What do you think?
Rate this book
Nigel Strangeways #9
Head of a Traveller
Upon stopping by Plash Meadows to visit revered poet Robert Seaton, Nigel Strangeways is absolutely enamoured: like something out of a fairy tale, a perfect Queen Anne house stands among sprawling lawns as smooth as green glass, and whimsical gardens overflowing with roses. And not so far off, a dark and winding wood…
While visiting with the Seatons, Nigel gets more than he bargained for. He learns about the contentious legacy of the family estate, stumbles upon a secret meeting, and at lunch, when table talk turns to murder and motive, Nigel leaves feeling a little uneasy.
Two months later, Nigel is summoned back to the Seaton’s in less pleasant circumstances. A headless corpse has been pulled from the river behind the house and no one can identify the victim… let alone the murderer.
As oppressive thunderstorms roll through the countryside and the mood in the house takes a turn, Nigel has only one lead, but it’s throwing up more questions than it answers. The corpse bears a striking resemblance to Robert Seaton’s long-missing brother… but he walked into the ocean ten years prior, never to be heard from again.
Bewitched by poet and property, will Nigel be able to put his admiration aside and get to the bottom of this case?
While visiting with the Seatons, Nigel gets more than he bargained for. He learns about the contentious legacy of the family estate, stumbles upon a secret meeting, and at lunch, when table talk turns to murder and motive, Nigel leaves feeling a little uneasy.
Two months later, Nigel is summoned back to the Seaton’s in less pleasant circumstances. A headless corpse has been pulled from the river behind the house and no one can identify the victim… let alone the murderer.
As oppressive thunderstorms roll through the countryside and the mood in the house takes a turn, Nigel has only one lead, but it’s throwing up more questions than it answers. The corpse bears a striking resemblance to Robert Seaton’s long-missing brother… but he walked into the ocean ten years prior, never to be heard from again.
Bewitched by poet and property, will Nigel be able to put his admiration aside and get to the bottom of this case?
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1949
25 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Blake
97 books73 followersNicholas Blake is the pseudonym of poet Cecil Day-Lewis C. Day Lewis, who was born in Ireland in 1904. He was the son of the Reverend Frank Cecil Day-Lewis and his wife Kathleen (nee Squires). His mother died in 1906, and he and his father moved to London, where he was brought up by his father with the help of an aunt.
He spent his holidays in Wexford and regarded himself very much as Anglo-Irish, although when the Republic of Ireland was declared in 1948 he chose British citizenship.
He was married twice, to Mary King in 1928 and to Jill Balcon in 1951, and during the 1940s he had a long love affair with novelist Rosamond Lehmann. He had four children from his two marriages, with actor Daniel Day-Lewis, documentary filmmaker and television chef Tamasin Day-Lewis and TV critic and writer Sean Day-Lewis being three of his children.
He began work as a schoolmaster, and during World War II he worked as a publications editor in the Ministry of Information. After the war he joined Chatto & Windus as a senior editor and director, and then in 1946 he began lecturing at Cambridge University. He later taught poetry at Oxford University, where he was Professor of Poetry from 1951-1956, and from 1962-1963 he was the Norton Professor at Harvard University.
But he was by then earning his living mainly from his writings, having had some poetry published in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and then in 1935 beginning his career as a thriller writer under the pseudonym of Nicholas Blake with 'A Question of Proof', which featured his amateur sleuth Nigel Strangeways, reputedly modelled on W H Auden. He continued the Strangeways series, which finally totalled 16 novels, ending with 'The Morning After Death' in 1966. He also wrote four detective novels which did not feature Strangeways.
He continued to write poetry and became Poet Laureate in 1968, a post he held until his death in 1972. He was also awarded the CBE.
He died from pancreatic cancer on 22 May 1972 at the Hertfordshire home of Kingsley Amis and Elizabeth Jane Howard, where he and his wife were staying. He is buried in Stinsford churchyard, close to the grave of one of his heroes, Thomas Hardy, something that he had arranged before his death.
He spent his holidays in Wexford and regarded himself very much as Anglo-Irish, although when the Republic of Ireland was declared in 1948 he chose British citizenship.
He was married twice, to Mary King in 1928 and to Jill Balcon in 1951, and during the 1940s he had a long love affair with novelist Rosamond Lehmann. He had four children from his two marriages, with actor Daniel Day-Lewis, documentary filmmaker and television chef Tamasin Day-Lewis and TV critic and writer Sean Day-Lewis being three of his children.
He began work as a schoolmaster, and during World War II he worked as a publications editor in the Ministry of Information. After the war he joined Chatto & Windus as a senior editor and director, and then in 1946 he began lecturing at Cambridge University. He later taught poetry at Oxford University, where he was Professor of Poetry from 1951-1956, and from 1962-1963 he was the Norton Professor at Harvard University.
But he was by then earning his living mainly from his writings, having had some poetry published in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and then in 1935 beginning his career as a thriller writer under the pseudonym of Nicholas Blake with 'A Question of Proof', which featured his amateur sleuth Nigel Strangeways, reputedly modelled on W H Auden. He continued the Strangeways series, which finally totalled 16 novels, ending with 'The Morning After Death' in 1966. He also wrote four detective novels which did not feature Strangeways.
He continued to write poetry and became Poet Laureate in 1968, a post he held until his death in 1972. He was also awarded the CBE.
