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Mrs. Bradley #22
Tom Brown's Body
When an unpopular teacher at a private boy’s school is found murdered, only Mrs. Bradley can solve the mystery in this classic crime caper from the redoubtable Gladys Mitchell.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
8 people are currently reading
162 people want to read
About the author
Gladys Mitchell
93 books141 followersAka Malcolm Torrie, Stephen Hockaby.
Born in Cowley, Oxford, in 1901, Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell was the daughter of market gardener James Mitchell, and his wife, Annie.
She was educated at Rothschild School, Brentford and Green School, Isleworth, before attending Goldsmiths College and University College, London from 1919-1921.
She taught English, history and games at St Paul's School, Brentford, from 1921-26, and at St Anne's Senior Girls School, Ealing until 1939.
She earned an external diploma in European history from University College in 1926, beginning to write her novels at this point. Mitchell went on to teach at a number of other schools, including the Brentford Senior Girls School (1941-50), and the Matthew Arnold School, Staines (1953-61). She retired to Corfe Mullen, Dorset in 1961, where she lived until her death in 1983.
Although primarily remembered for her mystery novels, and for her detective creation, Mrs. Bradley, who featured in 66 of her novels, Mitchell also published ten children's books under her own name, historical fiction under the pseudonym Stephen Hockaby, and more detective fiction under the pseudonym Malcolm Torrie. She also wrote a great many short stories, all of which were first published in the Evening Standard.
She was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award in 1976.
Born in Cowley, Oxford, in 1901, Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell was the daughter of market gardener James Mitchell, and his wife, Annie.
She was educated at Rothschild School, Brentford and Green School, Isleworth, before attending Goldsmiths College and University College, London from 1919-1921.
She taught English, history and games at St Paul's School, Brentford, from 1921-26, and at St Anne's Senior Girls School, Ealing until 1939.
She earned an external diploma in European history from University College in 1926, beginning to write her novels at this point. Mitchell went on to teach at a number of other schools, including the Brentford Senior Girls School (1941-50), and the Matthew Arnold School, Staines (1953-61). She retired to Corfe Mullen, Dorset in 1961, where she lived until her death in 1983.
Although primarily remembered for her mystery novels, and for her detective creation, Mrs. Bradley, who featured in 66 of her novels, Mitchell also published ten children's books under her own name, historical fiction under the pseudonym Stephen Hockaby, and more detective fiction under the pseudonym Malcolm Torrie. She also wrote a great many short stories, all of which were first published in the Evening Standard.
She was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award in 1976.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
June 5, 2018
As always, quirky, unusual and entertaining. The Mrs Bradley novels are like nothing else out there, in this a schoolmaster is murdered and the whole school are suspected, Mrs Bradley investigates.
August 30, 2025
The muddled, uninteresting mystery merits one star. I’m adding another star because I enjoyed the atmospheric, witch-related family sleuthing Mrs Bradley is engaged in as a side plot.
I’m a great Golden Age and classic mystery fan and as such is not faint of heart as regards to dated attitudes, but the racism of this book really is over the top, vile and completely gratuitous. It takes up a large chunk of the novel to the detriment of everything. I’m guessing the author believed that this is cozy comedy, but it just comes across as nastiness.
I’m a great Golden Age and classic mystery fan and as such is not faint of heart as regards to dated attitudes, but the racism of this book really is over the top, vile and completely gratuitous. It takes up a large chunk of the novel to the detriment of everything. I’m guessing the author believed that this is cozy comedy, but it just comes across as nastiness.
July 12, 2014
I always have mixed feelings about Gladys Mitchell's mysteries. On the one hand, I love her wit, her irreverence, and the way she toys with the boundaries of detective fiction. On the other hand, I am old-fashioned with regards to those same boundaries, and I want to feel that I could have solved the mystery myself. I don't think Tom Brown's Body was entirely successful in this respect, but it was a good story, and there were touches of her usual amusing self.
Recommended for fans of the classic English mystery who don't mind a bit of rule-bending!
Recommended for fans of the classic English mystery who don't mind a bit of rule-bending!
