A very unusual story that makes you think about justice outside of the law. A man with terminal disease named Toddhunter, decided to do one good altruistic thing before he dies, murdering a obnoxious person who already did a lot of harm to many people.
But after the murder was committed an innocent man was arrested and convicted. Now Toddhunter comes out to the open and surrenders to the law, but by that time it became quite difficult to prove Toddhunter’s crime. The police says that he is dying anyway and that’s why he is trying to save the other convicted man.
The epilogue has the biggest twist which makes this novel a 5 star read. Amazing masterpiece.
But after the murder was committed an innocent man was arrested and convicted. Now Toddhunter comes out to the open and surrenders to the law, but by that time it became quite difficult to prove Toddhunter’s crime. The police says that he is dying anyway and that’s why he is trying to save the other convicted man.
The epilogue has the biggest twist which makes this novel a 5 star read. Amazing masterpiece.
December 16, 2015
Truyện hay, kết bất ngờ nhưng điểm trừ lớn nhất là quá dài. Tác giả dài dòng lê thê từ đầu tới cuối truyện, từ phần mở đầu mô tả tâm lý nhân vật để dẫn đến vụ án mạng tới việc xử án và kiện tụng. Nếu bỏ đi được nhiều phần dài dòng quá mức thì phải nói truyện cũng hay và khá cuốn hút. Tác giả có phong cách viết hài hước và rất thích trêu đùa nhân vật cũng như người đọc. Nếu ai kiên trì đọc được đến cùng thì sẽ rất thích cái kết vì nó có độ trêu ngươi cao nhất!
July 21, 2022
6/5 stars! I was engaged from beginning to end. I laughed out loud at more than one moment, and that epilogue 😮 hands down best twist! It confirmed my earlier suspicions that I had totally forgotten amongst all of the other ridiculous goings-on of the last third of the book. I can’t believe that this book is not more widely read these days! I will be definitely rereading this again in the future.
January 24, 2015
This was just perfect. Which is more brilliant, this or 'The Poisoned Chocolates Case'? Well... As both are exceptionally entertaining and highly ingeniously plotted, it's a tough decision. I have no doubts, however, that I want to read more witty crime thrillers from Anthony Berkeley as soon as possible!
February 19, 2017
Highly original and well constructed story
This falls well outside the conventions of the usual murder mystery and that is what makes it such entertaining fare. The plot is well constructed—in fact quite clever— and mostly plausible with a few surprises along the way. The title is perfectly suited to the story.
This falls well outside the conventions of the usual murder mystery and that is what makes it such entertaining fare. The plot is well constructed—in fact quite clever— and mostly plausible with a few surprises along the way. The title is perfectly suited to the story.
April 26, 2015
What would you do if you were given only a few months to live? And there was no possibility of a cure or survival? That's the question our protagonist has to answer in this twisty mystery. Glad it's back in print and ebook -- well worth reading
January 5, 2020
This book was nothing at all like what I expected it to be. The premise was interesting - a man committed a murder but another man was convicted. The onus to prove his own guilt falls on him. But when I started reading my, oh my.
Just based on the cover, I thought it was going to be a light reading. You know, like a casual murder with coffee and cats involved. From the synopsis, it didn't occur to me that the story was going to have a lot of court proceedings. Just from a glance, I wasn't warned that reading this piece means diving into philosophical questions of ethical dilemmas and what's right and wrong.
I was pleasantly surprised. I got mad with some characters' ideas of things, I got frustrated when certain efforts turned out unfruitful and so on. Berkeley had a sense of humor about him too, as I found myself laughing when I least expected to. I even thought of Agatha Christie at one point because of the sometimes crude but interesting way Berkeley described a character from another character's point of view. Only to find out that they both were part of the famed Detection Club in London.
I wanted the ending to be the way it was. And Berkeley left it till the very last sentence before I could know I was right. I cannot wait to read his other books. I have one on my shelf, and others I'd need to add to my collection.
Just based on the cover, I thought it was going to be a light reading. You know, like a casual murder with coffee and cats involved. From the synopsis, it didn't occur to me that the story was going to have a lot of court proceedings. Just from a glance, I wasn't warned that reading this piece means diving into philosophical questions of ethical dilemmas and what's right and wrong.
I was pleasantly surprised. I got mad with some characters' ideas of things, I got frustrated when certain efforts turned out unfruitful and so on. Berkeley had a sense of humor about him too, as I found myself laughing when I least expected to. I even thought of Agatha Christie at one point because of the sometimes crude but interesting way Berkeley described a character from another character's point of view. Only to find out that they both were part of the famed Detection Club in London.
I wanted the ending to be the way it was. And Berkeley left it till the very last sentence before I could know I was right. I cannot wait to read his other books. I have one on my shelf, and others I'd need to add to my collection.
August 4, 2023
Nerdy, somewhat pompous nobody, Todhunter finds himself with months to live and decides on a vigilate type 'greater good' murder as a last-act legacy for mankind. It's a silly premise but a fun one and with old-fashioned books like this the idea is not supposed to be taken seriously, it is just a circumstance to explore.
This book is fun to read. It IS silly but it adds to the already engaging humour of the novel, heavy on the satire with black-humour overtones. The characterisation of the manipulative legal profession and influence and objectivity of the press is spot on and considering this was written almost 90 years ago, still relevant - more is the worry.
It's obviously dated in many other ways and now this wouldn't see the light of day, which is a shame as this is a decent book. In my opinion, we won't call it 'expert' opinion (sic) - Funny throughout, learned and entertaining. I'm still smiling.
These are still there being reprinted and others can be tracked down. I say throw something like this in every now and then as a change - Very entertaining Mr Berkely. Thank you.
This book is fun to read. It IS silly but it adds to the already engaging humour of the novel, heavy on the satire with black-humour overtones. The characterisation of the manipulative legal profession and influence and objectivity of the press is spot on and considering this was written almost 90 years ago, still relevant - more is the worry.
It's obviously dated in many other ways and now this wouldn't see the light of day, which is a shame as this is a decent book. In my opinion, we won't call it 'expert' opinion (sic) - Funny throughout, learned and entertaining. I'm still smiling.
These are still there being reprinted and others can be tracked down. I say throw something like this in every now and then as a change - Very entertaining Mr Berkely. Thank you.
August 30, 2017
'Trial and Error' by Anthony Berkeley is a 1937 crime classic. Berkeley sets the typical murder story on its head with a devious and complicated plot. Lawrence Todhunter is dying and wants to do a noble deed to help humanity before he goes. He decides to murder an obnoxious person who is ruining the lives of a number of people. This was definitely a crime with a difference and the first three quarters of the book is gripping and thought provoking. Then it becomes a tangle of legalese as a trial is described in so much repetitive detail I tired of it. However, other readers may find the minutiae fascinating and challenging. But I hung in there and I'm glad because there were more twists to be had - right up to the final sentence.
September 27, 2018
A very clever premise but, unfortunately, one of the most tedious Golden Age classics I have read.
I am reaching the conclusion that I simply do not like Berkeley/Iles at all. So far he is a "two trick pony" as far as I am concerned, either some version of "inverted" or of the multiple solutions idea.
The twist at the end of this was so clearly signposted early on that it was hardly unexpected.
The person murdered was again a strong, independent woman, condemned for behaving as many men would (abusing a position of power). Most of the men in this are, to my mind, pretty despicable.
Some reviewers have characterised this as black comedy as much as a "mystery". I found it grey and unfunny.
I am reaching the conclusion that I simply do not like Berkeley/Iles at all. So far he is a "two trick pony" as far as I am concerned, either some version of "inverted" or of the multiple solutions idea.
The twist at the end of this was so clearly signposted early on that it was hardly unexpected.
The person murdered was again a strong, independent woman, condemned for behaving as many men would (abusing a position of power). Most of the men in this are, to my mind, pretty despicable.
Some reviewers have characterised this as black comedy as much as a "mystery". I found it grey and unfunny.
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