He died from pancreatic cancer on 22 May 1972 at the Hertfordshire home of Kingsley Amis and Elizabeth Jane Howard, where he and his wife were staying. He is buried in Stinsford churchyard, close to the grave of one of his heroes, Thomas Hardy, something that he had arranged before his death.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
April 28, 2019
This is the ninth novel in the Nigel Strangeways series, by author Nicholas Blake (pen name for Cecil Day-Lewis). This book was published in 1949 and follows “Minute for Murder,” which saw Strangeways at the end of the Second World War, widowed after his wife had been killed in the Blitz. Oddly, considering what a large role his wife played in earlier books, her death rarely got a mention in “Minute for Murder,” and she seems completely forgotten about by this novel.
Nigel Strangeways is staying with a friend in Oxfordshire, when they visit poet Robert Seaton. Seaton lives in a beautiful house with his second wife Janet, children Lionel and Vanessa andan odd servant called Finny, while artist Rennell Torrance and his daughter, Mara, live in a converted part of the building. The house is actually the former family home of Janet, who is proud of her ancestry and a cold and haughty woman. In fact, the entire family seem ill at ease with each other and their focus seems to be Robert - the man his wife refers to, reverently, as “the Poet.”
Strangeways returns to London, but is contacted a few weeks later by his friend, who informs him that a headless body has been found upstream from Seaton’s house. When his old friend, Superintendent Blount, becomes involved, Strangeways is persuaded to visit the Seaton’s again. In fact, he actually moves in to the house to study Seaton’s manuscripts. Rumours abound about the family and their involvement with the body. Strangeways discovers that a man was seen walking through the woods shortly before the body was found – could he have been Robert’s elder brother, long feared dead? Also, what is the involvement of Finny and how is he related to the family? Now, it has to be said that Finny is a dwarf and the way he is referred to in this book jar with modern sensibilities. I do try to accept that books written in different eras obviously found behaviours and language acceptable that we now don’t, but some of the language does make uncomfortable reading.
Overall, I did not find this the best of the Strageways mysteries and not just because of the character of Finny and the way he was viewed by some of those in the book. However, one of the interesting strands of the storyline concerns Robert Seaton as a poet. Obviously, Cecil Day-Lewis was a poet himself and the way he views the importance of Seaton’s work is very interesting to read. However, the motive for the murder, and the victim, was fairly easy to spot and generally the storyline was quite simplistic – while the characters in Seaton’s household were not particularly sympathetic. I have liked the mysteries featuring Nigel Strangeways so far and, even though I did not enjoy this as much as earlier books in the series, I will certainly read on.
Nigel Strangeways is staying with a friend in Oxfordshire, when they visit poet Robert Seaton. Seaton lives in a beautiful house with his second wife Janet, children Lionel and Vanessa andan odd servant called Finny, while artist Rennell Torrance and his daughter, Mara, live in a converted part of the building. The house is actually the former family home of Janet, who is proud of her ancestry and a cold and haughty woman. In fact, the entire family seem ill at ease with each other and their focus seems to be Robert - the man his wife refers to, reverently, as “the Poet.”
Strangeways returns to London, but is contacted a few weeks later by his friend, who informs him that a headless body has been found upstream from Seaton’s house. When his old friend, Superintendent Blount, becomes involved, Strangeways is persuaded to visit the Seaton’s again. In fact, he actually moves in to the house to study Seaton’s manuscripts. Rumours abound about the family and their involvement with the body. Strangeways discovers that a man was seen walking through the woods shortly before the body was found – could he have been Robert’s elder brother, long feared dead? Also, what is the involvement of Finny and how is he related to the family? Now, it has to be said that Finny is a dwarf and the way he is referred to in this book jar with modern sensibilities. I do try to accept that books written in different eras obviously found behaviours and language acceptable that we now don’t, but some of the language does make uncomfortable reading.
Overall, I did not find this the best of the Strageways mysteries and not just because of the character of Finny and the way he was viewed by some of those in the book. However, one of the interesting strands of the storyline concerns Robert Seaton as a poet. Obviously, Cecil Day-Lewis was a poet himself and the way he views the importance of Seaton’s work is very interesting to read. However, the motive for the murder, and the victim, was fairly easy to spot and generally the storyline was quite simplistic – while the characters in Seaton’s household were not particularly sympathetic. I have liked the mysteries featuring Nigel Strangeways so far and, even though I did not enjoy this as much as earlier books in the series, I will certainly read on.
April 19, 2019
You'll need a strong stomach for outdated and offensive attitudes to get through this one: a mentally-challenged and mute 'dwarf' who gibbers and swarms up trees like a monkey... a raped girl who has it mansplained to her that she secretly wanted it and enjoyed it...
If you can get past all that (I couldn't), the plot is laborious with endless iterations of the timetable of the murder - I skimmed, tuned back in for the unsatisfactory ending.
Nope, not much vintage charm here.
If you can get past all that (I couldn't), the plot is laborious with endless iterations of the timetable of the murder - I skimmed, tuned back in for the unsatisfactory ending.
Nope, not much vintage charm here.
December 3, 2017
This is the first Nicholas Blake I have read and although I enjoyed aspects of it, I wasn't that keen overall.
Published in 1949, Head Of Traveller sees Nigel Strangeways in his role as a sort of unofficial police consultant called to a beautiful and ancient manor house to help in solving the murder of an unidentified corpse found close by. It becomes plain that the family there are involved and an intricate puzzle is set involving complex time-lines and possible mistaken identities.
The book began excellently, I thought. "Nicholas Blake" (i.e. Cecil Day-Lewis) was a fine writer and I enjoyed the style and set-up for the first 50 pages or so. Things did begin to pall a little after that, though. Despite all the false trails and distractions, I thought the identity of the murderer was fairly plain quite early on, there is a good deal of psychologising which is largely pretty silly and in one case plain offensive, and some of the period attitudes and ignorance, especially toward a dwarf character, were pretty hard to take.
I did finish the book, which has a rather indecisive and unconventional ending, but I found it a bit of a struggle. I can only give it a very qualified recommendation.
(I received an ARC via NetGalley.)
Published in 1949, Head Of Traveller sees Nigel Strangeways in his role as a sort of unofficial police consultant called to a beautiful and ancient manor house to help in solving the murder of an unidentified corpse found close by. It becomes plain that the family there are involved and an intricate puzzle is set involving complex time-lines and possible mistaken identities.
The book began excellently, I thought. "Nicholas Blake" (i.e. Cecil Day-Lewis) was a fine writer and I enjoyed the style and set-up for the first 50 pages or so. Things did begin to pall a little after that, though. Despite all the false trails and distractions, I thought the identity of the murderer was fairly plain quite early on, there is a good deal of psychologising which is largely pretty silly and in one case plain offensive, and some of the period attitudes and ignorance, especially toward a dwarf character, were pretty hard to take.
I did finish the book, which has a rather indecisive and unconventional ending, but I found it a bit of a struggle. I can only give it a very qualified recommendation.
(I received an ARC via NetGalley.)
May 23, 2019
Nigel Strangeways investigates the discovery of a headless corpse. The body has been found in a river near his friend's house in Oxfordshire, which is close to the estate of poet Robert Seaton. His wish to meet the famous poet persuades the reluctant Nigel to get involved with the case, and he soon begins to uncover a number of long hidden secrets.
This book has none of the charm of most Golden Age mysteries. There is a gruesome and rather silly plot. As in a previous book, Minute for Murder, Blake spends rather too long on constructing a timetable of events and rehashing it at various intervals, which slows down the mystery somewhat.
However, an even more offputting feature is the use of very outdated attitudes as a plot device. A mute 'dwarf', Finny, is used as a kind of servant by the family, and is always described in unsympathetic terms such as grotesque or hideous. Furthermore, Nigel spends too much time acting as unofficial counsellor to the women of the group, displaying judgements that are at best patronising and at worst offensive to modern readers. Nigel bases his approach on whether the woman in question is a 'good girl' or 'bad girl' in his eyes, leading to one particularly distasteful episode with a vulnerable woman.
Not my favourite work by an author whose mysteries I usually enjoy. I hope that the next one I read will concentrate more on the mystery itself and be less of a vehicle for some bleak and misanthropic views.
This book has none of the charm of most Golden Age mysteries. There is a gruesome and rather silly plot. As in a previous book, Minute for Murder, Blake spends rather too long on constructing a timetable of events and rehashing it at various intervals, which slows down the mystery somewhat.
However, an even more offputting feature is the use of very outdated attitudes as a plot device. A mute 'dwarf', Finny, is used as a kind of servant by the family, and is always described in unsympathetic terms such as grotesque or hideous. Furthermore, Nigel spends too much time acting as unofficial counsellor to the women of the group, displaying judgements that are at best patronising and at worst offensive to modern readers. Nigel bases his approach on whether the woman in question is a 'good girl' or 'bad girl' in his eyes, leading to one particularly distasteful episode with a vulnerable woman.
Not my favourite work by an author whose mysteries I usually enjoy. I hope that the next one I read will concentrate more on the mystery itself and be less of a vehicle for some bleak and misanthropic views.
November 25, 2017
Thank you to NetGalley and Ipso Books for the digital ARC.
This is the first Nigel Strangeways mystery I have read. I found it difficult in a number of ways. When reading fiction from earlier periods, there are often attitudinal problems to be faced. Many early 20th century books are casually and, occasionally, overtly, anti-Semitic, for instance.
Here we have dwarfism/short stature being misrepresented, the trauma of rape been represented as “curable” and people being granted absolution from moral norms on grounds of their “artistic nature”.
There was also a fair amount of what I would term “twaddle” about poetry and the artistic muse.
All of these gave the story a more dated feel than many of the same period.Most of the characters I found tiresome.
Although the murder appears theatrically gruesome- headless corpse found in river- the whole solution is ridiculously simple, despite all the musings by Strangeways and Superintendent Blount and the elaborate timetables of people’s whereabouts.
The book was far too long, especially as there is no real resolution of the mystery. The reader is left to infer the outcome (I think) from Strangeways’ statement that his reconstruction was “later to be substantially confirmed”.
I shall try others in the series but this is decidedly not the one to begin with.
This is the first Nigel Strangeways mystery I have read. I found it difficult in a number of ways. When reading fiction from earlier periods, there are often attitudinal problems to be faced. Many early 20th century books are casually and, occasionally, overtly, anti-Semitic, for instance.
Here we have dwarfism/short stature being misrepresented, the trauma of rape been represented as “curable” and people being granted absolution from moral norms on grounds of their “artistic nature”.
There was also a fair amount of what I would term “twaddle” about poetry and the artistic muse.
All of these gave the story a more dated feel than many of the same period.Most of the characters I found tiresome.
Although the murder appears theatrically gruesome- headless corpse found in river- the whole solution is ridiculously simple, despite all the musings by Strangeways and Superintendent Blount and the elaborate timetables of people’s whereabouts.
The book was far too long, especially as there is no real resolution of the mystery. The reader is left to infer the outcome (I think) from Strangeways’ statement that his reconstruction was “later to be substantially confirmed”.
I shall try others in the series but this is decidedly not the one to begin with.
February 8, 2020
Nicholas Blake nos trae aquí otro caso protagonizado por Nigel Strangeways. La historia, narrada en el primer capítulo, y en el final por el propio Strangeways, comienza cuando éste visita la casa, - en un idílico entorno rural-, de un famoso y admirado poeta. Poco después, la apacible vida del escritor y su familia se ve dramáticamente alterada cuando, en las inmediaciones, aparece el cadáver decapitado de un hombre, y el detective es convocado, muy a su pesar, para investigar el caso. Y lo hace mostrando sus dudas, sus sentimientos y sus ideas sobre la verdad y sobre la justicia.
Más allá del misterio en sí, que, por otra parte responde a los cánones tradicionales, la novela se destaca por la magnífica ambientación, en la que una antigua mansión rural juega un rol primordial, y por la maestría con que el autor transmite, a través de la mirada del protagonista, una atmósfera de desasosiego, de melancolía, cargada de dramatismo, y con una tensión creciente. Los personajes, notablemente caracterizados desde el punto de vista psicológico, y hacia quienes el investigador mantiene un sentido de empatía y de profunda piedad, se nos presentan, - casi al estilo de una antigua tragedia griega-, como juguetes de un destino que aparenta ser inexorable.
Aunque algo lenta en su desarrollo, nos encontramos, entonces, con una obra que vale la pena leer por la poesía implícita en las descripciones, por reflejar y hacer vívido un drama humano y por demostrar, una vez más, que, una novela puede ser mucho más que un simple y rutinario relato de misterio.
https://sobrevolandolecturas.blogspot...
August 26, 2015
Great timetable mystery--which is pretty startling to me, since I hate timetable mysteries. Views of sexual assault and the developmentally disabled rather dated; views of people's motivations, and roses, and poetry are not. And I didn't see that coming.
February 23, 2022
Head of a Traveler is the 9th book in the Nigel Strangeways series by Nicholas Blake, the pseudonym for English poet, Cecil Day-Lewis. I had previously read one other of this series and don't recall much about it. LOL. But I have to say that Head of a Traveler was excellent; peopled with sympathetic, interesting characters and with a neat little mystery to boot. (I do readily admit that I really, really wanted to discover the culprit but that is the sign of a good story, I believe, one that keeps you turning pages to find out how it's all resolved.)
Investigator Nigel Strangeways is asked to visit his friend Paul who lives in the country because of a strange occurrence that has taken place. A headless corpse has been discovered near the estate of a famous poet, one who Strangeways admires greatly. Inspector Blount of Scotland Yard, another friend of Strangeways, agrees it might be a good idea of Nigel goes there and provides assistance to Blount in his investigation. Nigel ends up staying at the estate of Robert Seaton, the poet, and his family; wife Janet, son Lionel, daughter Vanessa and lodgers, Rennell Seaton (a wannabe artist) and daughter, Mara. Oh and childlike midget Finney, who is their servant.
The investigation must first ascertain who belongs to the headless corpse and then who, if anyone in the family, was responsible for the murder and beheading. It makes for an interesting mystery and investigation. Strangeways has a wonderful way about him and seems able to easily inculcate himself into the family situation, even though they know he is helping the police. His relationship with Inspector Blount is a friendly one of equals; Blount has worked with Nigel before and they both respect each other. (It's a nice change to see private individuals and the police on an equal, positive footing.
The story is written intelligently, lovely descriptions of the surroundings; well-crafted, very sympathetic characters and an interesting mystery with a reasonably satisfying resolution. I particularly liked young Vanessa, a bit of a firecracker, but just wonderful. I also liked Mara and her interactions with Nigel. I really liked all of the characters, not all likable, but relatable as people. Most enjoyable story and mystery and I look forward to further exploring this series. (4 stars)
Investigator Nigel Strangeways is asked to visit his friend Paul who lives in the country because of a strange occurrence that has taken place. A headless corpse has been discovered near the estate of a famous poet, one who Strangeways admires greatly. Inspector Blount of Scotland Yard, another friend of Strangeways, agrees it might be a good idea of Nigel goes there and provides assistance to Blount in his investigation. Nigel ends up staying at the estate of Robert Seaton, the poet, and his family; wife Janet, son Lionel, daughter Vanessa and lodgers, Rennell Seaton (a wannabe artist) and daughter, Mara. Oh and childlike midget Finney, who is their servant.
The investigation must first ascertain who belongs to the headless corpse and then who, if anyone in the family, was responsible for the murder and beheading. It makes for an interesting mystery and investigation. Strangeways has a wonderful way about him and seems able to easily inculcate himself into the family situation, even though they know he is helping the police. His relationship with Inspector Blount is a friendly one of equals; Blount has worked with Nigel before and they both respect each other. (It's a nice change to see private individuals and the police on an equal, positive footing.