October 24, 2011
I had never read a Gladys Michell book before. This was an autographed copy. I like the idea she had actually touched this book back in 1949. The style is very different. She starts a new paragraph with something that seems to have happened recently that doesn't synch with what she has written earlier, she then goes back to tell about the past occurence. I would rate this between a three and a four and will try another by Mitchell.
July 26, 2014
It took me a while to get into this book — the schoolboys who feature largely at the beginning are well-crafted clichés — but I'm glad I did. With her fondness for playing the game by the rules while turning it on its head Gladys Mitchell's always an engaging and interesting writer. In this case, although the murder mystery dominates nearly every page of the book the murder and its solution are incidental to the occasional glances at the nature of Mrs. Bradley. Only the murder is fathomable.
April 23, 2018
Racism inexcusable even for its time, an uninteresting plot, and an unconvincing solution. I've read one other Mitchell, which I quite enjoyed - "When Last I Died". I'd recommend giving this one a miss, though.
November 8, 2020
I didn't finish it. I couldn't get past the racism.
December 7, 2023
Too racist to finish. Even by the standards of ‘golden age mystery’ this was vile.
January 28, 2018
2.5, rather than 3 really: there was a spell in the middle where the combination of genuinely intended humour and quirkiness and the slightly kooky non-pc but of-its-time feel conspired to magnificent effect, but the plot was ultimately a bit disappointing. I should say that the title is very much a reference to Tom Brown's Schooldays rather than any thoughts that may be harboured about mouldering in the grave. If you read Billy Bunter or similar school stories in the past, the first few chapters will be quite nostalgic; if you hated such tales, you probably won't get past them: nor should you try. As context, I was unaware of Miss Mitchell or her prodigious output until I stumbled across this one in a bargain bin at a charity shop, looking sadly in need of a bit of repair work; I was unaware that it was #22 in a series until Goodreads told me and unaware that there were nearly 40 more until consulting Wikipedia. I liked it enough to do some more, but tracking them all down may be a task more suited to Mrs Bradley than me. And there is likely to be lots more repair work.
April 3, 2023
I picked this book up in Cromarty last year and then forgot I had it. I have read numerous Gladys Mitchell books and this does not disappoint. As the title suggests it is set in a boys school but murder and mayhem abound and the characters are, as always, extraordinary. Reading these books is not for the faint-hearted as they are very much of their time - a sensitivity reader would have their work cut out trying to address the very many issues within these books - by the end it would be about three pages long! But jump that hermeneutical gap, recognise that attitudes have moved on, and enjoy the story because it is very satisfying and grotesque - which would please Mrs Bradley. If you know of Mrs Bradley from the excellent television series, The Mrs Bradley Mysteries, you will find that the books are different, Mrs Bradley is not Diana Rigg, but the stories remain compelling. And there are many of them!
October 25, 2023
Another strange tale from 'The Great Gladys'. A fertile mix of witchcraft, school boys, toads, amateur theatricals, affairs, petty spite, cross country running and general malevolence all curated the unusual detective Mrs Lestrange Bradley.
In each Bradley book is a peculiar detail and in this one it's the Roman Bath. It's there but not made much of which adds to the unsettling atmosphere. Likewise does Mrs Bradley: she's there in every scene, powerful and all-knowing and yet declines to share any titbits with the readers or even the police. Mitchell plays games with us so by the time the denouement is here I don't much care. This is the main difference between Mitchell and Christie and Sayers and Allingham. Mitchell's characters are unlikeable and have such horrible attitudes towards people of different races and cultures, women and the disabled, that we aren't too bothered about the solution.
A puzzling puzzle without much emotional engagement.
In each Bradley book is a peculiar detail and in this one it's the Roman Bath. It's there but not made much of which adds to the unsettling atmosphere. Likewise does Mrs Bradley: she's there in every scene, powerful and all-knowing and yet declines to share any titbits with the readers or even the police. Mitchell plays games with us so by the time the denouement is here I don't much care. This is the main difference between Mitchell and Christie and Sayers and Allingham. Mitchell's characters are unlikeable and have such horrible attitudes towards people of different races and cultures, women and the disabled, that we aren't too bothered about the solution.
A puzzling puzzle without much emotional engagement.
June 6, 2020
An enjoyable read and stands up much better than some of Gladys Mitchell's contemparies. Like many of the Mrs Bradley books it takes place at a school thus giving the reader a wide range of suspects. The victim was an unlikeable teacher called Mr Gerald Conway and Mrs Bradley arrives at the school in her role as a psychiatrist, rather than a detective, where she can talk to the children individually bringing with it plenty of. When another member of the staff is hit on the head Mrs Bradley decides to investigate. Gladys Mitchell is not to everybody's taste but to converts like me she makes her books a worthy read.
October 26, 2019
Though I wasn't totally convinced by the resolution, this was a lot better than some of the Mrs Bradleys I've read. For one thing, despite setting the book in a boys' boarding school, Gladys Mitchell didn't drown the dialogue in a morass of school slang!
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October 7, 2023Rather like the public school experience itself-unenjoyable and dull.
I well remember the time that Eggy Carstairs and Murky Walters ventured up onto the roof one evening after lights out. They had just begun to ascend the rust weakened fire escape when...
I well remember the time that Eggy Carstairs and Murky Walters ventured up onto the roof one evening after lights out. They had just begun to ascend the rust weakened fire escape when...
April 8, 2018
Ugh. A sporadically entertaining but mostly just convoluted shaggy dog story. Full review soon at classicmystery.wordpress.com
May 2, 2019
A boys school, a Murder, Mrs Bradley and a little witchcraft for good measure. A little bit overdone for a straightforward plot, but an enjoyable read nonetheless.
January 15, 2022
Another good read from a favourite author. Dark, funny , good characters and a puzzling murder .
September 8, 2022
I think I need to find out more about this Gladys Mitchell woman. She's interes in history, witchcraft, medicine and murders. What is there not to love?
October 22, 2013
This murder mystery was enjoyable to read for several reasons but reasons that I do not feel much relate to the prime quality one presumably expects from a "whoddunit", namely interest in finding out/guessing/deducing who the murderer is before the end of the book. I feel that this story suffers from what most murder mysteries suffer from, namely a feeling of indifference to the identity of the murderer compared to the fascination in the pursuit and discovery of the guilty party. I think this is the trap which Agatha Christie at her best avoids and sets her apart from nearly all other crime writers except Arthur Conan Doyle. However, this book redeemed itself to a large extent in my eyes by other qualities: the dialogue is rich and fanciful. The author nimbly weeves a way between realism and the eldrich, to use a word which Gladys Mitchell herself uses and which I have otherwise not seen in any story except the tales of horror of H.P. Lovecraft. Indeed, Freudianism and witchcraft play an important role in this story, as we are led to expect from the blurb on the back of the old Penguin edition, which states that the writer is "an enthusiastic student of the works of Sigmund Freud, her outlook has also been largely coloured by an interest in witchcraft engendered by her acquaintance with Miss Helen Simpson." The independent investigator, Mrs Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley, who had "long cherished the notion of writing an account of an ancestress of her own, one Mary Toadflax, who bore the early seventeeth century reputation of having been a witch." of course recalls Miss Marple, but is considerably more witchlike and eldrich than Agatha Christie's famous spinster slouth and is given to somewhat unlikely and high falutin' language, as are many of the characters in this book. I was not alive in England during the late forties so maybe people did behave then as they behave in this story, but I am not convinced. I have read several novels written at about the same time as this book and I strongly suspect that even allowing for the much greater formality and adherence to The Queen's English considered appropriate at that time compared to what is expected today, the language of the characters in "Tom Brown's Body" (incidentally, I may be obtuse, but I fail to see the significance of that title to the story) is so often histrionic as to stretch credulity to breaking point. The characters are also extremely abrupt and even offensive to one another and after a murder is committed in their midst seem to me to be unbelievably unperturbed, behaving more like characters do in a play than in a realistic tale of events. In fact, an air of unreality permeates the entire story. I was never far from the feeling that the author was having me on. Is she taking her own craft seriously or is she just ensuring that her latest thriller will bring in the moolah? This is a far cry from the obvious sincerity underlying Agatha Christie or even Dorothy L Sayers. In this way, I am more reminded of Mrs Elizabeth George, unplesantly. This is all something of a romp, a jape a joke. Where is the moral anchor? Is this Christian, or Pagan or what is it? I believe that novels whose central focus is a murder should have some kind of moral compass and this story has none that I was able to identify. The characters themsleves are psychologically vivid but unconvincing. There is no feeling in the book that the characters are shattered, as they surely would have been, by the central event.. The author suggests and states they are at times, but they do appear so neither in their behaviour nor in their speech. Several of the boys sound and behave like eccentric adults and it is with difficulty that I have to accept that they are 16 or 17 years of age. As with many "whuddunits" I enjoyed this while reading it, but felt somewhat dissatisfied at the end, not as dissatisfied however, as with a mystery thriller by Ngaio Marsh, who seems to me to share the same faults as Gladys Mitchell without the redeeming qualities of richness of language and interest of character, and vividness of description; and while the characters do not convince me, they are colourful, memorable, enjoyable. The novel teems with English eccentrics. Sofaras I know, Ngaio Marsh is much more famous today than Gladys Mitchell, but on the basis of only one book so far, I would rank Gladys Mitchell higher. I would place her firmly in the middle, not among the best and not among the weakest, of those who have applied themselves to this strangely English genre, the whodunnit.
July 15, 2012
Gladys Mitchell was one of the British Crime Queens working in the first half of the 20th century. She was about as prolific as Christie or Marsh, but hasn't remained quite as popular. I found her becasuse of a small series of videos that were made featuring her primary detective, Mrs. Bradley. Mrs. Bradley is a psychologist and widow who has lived a dreadfully interesting life. She has a wide circle of friends and oftentimes they draw her into murder investigations. The mini series was produced by the BBC and featured Diana Rigg as Mrs. Bradley.
Tom Brown's Body is set in and around Spey School. Mrs. Bradley is in the region searching for a book of spells that belonged to a distant relative. She is attempting to wheedle it out of Mrs. Harris, the local witch, when a school master is found murdered. Mrs. Bradley is asked by the headmaster to look into the matter. Suspects abound; othe masters, jealous lovers, angry students, prospective fathers-in-law, village witches. Everyone comes under Mrs. Bradley's scrutiny.
The mysetery itself meanders a bit. There are boys sneaking out of bed, school masters dabbling in the dark arts, master's wives dabbling in adultery. Mrs. Bradley doesn't so much collect clues as herd witnesses about. The book suffers from the obvious issues of its era. It was written in 1949 and so is not as socially progressive as one might like. In actual fact, it reads like something written in 1939. The war is very much not in evidence outside of the fact that it has been hard to find school masters to fill vacant spots ast Spey.
Another downside, is that the Mrs. Bradley of the books is, sadly, not very much like Diana Rigg. She is not terribly attractive or glamourous. I suspect that most of my fondess for this series is carried over from the tv show rather than the other way around. I gave it 3 stars, but I don't know that I'll be delving much further into Ms. Mitchell's catalog.
Tom Brown's Body is set in and around Spey School. Mrs. Bradley is in the region searching for a book of spells that belonged to a distant relative. She is attempting to wheedle it out of Mrs. Harris, the local witch, when a school master is found murdered. Mrs. Bradley is asked by the headmaster to look into the matter. Suspects abound; othe masters, jealous lovers, angry students, prospective fathers-in-law, village witches. Everyone comes under Mrs. Bradley's scrutiny.
The mysetery itself meanders a bit. There are boys sneaking out of bed, school masters dabbling in the dark arts, master's wives dabbling in adultery. Mrs. Bradley doesn't so much collect clues as herd witnesses about. The book suffers from the obvious issues of its era. It was written in 1949 and so is not as socially progressive as one might like. In actual fact, it reads like something written in 1939. The war is very much not in evidence outside of the fact that it has been hard to find school masters to fill vacant spots ast Spey.
Another downside, is that the Mrs. Bradley of the books is, sadly, not very much like Diana Rigg. She is not terribly attractive or glamourous. I suspect that most of my fondess for this series is carried over from the tv show rather than the other way around. I gave it 3 stars, but I don't know that I'll be delving much further into Ms. Mitchell's catalog.
May 7, 2017
A murder mystery set in a boys' school, Gladys Mitchell weaves an enthralling story around vivid and lifelike characters. An unpopular teacher dies and suspicion points to different people one after the other. A second murder attempt takes place midway through the book and then things become clearer and the book winds to its conclusion. This is the first Mrs Bradley mystery I have read, and I am now eager to watch the show as well.
What I liked:
The characters were wonderful. Every person had a distinct personality and everything they did reflected the unique person they were. The masters, the boys and even the policemen were quite interesting. The language was very prone to slang, especially when the dialogue was between the school boys. It was difficult to comprehend at first, but I began to enjoy the authentic flavour as I continued to read. The story was fun with all sorts of boarding school tales intervening amidst the murder story and was really enjoyable because it set a very strong background.
What I did not like:
The ending fell flat on its face. Though there were a lovely lot of suspects, the reader never got a sense of how Mrs Bradley unravelled the mystery and pointed to the correct culprit. Mrs Bradley herself kept saying she knew what was happening but never shared it with us. There was no grand denouement at the end of the book, as is common with Poirot stories. It left me feeling rather dissatisfied with the solution. Another major problem was the inclusion of sorcery. I don't quite understand what the point of it was. It intruded a good deal into the story and were we supposed to think it was real? No idea what the author was trying to do there.
The book was a pleasure to read in spite of its obvious shortcomings and gave me the combined pleasure of reading a boarding school story along with a murder mystery. That's pretty rare!
What I liked:
The characters were wonderful. Every person had a distinct personality and everything they did reflected the unique person they were. The masters, the boys and even the policemen were quite interesting. The language was very prone to slang, especially when the dialogue was between the school boys. It was difficult to comprehend at first, but I began to enjoy the authentic flavour as I continued to read. The story was fun with all sorts of boarding school tales intervening amidst the murder story and was really enjoyable because it set a very strong background.
What I did not like:
The ending fell flat on its face. Though there were a lovely lot of suspects, the reader never got a sense of how Mrs Bradley unravelled the mystery and pointed to the correct culprit. Mrs Bradley herself kept saying she knew what was happening but never shared it with us. There was no grand denouement at the end of the book, as is common with Poirot stories. It left me feeling rather dissatisfied with the solution. Another major problem was the inclusion of sorcery. I don't quite understand what the point of it was. It intruded a good deal into the story and were we supposed to think it was real? No idea what the author was trying to do there.
The book was a pleasure to read in spite of its obvious shortcomings and gave me the combined pleasure of reading a boarding school story along with a murder mystery. That's pretty rare!
November 12, 2020
Two and a half stars.
Beautifully written with some interesting characters but I found it very slow to get going and then extremely difficult to follow. As is quite often the case, the reader is not privy as to how Mrs B knows what she knows.
Beautifully written with some interesting characters but I found it very slow to get going and then extremely difficult to follow. As is quite often the case, the reader is not privy as to how Mrs B knows what she knows.
August 22, 2013
Another outing for Mrs Bradley & her entourage - a slightly more straightforward plot this time but some of the comments & descriptions hark back to a less politically correct era so not a book for the sensitive.
October 6, 2013
Not as muddled as many of her other novels, I actually got some idea of how the murder was done in this one, and it has the virtue of excellent characterisations of small boys and elderly schoolmasters. I do wish Mitchell had bothered to reread and tie up her loose ends, though.
February 6, 2015
but not good enough to finish reading.....the school boy banter was almost incomprehensible (but I have the same problem on the school bus).
Nice references to witches as bring quite 'normal' but overall tedious.
Mind you I don't like Agatha either (shock horror)
Nice references to witches as bring quite 'normal' but overall tedious.
Mind you I don't like Agatha either (shock horror)
November 10, 2012
Audiobook. Bit complicated. Deals with school boys realistically.
July 5, 2014
Pfft. I'm still not sure about this series. The book was ok - I wasn't sure about the mystical element and the solution came out of no-where practically.
May 8, 2016
A good old murder mystery.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews