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The Strange Boarders of Palace Crescent
"The Strange Boarders of Palace Crescent" by E. Phillips Oppenheim. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
314 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1934
About the author
E. Phillips Oppenheim
491 books79 followersEdward Phillips Oppenheim was an English novelist, primarily known for his suspense fiction.
He was born in Leicester, the son of a leather merchant, and after attending Wyggeston Grammar School he worked in his father's business for almost 20 years, beginning there at a young age. He continued working in the business, even though he was a successful novelist, until he was 40 at which point he sold the business.
He wrote his first book 'Expiation' in 1887 and in 1898 he published 'The Mysterious Mr Sabin', which he described as "The first of my long series of stories dealing with that shadowy and mysterious world of diplomacy." Thereafter he became a prolific writer and by 1900 he had had 14 novels published.
While on a business trip to the United States in 1890 he met and married Elise Clara Hopkins of Boston and, on return to England, they lived in Evington, Leicestershire until the First World War,and had one daughter. His wife remained faithful to him throughout his life despite his frequent and highly publicised affairs, which often took place abroad and aboard his luxury yacht.
During World War I Oppenheim worked for the Ministry of Information while continuing to write his suspenseful novels.
He featured on the cover of 'Time' magazine on 12 September 1927 and he was the self-styled 'Prince of Storytellers', a title used by Robert standish for his biography of the author.
His literary success enabled him to buy a villa in France and a yacht, spending his winters in France where he regularly entertained more than 250 people at his lavish parties and where he was a well-known figure in high society.
He later purchased a house, Le Vanquiédor in St. Peter Port, in Guernsey. He lost access to the house during the Second World War when Germany occupied the Channel Islands but later regained it.
He wrote 116 novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue type, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life, and 39 volumes of short stories, all of which earned him vast sums of money. He also wrote five novels under the pseudonymn Anthony Partridge and a volume of autobiography, 'The Pool of Memory' in 1939.
He is generally regarded as the earliest writer of spy fiction as we know it today, and invented the 'Rogue Male' school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household.
Undoubtedly his most renowned work was 'The Great Impersonation' (1920), which was filmed three times, the last time as a strong piece of wartime propaganda in 1942. In that novel the plot hinges around two very similar looking gentlemen, one from Britain and the other from Germany, in the early part of the 20th century. Overall more than 30 of his works were made into films.
Perhaps his most enduring creation is the character of General Besserley, the protagonist of 'General Besserley's Puzzle Box' and 'General Besserley's New Puzzle Box'.
Much of his work possesses a unique escapist charm, featuring protagonists who delight in Epicurean meals, surroundings of intense luxury, and the relaxed pursuit of criminal practice, on either side of the law.
Gerry Wolstenholme
He was born in Leicester, the son of a leather merchant, and after attending Wyggeston Grammar School he worked in his father's business for almost 20 years, beginning there at a young age. He continued working in the business, even though he was a successful novelist, until he was 40 at which point he sold the business.
He wrote his first book 'Expiation' in 1887 and in 1898 he published 'The Mysterious Mr Sabin', which he described as "The first of my long series of stories dealing with that shadowy and mysterious world of diplomacy." Thereafter he became a prolific writer and by 1900 he had had 14 novels published.
While on a business trip to the United States in 1890 he met and married Elise Clara Hopkins of Boston and, on return to England, they lived in Evington, Leicestershire until the First World War,and had one daughter. His wife remained faithful to him throughout his life despite his frequent and highly publicised affairs, which often took place abroad and aboard his luxury yacht.
During World War I Oppenheim worked for the Ministry of Information while continuing to write his suspenseful novels.
He featured on the cover of 'Time' magazine on 12 September 1927 and he was the self-styled 'Prince of Storytellers', a title used by Robert standish for his biography of the author.
His literary success enabled him to buy a villa in France and a yacht, spending his winters in France where he regularly entertained more than 250 people at his lavish parties and where he was a well-known figure in high society.
He later purchased a house, Le Vanquiédor in St. Peter Port, in Guernsey. He lost access to the house during the Second World War when Germany occupied the Channel Islands but later regained it.
He wrote 116 novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue type, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life, and 39 volumes of short stories, all of which earned him vast sums of money. He also wrote five novels under the pseudonymn Anthony Partridge and a volume of autobiography, 'The Pool of Memory' in 1939.
He is generally regarded as the earliest writer of spy fiction as we know it today, and invented the 'Rogue Male' school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household.
Undoubtedly his most renowned work was 'The Great Impersonation' (1920), which was filmed three times, the last time as a strong piece of wartime propaganda in 1942. In that novel the plot hinges around two very similar looking gentlemen, one from Britain and the other from Germany, in the early part of the 20th century. Overall more than 30 of his works were made into films.
Perhaps his most enduring creation is the character of General Besserley, the protagonist of 'General Besserley's Puzzle Box' and 'General Besserley's New Puzzle Box'.
Much of his work possesses a unique escapist charm, featuring protagonists who delight in Epicurean meals, surroundings of intense luxury, and the relaxed pursuit of criminal practice, on either side of the law.
Gerry Wolstenholme
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 22, 2016
Decent Golden Age mystery but not as compelling as Oppenheim's The Great Impersonation. I found the protagonist a bit dense at times but believable.
Also I was annoyed by the fact that this Kindle edition had transcription errors - not a huge number but still a noticeable amount.
Also I was annoyed by the fact that this Kindle edition had transcription errors - not a huge number but still a noticeable amount.
June 4, 2019
It's about... some strange people who live in a boarding house in Palace Crescent. It was written in the mid-30s, though seems earlier. Oppenheim doesn't go into details of women's clothes - the beautiful Flora Quayne wears either a wonderful black velvet gown or ditto in white velvet.
The book was made into a very funny film with Tom Walls - it kept the basic premise but that's about all. Apart from Flora, the boarders all seem to be pretty ordinary people. Young men who work in the city, a gentleman of leisure, an aspiring actress. The story starts when an ordinary young man called Ferrison takes a room there because it is cheaper than doing for himself in a bedsit. He very quickly gets his invention bought up by a major department store, and falls in love with another boarder, the pretty Audrey Packe.
But Flora Quayne, the "star boarder", is making a dead set at him. She has red hair and interestingly crippled legs. She is a forward minx, all right. She obviously has money and has done up a suite on the ground floor in the acme of luxury. You could call her strange - also the landlady, the rather Gothic Mrs Dewar, and the sinister footman, Joseph.
The police are on the trail of some jewel thieves, and one of the boarders is shot in the back alley one night. There is not a lot of suspense, and the outcome seems obvious. It's worth reading for the insights into boarding house life - perhaps we should revive this method of co-living?
The book was made into a very funny film with Tom Walls - it kept the basic premise but that's about all. Apart from Flora, the boarders all seem to be pretty ordinary people. Young men who work in the city, a gentleman of leisure, an aspiring actress. The story starts when an ordinary young man called Ferrison takes a room there because it is cheaper than doing for himself in a bedsit. He very quickly gets his invention bought up by a major department store, and falls in love with another boarder, the pretty Audrey Packe.
But Flora Quayne, the "star boarder", is making a dead set at him. She has red hair and interestingly crippled legs. She is a forward minx, all right. She obviously has money and has done up a suite on the ground floor in the acme of luxury. You could call her strange - also the landlady, the rather Gothic Mrs Dewar, and the sinister footman, Joseph.
The police are on the trail of some jewel thieves, and one of the boarders is shot in the back alley one night. There is not a lot of suspense, and the outcome seems obvious. It's worth reading for the insights into boarding house life - perhaps we should revive this method of co-living?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2025
Well, who could resist a book with a title like this? And the title is pretty much the strongest clue to what the story’s all about - the sinister goings on in a large boarding house in the west London suburbs.
The novel’s set at the time it was written - in 1934 - which is almost three decades on from the previous novel I read by E Phillips Oppenheim (his “The Missioner”). And the tone and style has definitely shifted, from Edwardian romance to 30’s thriller. In fact, the novel has many of the ingredients of “Golden Age” crime fiction:
- the cold-blooded murder of a respectable citizen (Colonel Dennett) and other attempted murders by noxious gas and poisoned cocktails;
- diamond heists from Mayfair jewellers and priceless rubies purloined from “a great Indian potentate”;
- a household of odd characters, mostly with shady pasts (“We boarders at Palace Crescent are a quaint lot of people”, as the enigmatic Mr Luke observes);
- the creepy Mrs Danvers-style landlady (Mrs Dewar);
- a dangerous femme fatale (Flora Quayne), rich and spoilt, whose every whim must be obeyed;
- a dissolute, dodgy solicitor (moustachioed Mr Padgham);
- observant old ladies who know too much (the constantly knitting sisters, Susannah and Amelia Clewes);
- the plain, honest girl with her head on her shoulders (Audrey Packe);
- an aspiring actress seeking fame and fortune (Freda Medlincott);
- the philosophical City broker (“Wonderful place, the City,” Mr Bernascon reflected. “Millions of us crawling about like flies and not one of us has the slightest conception of what the man he jostles in the crowd is thinking about, or who he is or what he is making out of life.”)
But there are some surprises too. For example, I wasn’t expecting the sturdy hero of the story (Roger Ferrison) to have a day job inventing and promoting a patent carpet cleaner (the description of his machine in action actually made me laugh out loud).
