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Mrs. Bradley #32
The Man Who Grew Tomatoes
Mr. Hugh Camber, claiming the family estate as his own following an inheritance, does not receive quite the warm welcome that he has expected. Housestaff members give their notice, the chauffeur is released following a wave of insubordination, and the villagers seem reluctant to account for the tension that accompanies the house. Slowly, Hugh gathers up enough information to draw some conclusions. It appears that upon Paul Camber's death, the household fears the inevitable arrival of a widowed aunt, Mrs. Hal Camber, to claim the estate for herself and her rather insufferable young son. There are rumours of unpleasantness between a dismissed Camber tutor and a local farm girl. Added to that, much speculation is given to the demise of Paul Camber: he was found drowned in a Scotland stream. Paul's son, master Stephen, had also drowned in a local river a few months earlier, and an eyewitness noted that the boy appeared to be drunk as he made his way along the bank.
As prophesied by the Camber housemaids, Mrs. Hal arrives at the estate with her son in tow, and with the intention of settling in. Sympathetic but resolute, Hugh locks horns with this domineering relation and eventually sends her back to her home. Shortly thereafter, villagers start receiving anonymous letters which accuse Hugh of the murder of his relatives. When Hugh and his fiancée, the vicar's sister, are sent similar notes, Hugh asks Dame Beatrice to travel to the Norfolk estate and venture an opinion as to the writer's identity. Hugh already suspects the exiled aunt, but, as Dame Beatrice points out, it is curious that the letters specifically refer to murder when accusations of other ill behaviours would blacken a name equally well. After all, both Paul and Stephen Camber were accorded rulings of accidental death.
And then there are the tomatoes. Parlourmaid Ethel lifted three from Paul Camber's dining room table and became quite sick after eating them. Master Stephen's final lunch was said to contain tomatoes. But from where did these intoxicating fruits originate? And how did they find their way into the Camber house? Dame Beatrice uses her knowledge of poisons, salmon fishing, agriculture, pig farming, and the deviousness of human nature to solve this agreeable countryside mystery.
As prophesied by the Camber housemaids, Mrs. Hal arrives at the estate with her son in tow, and with the intention of settling in. Sympathetic but resolute, Hugh locks horns with this domineering relation and eventually sends her back to her home. Shortly thereafter, villagers start receiving anonymous letters which accuse Hugh of the murder of his relatives. When Hugh and his fiancée, the vicar's sister, are sent similar notes, Hugh asks Dame Beatrice to travel to the Norfolk estate and venture an opinion as to the writer's identity. Hugh already suspects the exiled aunt, but, as Dame Beatrice points out, it is curious that the letters specifically refer to murder when accusations of other ill behaviours would blacken a name equally well. After all, both Paul and Stephen Camber were accorded rulings of accidental death.
And then there are the tomatoes. Parlourmaid Ethel lifted three from Paul Camber's dining room table and became quite sick after eating them. Master Stephen's final lunch was said to contain tomatoes. But from where did these intoxicating fruits originate? And how did they find their way into the Camber house? Dame Beatrice uses her knowledge of poisons, salmon fishing, agriculture, pig farming, and the deviousness of human nature to solve this agreeable countryside mystery.
- GenresMysteryMystery Thriller
248 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1959
21 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
About the author
Gladys Mitchell
94 books141 followersAka Malcolm Torrie, Stephen Hockaby.
Born in Cowley, Oxford, in 1901, Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell was the daughter of market gardener James Mitchell, and his wife, Annie.
She was educated at Rothschild School, Brentford and Green School, Isleworth, before attending Goldsmiths College and University College, London from 1919-1921.
She taught English, history and games at St Paul's School, Brentford, from 1921-26, and at St Anne's Senior Girls School, Ealing until 1939.
She earned an external diploma in European history from University College in 1926, beginning to write her novels at this point. Mitchell went on to teach at a number of other schools, including the Brentford Senior Girls School (1941-50), and the Matthew Arnold School, Staines (1953-61). She retired to Corfe Mullen, Dorset in 1961, where she lived until her death in 1983.
Although primarily remembered for her mystery novels, and for her detective creation, Mrs. Bradley, who featured in 66 of her novels, Mitchell also published ten children's books under her own name, historical fiction under the pseudonym Stephen Hockaby, and more detective fiction under the pseudonym Malcolm Torrie. She also wrote a great many short stories, all of which were first published in the Evening Standard.
She was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award in 1976.
Born in Cowley, Oxford, in 1901, Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell was the daughter of market gardener James Mitchell, and his wife, Annie.
She was educated at Rothschild School, Brentford and Green School, Isleworth, before attending Goldsmiths College and University College, London from 1919-1921.
She taught English, history and games at St Paul's School, Brentford, from 1921-26, and at St Anne's Senior Girls School, Ealing until 1939.
She earned an external diploma in European history from University College in 1926, beginning to write her novels at this point. Mitchell went on to teach at a number of other schools, including the Brentford Senior Girls School (1941-50), and the Matthew Arnold School, Staines (1953-61). She retired to Corfe Mullen, Dorset in 1961, where she lived until her death in 1983.
Although primarily remembered for her mystery novels, and for her detective creation, Mrs. Bradley, who featured in 66 of her novels, Mitchell also published ten children's books under her own name, historical fiction under the pseudonym Stephen Hockaby, and more detective fiction under the pseudonym Malcolm Torrie. She also wrote a great many short stories, all of which were first published in the Evening Standard.
She was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award in 1976.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 22, 2014
Got this one as my free Kindle prime book for this month, as I liked the Mrs. Bradley series starring Diana Rigg. Our sleuth here is different; we're reminded regularly that she's neither a beauty, nor a spring chicken, and I admit to being slightly thrown by the many times she "leers" - something I associate with lecherous men. Still, she moves the plot along nicely once she appears in the story. I'm interested in reading more of her adventures. One point that did upset me a bit, having an epileptic parent, was a person's being disinherited solely because of epilepsy in his family.
August 6, 2018
Not quite as good ..
This Mrs. Bradley mystery was a fun read but I found the plot a little less well engineered than the may others I have read. Still a good read. Good character development and well written. The ending was still quite a surprise. I do love this series.
This Mrs. Bradley mystery was a fun read but I found the plot a little less well engineered than the may others I have read. Still a good read. Good character development and well written. The ending was still quite a surprise. I do love this series.
July 14, 2025
Wonderful
Again another wonderful mystery full of suspects. It is so interesting to see how the Dame finally roots out who the guilty one is. If you haven't read one of these mysteries you're missing out.
Again another wonderful mystery full of suspects. It is so interesting to see how the Dame finally roots out who the guilty one is. If you haven't read one of these mysteries you're missing out.
June 13, 2024
After two very convenient deaths, a man inherits an estate. Suspicious?
This mystery hinges on the traditional practice in Anglo-Saxon law of "entailing" an estate so that it passes to the nearest male relative. The idea was to keep owners from dividing up large estates among their children, thus weakening the financial viability of the property.
It was a hit and miss proposition and not dependent on the size of the estate. In "Pride and Prejudice" Mr Bennet's modest estate was entailed on his nearest male relative, leaving his daughters in danger of poverty unless they can find wealthy husbands. On the other hand, Lady Catherine de Bourgh's wealthy estate Rosings was NOT entailed. Her husband left it to her and she was free to leave it to her only child, a daughter.
Hugh Camber has unexpectedly inherited Camber Abbey, a Norfolk estate owned by his family since the time of the Stuart kings. It's NOT entailed, but Hugh's grandfather followed the custom of leaving the entire estate to his oldest son Paul, who planned to leave it to his only son Stephen.
Hugh Camber is an intelligent, energetic man who's made a good career for himself in the Civil Service. A bachelor, he has enough money for his needs. If he's not close to his uncle and cousin, he bears them no ill will.
Then young Stephen Camber drowns. Soon afterwards, his father drowns, too, and it's learned that he's left Camber Abbey to Hugh, who comes to take possession. Knowing that he's more likable than his uncle, Hugh assumes that the estate employees will be happy to deal with him, but there are problems. All the indoor servants insist on leaving immediately and Hugh is forced to sack the driver Crick for insolence.
The servants are afraid that Mrs Hal Camber (the widow of Hugh's younger brother) will take over as mistress of the house and the independent Norfolk natives can't stand her high-handed ways. Neither can Hugh and he quickly shows her the door when she tries to move in. She's determined that the estate will go to her son, although Hugh points out that he can leave the estate to whomever he wishes.
It's 1959, but many people still believe that only male relatives are entitled to inherit estates. This creates expectations when an estate owner is a bachelor with no children. To further complicate matters, the previous owner couldn't keep his pants zipped. There's a young woman with a baby son, but who's the daddy? Is Paul Camber's line really extinct or not?
When Hugh falls in love the poison-pen letters start, accusing him of murdering his uncle and cousin. His friend psychiatrist/detective Dame Beatrice Lestrange Bradley comes and the hunt is on for the guilty party.
The mystery of the letters is soon solved, but is there truth behind them? Stephen Camber drowned in a weedy river near his home. His father Paul Camber drowned while salmon fishing in up north. Did the father commit suicide after the death of his only child? Not likely, is the consensus.
It's all about sons and how they're raised. Paul Camber was a frail, over-indulged boy and so is Mrs Hal Camber's son Peter. Mrs Bradley, the mother of two sons, has opinions on the proper raising of boys and scorns the common idea that having a father solves all problems. Fathers "either shirk their responsibility or take them too seriously."
Her pessimistic conclusion is that "few parents can be trusted to bring up sons. Daughters, of course, bring themselves up, in spite of everything their parents can do." Gladys Mitchell was a childless teacher and had decades to observe different types of parenting and judge their results. Her remarks are frequently spot on and always entertaining.
I enjoyed this book, but it's complicated and sometimes confusing. Paul Camber's selfish sex life left a trail of bitterly resentful people and Hugh has to deal with them. If someone's festering resentment has grown to the extent that he/she committed murder, Mrs Bradley must know. Murderers have a nasty habit of killing again and Hugh Camber himself may be in danger.
There's a nice set of characters, including the competent estate manager and his wife, the local vicar (who grows tomatoes) and his sister, the mysterious Salaman brother and sister who are part-time inhabitants of the Abbey, and father and son gardeners, one of whom grows tomatoes. Lurking in the background are Crick (the surly ex-driver), a pretty local girl with a fatherless baby and a hot-tempered father, and Stephen Camber's devoted tutor, who may be gunning for the boy's murderer.
I like this series for its charm and wit. I don't worry too much if I'm not following every bit of the action. Mrs Bradley is a oner and I love both her driver George and her spirited secretary Laura Menzies Gavin. The three of them investigate at Camber Abbey, at Somerset House (where births, deaths, marriages, and wills are recorded), and at a hotel in the rural north where men come to fish for salmon. Mrs Bradley doesn't always catch a fish, but she always catches the murderer.
This mystery hinges on the traditional practice in Anglo-Saxon law of "entailing" an estate so that it passes to the nearest male relative. The idea was to keep owners from dividing up large estates among their children, thus weakening the financial viability of the property.
It was a hit and miss proposition and not dependent on the size of the estate. In "Pride and Prejudice" Mr Bennet's modest estate was entailed on his nearest male relative, leaving his daughters in danger of poverty unless they can find wealthy husbands. On the other hand, Lady Catherine de Bourgh's wealthy estate Rosings was NOT entailed. Her husband left it to her and she was free to leave it to her only child, a daughter.
Hugh Camber has unexpectedly inherited Camber Abbey, a Norfolk estate owned by his family since the time of the Stuart kings. It's NOT entailed, but Hugh's grandfather followed the custom of leaving the entire estate to his oldest son Paul, who planned to leave it to his only son Stephen.
Hugh Camber is an intelligent, energetic man who's made a good career for himself in the Civil Service. A bachelor, he has enough money for his needs. If he's not close to his uncle and cousin, he bears them no ill will.
Then young Stephen Camber drowns. Soon afterwards, his father drowns, too, and it's learned that he's left Camber Abbey to Hugh, who comes to take possession. Knowing that he's more likable than his uncle, Hugh assumes that the estate employees will be happy to deal with him, but there are problems. All the indoor servants insist on leaving immediately and Hugh is forced to sack the driver Crick for insolence.
The servants are afraid that Mrs Hal Camber (the widow of Hugh's younger brother) will take over as mistress of the house and the independent Norfolk natives can't stand her high-handed ways. Neither can Hugh and he quickly shows her the door when she tries to move in. She's determined that the estate will go to her son, although Hugh points out that he can leave the estate to whomever he wishes.
It's 1959, but many people still believe that only male relatives are entitled to inherit estates. This creates expectations when an estate owner is a bachelor with no children. To further complicate matters, the previous owner couldn't keep his pants zipped. There's a young woman with a baby son, but who's the daddy? Is Paul Camber's line really extinct or not?
When Hugh falls in love the poison-pen letters start, accusing him of murdering his uncle and cousin. His friend psychiatrist/detective Dame Beatrice Lestrange Bradley comes and the hunt is on for the guilty party.
The mystery of the letters is soon solved, but is there truth behind them? Stephen Camber drowned in a weedy river near his home. His father Paul Camber drowned while salmon fishing in up north. Did the father commit suicide after the death of his only child? Not likely, is the consensus.
It's all about sons and how they're raised. Paul Camber was a frail, over-indulged boy and so is Mrs Hal Camber's son Peter. Mrs Bradley, the mother of two sons, has opinions on the proper raising of boys and scorns the common idea that having a father solves all problems. Fathers "either shirk their responsibility or take them too seriously."
Her pessimistic conclusion is that "few parents can be trusted to bring up sons. Daughters, of course, bring themselves up, in spite of everything their parents can do." Gladys Mitchell was a childless teacher and had decades to observe different types of parenting and judge their results. Her remarks are frequently spot on and always entertaining.
I enjoyed this book, but it's complicated and sometimes confusing. Paul Camber's selfish sex life left a trail of bitterly resentful people and Hugh has to deal with them. If someone's festering resentment has grown to the extent that he/she committed murder, Mrs Bradley must know. Murderers have a nasty habit of killing again and Hugh Camber himself may be in danger.
There's a nice set of characters, including the competent estate manager and his wife, the local vicar (who grows tomatoes) and his sister, the mysterious Salaman brother and sister who are part-time inhabitants of the Abbey, and father and son gardeners, one of whom grows tomatoes. Lurking in the background are Crick (the surly ex-driver), a pretty local girl with a fatherless baby and a hot-tempered father, and Stephen Camber's devoted tutor, who may be gunning for the boy's murderer.
I like this series for its charm and wit. I don't worry too much if I'm not following every bit of the action. Mrs Bradley is a oner and I love both her driver George and her spirited secretary Laura Menzies Gavin. The three of them investigate at Camber Abbey, at Somerset House (where births, deaths, marriages, and wills are recorded), and at a hotel in the rural north where men come to fish for salmon. Mrs Bradley doesn't always catch a fish, but she always catches the murderer.
June 5, 2023
I enjoyed this book up to a point but the ending went way too fast - I found myself wondering if part of the book had been cut off in the Kindle edition. There were several side plots and questions raised that were never resolved (e.g. Why did Hugh lie about going to Scotland? How did Mrs. Hal Camber know who the murderer was?). Still, as usual with Gladys Mitchell's mysteries, the plot was engaging and the cast of characters interesting and well- drawn.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews