Corpse In A Gilded Cage

by Robert Barnard

Perce Spender, a working-class Londoner, is unexpectedly transformed into the twelfth Earl of Ellesmere when a distant relative dies. But he would rather be warming a bar stool in his local pub, and he's taken up residence at Chetton Hall only until arrangements can be made to sell it. Getting rid of the family estate displeases at least one of Perce's greedy offspring, however, and on the morning after a family party the new Earl is found dead.

The Chief Constable's plethora of suspects is not the social-register list he was anticipating--one of Perce's sons is now in jail, one ought to be, one daughter is a bit too curious about the will, and daughter-in-law Dixie, now the new Countess of Ellesmere, has been keeping company with a small-time crook.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature, Cozy Mystery, Crime, Humor, Cozy

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

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

[Deb Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery and satire make for exciting story companions. In Corpse in a Gilded Cage, Barnard takes on the stereotypical clash of the classes with an average English family suddenly coming into wealth and power through an inheritance they neither anticipated nor want once it comes their way.

[Text Addict · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice, solid British mystery, set in a Stately Home but with an unusual cast of characters for one of those (odd things happen when distant relatives inherit). It's full of the kind of dry wit that's perhaps not to everyone's taste (but definitely to mine), and also of the kind of sometimes-bitter class conflict that you don't really get in American mysteries (because Americans don't believe that class exists).

I was sorry to learn, upon looking up the author, that he passed away just last month. But I also learned that he left behind something like 100 other books to read, and that's a fine way for a reader to honor an author, isn't it?

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Not every man wants his home to be his castle. Such were the sentiments of Perce Spender when he found himself in the draughty drawing room of Chetton Hall. The sudden demise of a distant relative had transformed Perce from the prince of his local pub to the twelfth Earl of Ellesmere, Master of a mansion about as cosy as the British Museum.

"Perce planned to sell the family manse and make his fortune. But someone sinister among his slightly shady offspring and largely larcenous friends would relish living like a lord. Sudden death was coming to Spender's ancestral halls, and this time it would be murder committed with just a touch of class."
~~back cover

A reread, although I didn't remember reading it before. Nicely done, as all of Robert Barnard's books are: witty, deliciously plotted, amazing characterizations, and a very surprising ending.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Robert Barnard. I don't care that it's not great literature - it gets 5 stars from me because it is fast moving, a tricky mystery, has characters you really feel you get to know, sparkly dialog and snappy wit. I was delighted to find this one that I had not read yet.

[Jazz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert Barnard frequently wrote with a flair for humor in his mysteries. This one is no exception. I had wished I understood the legalities of British inheritance a bit more clearly. I was not very engaged by the plot of this one, but then, my mind was elsewhere while I was reading it. Enjoyable, but not one of my favorites by Barnard.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barnard, and the reader, has great fun in this send up of snobbery, crime, "house " books-the house is definitely a character-as well as the reverse snobbery of people who think ill of those who have more than they. A school of fish are out of water when Perce inherits an earldom and stately manor to go with it. His family is a real mixed bag. We have a minor criminal, a fortune hunting daughter, a porn star son and several other characters, all skewered by Barnard as murder is solved, and the fate of the mansion is determined. What a romp!

[Nicholas George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decidedly common British family inherits a massive, historic estate that provokes various visions of grandeur in each member. There are some wonderful characters here, notably Phil, the eldest son, who is shamelessly larcenous but basically good-hearted, and his flashy yet cheap wife Dixie, whose gold-digging impulses come brazenly to the fore. Barnard gets his digs at the British class system, and it's all good fun--and, incidentally, it includes a nice mystery as well.

[Rachel Whelan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the tightest mystery, but quite a fun satire. A few laugh out loud moments.

[BookAddict · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a hoot!! Funny and clever from beginning to end and a great mystery to boot. A bit dated in terms of the uber PC culture these days but that's the way it was, and sadly still is in many places. But this was definitely a great read and I'll have to look into this author some more.

[Sondra Rosier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder in the elegant English country side with satire and the writing style of Agatha Christie. It was fun to read especially for those of us who get excited about Josephine Tey, Rex Stout and others of the early mysteries of the twenties, thirties and forties.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phil’s served nearly his full four years for robbery when his father unexpectedly inherits an earldom and all the wealth and prestige that come with it. And he’s down to his last three weeks when his father is just as unexpectedly murdered, right before he’s able to draft a will dividing his fortune between his three children, and the title and money all falls to him. While this motive would normally make him the prime suspect, to the misfortune of the houseful of relatives present for the new Earl’s birthday party he’s also the only one with an alibi.

A series of sudden deaths in the family have left a royal title and trappings on the shoulders of characters who could have easily just stepped off the set of Coronation Street . Actually, no, that’s unfair. The book characters are far more unique and entertaining than anything off Corey (sorry every woman in my family over the age of fifty), but the slang and speech rhythms kept calling the show to mind as I read. The branch of the Spender family we’re following here is ‘not the right class’, and a few of them have no problem showing it. Phil in particular has his fun with it. When we first meet him in prison I was hoping he wouldn’t turn out to be important and I wouldn't have to work out that Cockney accent all day, but once he was at the house it became immediately clear that he’d been laying it on for the solicitor.

’Well, it’s a cut about Maidstone, I can tell you that,’ said Phil, whose cockney accent, even to Raicho’s unaccustomed ears, seemed miraculously to have thickened, as if he were auditioning for Mr Doolittle.
(Robert Barnard, Corpse in a Gilded Cage, p.153)

An interesting point brought up a few times in the book is the different kinds of intelligence. The Spender family are portrayed as low-class yokels suddenly thrown into a high-class situation, but writing them off as unintelligent is unfair and dangerous. Joan (Phil’s sister) and her husband Digby are cold and calculating, shown best during their tour of the manor. They have a silent conversation with each other and spilt up to case as much of the grounds are possible as quickly and casually as they can. They work in perfect tandem to both get an idea of their inheritance and encourage the Earl to sell out.

Dixie and Choky, Phil’s wife and friend (who escaped capture during the robbery that netted Phil four years) are self-serving, with Dixie being the more cold-blooded of the two. Choky cases the house, same as Joan and Digby, but has no familial connection and is clearly only doing so with the intent of walking off with something. It could be implied that he’s gauging the prices because Dixie doesn’t have the knowledge to do so herself, but at no point is he portrayed as being so loyal and helpful unless there’s something in it for him. Dixie, instead, gets to work at manipulating the Earl to wait until Phil gets out of jail before deciding to sell anything. She’s not particularly good at it, and even her kids know she’s just being greedy, but she works at it like a dog with a bone, even seeing the family solicitor to try and make plans behind everyone else’s backs. Her weaselling is described by the police as ‘animal intelligence’.

Phil’s intelligence is the most interesting of all, because the others all do little to conceal what they’re doing from the people who aren’t directly being affected by it, but Phil has a mask on constantly. He goes to jail as a loyal, amiable scapegoat. And four years in jail does nothing to change his personality? Right, and I’m Mother Goose. He might just be the most intelligent and cold-blooded of any of the Spender family, and he’s incredible at keeping anyone from realizing it.

Probably my favorite character of the piece, aside from the entertaining puzzle that is Phil, is his little brother Trevor, a blasé, easily amused porn star. His intelligence doesn’t come up for question as his motivations are refreshingly average and straightforward. He’s described as cynical at some point but I never really got that from him. It seemed his father’s murder was the only thing he didn’t find ‘a giggle’, but he was teasing and joking and having a grand old time for most of the book. Anytime something funny happened I could easily imagine Trevor hanging about somewhere chuckling about it. He’s visiting with his girlfriend Michele, whom Phil describes perfectly to the police despite never having met her because Trevor’s girlfriends are apparently interchangeable. They met at work-

’You must have a genius for faces,’ said Digby, leaning forward in his turn. ‘How did you first meet Trevor?’
‘When he was shoved on top of me, on a bed, with arc lamps behind him,’ said Michele. ‘That way you never forget a face.’
(Robert Barnard, Corpse in a Gilded Cage, p.41-42)

-and she spends the book barely dressed. That and the barest touch of drive are her only character traits, which is fine since it doesn’t compete with the adorableness that is Trevor and gives us a few funny scenes.

Trevor sprawled on his chair, while Michele wafted herself down to the fountain, removed her dress while those on the terrace ostentatiously bated their breaths, and then sunbathed, topless and bottomless, on the chill flagstones. 'Christ, Trev, you do pick 'em,' said Phil, but he sat on the balustrade and surveyed her appreciatively. Dixie prowled, Sam sat astride the balustrade, writing assiduously, and Chokey kept coming up to Phil with little reminiscences of the old days - perhaps to reassure himself of their intimacy, perhaps for the view afforded of Michele beneath them, wriggling luxuriously at the sensual contrast of warm sun and cold stone.
(Robert Barnard, Corpse in a Gilded Cage, p.173)

An interesting and unfortunate thing about the book is that it’s easy to figure out the killer, as everyone has opportunity but few have motive. As the other siblings point out it’s either Phil alone wins or they all do, there’s no in between. So, who benefits if Phil inherits before the new will is written? Excluding Phil, two people. You can solve the case by flipping a coin.

Finally, mad props for the world building of Chetton Hall. The individual areas on the property are introduced through little stories like, 'this is where the Fourth Countess of Ellesmere was caught dallying with her groom', and 'this is the fountain where The Honourable Charles James Fox bathed drunk'. It’s so big that each chapter mainly takes place in a separate setting, which is also the chapter title (i.e. The Pink Damask Room, Sir Philip’s Staircase, The Blenheim Wing, The Green Drawing-Room, etc.). There are a few that take place outside the property, but most of the mystery is within the Hall grounds. But what really impressed me were the senses of emptiness and excess it conveyed. The servants are all let go and the new Countess is complaining of how far she has to walk to reach the kitchens, and how the food is cold by the time it reaches the dining room. They’re the only two people living there, and are surrounded by silence. And the little bits and bobs the children are mentally pricing gives me the distinct impression of a rococo fever dream, where all the previous generations have been collecting and collecting until their English manor is left a gaudy melting pot of gilt and filigree.


I’m still trying to work out how to use a star rating system, so I’m going to give it another try:

CHARACTERS:
No cardboard characters here, everyone is multi-faceted and have both masks and hidden agendas. They’re entertaining and feel highly realistic in their reactions despite the big personalities and often purposeful hamming (for example, the party in full swing discovers a pair of squatters and they slowly realize their privacy had been an illusion for weeks). And the best part is, there are no characters you’ll feel could have been left out to improve the book.

PLOT:
The plot is simple to follow and plausible, and there’s a cute ‘gather the suspects’ scene where Phil lays out the case as dinner conversation. The lack of suspects is partially made up for with a little twist at the end and a red herring, but it just can’t cover up the fact that there are only two people who could have done it.

SETTING:
The setting is described very well. I was a little surprised to find such a vast, detailed space brought to life in so few words. The use of the family history and peccadilloes to give you a familiarity with the specific landscape features of the property was a great idea, and it really brings it all to life. Extra star for Phil, the goof, showing off the grounds to his heir with a ‘one day this’ll all be yours’ line.

OTHER ASPECTS:
The writing was great and the book was overall very entertaining. The little twist at the end wrapped it all up in a satisfying conclusion. You were always rooting for the main character. And while I adored the people in it and wished to see more of them, Corpse is a perfect stand-alone mystery. The only thing that would make it better would be a spin-off mystery for each of the other two siblings to star in, but everything is so well grounded and plausible that to have two more murders involving the same family would unfortunately be straining credulity. Still, I’m going to cross my fingers that Barnard finds an excuse to reuse Trevor somewhere.

THE VERDICT?
Loved it, and will probably be borrowing it again if I don't cave and order a copy for myself.

[Emma E Frost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the previous book I read by RB. I wasn't sure I Would enjoy this book, because the characters were very stereotypic. But about half way through, when the new Earl showed up, I started to enjoy the people more. I never did take to some of the family members, and they were the ones you are supposed to not like. So was it the best written character traits ever? Or was it just luck? We will never know. I wasn't trying to work out who did it, as this was a bit of background noise while I work in my studio, so I can't say that I would never have thought it was that person who had committed the crimes. But to be honest, it was a little unrealistic, as the most unlikely person orchestrated several murders and other crimes for personal gain. But like I say, I Wasn't trying to work it out. Perhaps if I had been reading it, rather that listening, I would have found the lack of clues and information annoying. I did wonder where the cops were with the whole investigation though. On to the next

[Alonzo Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

A working class family of porn stars, con men, robbers, jailbirds and insurance adjusters have fallen heir to one of the great houses of England. That has put a literal target on the back of the family patriarch and newly minted earl. So when he is murdered, the cops and the next new Earl start an investigation into whodunit. Can the nice jailbird cockney earl with the horrid wife find out who is guilty of murder most foul?

This is genuinely funny and the mystery isn’t bad either. The theme is the class issues that underlie a lot of English humor. The tone is broad, though more Peter Sellers than Benny Hill. The ending is unusually satisfying.

Worth finding.

[SusanwithaGoodBook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mysteries aren't really my thing, but my mother bought this one and stuck it on my shelf, so it was my bathtub book these last few weeks. It's silly and a bit crass, but otherwise fairly enjoyable, I suppose. My favorite parts were the descriptions of the house and its contents. I wanted to know more, but that's really not what the book is about. Unfortunately, I can't begin to care a whit about the characters in these books, and I care even less who killed whom. Oh, well. It was kind of funny, at least.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better-than-average mystery, actually a bit of a spoof, but funny and suspenseful. A working class family is suddenly thrust into the life of a noble when several distant relatives die, making Perce Spender an earl. He and his wife of many years try living in the family castle, but are miserable so they make plans to return to their old life. This, of course, will affect their sons and daughter and their children and significant others, so everyone gathers. Then Perce is found murdered, oldest son Phil (a petty thief) is released from prison, and the plot thickens. Fun read.

[Mary Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a silly book. At least the first half was where we introduced the Characters and situation. An English Earl dies and is replaced by a distant cousin. He gathers his family to check out the estate's manor house and announce his intention to sell it. One night that Earl is murdered. His heir unfortunately is in prison. The New Earl is released and comes to his new home to solve the murder of his father and the question of what to do with the estate. Very humorous with colorful characters.

[Laronda Blessing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly delightful English murder mystery. My first encounter with Robert Barnard, and I will definitely be picking up more of his works. Fun character sketches, plenty of dry wit, and a compelling plot, complete with sprinkled in tales of bygone and scandalous noble family history. A smart, fun read.

"Well now, I'm going to hand it to you straight: this is one nobless that isn't going to bleege."

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

The butler did it! Or at the least is on the extensive list of suspects in this sendup of British class snobbery. I am sure I would get much more out of the humor if I were up on brands, institutions, and Cockney humor, but none of those is necessary to find this book amusing, and a good plot as well.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t familiar with this author when I started the book. I have since discovered that he is popular and prolific, having written 40 books. I enjoyed this light hearted mystery and will find some more of his.

[Anie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read.

[Meg Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun.

[Andrea Sachs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun.

[CAROL · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun mystery. A great home is inherited by an uneducated family.

[Boweavil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvelous British murder mystery, satirical, funny, humane.

[Moirad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Broad humour and cliched characters, rather than the wit and subtlety usually found in the author's books. The crimesolving aspect was underwhelming too.

[Victoria & David Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun mystery from what is becoming one of my favorite authors in this genre.

[Jhmtan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, very British and cosy with some laughs and the conclusion was well sewn up. Not gory.

[Denise Link · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little book was kind of fun. We don't get to the corpse in the title until nearly halfway through, but once we do things perk up.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder what my reaction to inheriting a grand estate would be. Would I prefer my own cozy home. That is how the unexpected 12th Earl of Ellesmere and his wife felt. Percy Spender was willing to spend a brief time in the cold drafty yet elegant almost palace, then they wanted to sell it and get on with life. Who wants to eat cold food for the rest of their lives?

All of Percy's family have gathered at Chetton Hall to spend time together and to celebrate Percy's sixtieth birthday. Many of the family members are seeing this as a windfall that can enrich all their lives if handled correctly. But someone puts a period to Percy's existence and hordes of police and reporters descend on the estate to turn every bodies life inside out.

Complicating matters is the fact that Percy's heir is currently in lockup doing time because he was caught for the umpteenth time illegally emptying a lorry full of TV's. due out shortly he is sprung to help the police in their inquiries in a different fashion.

Robert Barnard makes all this seem possible, real and humorous. I like to keep some of his books close at hand for a guaranteed enjoyable read.