And I was surprised to discover Scotland Yard playing such a low-key role. The police detective (Inspector Rudlett) in charge of the case keeps very much to the background and appears only sporadically. It’s amateur sleuths, Roger and Audrey, who make some of the most important discoveries. And it’s under-cover Major Lengton who finally pieces everything together (whilst simultaneously becoming engaged to one of the Palace Crescent suspects … )
But the biggest surprise comes at the end - with the discovery that there isn’t really any big surprise left. This is because, rather than a single grand denouement in the final chapter - who did it, when and how? - the identity of the felons has already been revealed in earlier chapters. I have to say I found these premature disclosures rather perplexing and a bit disappointing.
This leaves the final chapter - set on a sunny beach far away from gloomy Palace Crescent - as a bit of an anticlimax. There are only a few loose ends to be tidied up. Who was Joseph the manservant secretly married to? Where were the Maharaja’s stolen rubies hidden? What was Mr Luke’s punishment? And what becomes of Flora Quayne … ?
Spoiler alerts!
- Turns out that manservant Joseph is the secret husband of housekeeper, Mrs Dewar - and they’re the (ta-dah!) disgraced parents of Flora Quayne.
- The jewels are sewn into the bottom of Mr Luke’s exclusive golf bag.
- Because Mr Luke is a “gent” turned crim, he’s spared execution and is committed to 20 years penal servitude.
- She does very well for herself, in Monte Carlo, with her fashionable portrait on display in some society salon.
The novel’s set at the time it was written - in 1934 - which is almost three decades on from the previous novel I read by E Phillips Oppenheim (his “The Missioner”). And the tone and style has definitely shifted, from Edwardian romance to 30’s thriller. In fact, the novel has many of the ingredients of “Golden Age” crime fiction:
- the cold-blooded murder of a respectable citizen (Colonel Dennett) and other attempted murders by noxious gas and poisoned cocktails;
- diamond heists from Mayfair jewellers and priceless rubies purloined from “a great Indian potentate”;
- a household of odd characters, mostly with shady pasts (“We boarders at Palace Crescent are a quaint lot of people”, as the enigmatic Mr Luke observes);
- the creepy Mrs Danvers-style landlady (Mrs Dewar);
- a dangerous femme fatale (Flora Quayne), rich and spoilt, whose every whim must be obeyed;
- a dissolute, dodgy solicitor (moustachioed Mr Padgham);
- observant old ladies who know too much (the constantly knitting sisters, Susannah and Amelia Clewes);
- the plain, honest girl with her head on her shoulders (Audrey Packe);
- an aspiring actress seeking fame and fortune (Freda Medlincott);
- the philosophical City broker (“Wonderful place, the City,” Mr Bernascon reflected. “Millions of us crawling about like flies and not one of us has the slightest conception of what the man he jostles in the crowd is thinking about, or who he is or what he is making out of life.”)
But there are some surprises too. For example, I wasn’t expecting the sturdy hero of the story (Roger Ferrison) to have a day job inventing and promoting a patent carpet cleaner (the description of his machine in action actually made me laugh out loud).
And I was surprised to discover Scotland Yard playing such a low-key role. The police detective (Inspector Rudlett) in charge of the case keeps very much to the background and appears only sporadically. It’s amateur sleuths, Roger and Audrey, who make some of the most important discoveries. And it’s under-cover Major Lengton who finally pieces everything together (whilst simultaneously becoming engaged to one of the Palace Crescent suspects … )
But the biggest surprise comes at the end - with the discovery that there isn’t really any big surprise left. This is because, rather than a single grand denouement in the final chapter - who did it, when and how? - the identity of the felons has already been revealed in earlier chapters. I have to say I found these premature disclosures rather perplexing and a bit disappointing.
This leaves the final chapter - set on a sunny beach far away from gloomy Palace Crescent - as a bit of an anticlimax. There are only a few loose ends to be tidied up. Who was Joseph the manservant secretly married to? Where were the Maharaja’s stolen rubies hidden? What was Mr Luke’s punishment? And what becomes of Flora Quayne … ?
Spoiler alerts!
- Turns out that manservant Joseph is the secret husband of housekeeper, Mrs Dewar - and they’re the (ta-dah!) disgraced parents of Flora Quayne.
- The jewels are sewn into the bottom of Mr Luke’s exclusive golf bag.
- Because Mr Luke is a “gent” turned crim, he’s spared execution and is committed to 20 years penal servitude.
- She does very well for herself, in Monte Carlo, with her fashionable portrait on display in some society salon.
Want to Read
July 16, 2016* 1000 novels everyone must read: the definitive list: Crime
Selected by the Guardian's Review team and a panel of expert judges, this list includes only novels – no memoirs, no short stories, no long poems – from any decade and in any language. Originally published in thematic supplements – love, crime, comedy, family and self, state of the nation, science fiction and fantasy, war and travel – they appear here for the first time.
Selected by the Guardian's Review team and a panel of expert judges, this list includes only novels – no memoirs, no short stories, no long poems – from any decade and in any language. Originally published in thematic supplements – love, crime, comedy, family and self, state of the nation, science fiction and fantasy, war and travel – they appear here for the first time.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews