Death and the Chaste Apprentice

Charlie Peace #1

by Robert Barnard

The Ketterick Festival revolves around the Saracen’s Head, a Jacobean inn with its inn-yard and balconies miraculously preserved intact, due to the sloth of successive landlords. Here in festival time are performed the lesser-known masterpieces of Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre. This year it is The Chaste Apprentice of Bowe (a play of uncertain authorship, since no one owned up at the time). But the actors find that the Saracen’s Head has been transformed by its new landlord – an Australian know-all with an insatiable curiosity and an instinct for power.

The loathsome Des’s activities bring him into conflict with actors, committee, even the performers of Adelaide di Birckenhead, the little-known Donizetti opera that is the other lynchpin of the Festival programme. So adept is Des at fomenting friction and ferreting in the undergrowth of private lives that it is not surprising that it all ends in biers.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature, Crime, Contemporary, Procedural

228 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Aka Bernard Bastable.

Robert Barnard (born 23 November 1936) was an English crime writer, critic and lecturer.

Born in Essex, Barnard was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Colchester and at Balliol College in Oxford. His first crime novel, A Little Local Murder, was published in 1976. The novel was written while he was a lecturer at University of Tromsø in Norway. He has gone on to write more than 40 other books and numerous short stories.

Barnard has said that his favourite crime writer is Agatha Christie. In 1980 he published a critique of her work titled A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie.

Barnard was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2003 by the Crime Writers Association for a lifetime of achievement.

Under the pseudonym Bernard Bastable, Robert Barnard has published one standalone novel and three alternate history books starring Wolfgang Mozart as a detective, he having survived to old age.

Barnard lived with his wife Louise in Yorkshire.

Series:
* Perry Trethowan
* Charlie Peace

Reviews

[Reggie Billingsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rediscovery of Robert Barnard's work has made me very happy indeed. By now, I have come to the conclusion that an author's quality of writing is of primary importance. If the words are clumsily assembled and achingly miss-handled it hurts too much to subject myself to it all.

I cannot abide poor syntax, banal vocabulary and pedestrian style that grates in it's mind-numbing stupid-ness. Too many 'cosy' writers are guilty of this as if the quality of the writing style was minimally important. On the other hand I can easily forgive a so-so mystery for delightfully entertaining characters and witty language.

Fortunately, Barnard's plotting puzzles are consistently good and his preference for satire encourages me to invest in more of his work.

Sadly the man is no longer with us...felled in 2013 at too young an age for these times, by early and rapid onset dementia and its complications ... a real tragedy for his family and for one so reliant on his wit and language. Reading his bio on line at The Guardian website [http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013...] it makes me even sadder to realise no more shall emerge from that vital pen.

Thankfully his committment to the Bronte Society and all his prodigious output in the self-admitted "deliberately old-fashioned style" leaves a welcome library of Good Reads indeed!

RIP Mr Barnard and thank you for all you have done to elevate this genre to the literary heights it always deserves.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Des Capper is the worst kind of pest--a busybody, a know-it-all--but he's the new manager of the Saracen Head Hotel, the pub that's at the center of the Ketterick arts festival. In fact, the little-known Elizabethan play that's presented each year is staged in the Saracen Head's yard, and many of the participants have rooms in the sprawling old hotel. Some of the singers in the opera, performed at nearby theater, are also staying at the hotel. As Des swans around the pub's main bar, giving advice and telling tales of his experiences, his wife handles the work of the place. Tensions rise until the play's first night--and that's when the police arrive. Barnard is always witty about theater and music--an enjoyable read.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The gossipy, self-absorbed landlord of The Saracen's Head is murdered, and everyone involved in the productions at the Ketterick Arts Festival who is staying at the hotel is a suspect. Loved the setting, the flamboyant, over-emotive operatic and theatrical types, and the often humorous story. Very much in the mode of a Christie novel, where the detectives interrogate suspects until they arrive at a conclusion - one I didn't foresee. I had read a much later novel in the Charlie Peace series and also one of Barnard's Perry Trethowan series, so I decided to start at the beginning. Although I typically read much darker mysteries, this "cozy" didn't disappoint.

[Linda Brue · Rating 4 out of 5]

DEATH AND THE CHASTE APPRENTICE, Robert Barnard, 1989
There was a discussion on Dorothy-L (DL) recently about Robert Barnard, and while I knew I'd read and enjoyed his books before, I decided to go back and read his Charlie Peace and Perry Trethowan series from the beginning. This is the first book in the Charlie Peace series, although he is very much a youngster in the department at this point. The setting is a festival of sorts that takes place every year, consisting of plays and concerts. The first part of the book is the set-up, where we meet the various actors, orchestral musicians, opera singers, agents, and conductors who are (for the most part) staying at the large hotel where the play is staged, in a large open courtyard. The old manager, beloved by all who knew him, has passed away, and the hotel management firm has put in his place Des Capper, a totally horrible person, as despised as much as the old manager was loved. But Des was not the only person in the running for the most murderable character; there is also Gunter Gottlieb, an Austrian conductor who is known world-wide and considered by most to be a genius. Unfortunately for anyone who has to deal with him or work for him, he is also known to be a man who loves power and wields his with all his might, micromanages everything, and the only thing bigger than his fame is his overwhelming ego. Now the stage is set for what is to come.

Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of mysteries set in theatres, so my opinion might be a bit suspect. I found the first several chapters rather boring, scenes of artsy types with their expected behaviors--few morals, lots of in-fighting, monstrous egos, and vanity. For me, the story didn't pick up until the expected and anticipated murder. Barnard's plot was very tight, not a locked-room story, more of an inaccessible murder site, where the killer could be only one of a few people allowed in an area that many people were in position to see. The characters may have been a bit stereotyped, but they were well-drawn and intelligently utilized to further the plot, or perhaps to obscure it. Well done!

[Damaskcat · Rating 3 out of 5]

An arts festival in an outer suburb of London attracts a lot of visitors especially because some of the events are held in a very old coaching inn on an open stage in the courtyard. The Saracen's Head is a popular inn though it has recently acquired a new landlord who is less than popular and who is murdered during the performance of the play about the chaste apprentice of the title.

Full of eccentric characters and jokes about the theatre and opera, this is an entertaining crime novel. I must admit I was left wondering until half way through the book just precisely who Charlie Peace is but he is finally revealed as a Metropolitan police CID detective who happened to be in the audience and who offers his service to help find the murderer.

I enjoyed this book sufficiently to want to read the next one and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys crime with a theatrical or arts background

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book with Charlie Peace. It takes place at an arts festival. The play they are doing is Shakespeare's The Chaste Apprentice, which is not one that I have read. The details were lost on me. The other part of the festival was an opera, which I have zero knowledge of. So much of the nuances were totally lost on me. In addition, there were so many people to keep track of, and where they were, and being placed in a maze of a facility, I was unable to follow their movements, and which character they were, etc. I'm sure if you like opera and were familiar with this play, this mystery would have been more enjoyable for you.

[Jenn Estepp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, but I fear I had been very misled by a few reviews, which promised terribly wonderful surprises/twist at the end and that was very much not the case. Perfectly acceptable, in the time-killing mystery sort of way, but not one I'm likely to recommend all around. I am going to check out a few more in the series, however, because I think the first offering can often be the shaky one.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first mystery from this author. Needed something light and fun and Barnard has gotten high praise for his sarcasm and wit. This novel set in a British village hosting an arts festival sounded like an interesting escape. The Elizabethan Inn hosts two key parts of the festival, an Elizabethan drama and an opera or musical event. The hotel twists in on itself with several niches and courtyards, including a stage for a play and a separate wing featuring a section of rooms with balconies overlooking the opera stage. Guests, performers, and arts patrons continually get lost in the labyrinth-like passages. There's three separate bars just to accommodate the crowds during festival time. The veteran actors return to find a new hotel manager, Des Capper, who's just the worst: seedy and conniving, always trying to ingratiate himself with some ulterior motive, caught snooping through the guests locked rooms and private drawers. He's not a very good sleuth as he makes ridiculous assumptions, he's not a very good listener, and he spends more time lecturing his guests in his awful busybody, know-it-all manner, telling the professional tenor how to better manage his breath control and project, dispensing marriage counseling, and trying to smooth ruffled feathers only to further agitate and provoke. He's the king of unsolicited advice. He makes enemies quickly and effortlessly. The first 50 pages of the novel focus on character building, literally setting the stage for the inner workings of the festival and the major players. On opening night Des is found, after the performances and the celebratory drinks, face down in his living quarters with a knife in his back.
From there it's detection work on personalities and timing and logistics. With the hotel being such a maze, the actors on stage for the debut of their play, the opera stars in full dress rehearsal, it's down to who was on stage when and for how long. The characters were vivid and fun, and the mystery was just as well drawn out. Looking forward to reading more works by this author in the future.

[Bill Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of Elizabeth George and a bit of Reginald Hill, so thought I would branch out to another author who wrote mystery stories set in England.

Many, many years ago I read a mystery where Charlie Peace was the detective, which makes this the second time I've read a story with Charlie Peace. This time he just happened to be on the scene and is merely assisting the local superintendent, Iain Dundy. Of course he makes a key observation.

I liked the setting, which was at a drama and music festival in a town outside of London. Actors and singers make for many interesting characters, some evil, but most not. And there was a touch of romance. I did not guess the murderer.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in late 1980s so a little outside my preferred time frame of pre-1950s. I had a hard time following, and frankly caring about, technical discussion of opera. Also, the reader is asked to follow some amount of the narrative of a play (most of the suspects are actors). The story was relatively tight and I did like the reveal. It was also a quick read.

[Gareth Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Run of the mill whodunnit that never really gets going. Published in 1989 it is somewhat out of step with fashion for being a classic Christie-style country house murder (albeit set in an hotel). Nothing wrong with that per se, just that this one is a bit of a dud.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a great time reading this book. It is a mystery - with great characters, plot, setting, dry British humor, and involving theater and opera. Robert Barnard is one of my favorite writers because he is so smart and funny. Also I enjoy that his plots often feature some literary angle.

[J Dumpert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful!

Harvard's writing is, as usual, scintillating, and the setting (an arts festival in a quaint English village) and characters (theatrical and operatic, in every sense) make this novel a particular delight.

[Timothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A curious mystery in which the murder does not occur until page 77. Less police and more procedural

[The Fizza · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 STARS

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

British mysteries always seem to have an erudition and wit that presumes a wide education on the part of the reader. How many books do you read that crack wise about the operas of Donizetti?

[Kat Walter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many characters and none with any depth. Boring and tedious.

[Lisa Almarode · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic mystery in the golden-age tradition, with the typical theatrical characters and settings, with an added musical component. Very enjoyable.

[M Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really wonderful classic mystery. I'm going to try and find the next in this series.

[Bea Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly believable characters. Well written and thought out. No chance of guessing motive though.

[Rennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too theatrical for me but I did like Charlie so may try the next one.

[Virginia Kessen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nor his strongest but even a middle-of-the-road Barnard is better than many author's best.

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read several "serious" books in a row I think I have earned the right to some light entertainment. Here's yet another novel by Robert Barnard, "Death and the Chaste Apprentice" (1989), my eleventh work of his.

An annual music and theatre festival is held in Ketterick, a London suburb. The plot begins when the rehearsals for an Elizabethan play "The Chaste Apprentice of Bowe" and for subsequent opera performances begin at the Ketterick Arts Festival. The first 40 pages are really difficult to get through as there are too many characters, which makes the text hard to focus on. I almost never quit books before I finish them, but I have been tempted in this case. About one-third into the novel, there is a murder. The local superintendent Iain Dundy, helped by Charlie Peace from the Metropolitan CID, are on the case.

To me, the best parts of the novel are fascinating insights into the world of opera and Elizabethan theatre. Alas, one can find precious little of Mr. Barnard's trademark snide writing style, and there are very few sarcastic passages that have impressed me so much in several of his other novels. I burst out laughing only in three or four places. While the plot is serviceable, there is one twist too many at the end. No, it is not a bad book; it is just below the average for Mr. Barnard.

Two stars.

[Debbie Maclellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as interesting and funny as some of his other books but a good read all the same.

[Christopher Borum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining story with interesting characters and good pacing. It suffered a bit from being too much inside the theater and opera world. It will help to have some knowledge of different composers and their styles. It also relies somewhat on dated activities for clues and misdirections. Things that were meaningful in the 1980's but now aren't. The clues weren't all 100% obvious looking back after I finished, but it was sufficiently satisfying that I'll read the next one in the series.

[Stephen Osborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A not-bad mystery with a theatrical theme. Loads of red herrings, and some fun side characters. The main difficulty I had with this is that once the detectives arrive and start to investigate, THEY come off as bland and uninteresting. All we really know about Dundy is that he doesn't like theater people, and we know nearly nothing about Charlie except that he's black. Ah, for the quirks of Poirot or Nero Wolfe!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of Barnard's mysteries. Charlie Peace appears in a minor role, and I didn't enjoy the depictions of the actors and other creative sorts who peopled the story. The victim here is an obnoxious Australian landlord in a small town near Leeds, and his death is mourned by no one. When the murderer is finally identified, it doesn't come as much of a surprise.

2/21/25: Read this again as I'm going through the Charlie Peace books in order. Not enough Charlie Peace here.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had an interesting and unexpected twist at the end but other than that the story roused no particular interest. Mostly everybody just talked until the detective figured out whodunit. Maybe it was the setting or the characters or the plot itself, but it was pretty boring right up to about the last 20 pages. I finished it but that's about all I can say.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will keep quiet about who the murderer turned out to be, but I wasn't surprised. Des Capper, hotel manager, really was a disgusting man who seemed to be liked by no one. He brought his fate on himself - not that I normally condone murder. Very interesting background on actors, musicians, and festivals,

[Lori]

This was awful to get thru. Not sure I'll read anymore in this series, or maybe start with a more recnt one.