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Inspector Bland #3
Bland Beginning
A purchase at a second-hand bookshop seems an innocent enough event. Tony Shelton hadn't expected it to be anything but that – and he certainly hadn't expected it to throw him head first into the world of violence, blackmail and robbery. For it becomes clear that the book has a rather higher price than he paid for it – a price that was to lead to murder.
- GenresMystery
268 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
19 people want to read
About the author
Julian Symons
257 books67 followersJulian Gustave Symons is primarily remembered as a master of the art of crime writing. However, in his eighty-two years he produced an enormously varied body of work. Social and military history, biography and criticism were all subjects he touched upon with remarkable success, and he held a distinguished reputation in each field.
His novels were consistently highly individual and expertly crafted, raising him above other crime writers of his day. It is for this that he was awarded various prizes, and, in 1982, named as Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America - an honour accorded to only three other English writers before him: Graham Greene, Eric Ambler and Daphne Du Maurier. He succeeded Agatha Christie as the president of Britain's Detection Club, a position he held from 1976 to 1985, and in 1990 he was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writer.
Symons held a number of positions prior to becoming a full-time writer including secretary to an engineering company and advertising copywriter and executive. It was after the end of World War II that he became a free-lance writer and book reviewer and from 1946 to 1956 he wrote a weekly column entitled "Life, People - and Books" for the Manchester Evening News. During the 1950s he was also a regular contributor to Tribune, a left-wing weekly, serving as its literary editor.
He founded and edited 'Twentieth Century Verse', an important little magazine that flourished from 1937 to 1939 and he introduced many young English poets to the public. He has also published two volumes of his own poetry entitled 'Confusions about X', 1939, and 'The Second Man', 1944.
He wrote hie first detective novel, 'The Immaterial Murder Case', long before it was first published in 1945 and this was followed in 1947 by a rare volume entitled 'A Man Called Jones' that features for the first time Inspector Bland, who also appeared in Bland Beginning.
These novles were followed by a whole host of detective novels and he has also written many short stories that were regularly published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. In additin there are two British paperback collections of his short stories, Murder! Murder! and Francis Quarles Investigates, which were published in 1961 and 1965 resepctively.
His novels were consistently highly individual and expertly crafted, raising him above other crime writers of his day. It is for this that he was awarded various prizes, and, in 1982, named as Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America - an honour accorded to only three other English writers before him: Graham Greene, Eric Ambler and Daphne Du Maurier. He succeeded Agatha Christie as the president of Britain's Detection Club, a position he held from 1976 to 1985, and in 1990 he was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writer.
Symons held a number of positions prior to becoming a full-time writer including secretary to an engineering company and advertising copywriter and executive. It was after the end of World War II that he became a free-lance writer and book reviewer and from 1946 to 1956 he wrote a weekly column entitled "Life, People - and Books" for the Manchester Evening News. During the 1950s he was also a regular contributor to Tribune, a left-wing weekly, serving as its literary editor.
He founded and edited 'Twentieth Century Verse', an important little magazine that flourished from 1937 to 1939 and he introduced many young English poets to the public. He has also published two volumes of his own poetry entitled 'Confusions about X', 1939, and 'The Second Man', 1944.
He wrote hie first detective novel, 'The Immaterial Murder Case', long before it was first published in 1945 and this was followed in 1947 by a rare volume entitled 'A Man Called Jones' that features for the first time Inspector Bland, who also appeared in Bland Beginning.
These novles were followed by a whole host of detective novels and he has also written many short stories that were regularly published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. In additin there are two British paperback collections of his short stories, Murder! Murder! and Francis Quarles Investigates, which were published in 1961 and 1965 resepctively.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 14, 2020
This book is aptly named--for several reasons. First of all, it's one of Symons's earliest mysteries (third one, in fact). Second, although it is the third book written with the character of Bland, it shows us Bland before he becomes a police inspector and before he becomes a policeman at all. It shows us his first actual involvement in a case as a peripheral character and semi-suspect. And, third, the book truly does have a bland beginning. Most of the first half is like a bland diet--plain rice, oatmeal, vanilla pudding, toast...no seasonings and no spices lest we upset the tummy. It's like an anemic Wodehouse-wanna-be with a literary mystery thrown in. The characters are trying to be all witty and blithe and involved in humorous little misunderstandings, but it doesn't quite come off.
Things don't really get interesting until the first murder, which occurs rather late, and Bland finally gets involved when one of the central characters goes to consult his "young friend." It had become his habit
to call on the young man once a week, and to discuss with him many subjects, generally connected with current crime. Very often the young man had an explanation to offer of a criminal case of the day, which seemed to Basingstoke ingenious, though it also seemed to him far-fetched. It was in the hope of being given some plausible explanation of events that Basingstoke called on his friend this Thursday night.
From that time on, it's as if Symons's muse finally got down to work and told him that he needed to pep things up a bit. The characters suddenly have more life, the action seems to follow on logically, the wit is a bit sharper, and the misunderstandings seem funnier. It doesn't quite make it to Wodehousian standards, but it's a heck of lot closer.
The mystery itself is a fairly good one. I certainly didn't pick up on all the clues and was still playing "pick the perpetrator" when the final wrap-up came along. Had the entire book met the standards of the second half, I would give this at least a full three stars--possibly a little over. As it is...two and a half stars.
{This review is mine and was first posted on my blog at http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/20.... Please request permission to repost any portion. Thanks.}
Things don't really get interesting until the first murder, which occurs rather late, and Bland finally gets involved when one of the central characters goes to consult his "young friend." It had become his habit
to call on the young man once a week, and to discuss with him many subjects, generally connected with current crime. Very often the young man had an explanation to offer of a criminal case of the day, which seemed to Basingstoke ingenious, though it also seemed to him far-fetched. It was in the hope of being given some plausible explanation of events that Basingstoke called on his friend this Thursday night.
From that time on, it's as if Symons's muse finally got down to work and told him that he needed to pep things up a bit. The characters suddenly have more life, the action seems to follow on logically, the wit is a bit sharper, and the misunderstandings seem funnier. It doesn't quite make it to Wodehousian standards, but it's a heck of lot closer.
The mystery itself is a fairly good one. I certainly didn't pick up on all the clues and was still playing "pick the perpetrator" when the final wrap-up came along. Had the entire book met the standards of the second half, I would give this at least a full three stars--possibly a little over. As it is...two and a half stars.
{This review is mine and was first posted on my blog at http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/20.... Please request permission to repost any portion. Thanks.}
October 7, 2017
"Adam to Eve: "This breast hard as an apple,
These slim, straight thighs, are built from dung and dirt.
The vitriol sucked from each tautened nipple
Runs in the veins of all whom life has hurt."
Bland Beginning (1949) is another classic British mystery by one of the genre's grandmasters, Julian Symons (by the way, it is the 10th book by the author that I am reviewing on Goodreads). As usual, the author delivers an extremely clever and solid mystery, which is literate, well-written, and a pleasure to read, even if it is not my favorite type of mystery or my favorite style of prose.
The Prologue is set in 1949 in a London library where the author searches for literary inspiration for his next novel. There he meets Detective Inspector Bland who mentions his first successful case from a quarter of a century earlier. We jump to 1924 and meet young Anthony Skelton who proposes to Victoria Rawlings, the granddaughter of Martin Rawlings, a minor 19th century British poet. As an engagement present Anthony buys Victoria an expensive first edition of the famous set of poems by Rawlings. They happen to meet John Basingstoke, a young man who is an expert on all things literary; he tells them that the book is a forgery. Trying to learn the truth they consult various experts, including a publishing house employee, Miss Cleverly. Anthony is assaulted, the book is stolen, and pretty soon things get very serious. There are four murders and despite the police investigation, the mystery is solved by Basingstoke's friend, young Bland, then an amateur sleuth.
The mystery plot is quite captivating, but to me characterizations of people, places, and socio-cultural background are much more important. The literary forgery thread is superb. On a lighter note we have an interesting "romantic" thread:
Samples of poetry written by the fictional Martin Rawlings in mid 1800s are wonderful. They straddle the boundary between poetry and kitsch, and tend towards the latter, as shown in the epigraph. As a nice bonus the poetry plays a role in the clever solution of the mystery. I love the scenes of the cricket match between two neighboring villages. On the other hand, the novel is full of usual classic British mystery novel clichés. They are almost tolerable, though, because of masterful prose by Mr. Symons. So all in all, not my type of book, but certainly well done job and a great example of its genre. Recommended without too many reservations.
Three stars.
These slim, straight thighs, are built from dung and dirt.
The vitriol sucked from each tautened nipple
Runs in the veins of all whom life has hurt."
Bland Beginning (1949) is another classic British mystery by one of the genre's grandmasters, Julian Symons (by the way, it is the 10th book by the author that I am reviewing on Goodreads). As usual, the author delivers an extremely clever and solid mystery, which is literate, well-written, and a pleasure to read, even if it is not my favorite type of mystery or my favorite style of prose.
The Prologue is set in 1949 in a London library where the author searches for literary inspiration for his next novel. There he meets Detective Inspector Bland who mentions his first successful case from a quarter of a century earlier. We jump to 1924 and meet young Anthony Skelton who proposes to Victoria Rawlings, the granddaughter of Martin Rawlings, a minor 19th century British poet. As an engagement present Anthony buys Victoria an expensive first edition of the famous set of poems by Rawlings. They happen to meet John Basingstoke, a young man who is an expert on all things literary; he tells them that the book is a forgery. Trying to learn the truth they consult various experts, including a publishing house employee, Miss Cleverly. Anthony is assaulted, the book is stolen, and pretty soon things get very serious. There are four murders and despite the police investigation, the mystery is solved by Basingstoke's friend, young Bland, then an amateur sleuth.
The mystery plot is quite captivating, but to me characterizations of people, places, and socio-cultural background are much more important. The literary forgery thread is superb. On a lighter note we have an interesting "romantic" thread:
"The battle between two men, one of them physically and the other mentally disfigured, for a woman. Which of them gets her?"It adds zest to the plot that the romantic configurations change, as dictated by the events. Yet of the main characters, only Victoria is believably drawn, with all her lack of seriousness of purpose. I love how she does things based on how they will look written about in her private diary. Very lifelike character! Alas, other personas are mostly caricatures who serve as devices to move the plot.
Samples of poetry written by the fictional Martin Rawlings in mid 1800s are wonderful. They straddle the boundary between poetry and kitsch, and tend towards the latter, as shown in the epigraph. As a nice bonus the poetry plays a role in the clever solution of the mystery. I love the scenes of the cricket match between two neighboring villages. On the other hand, the novel is full of usual classic British mystery novel clichés. They are almost tolerable, though, because of masterful prose by Mr. Symons. So all in all, not my type of book, but certainly well done job and a great example of its genre. Recommended without too many reservations.
Three stars.
November 9, 2023
Tony Shelton is a cricket player with aspirations to being a top player. But he is playing it down and trying to be more bookish to impress Victoria Rawlings. He’s gone to the extent of giving up cricket, his passion, to win this girl.
Victoria Rawlings is the granddaughter of Martin Rawlings, a renowned poet. She is very bookish, extremely proud of her literary connection and very anti-cricket.
The two are engaged and for an engagement gift, Tony purchases a rare collection of Martin Rawlings poems at a very high price. Questions arise about the authenticity of the collection. It seems there are a numbers of these collections that have been found to be fakes.
To verify the authenticity, Tony seeks the expertise of well-known sellers who are considered experts on Rawlings’ work. Tony finds there is a “no love lost” attitude between these people as each feels they are the top expert in the field. Their differences don’t help Tony, and it is only worse when some turn up dead one after another.
Inspector Wrax is given the case. Wrax is a mean man who is suspicious of everyone, he bulldozes his way through the investigation with blunt questions and a focus on making an arrest.
Disappointed with Wrax’s methods and slow progress, Tony takes it upon himself to do his own investigation. He gets assistance from Victoria, John Basingstoke (a writer with a prominent scar on the right side of his face), Ruth Cleverly (a researcher and Basingstoke’s friend), and Bland (a law clerk with an extensive interest in criminology. As the group makes inroads to the mystery, good and bad, the pieces fall into place.
Bland is an interesting character who is brought in midway. A loner with quite a knowledgeable background. This is the third book in a short series. I hope to find the others to read.
Victoria Rawlings is the granddaughter of Martin Rawlings, a renowned poet. She is very bookish, extremely proud of her literary connection and very anti-cricket.
The two are engaged and for an engagement gift, Tony purchases a rare collection of Martin Rawlings poems at a very high price. Questions arise about the authenticity of the collection. It seems there are a numbers of these collections that have been found to be fakes.
To verify the authenticity, Tony seeks the expertise of well-known sellers who are considered experts on Rawlings’ work. Tony finds there is a “no love lost” attitude between these people as each feels they are the top expert in the field. Their differences don’t help Tony, and it is only worse when some turn up dead one after another.
Inspector Wrax is given the case. Wrax is a mean man who is suspicious of everyone, he bulldozes his way through the investigation with blunt questions and a focus on making an arrest.
Disappointed with Wrax’s methods and slow progress, Tony takes it upon himself to do his own investigation. He gets assistance from Victoria, John Basingstoke (a writer with a prominent scar on the right side of his face), Ruth Cleverly (a researcher and Basingstoke’s friend), and Bland (a law clerk with an extensive interest in criminology. As the group makes inroads to the mystery, good and bad, the pieces fall into place.
Bland is an interesting character who is brought in midway. A loner with quite a knowledgeable background. This is the third book in a short series. I hope to find the others to read.
October 9, 2025
Interesting scenario but the characters weren’t very compelling. Convoluted but unique plot.
October 30, 2015
This book has nothing to recommend it. The writing is pedestrian, the characters are lifeless stereotypes and the premise of the mystery is pretty ludicrous. Symons tries to add interest with esoteric details about rare book collecting and cricket, but it all comes across as too academic. Having read two Symons mysteries, one early and one mid-career, I am beginning to sense that he will be remembered, if at all, solely for his solid (if somewhat dated now) critical study of detective and crime fiction, Bloody Murder (1972).
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July 9, 2017This edition doesn't specify the original publication date, but the story is set in "these regrettably democratic post-war days," probably 1920s. Involving bookshops, literary forgeries, blackmail, and murder, the plot also offers young couples needing to sort out their relationships--and cricket too. Shifting perspective (the observation I quoted is attributed to "Anthony's friends") keeps readers at a distance and also prolongs the puzzle, so that clues are there but not obvious. The title refers to the introduction, quite late, of Mr Bland, who solves the mystery in classic style and apparently reappears in other Symons novels. However, this book could be described as bland itself.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews