The Affair at the Semiramis Hotel

Inspector Hanaud #1.5

by A.E.W. Mason

Book in which we again join Ricardo and Hanaud, this time in an ambiguous situation. A young, wealthy vagabond English man, Calladine, whom Ricardo knew before, hastily comes to Ricardo’s London home in the morning, while Hanaud happens to be visiting. Calladine, very agitated, still dressed formally as for an evening ball, tells his disturbing story… He had gone to a costume party that night in a hotel ballroom, met a beautiful young woman, Joan Carew, with whom he danced, dined, and talked…

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, British Literature, Audiobook, Classics, Ebooks

51 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1917

About the author

Major Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (7 May 1865 Dulwich, London - 22 November 1948 London) was a British author and politician. He is best remembered for his 1902 novel The Four Feathers.

He studied at Dulwich College and graduated from Trinity College, Oxford in 1888. He was a contemporary of fellow Liberal Anthony Hope, who went on to write the adventure novel The Prisoner of Zenda.

His first novel, A Romance of Wastdale, was published in 1895. He was the author of more than 20 books, including At The Villa Rose (1910), a mystery novel in which he introduced his French detective, Inspector Hanaud. His best-known book is The Four Feathers, which has been made into several films. Many consider it his masterpiece. Other books are The House of the Arrow (1924), No Other Tiger (1927), The Prisoner in the Opal (1929) and Fire Over England (1937).

Reviews

[Pramod Nair · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Affair at the Semiramis Hotel, by Alfred Edward Woodley Mason – the English author and politician also known as A.E.W. Mason - is a mystery & detective short novel from 1917. This is the second book in his ‘Inspector Hanaud’ series.

A.E.W. Mason had a unique way of narrating his plots, as he blends the elements of intrigue, thrill, drama, despair and traces of terror into his detective stories, to create a dreamy, strange atmosphere. The plots and settings have a resemblance to the Holmes stories by Conan Doyle on the surface, but these tales of mysteries are more dramatic, with a touch of creepiness in their presentation.

Inspector Gabriel Hanaud – The first major fiction police detective of twentieth century

A.E.W. Mason created the character of ‘Inspector Gabriel Hanaud’, in the 1910 novel At the Villa Rose, and made his fictional detective a good-humored official French police officer with a penchant for good things in life. A.E.W. Mason wanted his fictional character to be totally different from ‘Sherlock Holmes’, so he developed Inspector Hanaud, like a real life police officer, who relied on a balanced dose of intuition and routine detective work along with his powers in deductive reasoning and psychology to crack cases.

Inspector Hanaud and his friend and sidekick Mr. Ricardo – an amateur detective and a former financier-, make appearance in five novels and several short stories. With seven movie adaptations featuring this fictional detective, it is no wonder that Michael R. Pitts refers him as the “The first major fiction police detective of twentieth century” in “Famous Movie Detectives III” of 2004.

Inspector Hanaud - The possibility of influence on Agatha Christie.

In ‘Murder She Wrote: A Study of Agatha Christie's Detective Fiction’, authors Patricia D. Maida and Nicholas B. Spornick observes:

“Specific literary ancestors of Hercule Poirot are difficult to trace. Still, prototypes for Poirot appear in different characters from French detective fiction such as Leroux’s Rouletabille, Robert Barr’s Eugene Valmont, A.E.W Mason’s Inspector Hanaud, and Mrs. Belloc Lowndes’ Hercules Popeau. Each of these fictional detectives made his debut by the early 1900s before Christie began writing. An avid reader of detective fiction, consciously or subconsciously she must have been influenced to some extend by her reading.”

Since Inspector Hanaud made his fictional appearance in 1910 – about ten years before Christie created her character – we can assume that Mason’s character made an influence over her while developing Poirot, as there is a definite resemblance between both of these characters in some of their mannerisms and characteristics. They both share a penchant for celebrating their own abilities and achievements; both of them love creature comforts; and are both obstinate in providing justice for the innocent.

In ‘The Affair at the Semiramis Hotel’, we observe Inspector Hanaud in operation along with his friend Mr. Rocardo in unraveling the mystery surrounding a double crime – a murder and the theft of a string of very valuable pearls – in an atmosphere rife with intrigue, dreaminess and romance. This relatively forgotten volume is pretty fast paced and can be finished, in a single sitting.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fairly simple, and not overly complicated mystery. Furthermore, the author inundates the reader with useless red herrings to flesh out the length of the story. If you want a short mystery that doesn't make think too hard, then this is not a bad way to spend an hour.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 2 out of 5]

A.E.W.Mason is a writer of both mysteries and normal novels, his most famous work being "The Four Feathers," about the war in Sudan and the consequences of a momentary cowardice for the whole life of a man.

In the mystery field, his best-known work is "At the villa Rose," where he introduced his French detective, inspector Hanaud.

This book I have just now read is the second Hanaud adventure, but rather than a novel it is a short story or, at the most, a novella. It is not bad, but I liked "At the villa Rose" better.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable!
Easy, fun read!

[Jefferson Fortner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second story in A. E. W. Mason’s detective series of novels and novellas featuring Inspector Hanaud, a member of the French Sûreté. Mason created Hanaud to be the exact opposite of Sherlock Holmes, most of whose stories had already appeared but some of which were still being published at this time (very early 20th century). So, Hanaud is stout, friendly, and an actual police inspector. He relies upon probing questions and psychological insights to determine the identity of the murderer, versus the detailed investigation of physical evidence that Holmes uses. Apparently, Hanaud was the template that Agatha Christie used when first thinking about the character of Hercule Poirot. This very brief novella is the second in the series, and is actually too brief. The first book in the series, the novel At the Villa Rose, was more enjoyable; this is mainly because, while still a short novel, it had enough space for a much more extensive probing into the whereabouts and natures of the various characters involved. This second novel seems to almost be a case of, “And now, for my second trick,” followed by a quick sleight of hand demonstration. Hanaud reveals the villain before it can truly be said that he had spent enough time investigating. Still, it is an enjoyable story.

[Dave A Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not his best

I'm a fan of AEW Mason after reading The Witness for the Defence and The Four Feathers, with their wonderful character portrayals. I don't think this came up to the same standards.
But an intriguing plot.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, our friend Hercule before he was Hercule. I haven’t read any of the other Hanaud mysteries, but now I think I will.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little read.

[J Grimsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novella has a slightly similar plot/characters to previous story

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

All I will say is that I'm glad this was a short story.

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

audio - good bedtime

[Jini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would've liked for this story to go in the more bizarre direction it took a U-turn from.

[Phil Syphe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like this short piece yet at times I felt it was trying to be too clever for its own good.

I like the characters and, while the plot was good in the most part, at times I found it unappealing.