What do you think?
Rate this book
Albert Campion #9
Dancers in Mourning
Murder takes center stage when a song-and-dance man is targeted, in an Albert Campion whodunit from “the best of mystery writers” ( The New Yorker ).
When entertainer Jimmy Sutane falls victim to a string of malicious practical jokes, there’s only one man who can get to the bottom of the apparent vendetta against the music hall darling—gentleman sleuth Albert Campion. Soon, however, the backstage pranks escalate, and an aging starlet is killed. Under pressure to uncover the culprit and plagued by his growing feelings for Sutane’s wife, Campion finds himself uncomfortably embroiled in an investigation which tests his ingenuity—and integrity—to the limit.
“Allingham’s work is always of the first rank.” — The New York Times
When entertainer Jimmy Sutane falls victim to a string of malicious practical jokes, there’s only one man who can get to the bottom of the apparent vendetta against the music hall darling—gentleman sleuth Albert Campion. Soon, however, the backstage pranks escalate, and an aging starlet is killed. Under pressure to uncover the culprit and plagued by his growing feelings for Sutane’s wife, Campion finds himself uncomfortably embroiled in an investigation which tests his ingenuity—and integrity—to the limit.
“Allingham’s work is always of the first rank.” — The New York Times
183 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1937
194 people are currently reading
878 people want to read
About the author
Margery Allingham
269 books599 followersAka Maxwell March.
Margery Louise Allingham was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a family of writers. Her father, Herbert John Allingham, was editor of The Christian Globe and The New London Journal, while her mother wrote stories for women's magazines as Emmie Allingham. Margery's aunt, Maud Hughes, also ran a magazine. Margery earned her first fee at the age of eight, for a story printed in her aunt's magazine.
Soon after Margery's birth, the family left London for Essex. She returned to London in 1920 to attend the Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster), and met her future husband, Philip Youngman Carter. They married in 1928. He was her collaborator and designed the cover jackets for many of her books.
Margery's breakthrough came 1929 with the publication of her second novel, The Crime at Black Dudley . The novel introduced Albert Campion, although only as a minor character. After pressure from her American publishers, Margery brought Campion back for Mystery Mile and continued to use Campion as a character throughout her career.
After a battle with breast cancer, Margery died in 1966. Her husband finished her last novel, A Cargo of Eagles at her request, and published it in 1968.
Also wrote as: Maxwell March
Margery Louise Allingham was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a family of writers. Her father, Herbert John Allingham, was editor of The Christian Globe and The New London Journal, while her mother wrote stories for women's magazines as Emmie Allingham. Margery's aunt, Maud Hughes, also ran a magazine. Margery earned her first fee at the age of eight, for a story printed in her aunt's magazine.
Soon after Margery's birth, the family left London for Essex. She returned to London in 1920 to attend the Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster), and met her future husband, Philip Youngman Carter. They married in 1928. He was her collaborator and designed the cover jackets for many of her books.
Margery's breakthrough came 1929 with the publication of her second novel, The Crime at Black Dudley . The novel introduced Albert Campion, although only as a minor character. After pressure from her American publishers, Margery brought Campion back for Mystery Mile and continued to use Campion as a character throughout her career.
After a battle with breast cancer, Margery died in 1966. Her husband finished her last novel, A Cargo of Eagles at her request, and published it in 1968.
Also wrote as: Maxwell March
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 208 reviews
August 20, 2019
This is the ninth Albert Campion mystery, first published in 1937. I am, slowly, working my way through the Campion books but I regret that, after having enjoyed the previous two in the series, I really struggled with this.
Campion visits the theatre with ‘Uncle’ William Faraday, who has found his memoirs suddenly turned into a hit musical comedy. The star is dancer Jimmy Sutane, who is unsettled by a series of practical jokes. Campion and Faraday head to Sutane’s house, where they meet a group of odd people; including Chloe Pye, who has almost invited herself there.
Allingham has fun with her group of musicians, dancers and theatre folk, although there is a rather sad side-story, with Sutane’s neglected and lonely young daughter and you breathe a sigh of relief with Lugg steps into the breach. You might think that Sutane’s rather pathetic little daughter would make you think amiss of the household generally, but Campion puts such domestic concerns aside in order to fall heavily for Jimmy Sutane’s wife, Linda. In fact, so heavily does he stumble that it affects his detecting and he is afraid to find out the truth – rather an issue in a mystery novel.
Overall, this really failed to work for me. The characters were unlikeable and, despite one really good scene, where Allingham leads up to an event through a rumour which spreads through London, most of the writing – like the detecting – is somewhat mundane. So far, this series varies in quality so far, but I like Campion, and am warming to Lugg, so will continue.
Campion visits the theatre with ‘Uncle’ William Faraday, who has found his memoirs suddenly turned into a hit musical comedy. The star is dancer Jimmy Sutane, who is unsettled by a series of practical jokes. Campion and Faraday head to Sutane’s house, where they meet a group of odd people; including Chloe Pye, who has almost invited herself there.
Allingham has fun with her group of musicians, dancers and theatre folk, although there is a rather sad side-story, with Sutane’s neglected and lonely young daughter and you breathe a sigh of relief with Lugg steps into the breach. You might think that Sutane’s rather pathetic little daughter would make you think amiss of the household generally, but Campion puts such domestic concerns aside in order to fall heavily for Jimmy Sutane’s wife, Linda. In fact, so heavily does he stumble that it affects his detecting and he is afraid to find out the truth – rather an issue in a mystery novel.
Overall, this really failed to work for me. The characters were unlikeable and, despite one really good scene, where Allingham leads up to an event through a rumour which spreads through London, most of the writing – like the detecting – is somewhat mundane. So far, this series varies in quality so far, but I like Campion, and am warming to Lugg, so will continue.
June 14, 2007
1920's British detective Albert Campion is my secret crush-of-all-crushes. If I could bring one fictional character to life so I could marry them, it would not be Indiana Jones or . . . okay, I don't really have a list, it's really just Albert Campion and Indiana Jones. But Campion wins in a landslide.
I think, in order to love and adore Albert Campion as I do, you have to read the following Margery Allingham books in the following order:
--"The Crime at Black Dudley," her first novel, where Campion is introduced via what I feel to be a highly creative technique; the story is told from the perspective of another character who intitially thinks that Campion (because his behavior is so nutty and bizarre) is the killer. He's odd and enigmatic and quirky and hilarious and utterly charming, yet still a totally kick-ass crime-solver who pulls it all together at the end to save the day.
--"Sweet Danger," where Campion meets the woman he eventually marries, who kind of annoys me, but he's awesome in this book and his relationship with her is charming and adorable. It's a great creepy supernatural mystery with Campion in top form as a crime-fighting mastermind.
--"The Return of Mr. Campion," a collection of essays and short stories which are mostly negligible except an amazing essay called "My Friend Mr. Campion," where Margery Allingham talks about Campion as if he's a real person who is a friend of hers, and how she doesn't invent stuff about him as much as she sort of finds it out as she goes along. There's another essay in the book in a similar style that takes the point of view that Campion and Allingham were secretly in love with each other, and it's very bizarre and romantic.
--As soon as you're sold on Detective As Romantic Hero, it's time to move on to what is, for my money, her best book: "Dancers In Mourning." Our Mr. Campion travels to the country where a houseful of nutty London theater artists are being violently killed off one by one. Hired by musical theater superstar Jimmy Sutane to find the killer, he ends up inexplicably falling in love with Sutane's quiet, decidedly UN-theatrical wife, putting him in about ten different kinds of ethical quandaries as the evidence piles up to suggest that her husband is himself the killer. If you like British mysteries, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
I think, in order to love and adore Albert Campion as I do, you have to read the following Margery Allingham books in the following order:
--"The Crime at Black Dudley," her first novel, where Campion is introduced via what I feel to be a highly creative technique; the story is told from the perspective of another character who intitially thinks that Campion (because his behavior is so nutty and bizarre) is the killer. He's odd and enigmatic and quirky and hilarious and utterly charming, yet still a totally kick-ass crime-solver who pulls it all together at the end to save the day.
--"Sweet Danger," where Campion meets the woman he eventually marries, who kind of annoys me, but he's awesome in this book and his relationship with her is charming and adorable. It's a great creepy supernatural mystery with Campion in top form as a crime-fighting mastermind.
--"The Return of Mr. Campion," a collection of essays and short stories which are mostly negligible except an amazing essay called "My Friend Mr. Campion," where Margery Allingham talks about Campion as if he's a real person who is a friend of hers, and how she doesn't invent stuff about him as much as she sort of finds it out as she goes along. There's another essay in the book in a similar style that takes the point of view that Campion and Allingham were secretly in love with each other, and it's very bizarre and romantic.
--As soon as you're sold on Detective As Romantic Hero, it's time to move on to what is, for my money, her best book: "Dancers In Mourning." Our Mr. Campion travels to the country where a houseful of nutty London theater artists are being violently killed off one by one. Hired by musical theater superstar Jimmy Sutane to find the killer, he ends up inexplicably falling in love with Sutane's quiet, decidedly UN-theatrical wife, putting him in about ten different kinds of ethical quandaries as the evidence piles up to suggest that her husband is himself the killer. If you like British mysteries, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
March 21, 2025
Una historia con personajes del ambiente teatral londinense, podemos encontrar al principal, un bailarín ya maduro con un talento excepcional, a la actriz en decadencia por hacerse mayor y sin otra virtud que una belleza que casi nadie recuerda, también está el joven bailarín que quiere ascender, el compositor, el productor, y no podía faltar el escritor.
Todos ellos logran construir una especie de pantomima de la vida, nada es normal, todo es excesivo, misterioso, decadente y muchas veces absurdo, el punto de encuentro es la casa campestre de Jimmy Sutane la estrella de una obra musical que arrasa en cartelera, junto con su hermana, su joven esposa y su pequeña hija tratan de poner un poco de orden al caos.
Albert Campion el detective, es llamado por el escritor debido a una serie de acontecimientos maliciosos que en conjunto empiezan a ser la vida difícil sobre todo a Jimmy Sutane, pero en medio de una investigación hasta cierto punto inocente se desata una serie de muertes que calificadas por separado podrían ser accidentes, pero poco a poco van dejando una estela muy sangrienta que deja estupefacto a Campion y a la policía.
Hay una especie de lucha interna en Campion debido a su involucramiento personal que le resta objetividad e inclusive parece adormecer sus facultades, a veces pareciera que no quiere o no puede resolver los crímenes.
Muy bien construida la trama, los personajes disfuncionales ayudan a enrarecer la situación, este manicomio artístico parece moverse a su propio ritmo, hasta las últimas páginas no parece tan claro el culpable, así que hay un buen juego de deducciones y de poder adivinar el misterio.
Todos ellos logran construir una especie de pantomima de la vida, nada es normal, todo es excesivo, misterioso, decadente y muchas veces absurdo, el punto de encuentro es la casa campestre de Jimmy Sutane la estrella de una obra musical que arrasa en cartelera, junto con su hermana, su joven esposa y su pequeña hija tratan de poner un poco de orden al caos.
Albert Campion el detective, es llamado por el escritor debido a una serie de acontecimientos maliciosos que en conjunto empiezan a ser la vida difícil sobre todo a Jimmy Sutane, pero en medio de una investigación hasta cierto punto inocente se desata una serie de muertes que calificadas por separado podrían ser accidentes, pero poco a poco van dejando una estela muy sangrienta que deja estupefacto a Campion y a la policía.
Hay una especie de lucha interna en Campion debido a su involucramiento personal que le resta objetividad e inclusive parece adormecer sus facultades, a veces pareciera que no quiere o no puede resolver los crímenes.
Muy bien construida la trama, los personajes disfuncionales ayudan a enrarecer la situación, este manicomio artístico parece moverse a su propio ritmo, hasta las últimas páginas no parece tan claro el culpable, así que hay un buen juego de deducciones y de poder adivinar el misterio.
April 13, 2020
Dancers in Mourning is Margery Allingham at her best. This is classic Albert Campion at his most charming and his most fallible. Campion is called in by theatre giant and dazzling dancer, Jimmy Sutane to get to the bottom of a spate of cruel practical jokes which begin backstage at the Argosy Theatre and follow Sutane to his country estate. At first the pranks are merely annoying....garlic scented flowers, smashed glass on his photograph outside the theatre, and people wandering through his garden at night. But the pranks take on a more sinister look when members of the cast of his current musical are killed one by one. Campion is happy to try to sort things out--not only for Sutane, but for "Uncle" William Faraday, author of the book upon which the musical is based. That is, until he meets, and subsequently falls in love with, Sutane's wife. He finds himself caught in any number of ethical dilemmas and committing all sorts of sleuthing "sins"from suppressing evidence and misleading the doctor called in on the first "accident" to delaying the finale as long as possible. He becomes more miserable the more evidence is gathered--all because he thinks the evidence can point in only one direction.
I think I found this mystery so delightful because of the dilemma in which Campion places himself. He is trying very hard to be the "good sportsman" and live up to British honor and all that...and all the while he really would like to have his host's wife. He doesn't feel like he can tackle the problem correctly since he is emotionally involved and takes himself off to London and out of the fray. That very wife comes to ask him to return and help them out of the mess. He can't refuse and risking personal heartache...as well as heartache for others...he returns to see the thing through. It was also endearing to see him misinterpret the evidence. I quite understand why he chose the culprit he did, but his involvement blinded him to the possibility that the facts could fit anyone else. I saw the other possibility well before Albert Campion-- a rare thing--and an added delight.
I make it sound--oh, I don't know--kind of soppy with "delightful" and "endearing." It isn't that at all. The mystery is quite well done and there are plenty of suspects to sort through. Allingham has done a very good job showing the temperaments and petty quarrels of stage life. Overall, a very solid and interesting novel.
I think I found this mystery so delightful because of the dilemma in which Campion places himself. He is trying very hard to be the "good sportsman" and live up to British honor and all that...and all the while he really would like to have his host's wife. He doesn't feel like he can tackle the problem correctly since he is emotionally involved and takes himself off to London and out of the fray. That very wife comes to ask him to return and help them out of the mess. He can't refuse and risking personal heartache...as well as heartache for others...he returns to see the thing through. It was also endearing to see him misinterpret the evidence. I quite understand why he chose the culprit he did, but his involvement blinded him to the possibility that the facts could fit anyone else. I saw the other possibility well before Albert Campion-- a rare thing--and an added delight.
I make it sound--oh, I don't know--kind of soppy with "delightful" and "endearing." It isn't that at all. The mystery is quite well done and there are plenty of suspects to sort through. Allingham has done a very good job showing the temperaments and petty quarrels of stage life. Overall, a very solid and interesting novel.
February 7, 2022
Set in 1930s London, Dancers in Mourning concerns a well-known West End performer Jimmy Sutane, who is systematically persecuted by a mysterious hand. Chief protagonist and upper-class sleuth Albert Campion is enlisted to get to the bottom of the odd business, and joins a cast of thespians and hangers-on at Sutane’s country mansion. Deaths ensue.
If the book were an ocean voyage, I felt we were sailing aimlessly at times (and my attention to the plot drifted accordingly). The decks were manned by a cast of hard-to-tell-apart, largely unappealing fellow travellers, and I struggled to find a mast to which to pin my colours. Despite the title, those who went overboard were not in fact greatly mourned.
However, narrator David Thorpe does such a sterling job of the audiobook that it is possible to enjoy each scene on its merits, without worrying too much about the entire production. In particular his characterisations of Campion and sidekick ex-burglar Magersfontein Lugg are a delight to the ear. Margery Allingham’s wordsmithery is always a pleasure.
Overall, just about passes muster.
If the book were an ocean voyage, I felt we were sailing aimlessly at times (and my attention to the plot drifted accordingly). The decks were manned by a cast of hard-to-tell-apart, largely unappealing fellow travellers, and I struggled to find a mast to which to pin my colours. Despite the title, those who went overboard were not in fact greatly mourned.
However, narrator David Thorpe does such a sterling job of the audiobook that it is possible to enjoy each scene on its merits, without worrying too much about the entire production. In particular his characterisations of Campion and sidekick ex-burglar Magersfontein Lugg are a delight to the ear. Margery Allingham’s wordsmithery is always a pleasure.
Overall, just about passes muster.
August 11, 2019
I can't resist giving this 5 stars because I think it is just perfect of its kind - one of Allingham's masterpieces. Hoping to write a longer review soon.
August 9, 2019
Not a favorite – I can see why I haven’t reread this one in years.
Started out promising, with Allingham’s usual wit and humor, as Campion is called in on a case of harassment - charismatic dancer Jimmy Sutane is starring in a hit show, beloved by theatergoers - but someone is out to get him, pulling vicious pranks. So far, it’s been petty, nasty stuff like a pin in his stage makeup stick, a bouquet of garlic, broken windows at the theater, but those around the star are fearful it will turn dangerous, and Sutane is becoming rattled. Being set among the theater crowd, there are several melodramatic and annoying suspects; when the action moves to Sutane’s country estate and a suspicious death occurs, it has all the makings of a satisfying Golden Age Country house murder mystery.
Campion meets the local doctor, one of the eccentric, larger-than-life characters Allingham does so well, brings Lugg down to sub for the spooked butler, who understandably bails out of the chaotic household. Then, rather than delivering on this brilliant set-up, Allingham has Campion start freaking out because he fancies himself in love with the wrong woman; then, the action takes a decidedly somber and deadly turn with an explosion at a train station. No spoilers, but I frankly started losing interest - I skimmed the last few chapters. Allingham does serve up a twist at the end, but I really didn’t care much anymore, it just went on too long.
So, beautiful writing with Allingham’s usual humor, but not a personal favorite, it just seemed like too much going on, for too long. For this reread, I read my paperback and listened to the Audible, and I didn’t enjoy the narrator, he made Campion sound like a flake! He did a better job with the other characters, but Campion came across as rather annoying and clueless.
Started out promising, with Allingham’s usual wit and humor, as Campion is called in on a case of harassment - charismatic dancer Jimmy Sutane is starring in a hit show, beloved by theatergoers - but someone is out to get him, pulling vicious pranks. So far, it’s been petty, nasty stuff like a pin in his stage makeup stick, a bouquet of garlic, broken windows at the theater, but those around the star are fearful it will turn dangerous, and Sutane is becoming rattled. Being set among the theater crowd, there are several melodramatic and annoying suspects; when the action moves to Sutane’s country estate and a suspicious death occurs, it has all the makings of a satisfying Golden Age Country house murder mystery.
Campion meets the local doctor, one of the eccentric, larger-than-life characters Allingham does so well, brings Lugg down to sub for the spooked butler, who understandably bails out of the chaotic household. Then, rather than delivering on this brilliant set-up, Allingham has Campion start freaking out because he fancies himself in love with the wrong woman; then, the action takes a decidedly somber and deadly turn with an explosion at a train station. No spoilers, but I frankly started losing interest - I skimmed the last few chapters. Allingham does serve up a twist at the end, but I really didn’t care much anymore, it just went on too long.
So, beautiful writing with Allingham’s usual humor, but not a personal favorite, it just seemed like too much going on, for too long. For this reread, I read my paperback and listened to the Audible, and I didn’t enjoy the narrator, he made Campion sound like a flake! He did a better job with the other characters, but Campion came across as rather annoying and clueless.
August 6, 2019
A famous musical theater performer is being harassed by an unknown person in spitefully petty ways, and Albert Campion is called in to investigate. The case seems like small potatoes, but very rapidly matters become serious for Campion on a variety of levels.
This is one of the longer Albert Campion mysteries, and it feels even longer than it is. For me, many of the characters are rather tedious--I am not fond of nervy artistic types in novels of this era--and the action grinds its way through far more mayhem than is usual in a novel by Margery Allingham. The body count is prodigious. The action also seems to unfold quite slowly, and it requires a number of incidental characters.
As always with Allingham, however, the writing is superior, the characterizations are vivid, and the violence is taken seriously. Lugg is one of my favorite characters in fiction, and he is in fine form here.
A middling Allingham is generally better than your average murder mystery, so I did enjoy this novel even if it is not a favorite.
This is one of the longer Albert Campion mysteries, and it feels even longer than it is. For me, many of the characters are rather tedious--I am not fond of nervy artistic types in novels of this era--and the action grinds its way through far more mayhem than is usual in a novel by Margery Allingham. The body count is prodigious. The action also seems to unfold quite slowly, and it requires a number of incidental characters.
As always with Allingham, however, the writing is superior, the characterizations are vivid, and the violence is taken seriously. Lugg is one of my favorite characters in fiction, and he is in fine form here.
A middling Allingham is generally better than your average murder mystery, so I did enjoy this novel even if it is not a favorite.
February 1, 2019
More like 2.5 stars for me. It was reasonably priced on Amazon, and I needed something to read although I knew I usually have not enjoyed Albert Campion books.
There are some amusing incidents; there are some outlandishly described characters; there is action on the stage and acquaintance with the company of performers; there is one lady in particular Albert has a fancy for; there are misdirections as to who the murderer is until the last drop.
Albert is asked initially to resolve the mystery of who is taunting a lead actor.
After spending time at a country house with the main characters he is also asked to assist Scotland Yard when there is a suspicious death amongst the houseguests.
More people do die, but the music continues.
There are some amusing incidents; there are some outlandishly described characters; there is action on the stage and acquaintance with the company of performers; there is one lady in particular Albert has a fancy for; there are misdirections as to who the murderer is until the last drop.
Albert is asked initially to resolve the mystery of who is taunting a lead actor.
After spending time at a country house with the main characters he is also asked to assist Scotland Yard when there is a suspicious death amongst the houseguests.
More people do die, but the music continues.
August 22, 2017
Albert Campion is called upon to investigate a number of hoaxes being carried out against Jimmy Sutane, a star dancer who is appearing in a successful musical based on the memoirs of “Uncle William” Faraday whom we first encountered in Police at the Funeral. The hoaxes are very upsetting and are seriously affecting Sutane.
Campion visits the Sutane’s country house and meets Jimmy’s wife, Linda . Between them, a very profound attraction develops which provides Campion with a moral dilemma and almost paralyses his ability to act in the investigation which follows the death of Chloe Pye, an actress in the show, while she is a guest of the Sutanes.
Campion is sure that Jimmy Sutane is responsible for this, and the other more horrifying murders which follow, but lacks the will to pursue the investigation properly.
“ If you are violently and unreasonably attracted to a married woman, to discover immediately afterwards that to the best of your belief her husband has killed, either by accident or design, a previous wife, in order, presumably, to retain his present ménage intact, do you involve yourself further in the situation, denouncing him for his crime and walking off with the lady? 'No, you don't,' said Campion…”
Margery Allingham. Dancers in Mourning Ipso Books. Kindle Edition.
As things turn out, most of Campion’s assumptions are wrong.
I can’t help but think that one simple visit to Somerset House would have resolved things more quickly but that would be to miss several points.
In this novel Campion grows up: there is none of the silly ass vacancy found in earlier books. Allingham adds immeasurably to our understanding of him as a human being while questioning the whole ethos of Golden Age crime writing.
“Hitherto he had been an observer only in the many dramas which he had investigated and that circumstance had given him an unfounded sense of superiority. To-night he felt cold and disillusioned; no longer shocked but frankly despairing to find himself both so human and so miserably unhappy.”
Margery Allingham. Dancers in Mourning Chapter XVII. Ipso Books. Kindle Edition.
There is some fine writing here. In Chapter XVIII the description of how the news of further murders got out, is masterly, and the denouement in the final chapter is breathtakingly brilliant.
This novel is all surface simplicity, but has deep layers of delicious complexity. Read it on whatever level you will, but do read it.
Thank you to the Allingham Estate for my review copy.
Campion visits the Sutane’s country house and meets Jimmy’s wife, Linda . Between them, a very profound attraction develops which provides Campion with a moral dilemma and almost paralyses his ability to act in the investigation which follows the death of Chloe Pye, an actress in the show, while she is a guest of the Sutanes.
Campion is sure that Jimmy Sutane is responsible for this, and the other more horrifying murders which follow, but lacks the will to pursue the investigation properly.
“ If you are violently and unreasonably attracted to a married woman, to discover immediately afterwards that to the best of your belief her husband has killed, either by accident or design, a previous wife, in order, presumably, to retain his present ménage intact, do you involve yourself further in the situation, denouncing him for his crime and walking off with the lady? 'No, you don't,' said Campion…”
Margery Allingham. Dancers in Mourning Ipso Books. Kindle Edition.
As things turn out, most of Campion’s assumptions are wrong.
I can’t help but think that one simple visit to Somerset House would have resolved things more quickly but that would be to miss several points.
In this novel Campion grows up: there is none of the silly ass vacancy found in earlier books. Allingham adds immeasurably to our understanding of him as a human being while questioning the whole ethos of Golden Age crime writing.
“Hitherto he had been an observer only in the many dramas which he had investigated and that circumstance had given him an unfounded sense of superiority. To-night he felt cold and disillusioned; no longer shocked but frankly despairing to find himself both so human and so miserably unhappy.”
Margery Allingham. Dancers in Mourning Chapter XVII. Ipso Books. Kindle Edition.
There is some fine writing here. In Chapter XVIII the description of how the news of further murders got out, is masterly, and the denouement in the final chapter is breathtakingly brilliant.
This novel is all surface simplicity, but has deep layers of delicious complexity. Read it on whatever level you will, but do read it.
Thank you to the Allingham Estate for my review copy.
March 1, 2014
I was terribly bothered when one of the characters confessed at the end that he knew all along who the murderer was but he allowed him to kill 4 or 5 more people because his honor demanded he not peach on his friend!
October 8, 2023
Allingham had a good turn of prose although her books vary in quality. This one dragged on.
There's a bunch of ghastly over dramatic theatre performers, it was a relief to have some murdered!
The setup itself had promise but then it felt every random idea was thrown in. Some big events were horrid and out if place in cosy's tangles.
Campion does not acquit himself well. He spends the book twitterpated and avoiding the whole situation. For all his vacuous mein he's never been scared of danger or slow to take action. Here he wanders lovelorn and stupid.
By 75% I stopped the audio and skimmed to the end of the book. Campion described the personality of one of the players, he then describes the murderer in the same way, yet the reveal hits him in the literal last pages!
Lugg deserved better, the poor neglected kid deserved far better. The rest of them meh!
But it was nice to see 'uncle' William again, enjoying success.
There's a bunch of ghastly over dramatic theatre performers, it was a relief to have some murdered!
The setup itself had promise but then it felt every random idea was thrown in. Some big events were horrid and out if place in cosy's tangles.
Campion does not acquit himself well. He spends the book twitterpated and avoiding the whole situation. For all his vacuous mein he's never been scared of danger or slow to take action. Here he wanders lovelorn and stupid.
By 75% I stopped the audio and skimmed to the end of the book. Campion described the personality of one of the players, he then describes the murderer in the same way, yet the reveal hits him in the literal last pages!
Lugg deserved better, the poor neglected kid deserved far better. The rest of them meh!
But it was nice to see 'uncle' William again, enjoying success.
September 5, 2017
Fantastic characters. Gripping tale. And last, but by no means least, The Great Magersfontein Lugg befriending a lonely little girl and teaching her to pick locks, to Mr. Campion's great annoyance. She has the time of her life!
Read
March 7, 2022Did not finish
August 8, 2013
This is another one of the 'odd' Allingham - it's not really as much about the murder as it is about the life of people within the dancehall entertainment industry. Unfortunately, Allingham isn't really a good enough writer to pull out the discord and disharmony between the actors in the profression. There just seems to be too many characters who are not differentiated enough to make them memorable - for an example, I still wasn't sure by the end of the book who Socks was!
On another note, there is a hint of romance between Campion and Sutane which isn't really realistic as they seem to simply love each other just because - not for any character of their personality. Finally, the murder - which is a side aspect of the novel - doesn't really make sense. Why would the killer - who is portrayed as being uninterested in others' lives throughout the novel, get married to start off the sequence of events? Allingham needed to explain how the character changed so much between events.
On another note, there is a hint of romance between Campion and Sutane which isn't really realistic as they seem to simply love each other just because - not for any character of their personality. Finally, the murder - which is a side aspect of the novel - doesn't really make sense. Why would the killer - who is portrayed as being uninterested in others' lives throughout the novel, get married to start off the sequence of events? Allingham needed to explain how the character changed so much between events.
September 26, 2017
This was an interesting story but it felt like it was trying too hard. Some places were overloaded with flowery prose and too much angst. I was able to guess who the murderer was early on in the story. Having said that, I do like Albert Campion, and will certainly read other stories in the series.
May 6, 2021
I'll keep trying, but I don't really get on with Margery Allingham. The elements are all there - posh detective, comedy sidekick, country house murders, police at a loss - I think it's her style which I struggle with.
Not that Golden Age writing is particularly replete with warm characterisation and in-depth scene-setting, but Allingham seems to use even less paint to bring her stock characters and settings to life, relying on the reader to do a lot of the heavy lifting.
Obviously this is one of the joys of reading, but with her I constantly find myself internally crying out for more description or colour. Dancers in Mourning takes this to the nth degree as for most of it (it turns out) Campion is wrestling with a couple of mental issues, one is obvious but the other drags on with mild hints but no actual substantial clues until the end. It's infuriating.
Further minus points for the inclusion of a lovely big map estate (usually a great sign in a murder mystery), but which has almost zero use as the location of people in the grounds isn't really a thing at all. To be fair though, that probably 1930s Penguin's fault rather than Margery's.
Not that Golden Age writing is particularly replete with warm characterisation and in-depth scene-setting, but Allingham seems to use even less paint to bring her stock characters and settings to life, relying on the reader to do a lot of the heavy lifting.
Obviously this is one of the joys of reading, but with her I constantly find myself internally crying out for more description or colour. Dancers in Mourning takes this to the nth degree as for most of it (it turns out) Campion is wrestling with a couple of mental issues, one is obvious but the other drags on with mild hints but no actual substantial clues until the end. It's infuriating.
Further minus points for the inclusion of a lovely big map estate (usually a great sign in a murder mystery), but which has almost zero use as the location of people in the grounds isn't really a thing at all. To be fair though, that probably 1930s Penguin's fault rather than Margery's.
September 22, 2024
Cleverly done, poor Campion gets off the track right away when he falls in love with another man's wife, which makes it difficult for him to concentrate on the case or to see her husband objectively. William Farraday is back and the author of a book that has been turned into a West End revue. It was a little confusing because it was more like a vaudeville show than a musical. It seemed to be made up of little vignettes from his book. Still, it was a wonderful mystery and great characters to get to know.
July 17, 2023
What I liked about this book: the author's wry humor and acute social observations; the portraits of male types; the more individualized portrait of Albert Campion.
What I disliked: the dated quality of her perspective, which sometimes left me bewildered at something that seemed obvious to her; the caricatures of female types (virgin, whore, scullery maid); the plot turning on the question of who was too honorable to spill the beans on whom--even at the cost of other people's lives.
Give me Dorothy Sayers any day.
What I disliked: the dated quality of her perspective, which sometimes left me bewildered at something that seemed obvious to her; the caricatures of female types (virgin, whore, scullery maid); the plot turning on the question of who was too honorable to spill the beans on whom--even at the cost of other people's lives.
Give me Dorothy Sayers any day.
August 13, 2020
He got off the dressing table and solemnly executed an intricate little dancing step. His lean body in the dark mourning clothes, which he had not changed since the funeral, trembled in the air. The ecstatic movement, so indescribable and so satisfying, was there. The sight of him was amusing, stimulating and aesthetically comforting.
September 11, 2019
Didn’t enjoy this book as much as others that I have read. Still quite enjoyable
Read
June 14, 2024I'm reading this of Kate Davies "Summer of Mystery" and it feels like when I read literature for uni. I'm learning a lot, and I keep reading it, but sometimes it feels like a bit of a chore. I loved some aspects of this - particularly the ranting about dangerous drivers. I did not see the ending coming (I rarely do) but it seemed like a sharp twist. Anyway, I'm reading one of these every two weeks during European summer (it's winter here) so I must be engaging with them, even if I'm still not sure how much I'm enjoying it.
March 28, 2010
[These notes were made in 1988. I read the 1987 printing of the 1937 Penguin edition:]. One ends this novel with a very strong sense of shape - of a pattern satisfactorily completed. That pattern, strangely enough, has almost nothing to do with the murders in the book, or the way they were committed. Rather, it has to do with two principal characters in the book, one of whom is Allingham's detective, Albert Campion, and with the motives for their reluctance to proceed against the man they know (or think they know) is the killer. Jimmy Sutane, a music-hall dancer (with some physical resemblance to Astaire, but otherwise very English) is the charismatic centre of an odd group of people who forgather at his country house. There's his subdued wife Linda (to whom Campion is uncharacteristically and strongly attracted), his rather neglected small daughter (Sarah), and his moody younger sister Eve. (Allingham very cleverly leads us down the garden path about Eve, letting us surmise for a good part of the novel that Eve is actually Sutane's daughter). Then there's Chloe Pye, a vaudeville actress, who has been involved with Sutane in the past in some mysterious way. There's the morose and talented composer named Mercer, and an obnoxious but good-looking understudy named Konrad. To cut a long and complex story very short indeed, a quiet visit by Campion to the country house to investigate some petty attacks against Sutane is interrupted by the sudden death (possibly suicide) of Chloe Pye. A little later, Konrad is killed in an explosion; the light on his new bicycle turns out to have been rigged. As his investigation proceeds, Campion gets more and more reluctant to pursue the matter, for he believes, and we believe with him, that the dancer Sutane is behind it all, and he has a very English and gentlemanly reluctance to destroy the man whose wife he secretly covets. The twist was a genuine surprise to me: it turns out that it was Mercer, not Sutane, who a) was married to Chloe Pye in the distant past and b) committed the murders. Sutane, who had stolen Chloe Pye from Mercer in that past, protects Mercer, out of the same sort of motives which have been making Campion drag his feet on the investigation of Sutane. Eventually, of course, it all comes out, but we are less interested in the fate of Mercer than in the mental state of Campion and Sutane. The murders are really quite incidental to this murder mystery!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2014
I was disappointed with this vintage mystery. While I absolutely loved the opening pages, by the end I found the whole book to be a mess. I admit it could be a mood thing. As much as I wanted to like it, even love it, perhaps I didn't have the patience to remember the large cast of suspects. Or perhaps the problem is that the characters aren't well drawn enough, aren't unique enough, to distinguish between. There were three or four characters that I could remember. But for the others, it was who is she again? who is he again? how does he fit into the group again? where did she come from?
Albert Campion has been invited into the inner circle of Jimmy Sutane and his friends. Sutane is in show business--the theater. Uncle William is, I believe, a mutual friend? Regardless, Uncle William is one of Campion's closest friends in the book. Anyway, Sutane invites Campion to his country house. There are many, many people there. Mostly his guests are in show business too--in the same currently running production. But a few are in his employ or in his family. By the end of the day, tragedy will strike and one of the guests will be dead.
The main reason I found this book to be a complete mess is Albert Campion. He is a horrible detective in this one. Why? Because at the party, he falls madly, deeply in LOVE with Jimmy Sutane's wife. He believes that they share a meaningful moment. In fact, he gets so swept up in the moment...he finds himself almost rushing across the room and taking her in his arms. At least he doesn't do that. But. Regardless. His inappropriate interest in Linda--Jimmy's wife--keeps him from using his brain for hundreds of pages. He doesn't want the murder to be solved just in case the murderer is someone that she cares about, just in case bringing the murderer to justice would make her feel bad. It's RIDICULOUS.
Albert Campion has been invited into the inner circle of Jimmy Sutane and his friends. Sutane is in show business--the theater. Uncle William is, I believe, a mutual friend? Regardless, Uncle William is one of Campion's closest friends in the book. Anyway, Sutane invites Campion to his country house. There are many, many people there. Mostly his guests are in show business too--in the same currently running production. But a few are in his employ or in his family. By the end of the day, tragedy will strike and one of the guests will be dead.
The main reason I found this book to be a complete mess is Albert Campion. He is a horrible detective in this one. Why? Because at the party, he falls madly, deeply in LOVE with Jimmy Sutane's wife. He believes that they share a meaningful moment. In fact, he gets so swept up in the moment...he finds himself almost rushing across the room and taking her in his arms. At least he doesn't do that. But. Regardless. His inappropriate interest in Linda--Jimmy's wife--keeps him from using his brain for hundreds of pages. He doesn't want the murder to be solved just in case the murderer is someone that she cares about, just in case bringing the murderer to justice would make her feel bad. It's RIDICULOUS.
August 31, 2021
I picked it up for an old-style whodunit, but the old-style overflowed the genre & reading this was a sort of a task.
The shameless misogyny in the novel left me open-jawed
We complain about misogyny in movies, why not in literature?
The author has a singular distaste towards individualists, artists & free-thinking women.
It is a very strange read in which the author cribs & rants about her own characters, & her narration is skewed to be sympathetic to overbearing, disrespectful patriarchs, & antipathic, even spiteful towards those who think for themselves. Her favourite characters think in terms of rigid developmental patterns according to age & stage, & automatically label anyone who deviates from the societal norm as bitter & even evil.
From the very beginning, the author antagonises the readers (not with much success if the reader is an independent millenial, who did not exist in her day) against a bunch of characters. I mean, who has forced her to write about a people she so hates by the gut? It's such a forced writing, vilifying anything with creative bent as opposed to family leanings to the extent of farcical.
The puritanism gets pretty suffocating in the end. The detective's relief when he discovers that it is not one of the author's favoured camp but one of the author's contemptible camp persons who is the culprit, is nauseating.
The language & tone is unacceptably demeaning in places, & clownishly prejudiced at best.
Mystery is okay, too much tragedy. It was not entertaining at all. It's a novel, after all... May have been for someone who loves the particular detective - it might have been a diversion to see him in love.
The shameless misogyny in the novel left me open-jawed
We complain about misogyny in movies, why not in literature?
The author has a singular distaste towards individualists, artists & free-thinking women.
It is a very strange read in which the author cribs & rants about her own characters, & her narration is skewed to be sympathetic to overbearing, disrespectful patriarchs, & antipathic, even spiteful towards those who think for themselves. Her favourite characters think in terms of rigid developmental patterns according to age & stage, & automatically label anyone who deviates from the societal norm as bitter & even evil.
From the very beginning, the author antagonises the readers (not with much success if the reader is an independent millenial, who did not exist in her day) against a bunch of characters. I mean, who has forced her to write about a people she so hates by the gut? It's such a forced writing, vilifying anything with creative bent as opposed to family leanings to the extent of farcical.
The puritanism gets pretty suffocating in the end. The detective's relief when he discovers that it is not one of the author's favoured camp but one of the author's contemptible camp persons who is the culprit, is nauseating.
The language & tone is unacceptably demeaning in places, & clownishly prejudiced at best.
Mystery is okay, too much tragedy. It was not entertaining at all. It's a novel, after all... May have been for someone who loves the particular detective - it might have been a diversion to see him in love.
May 6, 2019
This novel started off with a lot of promise, but as it progressed I just found it tedious. The story moved along at a snail's pace and none of the characters were particularly likable. Not even Campion himself! There was very little detective work going on... Glad I'm done with this one!
April 16, 2020
A good readable Campion novel. He is asked by "Uncle" William Faraday to help some review dancer's who appear to the subject of pranksters which are beginning to get them down. At first, Campion is reluctant to become involved but he does. This leads to a love interest with a married woman and one whom he begins to feel he will have to hurt. A dancer is killed seemingly having fallen under a car but all is not as it seems. Blackmail leads to more deaths and a final twist in the last; pages. An entertaining read.
March 7, 2018
Classic British at it's best. This is one of my favorites, while being somewhat different from the usual. Campion is confused by feelings for one of the people involved, leaving him less effective but just as good a reporter. Lugg (always a delight) is called to fill in as a butler; a challenge which leaves him time to teach the child of the house lock-picking & Three Card Monte. A wide selection of police, each delivering a portion of the puzzle. Allingham's use of language remains elegant and on point. If you haven't read Campion, this is a good place to start.
April 21, 2018
From book 2, Campion has been working around the edges of romance, but being continually disappointed. This is a slightly different disappointed romance because it both is impossible (due to the lady being married), and confuses Campion enough that he loses perspective rather.
May 13, 2014
Moves a little slow, but Allingham nicely shows all kinds of re-direction. Even Campion has the "wrong" suspect until the last two pages. Campion has emotions and Lugg is surprisingly nice.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 208 reviews