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Roderick Alleyn #5
Mort au champagne
Champagne pour la 5e enquête de Roderick Alleyn, par la grande rivale d'Agatha Christie En tournée en Nouvelle-Zélande, Alfred Meyer et sa troupe de théâtre s'apprêtent à célébrer l'anniversaire de Carolyn, la comédienne vedette de la pièce.
La surprise ? Un jéroboam de champagne qui sera descendu depuis les cintres sur la table placée au centre de la scène après la représentation. Mais la bouteille se détache, et c'est le drame !
Convié au souper, Roderick Alleyn est aux premières loges pour constater le décès de Meyer. Bien que venu incognito, il prête main forte à la police locale.
Qui, au sein de la troupe, en voulait au directeur ? Tous ou presque avaient un motif de le voir disparaître. Les talents de l'inspecteur Alleyn, de Scotland Yard, vont être mis à rude épreuve.
Et si une amulette maorie l'aidait à lever le doute quant à l'identité du coupable ?
La surprise ? Un jéroboam de champagne qui sera descendu depuis les cintres sur la table placée au centre de la scène après la représentation. Mais la bouteille se détache, et c'est le drame !
Convié au souper, Roderick Alleyn est aux premières loges pour constater le décès de Meyer. Bien que venu incognito, il prête main forte à la police locale.
Qui, au sein de la troupe, en voulait au directeur ? Tous ou presque avaient un motif de le voir disparaître. Les talents de l'inspecteur Alleyn, de Scotland Yard, vont être mis à rude épreuve.
Et si une amulette maorie l'aidait à lever le doute quant à l'identité du coupable ?
272 pages, Pocket Book
First published January 1, 1937
470 people are currently reading
1299 people want to read
About the author
Ngaio Marsh
198 books824 followersDame Ngaio Marsh, born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900, but she was born in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.
Of all the "Great Ladies" of the English mystery's golden age, including Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh alone survived to publish in the 1980s. Over a fifty-year span, from 1932 to 1982, Marsh wrote thirty-two classic English detective novels, which gained international acclaim. She did not always see herself as a writer, but first planned a career as a painter.
Marsh's first novel, A MAN LAY DEAD (1934), which she wrote in London in 1931-32, introduced the detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn: a combination of Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey and a realistically depicted police official at work. Throughout the 1930s Marsh painted occasionally, wrote plays for local repertory societies in New Zealand, and published detective novels. In 1937 Marsh went to England for a period. Before going back to her home country, she spent six months travelling about Europe.
All her novels feature British CID detective Roderick Alleyn. Several novels feature Marsh's other loves, the theatre and painting. A number are set around theatrical productions (Enter a Murderer, Vintage Murder, Overture to Death, Opening Night, Death at the Dolphin, and Light Thickens), and two others are about actors off stage (Final Curtain and False Scent). Her short story "'I Can Find My Way Out" is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier "Jupiter case" referred to in Opening Night. Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation (Artists in Crime), and who features in several later novels.
Series:
* Roderick Alleyn
Of all the "Great Ladies" of the English mystery's golden age, including Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh alone survived to publish in the 1980s. Over a fifty-year span, from 1932 to 1982, Marsh wrote thirty-two classic English detective novels, which gained international acclaim. She did not always see herself as a writer, but first planned a career as a painter.
Marsh's first novel, A MAN LAY DEAD (1934), which she wrote in London in 1931-32, introduced the detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn: a combination of Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey and a realistically depicted police official at work. Throughout the 1930s Marsh painted occasionally, wrote plays for local repertory societies in New Zealand, and published detective novels. In 1937 Marsh went to England for a period. Before going back to her home country, she spent six months travelling about Europe.
All her novels feature British CID detective Roderick Alleyn. Several novels feature Marsh's other loves, the theatre and painting. A number are set around theatrical productions (Enter a Murderer, Vintage Murder, Overture to Death, Opening Night, Death at the Dolphin, and Light Thickens), and two others are about actors off stage (Final Curtain and False Scent). Her short story "'I Can Find My Way Out" is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier "Jupiter case" referred to in Opening Night. Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation (Artists in Crime), and who features in several later novels.
Series:
* Roderick Alleyn
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 363 reviews
September 9, 2018
Some things should be allowed to fade into obscurity, and the underwhelming Vintage Murder is one of them. Like Enter a Murderer, it is primarily a theater mystery. However, it opens in a shared train car as Alleyn is on vacation in New Zealand. While I had hopes of an Orient Express style story, the real mystery doesn't take place until their first production in Middleton, a fictitious town.
There's a great deal of dialogue, the majority of which takes place at the scene of the crime. Sadly, almost none of it contains the humor and playfulness I had come to associate with Alleyn, although there is one hilarious scene with a somewhat odd stagehand Shakespeare-obsessed stagehand at the end, strongly reminding me of Micheal Keaton's performance in Much Ado About Nothing.
One of the oddest moments is an afternoon car ride and picnic interlude with a suspect during the questioning phase of the story, particularly because Alleyn has the permission of the New Zealand police to question the person in a more 'informal' setting. I realize, of course, that some of police procedural questions are time period issues, but I don't think Poirot would have taken a suspect out on a picnic. It does, however, allow Marsh an opportunity to wax lyrical about the scenery.
There's also a sideline in here with a Maori doctor, and Alleyn noting (and disapproving) a racist reaction among some of the theater people, as well as the New Zealand police. I suspect Marsh was chiding her fellow countrymen for their less thoughtful approach to the Maori culture.
On the whole, it feels like Marsh (or her editor) wanted her to do a more Christie-style book that is both serious and literary, or perhaps Marsh wanting to do her home country justice. Ultimately, it lacked the plotting and the sparkle to keep me entertained.
There's a great deal of dialogue, the majority of which takes place at the scene of the crime. Sadly, almost none of it contains the humor and playfulness I had come to associate with Alleyn, although there is one hilarious scene with a somewhat odd stagehand Shakespeare-obsessed stagehand at the end, strongly reminding me of Micheal Keaton's performance in Much Ado About Nothing.
One of the oddest moments is an afternoon car ride and picnic interlude with a suspect during the questioning phase of the story, particularly because Alleyn has the permission of the New Zealand police to question the person in a more 'informal' setting. I realize, of course, that some of police procedural questions are time period issues, but I don't think Poirot would have taken a suspect out on a picnic. It does, however, allow Marsh an opportunity to wax lyrical about the scenery.
There's also a sideline in here with a Maori doctor, and Alleyn noting (and disapproving) a racist reaction among some of the theater people, as well as the New Zealand police. I suspect Marsh was chiding her fellow countrymen for their less thoughtful approach to the Maori culture.
On the whole, it feels like Marsh (or her editor) wanted her to do a more Christie-style book that is both serious and literary, or perhaps Marsh wanting to do her home country justice. Ultimately, it lacked the plotting and the sparkle to keep me entertained.
July 27, 2018
Review to follow, but suffice to say it only just scraped 4 stars
And here is the review that followed. As numerous people have said before me, and I'm sure will continue to do so, "if only we had halves " . This would then be a solid 3.5 stars. As it is, it isn't 3, so it has to be 4 .
(As a complete aside before I continue, why is GR so awful on kindles when they are both Amazon ?? )
Ok, back to the book, there was nothing intrinsically wrong with it, it just never seemed to get going, and if I'm honest I struggled with some of the characters under suspicion so had to keep referring back to remind myself who they were.
I missed Fox and the London link, and just never really connected with the case.
Well I am, for a few days, only one book behind now, and I'm looking forward to the introduction of Troy.
And here is the review that followed. As numerous people have said before me, and I'm sure will continue to do so, "if only we had halves " . This would then be a solid 3.5 stars. As it is, it isn't 3, so it has to be 4 .
(As a complete aside before I continue, why is GR so awful on kindles when they are both Amazon ?? )
Ok, back to the book, there was nothing intrinsically wrong with it, it just never seemed to get going, and if I'm honest I struggled with some of the characters under suspicion so had to keep referring back to remind myself who they were.
I missed Fox and the London link, and just never really connected with the case.
Well I am, for a few days, only one book behind now, and I'm looking forward to the introduction of Troy.
February 7, 2025
First published in UK in 1937
WARNING: Racist language
This was a tedious read for me. I won’t be reading any more of this series.
WARNING: Racist language
This was a tedious read for me. I won’t be reading any more of this series.
May 14, 2018
Maybe I'm going soft, but I'm getting fonder of Ngaio Marsh and her upper class sleuth, Roderick Alleyn!
This book makes it clear I've been pronouncing his name wrong all these years. It's Allen not Al-laine. & he is enjoying a holiday in Marsh's native New Zealand.Members of the Incorporated Playhouses acting troup offer Alleyne a seat in their train carriage. They are all on their way to the fictitious town of Middleton, near Ohakune in the centre of the North Island..
Alleyn is invited to their latest production & of course there is a murder. Typically for Marsh the murder is staged (Ha! Staged - I kill me!) in a highly unlikely way and (also to me highly unlikely) Alleyn ends up assisting the local police.
What I liked was revisiting old fashioned kiwi slang. I'm old enough to remember some of these now dated expressions. We do still say we are "feeling crook" if we are unwell, less likely to "go crook" if we are angry.
& I promise we aren't so sensitive to criticism of "God's Own Country" as we used to be.
There are also signs of how real Alleyn is becoming to Marsh. His character changes often in the previous books - in the case of A Man Lay Dead often in the same chapter! This book he is more consistent - & with less of the upper class angst that is a tiresome feature in some of her later books. Marsh even has Alleyn as an author;
This reminded me so much of my made up world as a young teen that I gave an affectionate giggle!
I also liked the cast of characters and the inventively named chapters. The latter is just fun, but the former helps this reader keep a large cast straight. I wish more modern mystery writers would do this.
Lastly, I can't resist this quote from this 1937 novel.
Prescient.
This book makes it clear I've been pronouncing his name wrong all these years. It's Allen not Al-laine. & he is enjoying a holiday in Marsh's native New Zealand.Members of the Incorporated Playhouses acting troup offer Alleyne a seat in their train carriage. They are all on their way to the fictitious town of Middleton, near Ohakune in the centre of the North Island..
The Daylight Limited train crossing the Hapuawhenua Viaduct north of Ohakune, ca 1930s(National Library Collection)
Alleyn is invited to their latest production & of course there is a murder. Typically for Marsh the murder is staged (Ha! Staged - I kill me!) in a highly unlikely way and (also to me highly unlikely) Alleyn ends up assisting the local police.
What I liked was revisiting old fashioned kiwi slang. I'm old enough to remember some of these now dated expressions. We do still say we are "feeling crook" if we are unwell, less likely to "go crook" if we are angry.
& I promise we aren't so sensitive to criticism of "God's Own Country" as we used to be.
There are also signs of how real Alleyn is becoming to Marsh. His character changes often in the previous books - in the case of A Man Lay Dead often in the same chapter! This book he is more consistent - & with less of the upper class angst that is a tiresome feature in some of her later books. Marsh even has Alleyn as an author;
This reminded me so much of my made up world as a young teen that I gave an affectionate giggle!
I also liked the cast of characters and the inventively named chapters. The latter is just fun, but the former helps this reader keep a large cast straight. I wish more modern mystery writers would do this.
Lastly, I can't resist this quote from this 1937 novel.
"What do you think,Mr Alleyn? If there's another war will the young chaps come at it, same as we did, thinking it's great? And get the same jolt? What do you reckon?"
"I'm afraid to speculate," said Alleyn.
Prescient.
April 26, 2018
This year I have embarked on a Ngaio Marsh challenge and, so far, am finding her books a little mixed. So far I have really enjoyed some and others, like this one, have left me a little under-whelmed.
Roderick Alleyn is on holiday, with the suggestion that he is ‘recovering,’ from an illness, or injury. However, he is not destined to get much relaxation after falling in with the Carolyn Dacres English Comedy Company, who are on tour in New Zealand. One of the players is Susan Max, a character actress who appeared in an earlier novel, which gives some suggestion as to why he is travelling with them.
After arriving by ship, the company are travelling by train to their first stop, when Alfred Meyer, Proprietor and Managing Director of the company, says that someone tried to push him off the train. His wife, and leading lady, Carolyn Dacres, is upset, but as she is having a long time flirtation with leading man, Hailey Hambledon, perhaps she is not as upset as she says. Then, a silly young girl, Valerie Gaynes, who has been taken on by the company as a favour to her rich father, has a lot of money stolen. It is not the best start and then, when the company arrive, their initial on stage success is dampened by murder.
All throughout her life, author Ngaio Marsh was heavily involved in the theatre and so this is obviously a world she knows well – as well as being set in her native New Zealand – so possibly I anticipated more from this. There are a number of suspects and motives; from love, jealousy, greed and secrets. Alleyn is present at the murder and, when the local detectives discover who he is, he is immediately involved in the investigation. Personally, though, the mystery seemed a fairly unsatisfactory cataloguing of endless motives. Which got somewhat bogged down in loose ends, alibi’s and timings and did not have a particularly satisfying ending. Still, I have really enjoyed some of the series, so look forward to reading on and exploring more of her work.
Roderick Alleyn is on holiday, with the suggestion that he is ‘recovering,’ from an illness, or injury. However, he is not destined to get much relaxation after falling in with the Carolyn Dacres English Comedy Company, who are on tour in New Zealand. One of the players is Susan Max, a character actress who appeared in an earlier novel, which gives some suggestion as to why he is travelling with them.
After arriving by ship, the company are travelling by train to their first stop, when Alfred Meyer, Proprietor and Managing Director of the company, says that someone tried to push him off the train. His wife, and leading lady, Carolyn Dacres, is upset, but as she is having a long time flirtation with leading man, Hailey Hambledon, perhaps she is not as upset as she says. Then, a silly young girl, Valerie Gaynes, who has been taken on by the company as a favour to her rich father, has a lot of money stolen. It is not the best start and then, when the company arrive, their initial on stage success is dampened by murder.
All throughout her life, author Ngaio Marsh was heavily involved in the theatre and so this is obviously a world she knows well – as well as being set in her native New Zealand – so possibly I anticipated more from this. There are a number of suspects and motives; from love, jealousy, greed and secrets. Alleyn is present at the murder and, when the local detectives discover who he is, he is immediately involved in the investigation. Personally, though, the mystery seemed a fairly unsatisfactory cataloguing of endless motives. Which got somewhat bogged down in loose ends, alibi’s and timings and did not have a particularly satisfying ending. Still, I have really enjoyed some of the series, so look forward to reading on and exploring more of her work.
January 8, 2026
Another enjoyable read.
Inspector Roderick Alleyn is on on holiday New Zealand. During a trip in the middle of the North Island he shares a train carriage with a traveling acting company from England. He makes friends with them and is invited to the first show in Middleton and a birthday party for the leading lady after the show.
Carolyn Dacres's husband Alfie was almost pushed off the train. Also a cast member had 100 pounds stolen on the train. Then Carolyn’s birthday surprise of a jeroboam of champagne descending down in to the buffet table on the stage goes horribly wrong.
Alleyn is roped into assisting the local constabulary. Lots of motives. Mason the partner of Alfie inherits a share of the company and lots of money. Carolyn has another leading actor wanting to marry her but is a Catholic and will not divorce Alfie. The suspects who may have stole the money as well as a comedian angry about being humiliated by his past attempt on seducing Carolyn.
I really enjoy the Marsh books set in the theater world. My favorite bits as a kiwi was the description of the corkscrew train ride near Ohakune and description of the mountains. The interactions between the police and Dr. Rangi Te Pokiha were also entertaining. Although the use of Maoris in the text is annoying as Maori is both singular and plural without an s. The plot style is repetitive with a focus on who was where during the critical period and who had access to the equipment. Saying all that still an entertaining read.
Inspector Roderick Alleyn is on on holiday New Zealand. During a trip in the middle of the North Island he shares a train carriage with a traveling acting company from England. He makes friends with them and is invited to the first show in Middleton and a birthday party for the leading lady after the show.
Carolyn Dacres's husband Alfie was almost pushed off the train. Also a cast member had 100 pounds stolen on the train. Then Carolyn’s birthday surprise of a jeroboam of champagne descending down in to the buffet table on the stage goes horribly wrong.
Alleyn is roped into assisting the local constabulary. Lots of motives. Mason the partner of Alfie inherits a share of the company and lots of money. Carolyn has another leading actor wanting to marry her but is a Catholic and will not divorce Alfie. The suspects who may have stole the money as well as a comedian angry about being humiliated by his past attempt on seducing Carolyn.
I really enjoy the Marsh books set in the theater world. My favorite bits as a kiwi was the description of the corkscrew train ride near Ohakune and description of the mountains. The interactions between the police and Dr. Rangi Te Pokiha were also entertaining. Although the use of Maoris in the text is annoying as Maori is both singular and plural without an s. The plot style is repetitive with a focus on who was where during the critical period and who had access to the equipment. Saying all that still an entertaining read.
June 18, 2018
The two things Ngaio Marsh loved were the theatre and New Zealand. Both feature in this book, and the love shines through. Marsh started after Christie and it is obvious that Marsh learnt the craft from those writers of the time that were pushing the boundaries of crime fiction. Thus, even from the start, her novels are strong in their construction and red herrings. This one is no exception.
In this mystery, Marsh is the great manipulator, as she slowly removes the potential suspects with strong and plausible alibis. Unlike in many books, the least mentioned character is the murderer, here, all get equal play & one is left with determining access and opportunity. Once you realise Marsh has been manipulating you, that wry smile comes, for you are in the hands of a master writer, and you then enjoy the pleasure of the denouement. Once, I realised I was being manipulated, I did determine the killer, but it was quite a way through the book, and I didn’t have to wait long for the revelation.
If the flow of the novel is anything to go by, Marsh enjoyed writing this story, for the reader gets much enjoyment from the style and narrative and character development of the book.
In this mystery, Marsh is the great manipulator, as she slowly removes the potential suspects with strong and plausible alibis. Unlike in many books, the least mentioned character is the murderer, here, all get equal play & one is left with determining access and opportunity. Once you realise Marsh has been manipulating you, that wry smile comes, for you are in the hands of a master writer, and you then enjoy the pleasure of the denouement. Once, I realised I was being manipulated, I did determine the killer, but it was quite a way through the book, and I didn’t have to wait long for the revelation.
If the flow of the novel is anything to go by, Marsh enjoyed writing this story, for the reader gets much enjoyment from the style and narrative and character development of the book.
August 14, 2024
“‘Well, Miss Max, our meetings seems to be fraught with drama, it seems.’”
Vintage Murder is the fifth Roderick Alleyn mystery and is once again set in a group of actors, giving writer Ngaio Marsh ample opportunity to show both her own love for the stage and what is going on around and behind it as well as her protagonist Roderick Alleyn’s. As usual, the murder that is going to be investigated is a textbook example of roundabout grotesqueness in that the stage mechanism that is supposed to lower a jerobeam of champagne slowly as to crown a birthday party is tinkered with so that it comes down too quickly and crowns the pate of the birthday girl’s husband, who was one of the two managers of the company. This murderer surely likes things to be histrionic. Apart from that, Marsh gives herself, and us, the additional treat of placing the crime in her native country New Zealand, a setting she makes good use of by painting the specific landscape, when Alleyn takes one of the suspects out for a picnic – just imagine! – and by having Alleyn desperately trying to come to grips with the “New Zillund” colloquialisms his professional brethren use. Words like “good-oh”, “crook”, “dinkum” or “nark” seem as much of a riddle to the Scotland Yard man as the identity of the murderer in a circle of suspects where everyone seems to have an iron-cast alibi. Another puzzle consists in the tiki, a Maori symbol of fertility, which was given by him to the victim’s wife as a birthday present and suddenly turns up at the scene of the crime in a place the murderer must have hidden in.
Marsh also includes a Maori doctor, Dr Te Pokiha, in the staff of this novel, a man who tries to bridge the two cultures of his own people and the whites but who fears that the days of traditional Maori life are numbered. This character gives Marsh the chance to voice her concerns over the treatment of the native population, as when Te Pokiha, for example, explains:
The more I read of Marsh, the more obvious it becomes to me that she must have been a completely different person from Agatha Christie. Christie’s view on human nature must have been quite bleak and distrustful because, after all, Miss Marple never takes anything at face value and often wonders that other characters should simply believe what somebody else says, without having solid proof, and in her novels, it is quite often a person very likeable and confidence-inspiring that is found to be the murderer. Had this novel been written by Christie, the killer would probably have been Susan Max, who is a very nice and warm-hearted woman and who is known to Alleyn from a previous case already. Not so with Marsh: When Alleyn has taken a liking to a person and weighed them in the scales of his knowledge of human nature, you can be sure that they won’t harbour any nasty surprise eventually. Apart from that, in a novel like Death in Ecstasy Alley and Fox ruminate on capital punishment and more or less express their revulsion, saying that it is the most unbearable aspect of their job that at the end of it there is often the noose for someone. Christie, on the other hand, voices her disagreement and dissatisfaction with humanitarian reforms in the judicial system – extremely so in Hallowe’en Party – and seems preoccupied, as several utterances by Poirot point out, with punishing the evil-doer and protecting the public. No sentimental qualms about the villains from Dame Agatha Christie. In short, the Queen of Crime was more of a sceptical conservative, wary of human nature, whereas Marsh took a brighter outlook on her fellow creatures. While I feel attracted by this attitude, seeing that it gives a special appeal to her writing, I must say that, all in all, I hold with Christie’ pessimism.
In comparison with the preceding novel, however, Vintage Murder suffers from the fact that there is one witness available all the time, whose testimony clears up the seeming conundrum without much ado – but in order to make the book a full-length novel, this witness is interrogated near the end of the book. If there is a fault in this novel, I think I’ve just put my finger on it.
Vintage Murder is the fifth Roderick Alleyn mystery and is once again set in a group of actors, giving writer Ngaio Marsh ample opportunity to show both her own love for the stage and what is going on around and behind it as well as her protagonist Roderick Alleyn’s. As usual, the murder that is going to be investigated is a textbook example of roundabout grotesqueness in that the stage mechanism that is supposed to lower a jerobeam of champagne slowly as to crown a birthday party is tinkered with so that it comes down too quickly and crowns the pate of the birthday girl’s husband, who was one of the two managers of the company. This murderer surely likes things to be histrionic. Apart from that, Marsh gives herself, and us, the additional treat of placing the crime in her native country New Zealand, a setting she makes good use of by painting the specific landscape, when Alleyn takes one of the suspects out for a picnic – just imagine! – and by having Alleyn desperately trying to come to grips with the “New Zillund” colloquialisms his professional brethren use. Words like “good-oh”, “crook”, “dinkum” or “nark” seem as much of a riddle to the Scotland Yard man as the identity of the murderer in a circle of suspects where everyone seems to have an iron-cast alibi. Another puzzle consists in the tiki, a Maori symbol of fertility, which was given by him to the victim’s wife as a birthday present and suddenly turns up at the scene of the crime in a place the murderer must have hidden in.
Marsh also includes a Maori doctor, Dr Te Pokiha, in the staff of this novel, a man who tries to bridge the two cultures of his own people and the whites but who fears that the days of traditional Maori life are numbered. This character gives Marsh the chance to voice her concerns over the treatment of the native population, as when Te Pokiha, for example, explains:
”’[…] When I first came back I had some idea of specialising in gynaecology, but I think it is the one branch of my profession in which my race would tell against me. And then, as I settled down, I began to see the terrible inroads made by civilization in the health of my own people. Tuberculosis, syphilis, typhoid – none of them known in our savage days when ritual and health-giving dances, as well as strict hygienic habits, were enforced. So I came down to earth – brown earth – and decided that I would become a doctor to my own people.’”
The more I read of Marsh, the more obvious it becomes to me that she must have been a completely different person from Agatha Christie. Christie’s view on human nature must have been quite bleak and distrustful because, after all, Miss Marple never takes anything at face value and often wonders that other characters should simply believe what somebody else says, without having solid proof, and in her novels, it is quite often a person very likeable and confidence-inspiring that is found to be the murderer. Had this novel been written by Christie, the killer would probably have been Susan Max, who is a very nice and warm-hearted woman and who is known to Alleyn from a previous case already. Not so with Marsh: When Alleyn has taken a liking to a person and weighed them in the scales of his knowledge of human nature, you can be sure that they won’t harbour any nasty surprise eventually. Apart from that, in a novel like Death in Ecstasy Alley and Fox ruminate on capital punishment and more or less express their revulsion, saying that it is the most unbearable aspect of their job that at the end of it there is often the noose for someone. Christie, on the other hand, voices her disagreement and dissatisfaction with humanitarian reforms in the judicial system – extremely so in Hallowe’en Party – and seems preoccupied, as several utterances by Poirot point out, with punishing the evil-doer and protecting the public. No sentimental qualms about the villains from Dame Agatha Christie. In short, the Queen of Crime was more of a sceptical conservative, wary of human nature, whereas Marsh took a brighter outlook on her fellow creatures. While I feel attracted by this attitude, seeing that it gives a special appeal to her writing, I must say that, all in all, I hold with Christie’ pessimism.
In comparison with the preceding novel, however, Vintage Murder suffers from the fact that there is one witness available all the time, whose testimony clears up the seeming conundrum without much ado – but in order to make the book a full-length novel, this witness is interrogated near the end of the book. If there is a fault in this novel, I think I’ve just put my finger on it.
May 7, 2021
I love Ngaio Marsh and my book crush is definitely Roderick Alleyn but this (sadly like Death in Ecstasy) left me a bit flat.
It plodded on well but lacked the sparkle of some of the other Inspector Alleyn books I'd read, I don't know if it was the setting (New Zealand rather than England) or the plot or the very excessive use of the theatre? I can't put my finger on it but it just lacked.
Brilliant writing as always just not as good as I'm use to I guess. Not my favourite!
It plodded on well but lacked the sparkle of some of the other Inspector Alleyn books I'd read, I don't know if it was the setting (New Zealand rather than England) or the plot or the very excessive use of the theatre? I can't put my finger on it but it just lacked.
Brilliant writing as always just not as good as I'm use to I guess. Not my favourite!
February 12, 2024
El inspector Alleyn Roderyck de Scotland Yard se presenta viajando en tren, tomando unas vacaciones en Nueva Zelanda 🇳🇿, se encuentra con un grupo teatral inglés que inicia gira en este exótico país.
Conoce a la bella actriz Carolyn Dacres, quien es esposa del empresario teatral que financia la obra.
La primera parada de la compañía es Middleton, en la noche de estreno que coincide con el cumpleaños de Carolyn, una divertida sorpresa ideada por Alfred Meyer, su esposo, se convierte en tragedia ante un funesto accidente.
Alleyn se encuentra en el lugar y apoya a la policía 👮🏼 local con sus indagaciones.
La historia transcurre lenta y se hace monótona debido al celo de la escritora, para puntualizar los movimientos de cada persona durante los hechos, eso hace que por un momento nos sintamos abrumados y agobiados por tantos datos.
Se vuelve a enfatizar el conocimiento de la autora de los entresijos que mueven una obra de teatro y el ambiente sórdido, precario, falaz del mundo del espectáculo 🎭, la mayoría de los actores no son estrellas bien pagadas y viven en una incertidumbre laboral que rompería los nervios de cualquier simple mortal.
También hay un tímido intento de mostrarnos algo de la cultura maorí, aunque se queda delimitado al lugar común del salvaje versus 🆚 persona desarrollada.
Aunque tiene buenos momentos, no alcanza a tener consistencia, ya qué hay ciertas partes que no cumplen el objetivo.
No es de los mejores títulos de Ngaio Marsh.
Conoce a la bella actriz Carolyn Dacres, quien es esposa del empresario teatral que financia la obra.
La primera parada de la compañía es Middleton, en la noche de estreno que coincide con el cumpleaños de Carolyn, una divertida sorpresa ideada por Alfred Meyer, su esposo, se convierte en tragedia ante un funesto accidente.
Alleyn se encuentra en el lugar y apoya a la policía 👮🏼 local con sus indagaciones.
La historia transcurre lenta y se hace monótona debido al celo de la escritora, para puntualizar los movimientos de cada persona durante los hechos, eso hace que por un momento nos sintamos abrumados y agobiados por tantos datos.
Se vuelve a enfatizar el conocimiento de la autora de los entresijos que mueven una obra de teatro y el ambiente sórdido, precario, falaz del mundo del espectáculo 🎭, la mayoría de los actores no son estrellas bien pagadas y viven en una incertidumbre laboral que rompería los nervios de cualquier simple mortal.
También hay un tímido intento de mostrarnos algo de la cultura maorí, aunque se queda delimitado al lugar común del salvaje versus 🆚 persona desarrollada.
Aunque tiene buenos momentos, no alcanza a tener consistencia, ya qué hay ciertas partes que no cumplen el objetivo.
No es de los mejores títulos de Ngaio Marsh.
June 6, 2018
Vintage Murder (1937) by Ngaio Marsh finds Inspector Roderick Alleyn on a rest cure holiday in the large island country of New Zealand. He's recovering from some unnamed injury acquired in the line of duty and he's hoping for a trip full of nothing but peace and quiet. However, while traveling cross-country by train he encounters a touring acting company which includes one familiar face (found in the earlier story Enter a Murderer) and he makes friends with others. This results in an invitation to a performance and the company's after-party--which will also honor the leading lady's birthday.
He should have known that he was in for a very different sort of drama when said leading lady Carolyn Dacres's husband is nearly shoved off the train and a large sum of money is stolen from another cast member. It definitely doesn't surprise the reader that murder strikes during the birthday party and Alfred Meyer, the husband, is the victim. One might be surprised that the murder weapon is huge jeroboam of champagne that drops unceremoniously upon his head during what is supposed to be a pleasant surprise for the birthday girl.
The local police assume it is an accident--a slight miscalculation of the angle of descent. But Alleyn is forced to gently lead them to the clues he's already spotted which point to a more sinister explanation. He then treads a narrow path--trying not to step on official toes--on a busman's holiday to help discover who had the opportunity to tamper with the champagne surprise package as well as a motive to kill the inoffensive company producer. They wind their way through suspect interviews looking for anyone who lacks an alibi for the critical time period and find themselves with several motives, but apparently no one with opportunity. It will take a careful review of the time table and looking at the scene of action from another point of view before Alleyn finally spots the culprit.
I really enjoy the Marsh books set in the theater world. As I mentioned in my review of Enter a Murderer, her interest in and love of the acting world really shows in the detail she provides and the treatment of the characters. Favorite bits are the journey on the train and Alleyn's interactions with Dr. Rangi Te Pokiha, a Maori doctor. The plot style is a bit repetitive (from the earlier theater book)--relying again on who was where during the critical period and who had access to the equipment--but still interesting and well-done. The critical draw-back for me was the lack of Inspector Fox--though Alleyn does consult him by telegram and address him in letters. The Alleyn/Fox duo is a partnership I enjoy seeing in action. ★★★ and a half stars. [rounded to four here]
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
He should have known that he was in for a very different sort of drama when said leading lady Carolyn Dacres's husband is nearly shoved off the train and a large sum of money is stolen from another cast member. It definitely doesn't surprise the reader that murder strikes during the birthday party and Alfred Meyer, the husband, is the victim. One might be surprised that the murder weapon is huge jeroboam of champagne that drops unceremoniously upon his head during what is supposed to be a pleasant surprise for the birthday girl.
The local police assume it is an accident--a slight miscalculation of the angle of descent. But Alleyn is forced to gently lead them to the clues he's already spotted which point to a more sinister explanation. He then treads a narrow path--trying not to step on official toes--on a busman's holiday to help discover who had the opportunity to tamper with the champagne surprise package as well as a motive to kill the inoffensive company producer. They wind their way through suspect interviews looking for anyone who lacks an alibi for the critical time period and find themselves with several motives, but apparently no one with opportunity. It will take a careful review of the time table and looking at the scene of action from another point of view before Alleyn finally spots the culprit.
I really enjoy the Marsh books set in the theater world. As I mentioned in my review of Enter a Murderer, her interest in and love of the acting world really shows in the detail she provides and the treatment of the characters. Favorite bits are the journey on the train and Alleyn's interactions with Dr. Rangi Te Pokiha, a Maori doctor. The plot style is a bit repetitive (from the earlier theater book)--relying again on who was where during the critical period and who had access to the equipment--but still interesting and well-done. The critical draw-back for me was the lack of Inspector Fox--though Alleyn does consult him by telegram and address him in letters. The Alleyn/Fox duo is a partnership I enjoy seeing in action. ★★★ and a half stars. [rounded to four here]
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
November 15, 2025
Loved how this centers around a theatre troup and liked the portrayal of the characters in general, especially Alleyn who I can't wait to read more about. The murder method is a bit much and the conclusion didn't feel that exciting, but the way it was written and everything around it made it satisfying nonetheless.
November 13, 2019
This is the second book I have read by Ngaio Marsh. I loved the first one so much (False Scent) that I went on a Ngaio Marsh binge. Someone was selling all of her books dirt cheap on eBay, at least for auction. My husband, who loves a good hunt and competition, out bid everyone and got them for me-still dirt cheap.
Of course I could have come to regret my decision. Maybe Marsh wrote one good book and the rest are lame. Well, I am happy to say that this one was even better than the first, in my opinion. At least I enjoyed it even more and I enjoyed False Scent a lot.
In this mystery, Inspector Alleyn, is on a train in New Zealand for a vacation. Ha, ha. We know how that's going to end up, don't we?
He finds himself in a compartment with a traveling troupe of actors from the U.K. that are taking their show to New Zealand.
Alleyn and the other actors in his car fall asleep but are wakened by a Mr. Meyer, the producer of the show running in. He claims that while he was looking outside the train (on a kind of balcony? I don't visualize very well) someone tried to kick him over. He doesn't know who it is.
Of course the question is, was someone trying to murder Mr. Meyer? Did he imagine it? Did the train jolt and give him the impression that he was being kicked from behind? Did he touch an electric fence?
Ha, ha. I made that last one up, because I know from experience (being from Texas with lots of electric fences to keep the cattle in) if one thoughtlessly grabs a wire on a fence, and if it turns out to be an electric fence, one will indeed think someone has given them a sharp kick in the pants.
No one knows yet who Inspector Alleyn is and he wants to keep it that way. He's on vacation.
Then one of the actors runs in and hysterically claims that all her money has been stolen.
Are these two things connected?
As you may have guessed, a murder does occur, but not on the train. It happens during a birthday celebration for the star of the show, Carolyn Dacres, who also happens to be married to Mr. Meyer, the producer. The murder is accomplished in an original and highly complicated way, making it all the more challenging for Alleyn and the other police to figure out who could have done it, much less had the motive to do it.
I don't want to ruin it for anyone, so I will not give any more details. But I must say that the cast of characters and story development are highly entertaining and, even though the book is only a couple hundred pages long, a really fun mystery. I don't mean to imply two hundred pages make a poor story, it's just so short. I wanted it to go and on. But it was a fun, cozy weekend read with a cup of hot tea.
One other thing. This mystery resolves in one of the most satisfying ways I've ever read. If nothing else recommends this book, that one thing does. Rarely do stories keep me guessing to the very end. Marsh really strings you along, first suspecting this person, then that. It's really a great ending.
Another fun detail: I'm not from New Zealand, but knowing Ngaio Marsh is, allowed me to wink and nod with a knowing chuckle at her "internal" jokes. She enjoyed describing New Zealand as I'm sure she's heard it described by outsiders before.
Needless to say, all you detective fans out there would not find this a disappointing read.
Of course I could have come to regret my decision. Maybe Marsh wrote one good book and the rest are lame. Well, I am happy to say that this one was even better than the first, in my opinion. At least I enjoyed it even more and I enjoyed False Scent a lot.
In this mystery, Inspector Alleyn, is on a train in New Zealand for a vacation. Ha, ha. We know how that's going to end up, don't we?
He finds himself in a compartment with a traveling troupe of actors from the U.K. that are taking their show to New Zealand.
Alleyn and the other actors in his car fall asleep but are wakened by a Mr. Meyer, the producer of the show running in. He claims that while he was looking outside the train (on a kind of balcony? I don't visualize very well) someone tried to kick him over. He doesn't know who it is.
Of course the question is, was someone trying to murder Mr. Meyer? Did he imagine it? Did the train jolt and give him the impression that he was being kicked from behind? Did he touch an electric fence?
Ha, ha. I made that last one up, because I know from experience (being from Texas with lots of electric fences to keep the cattle in) if one thoughtlessly grabs a wire on a fence, and if it turns out to be an electric fence, one will indeed think someone has given them a sharp kick in the pants.
No one knows yet who Inspector Alleyn is and he wants to keep it that way. He's on vacation.
Then one of the actors runs in and hysterically claims that all her money has been stolen.
Are these two things connected?
As you may have guessed, a murder does occur, but not on the train. It happens during a birthday celebration for the star of the show, Carolyn Dacres, who also happens to be married to Mr. Meyer, the producer. The murder is accomplished in an original and highly complicated way, making it all the more challenging for Alleyn and the other police to figure out who could have done it, much less had the motive to do it.
I don't want to ruin it for anyone, so I will not give any more details. But I must say that the cast of characters and story development are highly entertaining and, even though the book is only a couple hundred pages long, a really fun mystery. I don't mean to imply two hundred pages make a poor story, it's just so short. I wanted it to go and on. But it was a fun, cozy weekend read with a cup of hot tea.
One other thing. This mystery resolves in one of the most satisfying ways I've ever read. If nothing else recommends this book, that one thing does. Rarely do stories keep me guessing to the very end. Marsh really strings you along, first suspecting this person, then that. It's really a great ending.
Another fun detail: I'm not from New Zealand, but knowing Ngaio Marsh is, allowed me to wink and nod with a knowing chuckle at her "internal" jokes. She enjoyed describing New Zealand as I'm sure she's heard it described by outsiders before.
Needless to say, all you detective fans out there would not find this a disappointing read.
January 21, 2010
Vintage Murder is one of four Ngaio Marsh murder mysteries set in New Zealand, although there is little to show that. A Maori doctor and a couple of local policemen have walk-on parts, and there is a very nice account of a picnic trip Commander Dalgliesh takes into the countryside as part of his holiday. Other than that, the characters are all members of an English acting company touring New Zealand. The story might as well be set in Bournemouth.
The pleasure in this story is Ngaio Marsh’s description of the actors and their lives as members of a theatrical troupe. She should know; she was an actor and accomplished director herself, and the strains of making a profit in a small repertory company (even then), the tensions between artistic temperaments, and the mechanics of handling props and flats on stage all ring true.
Oh, and since I may not be the only idiot who used to pronounce the ‘g’ in her name, Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh DBE said her name as “Nio” to rhyme with “bio”, not as in “ngaio tree”.
The pleasure in this story is Ngaio Marsh’s description of the actors and their lives as members of a theatrical troupe. She should know; she was an actor and accomplished director herself, and the strains of making a profit in a small repertory company (even then), the tensions between artistic temperaments, and the mechanics of handling props and flats on stage all ring true.
Oh, and since I may not be the only idiot who used to pronounce the ‘g’ in her name, Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh DBE said her name as “Nio” to rhyme with “bio”, not as in “ngaio tree”.
July 25, 2014
Enjoyable outing with Alleyn in this fifth entry in the series.
Alleyn is in New Zealand, where he is on holiday recuperating from surgery (injured on the job?? I'll have to go back and look at #4!). On the boat from England, and then on the train in N.Z., he travelled along side a group of actors, including Miss Susan Max. The manager of the group is murdered after a performance one evening while Alleyn is there (amongst others) to celebrate the birthday of the leading lady (who is also the manager's wife)...
Alleyn is in New Zealand, where he is on holiday recuperating from surgery (injured on the job?? I'll have to go back and look at #4!). On the boat from England, and then on the train in N.Z., he travelled along side a group of actors, including Miss Susan Max. The manager of the group is murdered after a performance one evening while Alleyn is there (amongst others) to celebrate the birthday of the leading lady (who is also the manager's wife)...
July 16, 2021
A murder mystery that combines Ngaio Marsh's two enduring loves - the theater and New Zealand.
Poor Roderick Alleyn! He can't even take a vacation without having to investigate a murder. It's the price of being Scotland Yard's most famous Chief Inspector and having your cases publicized by the London press, complete with your picture.
So when he's on a train on New Zealand's North Island and several mysteries (including what MAY be an attempted murder) upset a traveling theater company, he hopes that his misspelled name ("Allen") on the passenger lists will protect him from being dragged into their troubles. Faint hope. They recognize him and immediately turn to him for answers. Does the average person find police work so fascinating that they assume that no policeman ever WANTS to be off duty? Apparently.
After the troop arrives at its destination, they insist that Inspector Alleyn come to the show and attend the birthday party for Miss Dacres. Alleyn likes the theater and finds the members of the Carolyn Dacres Comedy Company entertaining, so he's game to be included. Of course, he doesn't anticipate (how could he?) that the producer and manager of the troop will die in what appears to be a bizarre, horrifying accident.
The mystery is a classic one, involving a group of people who live in strained closeness, complicated by romantic entanglements and professional jealousies. Alfred Meyer is admired as a generous, efficient employer - a rarity among traveling theater companies. Who would want him dead? Several people, as it turns out. What's a murder mystery with only one suspect?
His wife - beautiful, charming lead actress Carolyn Dacres - is fond of her unromantic husband, but she's in love with the handsome leading man. And she doesn't believe in divorce, so both of them have a motive, as does the troop member who stole money from the ingenue. If Meyer knows the guilty party, he can make things very unpleasant for that person. The ingenue is a spoiled rich girl who has a job because of her father's influence. She's always gotten her way and doesn't handle opposition well. Several of the actors show signs that their on-stage charm is a thin veneer that covers an unscrupulous character. And Meyer's partner would benefit financially from his death.
Then there are the hangers-on that acting companies collect like lint. A hot-headed "bear cub" - old English slang for the misbehaving scion of a wealthy family who's been sent abroad in hopes of reforming him. Or at least giving his family a break. He's got a crush on the lovely Miss Dacres and might be foolish enough to think that his passion is returned. He has a "leader" (an older cousin) who's supposed to be keeping him out of trouble, but Cousin is either incompetent or indifferent.
Inspector Alleyn must sort through the stories (many of them lies) and find motives and opportunities. Of course, the local police are in charge, but they're thrilled to have the expertise of the famous Scotland Yard man, especially in a case involving exotic characters like English actors. At first, they are awed by the author of the book on investigative procedures used in their training program, but they quickly come to admire his professionalism and humility. In other words, he treats them with the respect he shows to his subordinates in the London CID. Marsh once wrote that her greatest pleasure was when someone described Inspector Alleyn as a "nice guy" or a "likable chap." He really is and it makes this series a delight to read. Many fictional detectives are so obnoxious that I wouldn't mind if the murderer offed them.
Marsh trained as an artist, but (rightly or wrongly) believed that she wasn't good enough to make a career of it. Early on, she left Christchurch with an Australian acting company and from then on she was never far from a theater. She wrote and produced plays and is revered as the greatest patron of New Zealand theater. She's remembered for her mysteries, but she was named a Dame of the British Empire because of her contributions to the theater.
She liked actors and this book contains some memorable comments on them. She claims (convincingly) that their flamboyant personalities aren't fake, but simply the result of years of acting. If you pretend to be something long enough, it becomes reality for you. She is especially fond of the valiant "old troopers" like character actress Susan Max. The indomitable Susan was a character in the second book in this series and (just a warning) she and Inspector Alleyn reveal the identity of the murderer in that case. If you object to "spoilers", better read this series in order.
Marsh is remembered for her creation of a famous London detective, but she was a loyal Kiwi all of her life. She always maintained her ties to Christchurch and finished her long life there. Normally, I'm impatient when a mystery writer stops to describe the scenery, but Marsh's deep love of her native land and her pride in its beauty are touching.
Today, New Zealand is a popular travel destination, but in the 1930's few Americans could have found it on a globe. The English might have known relatives who emigrated there to raise sheep, but it was simply a former colony and (as such) considered inferior to Mother England. Marsh does a fine job of showing the New Zealand native's pride in his country and his fear that the English will despise it (and him.) Some of the slang is hard to get use to. "Good-Oh!" sounds like it should be coming from a small boy, not a middle-aged police superintendent. But once the local coppers open up to Alleyn, he's impressed with their shrewdness and their ability to navigate a complicated society.
The complication is the presence of the indigenous Maori and I think Marsh's attitude to them is typical of the era and may reflect her own uneasiness with the subject. She depicts the Maori as simple, contented folks, smiling from the doorways of their modest dwellings. In reality, they were a conquered people, living on land that the English invaders didn't want and powerless politically.
And yet, she shows respect for Maori culture. The most fascinating clue in the book is a small "tiki" - a Maori fetish or amulet given to Carolyn Dacres for her birthday. To the Maori it is a sacred object, but to the English it's an object of humor and scorn. This attitude is offensive to the Maori physician who's become friendly with the actors and Marsh makes it plain that she shares his indignation with their ignorant arrogance.
The doctor is in the uneasy position of an educated black man. A professional who speaks excellent English and is admired in his field, he knows that the color of his skin sets him apart from the white New Zealanders and always will. New Zealand was unique among former British colonies for not having a "color bar", but that doesn't mean the Maori didn't face racism.
There is a disturbing scene when his reaction to an insult causes him to "revert" to native savagery. Was this Marsh's way of justifying the continued subjugation of the Maori? Again, we have to judge her by the standards of the time when this book was written. Since her autobiography is no longer in print and not available on Kindle, I don't know if her attitude changed in later years. I suspect it did, just as some white Americans who had thought of segregation as "normal" began to take a different view because of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950's and 60's.
Most of the books in this series (as far as I've gotten) are very good mysteries. This one is exceptional because of what it reveals about the author and her passions. She was an intelligent, eccentric woman and getting to know her through her books is a privilege.
Poor Roderick Alleyn! He can't even take a vacation without having to investigate a murder. It's the price of being Scotland Yard's most famous Chief Inspector and having your cases publicized by the London press, complete with your picture.
So when he's on a train on New Zealand's North Island and several mysteries (including what MAY be an attempted murder) upset a traveling theater company, he hopes that his misspelled name ("Allen") on the passenger lists will protect him from being dragged into their troubles. Faint hope. They recognize him and immediately turn to him for answers. Does the average person find police work so fascinating that they assume that no policeman ever WANTS to be off duty? Apparently.
After the troop arrives at its destination, they insist that Inspector Alleyn come to the show and attend the birthday party for Miss Dacres. Alleyn likes the theater and finds the members of the Carolyn Dacres Comedy Company entertaining, so he's game to be included. Of course, he doesn't anticipate (how could he?) that the producer and manager of the troop will die in what appears to be a bizarre, horrifying accident.
The mystery is a classic one, involving a group of people who live in strained closeness, complicated by romantic entanglements and professional jealousies. Alfred Meyer is admired as a generous, efficient employer - a rarity among traveling theater companies. Who would want him dead? Several people, as it turns out. What's a murder mystery with only one suspect?
His wife - beautiful, charming lead actress Carolyn Dacres - is fond of her unromantic husband, but she's in love with the handsome leading man. And she doesn't believe in divorce, so both of them have a motive, as does the troop member who stole money from the ingenue. If Meyer knows the guilty party, he can make things very unpleasant for that person. The ingenue is a spoiled rich girl who has a job because of her father's influence. She's always gotten her way and doesn't handle opposition well. Several of the actors show signs that their on-stage charm is a thin veneer that covers an unscrupulous character. And Meyer's partner would benefit financially from his death.
Then there are the hangers-on that acting companies collect like lint. A hot-headed "bear cub" - old English slang for the misbehaving scion of a wealthy family who's been sent abroad in hopes of reforming him. Or at least giving his family a break. He's got a crush on the lovely Miss Dacres and might be foolish enough to think that his passion is returned. He has a "leader" (an older cousin) who's supposed to be keeping him out of trouble, but Cousin is either incompetent or indifferent.
Inspector Alleyn must sort through the stories (many of them lies) and find motives and opportunities. Of course, the local police are in charge, but they're thrilled to have the expertise of the famous Scotland Yard man, especially in a case involving exotic characters like English actors. At first, they are awed by the author of the book on investigative procedures used in their training program, but they quickly come to admire his professionalism and humility. In other words, he treats them with the respect he shows to his subordinates in the London CID. Marsh once wrote that her greatest pleasure was when someone described Inspector Alleyn as a "nice guy" or a "likable chap." He really is and it makes this series a delight to read. Many fictional detectives are so obnoxious that I wouldn't mind if the murderer offed them.
Marsh trained as an artist, but (rightly or wrongly) believed that she wasn't good enough to make a career of it. Early on, she left Christchurch with an Australian acting company and from then on she was never far from a theater. She wrote and produced plays and is revered as the greatest patron of New Zealand theater. She's remembered for her mysteries, but she was named a Dame of the British Empire because of her contributions to the theater.
She liked actors and this book contains some memorable comments on them. She claims (convincingly) that their flamboyant personalities aren't fake, but simply the result of years of acting. If you pretend to be something long enough, it becomes reality for you. She is especially fond of the valiant "old troopers" like character actress Susan Max. The indomitable Susan was a character in the second book in this series and (just a warning) she and Inspector Alleyn reveal the identity of the murderer in that case. If you object to "spoilers", better read this series in order.
Marsh is remembered for her creation of a famous London detective, but she was a loyal Kiwi all of her life. She always maintained her ties to Christchurch and finished her long life there. Normally, I'm impatient when a mystery writer stops to describe the scenery, but Marsh's deep love of her native land and her pride in its beauty are touching.
Today, New Zealand is a popular travel destination, but in the 1930's few Americans could have found it on a globe. The English might have known relatives who emigrated there to raise sheep, but it was simply a former colony and (as such) considered inferior to Mother England. Marsh does a fine job of showing the New Zealand native's pride in his country and his fear that the English will despise it (and him.) Some of the slang is hard to get use to. "Good-Oh!" sounds like it should be coming from a small boy, not a middle-aged police superintendent. But once the local coppers open up to Alleyn, he's impressed with their shrewdness and their ability to navigate a complicated society.
The complication is the presence of the indigenous Maori and I think Marsh's attitude to them is typical of the era and may reflect her own uneasiness with the subject. She depicts the Maori as simple, contented folks, smiling from the doorways of their modest dwellings. In reality, they were a conquered people, living on land that the English invaders didn't want and powerless politically.
And yet, she shows respect for Maori culture. The most fascinating clue in the book is a small "tiki" - a Maori fetish or amulet given to Carolyn Dacres for her birthday. To the Maori it is a sacred object, but to the English it's an object of humor and scorn. This attitude is offensive to the Maori physician who's become friendly with the actors and Marsh makes it plain that she shares his indignation with their ignorant arrogance.
The doctor is in the uneasy position of an educated black man. A professional who speaks excellent English and is admired in his field, he knows that the color of his skin sets him apart from the white New Zealanders and always will. New Zealand was unique among former British colonies for not having a "color bar", but that doesn't mean the Maori didn't face racism.
There is a disturbing scene when his reaction to an insult causes him to "revert" to native savagery. Was this Marsh's way of justifying the continued subjugation of the Maori? Again, we have to judge her by the standards of the time when this book was written. Since her autobiography is no longer in print and not available on Kindle, I don't know if her attitude changed in later years. I suspect it did, just as some white Americans who had thought of segregation as "normal" began to take a different view because of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950's and 60's.
Most of the books in this series (as far as I've gotten) are very good mysteries. This one is exceptional because of what it reveals about the author and her passions. She was an intelligent, eccentric woman and getting to know her through her books is a privilege.
October 30, 2017
Vintage Murder takes us readers on our first trip with Ngaio Marsh to her home of New Zealand. Ordered abroad for his health, Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn joins up with the Carolyn Dacres English Comedy Company, managed by Dacres’s husband, Alfred Mayor. Arriving in Middleton, the troupe performs to sold-out audiences, and on day three of the visit, Mayor throws a large birthday party for his wife. He has rigged up a fancy apparatus that, using stage techniques, will cause a lot of champagne bottles to descend when Carolyn cuts a cord. But something goes wrong, and a bottle lands hard on top of Mayor’s head, killing him. Thus Alleyn gets forced into yet another case, this time from a new culture.
Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation
Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation
May 8, 2021
2.5 stars
December 30, 2018
I have not liked reading this book. It was rarely funny and had old racial prejudices running through this book from 1937, so--understandable in that sense as the world turns.
The good side (sort of) - Marsh hailed from New Zealand and this book took us there with a parcel of English actors Alleyn fell in with accidentally while supposedly getting a holiday for himself after some tense cases back in England. I had wanted to go back to what happened before he got on that ship taking him to England where he met his wife to be...so I guess I found the answer.
Since Marsh knew her stage directions and actors, I suppose she enjoyed writing this one. Reading it, however, is somewhat tedious. There are endless interviews with each member of the acting group after a staged accident breaks someone's neck in the midst of what was to be a birthday celebration.
Alleyn had been attempting to stay under the radar but relents after some cajoling from New Zealand police trying to solve the case. They are, of course, in awe of this famous CID who had written a book they have all studied. The man in charge thought Alleyn would never have done basic patrol work.
Thus...we get from Alleyn:
"I went into the force before the days of Lord Trenchard's scheme. I came down from Oxford and after three years of soldiering, and a brief sojourn in the Foreign Office, signed on in the usual way and went on night duty in Poplar."
During a breather one of the New Zealand cops began describing the snow that was expected in a nearby Pass, also explaining that there would be sun all day nevertheless.
"'I shall go there,' said Alleyn. Suddenly he felt a great distaste for the position in which he found himself. He had not crossed half a world of ocean to mess about over a squalid crime. He felt that he had been a fool. He was on a holiday in a new country and he knew that at the back of all his thoughts there lay a kind of delicious excitement which he would not savour until long after he had gone away again."
I did enjoy the writing describing the train journey as well as the introduction to the characters in Chapter One.
But then there were 23 more chapters to get through.
Ending on a happy note, the Epilogue does indicate he had three more months to enjoy New Zealand after the case closed.
The good side (sort of) - Marsh hailed from New Zealand and this book took us there with a parcel of English actors Alleyn fell in with accidentally while supposedly getting a holiday for himself after some tense cases back in England. I had wanted to go back to what happened before he got on that ship taking him to England where he met his wife to be...so I guess I found the answer.
Since Marsh knew her stage directions and actors, I suppose she enjoyed writing this one. Reading it, however, is somewhat tedious. There are endless interviews with each member of the acting group after a staged accident breaks someone's neck in the midst of what was to be a birthday celebration.
Alleyn had been attempting to stay under the radar but relents after some cajoling from New Zealand police trying to solve the case. They are, of course, in awe of this famous CID who had written a book they have all studied. The man in charge thought Alleyn would never have done basic patrol work.
Thus...we get from Alleyn:
"I went into the force before the days of Lord Trenchard's scheme. I came down from Oxford and after three years of soldiering, and a brief sojourn in the Foreign Office, signed on in the usual way and went on night duty in Poplar."
During a breather one of the New Zealand cops began describing the snow that was expected in a nearby Pass, also explaining that there would be sun all day nevertheless.
"'I shall go there,' said Alleyn. Suddenly he felt a great distaste for the position in which he found himself. He had not crossed half a world of ocean to mess about over a squalid crime. He felt that he had been a fool. He was on a holiday in a new country and he knew that at the back of all his thoughts there lay a kind of delicious excitement which he would not savour until long after he had gone away again."
I did enjoy the writing describing the train journey as well as the introduction to the characters in Chapter One.
But then there were 23 more chapters to get through.
Ending on a happy note, the Epilogue does indicate he had three more months to enjoy New Zealand after the case closed.
March 8, 2011
A nicely plotted murder, with a satisfying number of red herrings and some fun theatrical characters!
The thing about Marsh is, she really could write. And she knew her theater inside out, and liked the right stuff.
For instance, this quote: "when he spoke, one forgot his age, for his voice was quite beautiful: deep, and exquisitely modulated. He was one of that company of old actors that are only found in the West End of London. They still believe in using their voices as instruments, they speak without affectation, and they are indeed actors."
The scene is New Zealand, Alleyn is on holiday and at first he's incognito. But he teams up collegially with the local detectives, and here they are at two in the morning: "they stayed on talking. A kind of perverseness kept them wedded to their discomfort. They grew more and more wakeful and their ideas seemed to grow sharper. Their thoughts cleared. Alleyn spoke for a long time and the other two listened to him eagerly. Quite suddenly he stopped and shivered. The virtue went out of them. They felt dirty, and dog-tired. Wade began to gather up his papers."
Spare, precise, vivid...and even poetic, in an entirely non-precious way.
Here is Alleyn watching the line of a mountain at dawn.
"the peak of the mountain was flooded with thin rose colour, too austere to be theatrical, but so vivid that its beauty was painful. He felt that kind of impatience and disquietude that sudden beauty brings. He could not stand and watch the flood of warmth flow down the flanks of the mountain nor the intolerable transfiguration of the sky. He rang the night bell and was admitted by the porter."
The writer who can make me read and enjoy descriptions of landscape is rare. Marsh is one. And when Alleyn interrogates suspects, the intricacies of their reactions are purest pleasure.
The thing about Marsh is, she really could write. And she knew her theater inside out, and liked the right stuff.
For instance, this quote: "when he spoke, one forgot his age, for his voice was quite beautiful: deep, and exquisitely modulated. He was one of that company of old actors that are only found in the West End of London. They still believe in using their voices as instruments, they speak without affectation, and they are indeed actors."
The scene is New Zealand, Alleyn is on holiday and at first he's incognito. But he teams up collegially with the local detectives, and here they are at two in the morning: "they stayed on talking. A kind of perverseness kept them wedded to their discomfort. They grew more and more wakeful and their ideas seemed to grow sharper. Their thoughts cleared. Alleyn spoke for a long time and the other two listened to him eagerly. Quite suddenly he stopped and shivered. The virtue went out of them. They felt dirty, and dog-tired. Wade began to gather up his papers."
Spare, precise, vivid...and even poetic, in an entirely non-precious way.
Here is Alleyn watching the line of a mountain at dawn.
"the peak of the mountain was flooded with thin rose colour, too austere to be theatrical, but so vivid that its beauty was painful. He felt that kind of impatience and disquietude that sudden beauty brings. He could not stand and watch the flood of warmth flow down the flanks of the mountain nor the intolerable transfiguration of the sky. He rang the night bell and was admitted by the porter."
The writer who can make me read and enjoy descriptions of landscape is rare. Marsh is one. And when Alleyn interrogates suspects, the intricacies of their reactions are purest pleasure.
February 3, 2017
I didn't know Ngaio Marsh before I read Vintage Muder. This book is a classic enthralling crime story that Agatha Christie's fans will enjoy.
Roderick Alleyn is on vacation in New Zealand, and on the train he meets an English theater company who's in a tour in the same country.
After their debut play, in Carolyn's birthday party, her husband Alfred Meyer, is hit by a champagne bottle and he dies.
Honestly, when I read the book's synopsis for the first time, I thought it would be stupid but I had a great surprise.
One of the few negative points in this book - for me - is that I didn't memorize the characters' names, so some parts were a bit confusing for me due to the existence of many names (please note that I'm not complaining about that, at all).
After the crime had occured, I was very, very curious to see the end of this story. Every character had stone alibi and that made the reading pretty exciting for me.
I had a surprise in the end when I found out who was the killer because I thought it wouldn't be so obvious.
In this sort of classic crime novels I don't know the reason why I can't write big reviews, but perhaps it's just because I don't want to spoil anything. Anyway, I truly recommend you to read this book if you like Agatha Christie's books or some in the same genre.
Roderick Alleyn is on vacation in New Zealand, and on the train he meets an English theater company who's in a tour in the same country.
After their debut play, in Carolyn's birthday party, her husband Alfred Meyer, is hit by a champagne bottle and he dies.
Honestly, when I read the book's synopsis for the first time, I thought it would be stupid but I had a great surprise.
One of the few negative points in this book - for me - is that I didn't memorize the characters' names, so some parts were a bit confusing for me due to the existence of many names (please note that I'm not complaining about that, at all).
After the crime had occured, I was very, very curious to see the end of this story. Every character had stone alibi and that made the reading pretty exciting for me.
I had a surprise in the end when I found out who was the killer because I thought it wouldn't be so obvious.
In this sort of classic crime novels I don't know the reason why I can't write big reviews, but perhaps it's just because I don't want to spoil anything. Anyway, I truly recommend you to read this book if you like Agatha Christie's books or some in the same genre.
October 13, 2014
How had I missed Ngaio Marsh for so long? It must have been the silent 'g' that hinted at a dry British superiority that in fact could not be further from the truth. This is a hip, funny, clever mystery that takes place in a theater, a setting Marsh knew and brings fully to life. Vintage Murder unfolds in New Zealand. Wikipedia informed me that Marsh was born there so I was intrigued to read the only one of her mysteries set there.
Vintage Murder was written in 1937 and in many instances shows her unshakable egalitarian nature. One is the inclusion of an urbane doctor who is Maori and studied at Oxford. It also contains the following line, (no spoilers, I hate that) good evidence that bigotry was not universal at that time, "Mr. Liversidge added that Courtney Broadhead was a white man a phrase that Alleyn had never cared for and of which he was heartily tired". You go girl.
Another passage shows her witty descriptive incisiveness, " - was seventeen years old, dreadfully sophisticated, and entirely ignorant of everything outside the sphere of his sophistication. He had none of the awkwardness of youth and very little of its vitality, being restless rather than energetic, acquisitive rather than ambitious".
Vintage Murder was written in 1937 and in many instances shows her unshakable egalitarian nature. One is the inclusion of an urbane doctor who is Maori and studied at Oxford. It also contains the following line, (no spoilers, I hate that) good evidence that bigotry was not universal at that time, "Mr. Liversidge added that Courtney Broadhead was a white man a phrase that Alleyn had never cared for and of which he was heartily tired". You go girl.
Another passage shows her witty descriptive incisiveness, " - was seventeen years old, dreadfully sophisticated, and entirely ignorant of everything outside the sphere of his sophistication. He had none of the awkwardness of youth and very little of its vitality, being restless rather than energetic, acquisitive rather than ambitious".
April 16, 2021
Not the best of this author, I'm afraid.
This mystery took place among a theater company and the setting and proceeding felt like a play : a small number of suspects - I kept forgetting who was who, except the main characters, fortunately, there's a list at the beginning ; it took place mainly in the theater itself, so it felt very static.
But mostly, to be frank, it was rather boring and I didn't care very much who killed the victim or why.
I've read other novels by this author, that I don't remember much, yet they left me a good impression overall. Vintage murder was one of the two novels I have on my physical shelves, I'll have to see if the other is better, by any chance !
This mystery took place among a theater company and the setting and proceeding felt like a play : a small number of suspects - I kept forgetting who was who, except the main characters, fortunately, there's a list at the beginning ; it took place mainly in the theater itself, so it felt very static.
But mostly, to be frank, it was rather boring and I didn't care very much who killed the victim or why.
I've read other novels by this author, that I don't remember much, yet they left me a good impression overall. Vintage murder was one of the two novels I have on my physical shelves, I'll have to see if the other is better, by any chance !
June 17, 2018
Reading about the theater setting was enlightening and interesting. The characters came alive as well. I very much like Inspector Alleyn's personality.
"...there are people to whom one need not show off. It's a great comfort sometimes. I've got one of that kind."
"Your wife! But I didn't know----"
Alleyn sat back on his heels and laughed. No, no. I'm talking about a certain Detective-Inspector Fox. He's a large and slow and innocently straight-forward. He works with me at the Yard. I never have to show off to old Fox, bless him...
"...there are people to whom one need not show off. It's a great comfort sometimes. I've got one of that kind."
"Your wife! But I didn't know----"
Alleyn sat back on his heels and laughed. No, no. I'm talking about a certain Detective-Inspector Fox. He's a large and slow and innocently straight-forward. He works with me at the Yard. I never have to show off to old Fox, bless him...
September 18, 2020
I find that, unlike Christie, Sayers and Allingham, Marsh's work doesn't hold up to a reread. I remember liking this very much when I first read it, but this time around it left me cold. It didn't help that the performance in the audiobook intensified the worst parts of the book: the pretensiousness of the writing, the underlying snobbery, not to mention the racism, the cloying "charm" of the female character, at times it made me cringe. But it is a solid murder mystery and the New Zealand setting was refreshing.
February 14, 2015
This book involves two things particularly close to the heart of Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand and the theatre. Perhaps that is why Vintage Murder seems to have extra depth and was such a pleasure to read. The mystery itself and the plot were nothing terribly special but the setting and the characters were a joy.
October 16, 2021
Marsh is every bit as good a storyteller as Dame Agnes Christie. Enjoyable series.
September 15, 2017
Three and a half stars, rounded up to four because of the excellent audiobook narrator, who enjoyed himself mightily taking off classic British ack-tohhrs whose voices and mannerisms are recognisable to any listener of a certain age. We don't get Olivier's over-the-top emoting, but it needs only that. Some of the lower orders are certainly recognisable! His "New Zealand" accent had a tendency to slip over to Sahth Effrica, but nobody's perfect.
Classic theatre mystery which starts on a train, giving the golden-age mystery lover a twofer...which is about right for Happy Hour, as the murder weapon is a jeroboam of champers. For the uninitiated colonial, a jeroboam is one of those huge bottles that holds six normal wine bottles' worth, and is often wasted at sporting events by being shaken and sprayed over the winning athletes. If wineries have any sense, they're probably filled with cheap plonk and sold high. After that, it's all who was where when, and could they have been there at all. Added to the murder there's the theft of about a hundred pounds from a silly young miss (the ingenue of the company, natch--in every sense of the word). I have to admit I tried to read this one and couldn't get into it; on audiobook it was bearable, but mostly due to the reader.
Ngaio Marsh shows of the glories of New Zealand as seen through the eyes of our Inspector, who is meant to be very open-minded about the Maori character...and yet. There's a little too much reference to his "savageness" and how light his colour is, and how all the good Maoris are "aristocrats" for my taste. I know it's all very 1930s, and one really can't superimpose Third Millenium attitudes on a period piece which was written in the period, but her superior attitudes get the better of her, even in Alleyn's mind.
Classic theatre mystery which starts on a train, giving the golden-age mystery lover a twofer...which is about right for Happy Hour, as the murder weapon is a jeroboam of champers. For the uninitiated colonial, a jeroboam is one of those huge bottles that holds six normal wine bottles' worth, and is often wasted at sporting events by being shaken and sprayed over the winning athletes. If wineries have any sense, they're probably filled with cheap plonk and sold high. After that, it's all who was where when, and could they have been there at all. Added to the murder there's the theft of about a hundred pounds from a silly young miss (the ingenue of the company, natch--in every sense of the word). I have to admit I tried to read this one and couldn't get into it; on audiobook it was bearable, but mostly due to the reader.
Ngaio Marsh shows of the glories of New Zealand as seen through the eyes of our Inspector, who is meant to be very open-minded about the Maori character...and yet. There's a little too much reference to his "savageness" and how light his colour is, and how all the good Maoris are "aristocrats" for my taste. I know it's all very 1930s, and one really can't superimpose Third Millenium attitudes on a period piece which was written in the period, but her superior attitudes get the better of her, even in Alleyn's mind.
January 13, 2024
The champagne bottle as deadly weapon. Here a "jeroboam," which apparently contains 3 liters or the equivalent of four bottles of the bubbly. Inspector Roderick Alleyn is on holiday in New Zealand after a "big" surgery, has a chance encounter on a train with a traveling British theater troupe. and is soon embroiled in an especially odd and needlessly complex murder. This was perhaps my least favorite of the first five Alleyn books although by now he's certainly grown into the role. The mystery here depended on who was walking where backstage at the venue, which just wasn't that interesting. The story was too involved, too much a puzzle even while the reader was getting a healthy dose of the acting milieu and local New Zealand color (pre-LOTR). Inspector Alleyn is even amorously attracted, but I was so little involved in the characters that I wasn't my usual curious self wondering who did it. I think Marsh intended to be generous and kindly (for 1937), but her portrayal of New Zealand's first peoples will heartily offend more sensitive readers. The story was fine but not a grabber and didn't knock my socks off. [3★]
May 10, 2018
A whodunnit of the old school. Set in the author’s homeland, 🇳🇿 New Zealand and involving the author’s favorite subject, the theater. Roderick Alleyn is on a rest cure from New Scotland Yard and attends the after theater party where the murder takes place because of his friendship with the actress Susan Max from a previous case. This book would be appealing to a reader who is very familiar the operations backstage. It is essentially a parade of clues: who was where when, how did the “accident “ happen. I found it tedious but then I’m not conversant with the inner secrets of the theater 🎭 and it was a stretch.
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