Send for Paul Temple: Green Popular Penguins

Paul Temple #1

by Francis Durbridge

After a series of robberies, Scotland Yard are mystified. In the latest, a night watchman is attacked and in his last breath he manages to gasp out, 'The Green Finger.' This is not the first time the phrase has come to the attention of the Yard; it was also said by a man who was wanted in connection with another robbery, as he died from drowning. Who or what is the 'Green Finger'? The public are alarmed and the press demand that the Yard 'send for Paul Temple!' Aided by a young, pretty reporter, Paul is faced with solving a deepening and widening mystery.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Audiobook, Golden Age Mystery, Detective

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Francis Henry Durbridge was an English playwright and author born in Hull. In 1938, he created the character Paul Temple for the BBC radio serial Send for Paul Temple.

A crime novelist and detective, the gentlemanly Temple solved numerous crimes with the help of Steve Trent, a Fleet Street journalist who later became his wife. The character proved enormously popular and appeared in 16 radio serials and later spawned a 64-part big-budget television series (1969-71) and radio productions, as well as a number of comic strips, four feature films and various foreign radio productions.

Francis Durbridge also had a successful career as a writer for the stage and screen. His most successful play, Suddenly at Home, ran in London’s West End for over a year.

Reviews

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating and review to follow tomorrow, but very enjoyable and a lot of fun.

So I have been a fan of Paul Temple / Francis Durbridge since the late 60s when I used to listen to them on the radio with my parents. Since then I have listened to a number of radio adaptations all great fun, all atmospheric, and all so reminiscent of their era. That said I have read very few of the novels over the yers, and certainly not this one, which is the first.
(As a point of information, Francis Durbridge professed himself to be only a script writer, and was concerned that his stories would not translate from radio to paper, and so collaborated with others on all initial scripts to transfer them to novels).

This novel, was as enjoyable read and given that it was the first novel (to be adapted from a radio script) I can understand why it wasn't all singing and all dancing. It was just good, and so I have given it 4 stars. I really enjoyed the story and the characters but I cannot in all honesty give it 5 stars.

So this novel is focussed on an extraordinary gang of thieves who have pulled off a number of very successful jewel robberies, with the Police apparently clueless as to who is ultimately responsible. Journalists and media have started a campaign to "Send for Paul Temple" who has previously helped in a high profile case. One of the journalists leading the Paul Temple campaign is a woman called Louise Harvey who will become Paul Temple's wife Steve.
An excellent introduction to anyone new to Paul Temple, and I just hope people will take the opportunity to read the novels or listen to some of the wonderful adaptations.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Knave of Diamonds…

There has been a series of daring jewellery heists across the Midlands, and the police are baffled. Young journalist Steve Trent, a woman despite her name, starts a press campaign demanding that the police Send for Paul Temple! Temple is a crime novelist and amateur detective and has helped the police in the past. However, not unnaturally, the police commissioner is reluctant to hand the case over to an amateur since it doesn't make his force look particularly good. But when Temple happens to be on the spot when a police officer is murdered and it appears that the murder might be linked to the case, the commissioner gives in with good grace and finally does send for Paul Temple. Together with Steve, Paul will come up against a criminal mastermind who has operated in more than one country and who goes by the name of the Knave of Diamonds. Will Temple get to him before the Knave gets to Steve, who has her own reasons for her interest in the case?

I never liked the Paul Temple TV series many, many moons ago, primarily because I didn't like the actor who played Paul. That has always put me off reading the books so I wasn't sure how this one would work for me. I'm glad to say that, although it's fundamentally nonsense, it's entertaining nonsense and quite well written. There's some humour in it and lots of thrills, and the real suspense comes from not knowing who the Knave might be, especially when it becomes clear early on that he is getting information that is only available to people high up in the police force. This means that Paul and Steve have to be quite wary about what information they pass on to the police, since they also don't know who is betraying the investigation.

It's a kind of cross between a mystery and a thriller, with the real strength being on the thriller elements. Paul is pretty insufferable – one of these amateur detectives who's good at everything, supremely attractive to women and so much more intelligent than the police. The idea that the public would demand that an amateur come in and take over an investigation from the police just has to be accepted for the purpose of the story to work, ridiculous though it obviously is. There are lots of murders along the way, but fortunately we don't really get to know any of the victims and therefore we don't much care, and anyway most of them are bad guys. And despite the multitude of corpses it is remarkably free of gore and grisliness.

A few years ago I listened to a radio adaptation of one of the Paul Temple stories, also made many years ago, and found the sexism in the way Paul treated Steve both hilarious and off-putting. I don't know if that reflected how the books developed over time but I was pleasantly surprised in this one to find that Steve is actually a pretty good heroine for that era. (The book was first published in 1938.) She's always up for adventure, doesn't scare easily, and while she has to be rescued once or twice she's certainly plucky and intelligent. I actually liked her considerably more than I liked Paul, and couldn't quite understand why someone as attractive as she liked a man as full of himself as he! But hey, maybe women's standards were lower back in those days... ;)

Overall, then, I found this an easy and enjoyable read that kept me turning the pages. It doesn't really add anything new to the genre but that's okay. Sometimes you just want something that is undemanding and entertaining, and that's exactly what this is. I'm not sure that it thrilled me enough to encourage me to actively seek out more from the series, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at them if any of them come my way in the future.

www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com

[Elizabeth A.G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the hardcover large print edition first published in 1938 through inter-library loan and it has a different cover than that shown above. My edition displays a jack of diamonds displayed on the cover. This was a good read that kept my attention and had me guessing until the end who might be the head of the gang of thieves - the "Knave of Diamonds." I liked the writing style which was suspenseful at the end of each chapter that made you want to read on. I liked the characters, and look forward to reading other Durbridge novels. Knowing this story was originally a radio broadcast, I could readily imagine hearing some of the action scenes through the author's descriptions.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

De cover geeft een artistieke interpretatie van de titel. Ruitenboer, maar wel met een revolver in de hand. Ruitenboer blijkt in dit verhaal de schuilnaam van de tegenstander van Paul Vlaanderen, de leider van de criminelen die een reeks juweeldiefstallen plegen.
Al van bij het begin krijgen we een voorstelling van de meeste deelnemers in het verhaal. Door het alwetende standpunt van de schrijer krijgt de lezer meteen ook meer informatie dan Paul Vlaanderen zelf. Dat geeft natuurlijk een voordeel bij het volgen van de plot maar neemt tegelijkertijd een deel van de potentiële spanning weg.
Op geen enkel moment merk je dat dit boek gebaseerd is op een reeks zeer populaire hoorspelen die destijds door de BBC ten gehore werden gebracht.
Het verhaal glijdt heen en weer tussen beschrijvingen van het gemoedelijke engelse landleven en de spanning van achtervolgingen en beschietingen. Binnen die context heeft het boek de tand des tijds wonderwel doorstaan en leest het nog even vlot als toen het origineel gepubliceerd werd. Francis Durbridge weet hoe hij een spannend verhaal moet brengen en de lezer blijvend moet boeien.

[Emmypeaches · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always loved Paul Temple, thanks to a neighbour sharing the radio dramas with my father. I'm lucky enough to own most of the published books, the films and most of the audios, but I have to say that 'Send For Paul Temple' will always remain my favourite. Francis Durbridge has a way of writing that keeps you involved until the last, and even though I know the storyline inside out I will always pick it up as my go-to comfort read.
As with many other crime writers of the time (notably 'Sapper's' 'Bulldog Drummond') the first book is the introduction to the two main characters as they meet, and then in later books they are married. For me, it seems like the feisty, independent ladies are at their peak, and then as soon as they are married they seem to lose their individuality and (as someone else had noted) they are relegated to the part of damsel in distress and providing little else than 'feminine intuition'.
Obviously in this, Steve is the intrepid reporter, bubbling with personality and captures Paul's interest instantly.
A book to treasure if you can find it in print (I believe House of Stratus are starting to print them all in modern paperbacks).
Update 1/10/2016: HarperCollins have also published all but one of the original books in e-book format.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prose adaptation of the first Paul Temple radio serial, read by Anthony Head. A bit compressed, but entertaining if you like cozy mysteries with a bit of a matinee serial/1930s b movie tone to them. This one's particularly of note because it establishes Temple quickly as an unofficial Scotland Yard consultant -- and a confirmed bachelor. Manservant Charlie Price is introduced here, as is Louise "Steve Trent" Harvey, the reporter who settles into a rather stilted married life with Temple. Beware the supercilious romance!

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally like the Paul temple radio serials when listening an episode at a time, no binge listening!
This book was like reading a combination of plot synopsis and adaptation of the original story.
I have now seen the film, heard the radio serial and read the book. That may have lowered my enjoyment slightly as I started to remember how the story went but still an enjoyable novel. If you’re unfamiliar with the film or radio serial then will enjoy it more.
On a side note I have never read a book so closely aligned with its movie cousin, I wonder which cane first? Must look that up.

[Brian Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Temple is a well known author of detective fiction, and also and amateur detective in his own right.
After the police are baffled by a spate of jewellery and diamond heists across the midlands, the paers are shouting "Send for Paul Temple!".

He is eventually sent for, but before then he's met some interesting characters.

It was an interesting read, and knowing "whodunit" wouldn't detract from picking it up again for a re-read.

[Budge Burgess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as bad as I expected - now there's damning with faint praise! For years, I've listened to the Paul Temples regularly broadcast on UK radio - they're awful, terribly terribly upper class English, hideously dated, formulaic, rehashing the same old plot twists and fortunate coincidences and deus ex machina escapes from danger, and inspirational breakthroughs by Temple ... not to mention Temple and Steve continually stating the bleedin' obvious in case some listener missed the point. They're ludicrous ... but I quite enjoy sitting shouting obscenities at the radio while I write at my computer.
And this book, the first novelisation of the first broadcast Paul Temple serial (BBC radio, April-May, 1938), is the first Temple I've read. Apparently Francis Durbridge (Temple's creator) used a collaborator, a ghost writer to help produce the novels - he saw himself as a scriptwriter, a writer of dialogue, so used another writer to 'novelise' the broadcast stories.
And here we have Paul Temple ... educated at Rugby School and Oxford where, we discover, he just missed out on a 'blue' for rugby. He's old enough to have been too young to be called up for the First World War - it's 1938, we imagine he'll be too old to get drafted for the second. He lives in a stately home in Warwickshire - he's a successful novelist ... he has no money worries and he's never going to be troubled with having to hold down a 9-5 (in the book we get allusions to him nipping to the study to dash off another couple of chapters).
Temple smokes a pipe - hints of Holmes. He appears to have a relationship with Scotland Yard - he will be engaged to solve crimes for them. In fact, the title of the book comes from a campaign, 'Send for Paul Temple', to get Scotland Yard to summon him to help them solve a series of jewel robberies which has left them baffled.
There were, of course, other private detectives or 'consulting detectives' or adventurers who had already established themselves in popular culture (Bulldog Drummond, Sexton Blake, Richard Hannay, Simon Templar, Richard Strangeways ... maybe even Nick & Nora Charles). Durbridge was following in a well-established genre - Marple and Poirot and others seemed able to have Scotland Yard dance to their tunes. I'll point the finger back to Nigel Strangeways, Cecil Day Lewis's creation, who is Oxford educated, his uncle is an Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard, and he's a writer.
So there's nothing particularly new or original about Temple. The character is formulaic - the character is one dimensional. The writing in this novel is very much "Boy's Own" - it is almost a cartoon, moving along at a steady pace, regularly spaced cliff-hangers, there's nothing in or about the writing which would frighten the servants or the horses. It's not sophisticated or complex work, it's formulaic - or will become formulaic ... you can see the formula emerging in this first tale.
But an easy read - you won't lose any sleep trying to work out whodunnit.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

These Durbridge radio plays are some of the most formulaic I've ever come across.
Typical key events are that someone phones but for no clear reason refuses to spill the beans over the phone, insisting on a face to face meeting, usually the next day. It's an unbreakable rule in the Durbridge universe that these meetings won't take place and that the caller will be found, usually beaten up so inefficiently as to be only-just still breathing on being discovered. A few vital key words are inevitably gasped out before they croak. This is de riguer in nearly all Temple shows.
Foreigners are commonly the bad guy. They usually have exaggerated accents to assist the listener in IDing him as suspect.
Temple himself is a complete chauvinist towards his wife, who in turn alternates between being a characterless sounding board such are needed by all radio/tv sleuths, but Steve at times assumes an aggressive manner that gets her into hot water, only to be rescued by the Boss tec, Temple himself who is exactly the loud-mouthed sort to talk down loftily to women and so to enrage feminists - which latter hadn't been invented at the time of writing. And in this case, rightly so.
There is almost never any way that the solution can be arrived at by the listener, and it's another plot event that at the final unmasking of the bad man, he will never respond by merely saying "prove it".
Instead he will commonly produce a gun and crash out of the christie-style gathering of suspects. But is invariably caught inside yards or minutes, after which an explanation of sorts is r ecited by the Temple actor. Which usually doesn't bear over-close examination...
It seems that Scotland Yard employs only nincompoops, making it needful for its boss Sir Graham to feel the need to get the 100% amateur Paul Temple to rescue his dimwitted department of professional blunderers from failure.
The most telling element used in these is that the most unlikely of coincidences keeps on happening, without which Temple would get nowhere - either fast or slow.
But where these sub-par plays do score very highly is the well captured atmosphere of the 20th century's earlier middle years, where objectivity in plot development takes a back seat to the feeling of the scenes.
In that way these shine. To enjoy them, leave your sense of logic in a different room and let the thing waft you along into its time of greater innocence and a simpler style of living.
And - no mobile phones!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started off well but I soon noticed something very odd about the writing style. When I realised that this is in fact a novelisation of a radio serial it all made sense. The book reads like a prose version of a script, with the dialogue and the stage directions but nothing of the characters’ thoughts. The scenes usually feel like the author is just describing something he sees on a screen, right down to the facial expressions and tone of voice, rather than creating the events himself and knowing what is really happening and why.

As a result there are frequent inconsistencies in the way people behave from one scene to the next. There are pointless descriptions of the characters’ movements around the room or from a house to a car, or the rituals of smoking, etc. There aren’t many clues and a there is a lot of vagueness in the investigation. People just find things out somehow….

Even as I recognised that the writing was comically bad, I was far enough into the story to want to find out the villain’s identity. It was a quick read. But there are plenty of better mystery series that show off the Golden Age. I wouldn’t recommend this one.

[John Hardy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Temple #1. First published 1938. It started off with the feel of a serious crime novel, but soon slipped into a rather "boys own" style. We get the hero falling for the beautiful reporter. We have a secret master criminal. Several jewel robberies take place, people are murdered, but the police can't seem to do anything right. What to do? Call in an amateur detective.
This isn't one for the whodunnit lovers, I don't see how anyone could figure this out, as there is a major twist.
I keep finding these older mysteries in the library, and I keep on trying them, but rarely finding any reason to look for any more from the particular author. That's the case here.
I'll just give it a rating of three, feeling a bit generous, and remembering always that it is a book of its time.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

As has already been observed by another reader, the book reminds one of B movies from the Thirties. It is as if one hears the organ swelling at the end of each chapter. The hero, Paul Temple, is a bore, but the plot is mostly reasonably clever, with the denouement being less adept. The author also seems to be obsessed by tobacco and alcohol.

[Kati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short - just 2 hours long in audio form, read by Anthony Head - and fun. Only a few days ago, I came across a short Christmas story about Paul Temple which made me aware of this old series. So now I'm here. My favorite character in this entry was the elderly lady who was trying to track down her brother's killer. She was a hoot!

[Laura Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The strength of the Paul Temple stories is in plot twists, cliff hangers, and dialogue; which is why it works on radio (especially with the voices of Marjorie Westbury & Peter Coke). However, even though as a novel it's mediocre, it was nice to have the origin story and that ending was perfection.

[J Grimsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enjoyable and easy read thriller. full of twist and turns. It also has the most respectable swear word ever - much more respectable than odsbodikins and darn- "By Timothy". I use it regularly even in church

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a book written in the 1930's it was very easy to read. Plenty of excitement and a quick pace not often found in older books. Noticeable was the amount of smoking that went on and the number of times the words were ejaculated. A word not often used in this context today

[Adam Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good old fashioned detective story. Love the Paul Temple character although lord knows why his full name needs to be used every other sentence. A nice easy read, very of its time!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, i just love a Paul Temple.

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

BBC radio program. Pretty good.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0

[Sorcha]

to review audio book

[Nicky Warwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

By Timothy!
A rip roaring ride through the Golden Age with Paul Temple as he meets his future wife Steve & solves a string of jewel robberies by catching The Knave of Diamonds to boot

[David Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong start to the Paul Temple series. Paul meets Steve Trent, reporter and tangles with a criminal gang led by a mysterious figure, the knave of diamonds.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pre-war adventure with journalist/author Paul Temple turning sleuth to chase down a gang of jewel thiefs

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, by Timothy, this reads like an old time (1938) BBC criminal radio broadcast - which it is/was. The series of radio dramas was popular up to '68; then TV '69-'71. Now, of course u tube, or do like I did & buy a paperback novel, by Timothy!

[Eden Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the JetBlackDragonfly book blog at www.edenthompson.ca/blog

Send For Paul Temple is the first in a series of 1940's mysteries starring the famous crime novelist and man-about-town Paul Temple. Although not a detective, his mystery novels have proven so successful that Scotland Yard accepts him as one of their own - and he usually uncovers the plot slightly ahead of them!

In the dead of night, a watchman is brutally attacked and with his dying breath cries out, "The Green Finger!"
Scotland Yard has become so mystified with trying to break a string of deadly and brazen robberies, that the public begins an outcry in the newspapers: "Send For Paul Temple!".
He had previously stumbled into a police matter and solved it. These petitions cause Commissioner Sir Graham Forbes to ask politely, would Mr. Temple unofficially look into things.
Paul has help in the form of a persistent female reporter (indeed it was she who started the campaign to send for him). Her byline is Steve Trent, and she is affectionately and from here on in referred to as 'Steve', as the couple work together in a race to uncover the ring of thieves.
Although we are introduced to the gang, witness the smash-and-grab heists, and follow them as they hideout in various remote country inns, there is still a lot of tension and surprise as the action unfolds. The gang begins to turn on each other, several are killed off, there are unreliable police investigators, and no one knows who the head of the gang - known as The Knave of Diamonds - really is, with a genuine surprise when identities are revealed!

These are classic stories of detection, with lots of clues revealed just in time, as well as those you think you've already figured out but will be pleasantly mistaken! Steve works her own investigation to be the first to scoop the story for her paper, and as much as Paul is a debonair fellow, he is always thinking ahead and not afraid of hand to hand action at the drop of a hat.

Written in 1938, these were published alongside a tremendously popular radio show, with several being filmed as movies. Frances Durbridge has created a non-detective to outsmart them all; brisk and full of humour these are the real deal for those who like classic English crime thrillers.
The whole series has been recently been reprinted by Harper Collins Crime Club.

Highly recommended!

[Deana Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve and Paul stealthily explored the secret passage, listening intently with fierce concentration for any sound of the not-very-clever cockney Crims. 'This long, deep passage we are bravely and determinedly running along - is it a metaphor?' Asked Steve, flicking her eyes attractively as she slipped her small, trembling cold hand into Paul's. 'By Timothy, I'm sure it is,' ejaculated Paul, smoking a Turkish cigarette while drinking fine cherry brandy from his hip flask as they dashed back along the secret passage and emerged flushed but beautiful into the oak-panelled sanctuary of their tastefully decorated, artfully restored Manor House.

Delightful utter tosh. Enjoy.

[Rose]

In which Paul meets Steve, and has his first crack at solving mysteries instead of just writing about them. Naturally the plot is as convoluted as ever, featuring secret passages that wend between buildings and include elaborate hidden doors and even an elevator, together with the ubiquitous evil-villain-with-a-weird-secret-name. Standard Temple fare, with the added pleasure of seeing Steve showing a bit of enterprise, before she becomes Mrs Temple and restricts herself to saying "Oh Paul!", being kidnapped, and sharing her "woman's intuitions".

[Fraser · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was written in 1938 and set in a similar time and this does come through. An interesting read though and I would like to track down the other PaulTemple books, especially if Steve is also a continuing character (which I assume will be the case). I am also interested if any of the television or movie versions still exist.