The story is written intelligently, lovely descriptions of the surroundings; well-crafted, very sympathetic characters and an interesting mystery with a reasonably satisfying resolution. I particularly liked young Vanessa, a bit of a firecracker, but just wonderful. I also liked Mara and her interactions with Nigel. I really liked all of the characters, not all likable, but relatable as people. Most enjoyable story and mystery and I look forward to further exploring this series. (4 stars)
March 5, 2018
Nigel Strangeways was immediately captivated with his first vision of Plash Meadow, with its "drifts and swirls and swags" and "cataleptic trance of white and yellow roses.". However, his second return to the house mirrors his mood, as "It seemed less enchanted, more awake than when he had last seen it. The roses-that was it: most of them had withered, and there was a tarnished look on the few that were left. It was a beautiful house, oh yes; but only a house now, not a brilliant, enervating dream any more," as dark undercurrents are revealed when a headless corpse is found in the river. Mara Torrance and Lionel's antics did not really endear them to me, and Vanessa Seaton remains the only likeable character in the book. My guess who the culprit was turned out to be correct, although I was quite misled by that twist in the end. Still a solid mystery.
August 8, 2018
What on earth am I doing here, Nigel mused. What sort of a trap am I walking into? And why should the idea of a trap come into my head at all? A great poet, his well-born and distinguished wife, his son, his daughter - what could be more reassuring? Just because a headless body is found half a mile away from their house, I come here with a mind already half-poisoned, looking for the sinister detail in every hole and corner, in every artless word. A girl plunges into a river, and I have to think of a corpse being towed out from the bank.
For me, this story was un-put-downable.
For me, this story was un-put-downable.
October 30, 2014
It may just be the mood I was in yesterday--I spent my morning in a meeting where I felt like the speaker was an adult in a Charlie Brown special. Nothing he said sounded like real language to me. And then last night when I was finishing up Nicholas Blake's Head of a Traveller, he just wasn't making sense to me. And I'm afraid that, much as I generally love Blake's writing and plotting, the whole story just came across as a convoluted mess. Much more convoluted than necessary for the purposes of mystifying the reader--I didn't feel mystified. I felt frustrated with everything from the opener (Nigel Strangeway's journal entry--in first person present while the rest of the novel is in past tense) to the bizarre characterizations (a gibbering dwarf? seriously?). This one was quite simply not up to Blake's usual par--at least not for me. Others have rated it quite highly, so your mileage may vary.
First posted as a mini-review on my blog My Reader's Block>My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
First posted as a mini-review on my blog My Reader's Block>My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
September 13, 2024
Nigel Strangeways, a writer and literary scholar when he isn’t being distracted by his private investigation work, is thrilled to have a chance to meet Robert Seaton, one of Britain’s greatest living poets. Plash Meadow, Seaton’s house, is in Oxfordshire near the Thames and in this June of 1948 is surrounded by roses. Strangeways largely enjoys his short visit, but notices certain tensions, including a reluctance by Seaton to speak about his current work…and the poet hasn’t published any new material in years.
In August, Nigel Strangeways returns to the area when a headless corpse clad only in a macintosh raincoat is found in the river nearby. It soon becomes clear that the traveler without a head is somehow connected to Plash Meadow and its inhabitants.
That connection narrows the list of suspects. Robert Seaton, the poet who’s been suffering from creative block. His second wife Janet, whose ancestral home Plash Meadow is. Robert’s son Lionel, a World War Two veteran who hasn’t quite got over what happened at Arnhem. Lionel’s sister Vanessa, a pretty teenager who’s keen on “hunting” as she’s learned it in the Girl Guides. Finny Black, their little person servant. Rennell Torrance, landscape artist and permanent guest on the estate. His daughter Mara, a promising sculptor. Oh, and just possibly Paul Willingham, the neighbor that introduced Nigel to the Seatons.
Nigel Strangeways must sift through the contradictory witness evidence and build a timetable that will prove who the real killer must be. It won’t be easy. Plash Meadow’s inhabitants have many secrets and loyalties that complicate their responses to this crisis, and there are some outright lies mixed in!
The title of this 1949 mystery novel is taken from a Housman poem, though it’s also a literal description of an object in the story. This is the ninth in the series of Nigel Strangeways books that began in 1935. One of the key points here is that (almost) everyone has a veneration for Robert Seaton as a poet, and they’re trying to not have him too distracted to finish his masterpiece. (We are never vouchsafed any actual poetry from him, you’re going to have to take the author’s word on the quality.)
The timetable aspect of the case is fairly easy to follow, and the sharp reader may spot which clues are incorrect by recreating it themselves. The possible motivations for the murder are also set out pretty clearly early on.
There are a couple of things that are…uncomfortable and may explain why this book, unlike some of the other Strangeways mysteries, has never been adapted to film. The first is Finny Black, the servant who is a little person with developmental disabilities. (Or in the text, “a dumb dwarf.”) His treatment by the other characters, and to an extent by the narrative, is ableist. There’s a “shock reveal” about him that Strangeways doesn’t quite buy but is never directly disproven.
The other is that one of the female characters has been raped and the matter hushed up so that she’s never been able to discuss it properly with anyone until now. Nigel correctly divines that one of the reasons it’s been affecting her so strongly is that despite herself she felt some sexual pleasure during the assault, and thinks that this makes her a ruined woman. He points this out in some very unfortunate phrasing, and this revelation basically cures her psychological issues instantly. Yeah.
Content note: Murder, suicide (or is it?), rape in the backstory, ableism, misuse of prescription drugs.
This is not considered one of the best Nigel Strangeways books, and is pretty midlist for the genre. Recommended primarily for Strangeways fans to complete the series checklist, check out library loan or a good used book store.
In August, Nigel Strangeways returns to the area when a headless corpse clad only in a macintosh raincoat is found in the river nearby. It soon becomes clear that the traveler without a head is somehow connected to Plash Meadow and its inhabitants.
That connection narrows the list of suspects. Robert Seaton, the poet who’s been suffering from creative block. His second wife Janet, whose ancestral home Plash Meadow is. Robert’s son Lionel, a World War Two veteran who hasn’t quite got over what happened at Arnhem. Lionel’s sister Vanessa, a pretty teenager who’s keen on “hunting” as she’s learned it in the Girl Guides. Finny Black, their little person servant. Rennell Torrance, landscape artist and permanent guest on the estate. His daughter Mara, a promising sculptor. Oh, and just possibly Paul Willingham, the neighbor that introduced Nigel to the Seatons.
Nigel Strangeways must sift through the contradictory witness evidence and build a timetable that will prove who the real killer must be. It won’t be easy. Plash Meadow’s inhabitants have many secrets and loyalties that complicate their responses to this crisis, and there are some outright lies mixed in!
The title of this 1949 mystery novel is taken from a Housman poem, though it’s also a literal description of an object in the story. This is the ninth in the series of Nigel Strangeways books that began in 1935. One of the key points here is that (almost) everyone has a veneration for Robert Seaton as a poet, and they’re trying to not have him too distracted to finish his masterpiece. (We are never vouchsafed any actual poetry from him, you’re going to have to take the author’s word on the quality.)
The timetable aspect of the case is fairly easy to follow, and the sharp reader may spot which clues are incorrect by recreating it themselves. The possible motivations for the murder are also set out pretty clearly early on.
There are a couple of things that are…uncomfortable and may explain why this book, unlike some of the other Strangeways mysteries, has never been adapted to film. The first is Finny Black, the servant who is a little person with developmental disabilities. (Or in the text, “a dumb dwarf.”) His treatment by the other characters, and to an extent by the narrative, is ableist. There’s a “shock reveal” about him that Strangeways doesn’t quite buy but is never directly disproven.
The other is that one of the female characters has been raped and the matter hushed up so that she’s never been able to discuss it properly with anyone until now. Nigel correctly divines that one of the reasons it’s been affecting her so strongly is that despite herself she felt some sexual pleasure during the assault, and thinks that this makes her a ruined woman. He points this out in some very unfortunate phrasing, and this revelation basically cures her psychological issues instantly. Yeah.
Content note: Murder, suicide (or is it?), rape in the backstory, ableism, misuse of prescription drugs.
This is not considered one of the best Nigel Strangeways books, and is pretty midlist for the genre. Recommended primarily for Strangeways fans to complete the series checklist, check out library loan or a good used book store.
February 19, 2020
I'm not really sure what Nigel Strangeways' real job is. Something to do with literature, which makes him an amateur sleuth back in the day when county police were happy to accept the help of a successful consultant.
It may seem irrelevant that Strangeways has a day job, but it's the key to his interest in the murder, which involves a headless corpse found near the property of a respected poet, Robert Seaton. Nigel's interest is in the poet, not the murder, but as the investigation begins to touch the lives of everyone living on the Seaton estate, he's concerned about the effect it might have on Robert Seaton's current work, his first in ten years.
Some of the characters and their reactions to situations is a bit silly, but likeable silly. There is also a scene reflecting on the rape of a fifteen year old girl that must be read with the times (1949) in mind. I believe the author used "rape", with all its modern violent connotations, while referring to the seduction of an underage girl. Which is still statutory rape, but a different scenario that would fit what the character says. You'll know what I mean when you get to that point.
My main enjoyment in reading mysteries comes from the situations and characters rather than the difficulty of the murder. However, right when I thought I had the ending figured out, I was wrong. The explanation made sense, but it wasn't obvious.
I have read Strangeway mysteries before, but this story gave me a bit of information about the character that helped flesh him out in my mind.
It may seem irrelevant that Strangeways has a day job, but it's the key to his interest in the murder, which involves a headless corpse found near the property of a respected poet, Robert Seaton. Nigel's interest is in the poet, not the murder, but as the investigation begins to touch the lives of everyone living on the Seaton estate, he's concerned about the effect it might have on Robert Seaton's current work, his first in ten years.
Some of the characters and their reactions to situations is a bit silly, but likeable silly. There is also a scene reflecting on the rape of a fifteen year old girl that must be read with the times (1949) in mind. I believe the author used "rape", with all its modern violent connotations, while referring to the seduction of an underage girl. Which is still statutory rape, but a different scenario that would fit what the character says. You'll know what I mean when you get to that point.
My main enjoyment in reading mysteries comes from the situations and characters rather than the difficulty of the murder. However, right when I thought I had the ending figured out, I was wrong. The explanation made sense, but it wasn't obvious.
I have read Strangeway mysteries before, but this story gave me a bit of information about the character that helped flesh him out in my mind.
March 14, 2018
Head of a Traveller (first published in 1949) is the ninth book in Nicholas Blake's Nigel Strangeways series. At the beginning of the book, Nigel is staying with a friend in Oxfordshire and is introduced to the poet Robert Seaton, who lives at the nearby estate of Plash Meadows with his wife and two children. Nigel is enchanted by their beautiful house and intrigued to hear the history of how it came to be in Robert’s possession. A few months later he is summoned back to Plash Meadows under less happy circumstances: a headless body has been found in the river just upstream from the Seatons’ house. Superintendent Blount has been called in to investigate and Nigel, who has worked with Blount before, decides to make some unofficial inquiries of his own.
This is a complex mystery with a surprisingly simple solution. My first assumptions proved to be right, but I was misled by discussions of alibis and timescales, mistaken identities and who could be protecting whom. I enjoyed following the investigations of Nigel and Blount, who have a great partnership and complement each other perfectly, but they were certainly making things more complicated than they needed to be!
Bearing in mind that this is a book from the 1940s, there are some attitudes which could be offensive to modern day readers, particularly surrounding the character of Finny Black, who is a dwarf, and also regarding the rape of another character ten years earlier. These views are not at all uncommon in books from this era, but are still a little bit uncomfortable to read. Overall, though, I enjoyed this book – not as much as The Corpse in the Snowman, but it still kept me entertained for a while. And as a poet himself (Nicholas Blake is a pseudonym of Cecil Day-Lewis), he writes convincingly about Robert Seaton and his work, and has some interesting thoughts to share.
This is a complex mystery with a surprisingly simple solution. My first assumptions proved to be right, but I was misled by discussions of alibis and timescales, mistaken identities and who could be protecting whom. I enjoyed following the investigations of Nigel and Blount, who have a great partnership and complement each other perfectly, but they were certainly making things more complicated than they needed to be!
Bearing in mind that this is a book from the 1940s, there are some attitudes which could be offensive to modern day readers, particularly surrounding the character of Finny Black, who is a dwarf, and also regarding the rape of another character ten years earlier. These views are not at all uncommon in books from this era, but are still a little bit uncomfortable to read. Overall, though, I enjoyed this book – not as much as The Corpse in the Snowman, but it still kept me entertained for a while. And as a poet himself (Nicholas Blake is a pseudonym of Cecil Day-Lewis), he writes convincingly about Robert Seaton and his work, and has some interesting thoughts to share.
June 25, 2022
This Nicholas Blake classic offers a double dose of British country house mystery and the intriguing undercurrents of a tale with a poet as a prime suspect... written by a poet (Nicholas Blake, a.k.a. poet laureate Cecil Day-Lewis).
Like The Horse's Mouth, the classic tale of the selfish artist willing to sacrifice all for his art, no matter the harm he does, this work detailing a distinguished poet at the center of a brutal murder case raises questions about Blake's own views about Art and The Muse.
The case is sufficiently twisty to keep readers guessing. I didn't much care for the psychological analysis of a young woman survivor of a rape; and there are some racist remarks that were perfectly acceptable in the dark old days when this story was first published, and apparently still acceptable at the time this paperback edition hit the drugstore racks. Those elements aside, the return of a sibling believed dead of suicide, and his eventual discovery as a headless corpse, make for a fine mystery puzzle. There is the added atmosphere of a beautiful country house, Plash Meadow, that is almost a character in itself.
Nigel Strangeways again figures out the crime before the final chapter, but unlike other entries in this series, he is left with the conundrum of whether or not to expose the criminal... and the reader is left to wonder what choice he makes.
I re-read this tale in The Nicholas Blake Treasury Vol. 3.
Like The Horse's Mouth, the classic tale of the selfish artist willing to sacrifice all for his art, no matter the harm he does, this work detailing a distinguished poet at the center of a brutal murder case raises questions about Blake's own views about Art and The Muse.
The case is sufficiently twisty to keep readers guessing. I didn't much care for the psychological analysis of a young woman survivor of a rape; and there are some racist remarks that were perfectly acceptable in the dark old days when this story was first published, and apparently still acceptable at the time this paperback edition hit the drugstore racks. Those elements aside, the return of a sibling believed dead of suicide, and his eventual discovery as a headless corpse, make for a fine mystery puzzle. There is the added atmosphere of a beautiful country house, Plash Meadow, that is almost a character in itself.
Nigel Strangeways again figures out the crime before the final chapter, but unlike other entries in this series, he is left with the conundrum of whether or not to expose the criminal... and the reader is left to wonder what choice he makes.
I re-read this tale in The Nicholas Blake Treasury Vol. 3.
August 1, 2017
Nigel Strangeways admires poet Robert Seaton whose reputation is declining so he is delighted when a friend introduces him Seaton. But the poet himself seems eccentric and unpredictable and his household is strange to say the least. When a headless body is found in a river close to the house the various members of the household comes under suspicion. Strangeways is invited to investigate along with his friend Superintendent Blunt.
I found the attitudes expressed by the various members of the household left a lot to be desired. They seemed far more concerned with their own convenience and comfort than with the fact that a man had been killed. As a result they were all disposed to lie to Nigel and to the police, thus confusing the investigation. They all seemed to be a law unto themselves.
The ending is tense and to a certain extent unresolved which was a little disappointing to this reader. I didn't altogether agree with Nigel's actions either. Other readers may feel differently. The book is well written but Blake has created a singularly dislikeable set of characters in this mystery.
I found the attitudes expressed by the various members of the household left a lot to be desired. They seemed far more concerned with their own convenience and comfort than with the fact that a man had been killed. As a result they were all disposed to lie to Nigel and to the police, thus confusing the investigation. They all seemed to be a law unto themselves.
