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The Mysterious Mr Campion
Gathered here are three of the late Miss Allingham's most successful novels, each typical of a different stage in the development of both writer and principal character. The three unabridged books are :
The Case of the Late Pig: In which the youthful Mr. Campion and invaluable Mr. Lugg set out to investigate the shadiest of funerals.
Dancers in Mourning: A more mature Mr. Campion loses his heart whist enquiring into a memorable mystery of the theatre.
The Tiger in the Smoke: For many people this is the author's finest book. Mr. Campion and Chief Detective Inspector Charles Luke engage on a tiger hunt through the stone forests of London.
There is also a Preface by the author, and a short story.
The Case of the Late Pig: In which the youthful Mr. Campion and invaluable Mr. Lugg set out to investigate the shadiest of funerals.
Dancers in Mourning: A more mature Mr. Campion loses his heart whist enquiring into a memorable mystery of the theatre.
The Tiger in the Smoke: For many people this is the author's finest book. Mr. Campion and Chief Detective Inspector Charles Luke engage on a tiger hunt through the stone forests of London.
There is also a Preface by the author, and a short story.
- GenresMystery
505 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1963
30 people want to read
About the author
Margery Allingham
269 books599 followersAka Maxwell March.
Margery Louise Allingham was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a family of writers. Her father, Herbert John Allingham, was editor of The Christian Globe and The New London Journal, while her mother wrote stories for women's magazines as Emmie Allingham. Margery's aunt, Maud Hughes, also ran a magazine. Margery earned her first fee at the age of eight, for a story printed in her aunt's magazine.
Soon after Margery's birth, the family left London for Essex. She returned to London in 1920 to attend the Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster), and met her future husband, Philip Youngman Carter. They married in 1928. He was her collaborator and designed the cover jackets for many of her books.
Margery's breakthrough came 1929 with the publication of her second novel, The Crime at Black Dudley . The novel introduced Albert Campion, although only as a minor character. After pressure from her American publishers, Margery brought Campion back for Mystery Mile and continued to use Campion as a character throughout her career.
After a battle with breast cancer, Margery died in 1966. Her husband finished her last novel, A Cargo of Eagles at her request, and published it in 1968.
Also wrote as: Maxwell March
Margery Louise Allingham was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a family of writers. Her father, Herbert John Allingham, was editor of The Christian Globe and The New London Journal, while her mother wrote stories for women's magazines as Emmie Allingham. Margery's aunt, Maud Hughes, also ran a magazine. Margery earned her first fee at the age of eight, for a story printed in her aunt's magazine.
Soon after Margery's birth, the family left London for Essex. She returned to London in 1920 to attend the Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster), and met her future husband, Philip Youngman Carter. They married in 1928. He was her collaborator and designed the cover jackets for many of her books.
Margery's breakthrough came 1929 with the publication of her second novel, The Crime at Black Dudley . The novel introduced Albert Campion, although only as a minor character. After pressure from her American publishers, Margery brought Campion back for Mystery Mile and continued to use Campion as a character throughout her career.
After a battle with breast cancer, Margery died in 1966. Her husband finished her last novel, A Cargo of Eagles at her request, and published it in 1968.
Also wrote as: Maxwell March
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October 18, 2022
This Allingham omnibus includes three novels from the Campion series and a Christmas-themed short story. The books chosen, 8, 9 and 14, are all very different in style. I suppose this is why they were chosen, to show the range of the series, but it also means you are unlikely to love all three books. As well as an introduction, each story has a small explanation of why it is included. Apparently The Case Of The Late Pig (the only book written in 1st person) was written to combine Campion's more mature or realistic depiction with his earlier frivolous appearance (namely showing that it is a performance that he puts on). Dancers in Mourning was included because it contained a serious love affair for Campion and added depth to his character (also she just casually lets out a spoiler here on the page before the novel) and Tiger In The Smoke had her first 'real' and 'evil' criminal. Basically each book marks a milestone in the changing tone of the series. But I kind of disagree with the author about her own books. Campion's personality has always been quite clear. I don't think 'Pig' is combining anything new. I found the love affair in Dancers in Mourning to be utterly unconvincing and the villain in Tiger in the Smoke to be rather a normal sort of criminal, not terribly evil so much as simply less grandiose and powerful than previous bad guys. A selfish, unfeeling thug as opposed to the selfish unfeeling masterminds of previous books. There have certainly been far more interesting love stories and villains in the series.
I happen to enjoy The Case Of The Late Pig (4 stars) a great deal. Dancers in Mourning (4 stars) is good but the love plot was dull and it paralyses Campion so there's little drive to the narrative, while Tiger in the Smoke (3 stars), which barely even features Campion, is certainly not one of my go-to Campion books (she says that she was trying to write more realistic police fiction here, but the Campion series isn't about that - Campion isn't a cop, so I'm not sure why she included it in his series). As for the short story, it is a rather odd thing to turn up at the end of this omnibus. It is a very simple mystery and once you know the solution, it is impossible to imagine how you ever didn't, so not one for any re-read value.
They are all well written stories in their own ways. But it isn't a collection of my favourites (one out of three is) and although chronologically 'Pig' and 'Dancers' go together, 'Tiger' is from a totally different decade, so they don't exactly flow.
I happen to enjoy The Case Of The Late Pig (4 stars) a great deal. Dancers in Mourning (4 stars) is good but the love plot was dull and it paralyses Campion so there's little drive to the narrative, while Tiger in the Smoke (3 stars), which barely even features Campion, is certainly not one of my go-to Campion books (she says that she was trying to write more realistic police fiction here, but the Campion series isn't about that - Campion isn't a cop, so I'm not sure why she included it in his series). As for the short story, it is a rather odd thing to turn up at the end of this omnibus. It is a very simple mystery and once you know the solution, it is impossible to imagine how you ever didn't, so not one for any re-read value.
They are all well written stories in their own ways. But it isn't a collection of my favourites (one out of three is) and although chronologically 'Pig' and 'Dancers' go together, 'Tiger' is from a totally different decade, so they don't exactly flow.
Displaying 1 of 1 review