Cressida: No Mystery

by Marie Belloc Lowndes

A week of love and laughter is promised for the run-up to Christmas Day - it's looking like this year will be unforgettable...

Family and friends are gathered to celebrate the festive season and the exciting announcement of heiress Lizzie Bowden's engagement. The elegant country house is luxuriously prepared for the week's festivities and while the bright sunshine and crisp cool air flush the cheeks outside, inside the fires are roaring, the tables piled high with food and champagne is being despatched with abandon.

Into this heady atmosphere arrives a surprise guest. Cressida, Lizzie's precocious childhood friend has a sharp wit and sharper fashion, cutting an almost irresistible figure. Instantly becoming the centre of attention, her normally welcome presence is, at this time, a little too attractive for some...

As Christmas Day approaches, tension heightens, nerves fray and patience thins. Will Christmas Day dawn full of joy and festive cheer, or will this year be truly memorable - for all the wrong reasons...?


A fascinating early exploration of relationship dynamics amid the social mores of the time, No Mystery documents their unraveling with compassion - and an acerbic humour. As a contemporary review “The style is original, the characterology masterful, the suspense admirable.”

Marie Belloc Lowndes (1868-1947) wrote over 70 books including true crime, biography, romance, and thrillers - of which her novels of crime and detection were the most popular. She is best known for The Lodger (1913) based on the Jack the Ripper murders.

Genres: Christmas

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Marie Adelaide Elizabeth Rayner Lowndes, née Belloc (5 August 1868 – 14 November 1947), was a prolific English novelist.

Active from 1898 until her death, she had a literary reputation for combining exciting incident with psychological interest. Two of her works were adapted for the screen.

Born in Marylebone, London and raised in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France, Mrs Belloc Lowndes was the only daughter of French barrister Louis Belloc and English feminist Bessie Parkes. Her younger brother was Hilaire Belloc, whom she wrote of in her last work, The Young Hilaire Belloc (published posthumously in 1956). Her paternal grandfather was the French painter Jean-Hilaire Belloc, and her maternal great-great-grandfather was Joseph Priestley. In 1896, she married Frederick Sawrey A. Lowndes (1868–1940). Her mother died in 1925, 53 years after her father.

She published a biography, H.R.H. The Prince of Wales: An Account of His Career, in 1898. From then on, she published novels, reminiscences, and plays at the rate of one per year until 1946. In the memoir, I, too, Have Lived in Arcadia (1942), she told the story of her mother's life, compiled largely from old family letters and her own memories of her early life in France. A second autobiography Where love and friendship dwelt, appeared posthumously in 1948.

She died 14 November 1947 at the home of her elder daughter, Countess Iddesleigh (wife of the third Earl) in Eversley Cross, Hampshire, and was interred in France, in La Celle-Saint-Cloud near Versailles, where she spent her youth.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Anissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a neat, snappy story. At under 100 pages, it got a lot of character study in and also a fair bit of dread. A country house on the cusp of Christmas with Lizzie, an heiress with more money than overt charm and Larry, her newly announced fiancee possessed of a taste for all the fine things money can buy and a distinct lack of character. Lizzie's aunt and guardian presides over the gathering at the home and invites Cressida, the supposed former school chum of Lizzie. Cressida never has a kind thing to say about Lizzie really and Lizzie feels much the same. Cressida is all outward beauty and couture. She's also a fortune hunter, considering accepting the proposal of a man whose only quality she can stand is his bank balance. She finds sport in turning Larry's eye. Not to keep of course, because he's poor... (unless he can inherit Lizzie's money) but to stick the screws to Lizzie.

It becomes clear quickly that someone will not survive the holiday. One just wonders if the victim will be Lizzie, done in by Larry and Cressida in order to get her money. Or maybe Larry, done in by Lizzie when he betrays her? Or maybe Cressida, by Lizzie for betrayal or by Larry for being unserious and treating him like a toy? This levels up the suspense as the story progresses and I enjoyed that. Ultimately, someone does die and I wasn't so sad for them. The one whodunnit, I also wasn't really pining to get caught.

I am glad I read this and it worked well for a seasonal mystery. There's snow and parties with all the trimmings to accompany the suspense. Recommended.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a slim festive book – but one that could be read at any time of year. Its prolific author was often associated with murder mystery, and yet the actual crime in this book almost occurs in the background of the main event. This is a book of its time, and yet is advanced in its descriptions of characters and relationships, being almost painfully honest about the people concerned from the first pages. This is not a collection of the glamorous young people drawn together to celebrate the festive season, but those still, in 1923, recovering from a War which changed the lives and particularly the fortunes of so many. With one exception, these are people with agendas that they do not declare even if they are referred to frequently. The heiress, the fortune hunter, the surprise guest are all characters that could turn up at any gathering as depicted in a Christmas country house mystery, but Lowndes infuses them and the other characters with real life. This is a novel that reflects the social lives and relationships of a set of people in the 1920s which is thoroughly consistent with the Golden Age of Crime Writing which lifted them beyond strict plotting in the hands of some writers. While there were those for whom the mystery was all, in this novel the silent reflections of some of the characters is faithfully recorded and becomes the important theme of the book. This novel originally appeared in 1923 but has recently been republished by The Oleander Press, a welcome opportunity to discover it. We really enjoyed this book and devoured it very quickly, and were very grateful to have the opportunity to read and review it.
At the beginning of the novel a group is gathered for a double celebration – the nearness of Christmas and the announcement of Lizzie Bowden’s engagement. Her aunt, the delightful (in some eyes) Lady Bignor, is so pleased and relived of the burden which she sees as about to lift from her shoulders of dealing with the somewhat challenging young woman. The devoted Colonel George Slade has long had reservations about Lizzie after seeing her true temperament years before, just as he sees her new fiancé as the man he probably is, with a less than purely romantic interest in the young heiress. In a few words Lowndes describes the other people in the party, such as “the elderly rector of the parish and his worn-looking wife” with painful accuracy. Lizzie herself is seen as possessed of a good idea of her true financial worth, but lacking in some emotional intelligence and so stubborn in challenging ways. In contrast the absent Cressida is known for her glamour and somewhat profligate nature, which is often forgiven for her personality. Lowndes manages to convey something of the beauty of Cressida’s dress with real skill, as well as the more general nature of the setting.
This is a murder mystery novel which breaks some of the rules, such as not making the crime obviously the centre of the action, but instead spends much time dealing with the social relationships involved. While it fits well into the style of writing prevalent in the interwar period, Lowndes chooses to dwell more on the depth of the characters than the intricacies of plot, red herrings and other commonly featured elements of Golden Age fiction. She always manages to insert the tension and stress of crime into the novel, while also making it seem full of human interaction. We recommend this novel for fans of interwar writing and those who enjoy a satisfying short read.

[Lizzie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published in 1928, this short novel (there are just 118 very readable pages) has a highly accurate title given that there is no mystery in the conventional sense that one has come to expect in a Golden Age story. Instead, the reader spends the book wondering what is going to happen.

Let me explain. Lizzie Bowden lives with her guardian and aunt, Lady Bignor, who has invited Lizzie’s other guardian, Colonel Slade, for Christmas. Lizzie, left a wealthy young woman by her late father, has just become engaged to Captain Larry Wortle who has lost what money he had by ill-advised investments and loose living. All appears well until Cressida Daryl, a young friend of Lady Bignor’s, is invited after the collapse of her original plans for Christmas. Wortle falls for the siren Cressida, and so begins a variation on the ménage à trois theme. There are contrasts everywhere. Whilst Cressida and Larry are enthusiastic socialites and attractive physically (particularly so in Cressida’s case), Lizzie is plain and sullen-natured. Cressida and Larry are self-obsessed and unattractive morally, and neither is reluctant to do some sponging to improve their own desperate financial situation. Lizzie is, as mentioned, wealthy.

The prolific Marie Belloc Lowndes (1868-1947), sister of Hilaire Belloc, has a reputation for including psychological interest in her novels, and this is where the fascination lies in Cressida: No Mystery. As Cressida and Larry become closer (it helps that Lizzie is laid low by a bad cold for most of the time), we begin to wonder what this will lead to. And we are not the only ones: Colonel Slade has his worries, and even Lady Bignor (who seems more devoted to Cressida than she is to her niece) eventually realises that Cressida is not a good influence on Larry.

Many of the usual traits of the Golden Age are here. Apart from the country house setting (and there is a neighbouring house that is essential to the plot), we have Captain Wortle, Colonel Slade, Lady Bignor, Lord Danesborough, Major Mandeville and the rector and his wife. We just don’t have a body early on and spend the rest of the book wondering if there is going to be one.

So, this short novel is an oddity, but one that keeps the reader guessing.
-------
Reviewer: David Whittle
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People group)

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written, published and set in the 1920's Cressida: No Mystery is a slim novella set in the week running up to Christmas. It's set in large English country house where heiress Lizzie Bowden has announced her engagement to Larry Wortle and the two are together to spend Christmas with Lizzie's aunt and guardian, Lady Bignor and her beau, George Slade. It's made clear from the outset that none of the characters are particularly attractive personalities; ones you might want to spend time with, but Lizzie Bowden seems to be as physically ugly as is her personality and Lady Bignor is thoroughly relieved that she has finally got someone to marry her daughter, even if the only reason is that Larry Wortle it broke and sees Lizzie as a means to wealth. This may well have remained as insight into a Christmas spent by four self-serving individuals but Lady Bignor throws a firework into the fire by inviting Cressida Daryl to the house party. Cressida Daryl, an orphaned protege of Lady Bignor, is everything that Lizzie Bowden is not, physically, and is considered to be a great beauty and it's therefore never going to end well when Cressida and Larry are forced into each other's company on account of Lizzie suffering from a cold and needing to avoid the social activities in the build up to Christmas Day. However, despite her beautiful appearance Cressida is as ugly if not a more ugly personality than all the others who uses people for her own advantage and entertainment and thus Larry becomes the focus of her attention to pass the time at Millhanger House.

Although short this novella is a fast paced and insightful look at the dynamics of bringing people together over the Christmas period who perhaps should have stayed elsewhere. Tensions are heightened in an atmosphere of deceit and jealousy which reaches it's conclusion on Christmas morning. Although not giving away any spoilers as to the ending it's safe to say that none of the ugliness of the personalities involved are transformed by a sudden revelation of Christmas spirit.

[J. Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became a great fan of Marie Belloc Lowndes over The Lodger, a slow-burning psychological thriller. Once again, I was enthralled. An impossible love triangle story that sorts itself over the few days leading up to Christmas. The publisher had a politically correct disclaimer up front distancing themselves from this story, most likely as the main character Lizzie is described as chunky, plain, and socially a bit coarse while her rival is thin, attractive, and prides herself on her twin talents, humor and laughter.
If this offends you, give this one a pass.
Plotwise, the story is quite uncomplicated. But Lowndes was gifted at creating characters with inner turmoil, largely inner thoughts vs. outward appearances. We jump from head to head learning each character's thoughts as tension builds. Perhaps modern readers would find the lack of action "boring" but I'm old-school and love this kind of Hitchcock dread build-up.
It's a quick read with a somewhat surprising ending. It could have resolved in several directions; but it had to resolve. That's the beauty of this--you just know the damn has to break... but how will it go?

[Neer · Rating 2 out of 5]

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