The ending is tense and to a certain extent unresolved which was a little disappointing to this reader. I didn't altogether agree with Nigel's actions either. Other readers may feel differently. The book is well written but Blake has created a singularly dislikeable set of characters in this mystery.
July 3, 2023
Though brilliantly written, a witty detective novel, and so full of twist and turns you never quite know what will happen next, there are quite a few moments throughout that are extremely questionable. Whether it be Finny Black, the dwarf who’s incompetence is a key center point, or a woman who was raped as a child and later told by our main character that deep down she liked it, and wanted it to her happen to her. Not to mention the extremely outdated references, such as the saying “n***** in a woodpile” or the constant diminishment of rape, calling it a mere “criminal assault” throughout the novel. While the story was extremely interesting, it was difficult to overlook the various issues presented whilst reading, thus making it a three star rating at best.
September 4, 2019
Kindle Unlimited Free Trial | Includes: a developmentally disabled "mute dwarf" presented as one step above an animal; a girl who was raped at age 15; a character who insists that having been raped makes said girl undesirable; a character who forces said girl to "admit" that she enjoyed her rape; the same girl having become a nymphomaniac because sex is all she's good for; the grown man who raped her being secretly paid to leave the area, so as not to let news of the "incident" get out; two uses of the n-word (in the idiom "...in the woodpile"). This was not a strong one.
December 25, 2017
Nicholas Blake’s amateur detective, Nigel Strangeways, is a smart, intuitive, Golden Age snoop! In “Head of a Traveller”, Blake introduces us to an almost museum-like collection of characters, including a Poet, a Precocious Child, an Artist, and a Dwarf.
Except for an uncomfortable moment when Strangeways decides to practice psychoanalysis, I enjoyed the plot twists and turns, and the progressive unlayering of history and motive.
Except for an uncomfortable moment when Strangeways decides to practice psychoanalysis, I enjoyed the plot twists and turns, and the progressive unlayering of history and motive.
July 14, 2020
Letto in italiano edizione Gialli Mondadori con il criptico titolo "La testa di creta".
Romanzo non male perché lucidamente centrato sugli artisti e su quello che li distingue dall'altra gente, e il poeta Lewis celato dietro il romanziere Blake doveva saperne qualcosa.
E ovviamente lo stile è sempre qualche gradino sopra il giallo popolare medio, senza esagerare in sfoggio di cultura ma per quel certo non so che negli incisi, nelle pause, nei non detti.
Romanzo non male perché lucidamente centrato sugli artisti e su quello che li distingue dall'altra gente, e il poeta Lewis celato dietro il romanziere Blake doveva saperne qualcosa.
E ovviamente lo stile è sempre qualche gradino sopra il giallo popolare medio, senza esagerare in sfoggio di cultura ma per quel certo non so che negli incisi, nelle pause, nei non detti.
March 17, 2020
A headless corpse is discovered and, as friends of Nigel are suspected, he becomes involved in the mystery. The writing is good and the lead up to the end was interesting, but it was obvious who was the murderer from very early on and the solution not fully believable. One should also note that this novel contains a dated and disturbing view of a rape.
December 13, 2018
This was my first”Nigel Strangeways” mystery, and I will put it on the list to find more. I enjoyed the plot development and the characters. This was a great introduction to the Golden Age of detective mysteries.
July 1, 2019
Another intriguing puzzle from a writer becoming a firm favourite of mine. So glad I discovered these stories in my late father’s bookshelves.
November 13, 2020
Maybe only 2.5* - in part due to the ending which felt inconclusive and abrupt.
February 3, 2009
I love Nigel Strangeways. I missed a couple of books in the series, and was a bit startled in a couple of books to find his circumstances so changed. (Not all the books are listed on GoodReads - these go back to the 30s).Many of them were written during wartime, and give an interesting perspective of England during World War II. The plots are brilliant. Like Leo Bruce, Nicholas Blake tends to have his victims be people who are so inherently evil that someone was bound to kill them sooner or later.
June 2, 2011
An interesting set up, and some quite sympathetic characters, but I figured out some pieces long before Nigel did -- he seemed willfully blind to some things -- and the handling of Mara was just so very painful to me as a 21st century feminist. I get what Blake was trying to do, and how it made sense with the psychology of the time, and I even think there was a kernel of truth in it, but argh.
And yet I enjoyed it, so 3 stars!
And yet I enjoyed it, so 3 stars!
December 31, 2021
I grew up with this gruesome edition among my parents' extensive collection of mysteries, so I must have read it at some point in my misspent youth. This time around, I found the mystery tedious (I'm not a fan of timetable mysteries because of the repetitive details), the characters unattractive, and the dated attitudes toward rape and dwarfism repellent. I do think there are better Strangeways novels out there, but this one was alternately unpleasant and boring.
September 29, 2013
For a 1949 mystery, this murder around which the plot revolves seemed particularly gruesome and too violent for the gentile characters and bucolic setting. Some interesting observations on the impulse to murder. Given that the author was himself a distinguished poet, his having the completion of a poem by a central character motivate various of the other characters seemed a bit much.
January 27, 2012
I found this book in a box at a recent BookCrossing evening and I snaffled it because I love mysteries. Imagine my surprise to discover (I have an unfortunate memory) that this is C S Lewis under a nom de plume.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be looking for more
I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be looking for more
March 4, 2012
An intelligent, if dated, whodunnit - but I found it hard to engage with the characters - there was a sense of distance - the protagonist's perhaps?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews