English Mysteries Club discussion

Here is the thread to discuss Francis Durbridge, an immensely popular English mystery writer in his heyday, but now largely overlooked.

This thread will be hosted by Adrian.

Thanks Jean.

Well I requested this thread although to be honest I know very little about Francis Durbridge. My experiences of his Paul Temple novels (and thats why I requested the thread ) (first one written in 1938 by the way) are
1)watching the actor Francis Matthews as the urbane English novelist who solves crimes with his fabulous wife "Steve" (I don't even know why she is Steve when her name is Louise ) some time back in the early 70s. And
2) since then, I was working in my garage when I fancied listening to a detective novel, and lo, some of the Paul Temple radio shows from the 40s and 50s, starring a number of people but mostly Peter Coke as Paul Temple were relatively cheap.
And so I fell back in love with a detective that I hadn't thought of in probably 40 years, and now I want to find out more.

Hence this thread which is for all of us to share our experiences of Francis Durbridge : did he write other (non Paul Temple) books ? ; did anyone else play Francis Matthews on TV? ; How many Paul Temple books are there ? Is anyone else really interested ha ha.

So having listened to 3 audiobooks now, I have just bought my first Paul Temple book from Amazon (Send for Paul Temple ) and I'm looking forward to experiencing the writing for the first time. If its as good as the audiobooks then I'll be "well 'appy".

I remember the TV dramatisations, which were broadcast just that little bit too late for me to watch the endings! Do you remember when you were a kid, hoping nobody would notice that it was well past your bedtime? Sadly I hardly ever got away with it ;)

But when I was a teenager I looked forward to any Francis Durbridge serials, and one I remember gripping the whole nation (as we all watched live in those days) was My Wife Melissa. There aren't nearly so many dramatisations of his on TV now, but amateur theatre groups still put them on, perhaps because they often have a small cast. I've reviewed one of his plays, Murder with Love which you can read if you are interested:

LINK HERE for Jean's review.

This is my first paragraph from that review, which sort of introduces him:

"Francis Durbridge is a familiar name to those who love classic English whodunnits. If Agatha Christie reigns as the "Queen of Crime" then in his heyday, Francis Durbridge must surely have been the "King". However, despite being as prolific a writer as Alan Ayckbourn, unlike Agatha Christie's, Francis Durbridge's fame has dwindled. Although he was so prominent in the past, his achievements and immense popularity is now largely overlooked."

I have listened to some of the Paul Temple stories on BBC radio but have never read any of Durbridge's books. A project for 2021?

Sounds good - but why wait, Leslie? ;)

Too many unread books on my plate at the moment Jean!

Leslie wrote: "Too many unread books on my plate at the moment Jean!"

I'm afraid I have to agree with Leslie , Jean. Amazon are delivering book 1 tomorrow but I'd be happy to lay off reading until next year if I thought it could be the start of a Group Series Buddy Read.

That said I also want to do Colin Dexters, and also Patricia Wentworth.
Just too many series and not enough time. Maybe over the next 13 weeks as we are "social distancing".

Bionic Jean wrote: "Sounds good - but why wait, Leslie? ;)"

We could put a marker in for next year !! It is never too early.

Anyway, given I am supposed to be hosting this thread, I thought it was about time I did a bit more investigation into the man. It appears he only wrote 14 Paul Temple novels over a period of 51 years. And yet amazingly there were 52 episodes starring Francis Matthews on TV as Paul Temple, as well as 27 radio plays or radio serials.
In addition he also wrote 3 Tim Frazer novels, 19 other novels and 9 plays. Oh and 10 films just out of interest.

I am seriously going to have to delve deeper into the enigma that Francis Durbridge is becoming.

I used to really fancy Francis Matthews as Paul Temple (I was probably about 13 when they were first shown on television). I've listened to some of the radio plays more recently and wondered why his wife Steve didn't throttle him! He was so patronising!

GeraniumCat wrote: "I used to really fancy Francis Matthews as Paul Temple (I was probably about 13 when they were first shown on television). I've listened to some of the radio plays more recently and wondered why hi..."

I think (and this is a male talking) that you're right, Francis Matthews was quite dashing.
I suppose thinking about it, he was a little patronising, but I suppose it is of its time. Not that I condone it, I hasten to add.

So next month, when it qualifies for our monthly group read, I shall be nominating Send for Paul Temple by of course Francis Durbridge.
However should it not win, and I cannot see why it wouldn't, I will be nominating it for a buddy read and hope that some other people will want to join in. Reading alone is fun but not as much fun as a buddy read !!

Adrian, I've carried your nomination over to this month, as it wasn't eligible before. Hope that's alright.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Adrian, I've carried your nomination over to this month, as it wasn't eligible before. Hope that's alright."

Thank you so much Jean.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Adrian, I've carried your nomination over to this month, as it wasn't eligible before. Hope that's alright."

And it doesn't appear to be doing that well in the polls, unfortunately, so I shall have to nominate for a buddy read if it bombs as badly as it appears to be.

Yes, we have a "strong" leader at the moment although there's still lots of time for things to change :)

Well I am hoping to re-nominate Send for Paul Temple for our monthly Group Read when it will again qualify on age grounds.
I am hoping this will reinvigorate any (?) interest in Francis Durbridge.
If not I shall put it forward this time as a Buddy Read, although, it could just be me :-)

I'd certainly like to read it - it'll just depend on the timing.

A heads-up to all members and fans of Francis Durbridge, that Send for Paul Temple is out Group Read for October!

Bionic Jean wrote: "A heads-up to all members and fans of Francis Durbridge, that Send for Paul Temple is out Group Read for October!"

"I don't believe it " !!

But woot woot

Well, I think, given how "niche" Francis Durbridge is, that it was a successful October Group Read of the first Paul Temple novel Send for Paul Temple.
As I mentioned on that thread, given that we got a few people to read and post positive feedback, I shall probably put forward the next novel in the series as a Buddy Read early next year. Hopefully some people would be interested in Paul Temple and the Front Page Men

Bionic Jean wrote: "I remember the TV dramatisations, which were broadcast just that little bit too late for me to watch the endings! Do you remember when you were a kid, hoping nobody would notice that it was well pa..."

I have a couple of TV versions of" Melissa" one from around 1966 with Tony Britton in the lead, another from 1974(?) with Peter Barkworth so you could call me a fan. I also have a couple of sets of Durbridge's books as TV series adaptations. They're all good.

Oh yes, My Wife Melissa was excellent! I remember looking forward to each episode of that one :) I think there was a new dramatisation of it which they just called "Melissa", a few years ago as well. Adrian might remember ...

Bionic Jean wrote: "Oh yes, My Wife Melissa was excellent! I remember looking forward to each episode of that one :) I think there was a new dramatisation of it which they just called "Melissa", a few y..."

I love the fact that our moderator has absolute faith that as the host of this thread I will know the answer.

Ok so there was as Jean says a 5 part adaptation called just Melissa which was adapted and produced by the well known British screen writer Alan Bleasdale (responsible for many gritty North of England dramas). He turned this, the 4th adaptation of Melissa (64, 66 and 74) into a 5 part series starring amongst other people Julie Walters. It wasn't brilliantly received unfortunately.

Thanks Ade!

(You see, I was right to have absolute faith in you ;) )

One of our Independent TV channels here in England free to all, is called "Talking Pictures". It's presented like an old cinema, with voiceovers telling you the rating, and old film clips. All done in what we call the BBC voice.

We record quite a few films from there, as they are mostly old black and white British ones, and often mysteries, or comedies. It's a bit of a mixed bag - some should have stayed lost, but there are some real treasures :)

At the moment we are watching "The Teckman Mystery" about a pilot who died during the test flight of a new plane. It's by Francis Durbridge, and seems good so far.

This author is completely new to me. I don’t think the shows were ever in the US - not even on our PBS which shows a lot of UK miniseries, especially mysteries and historical fiction. I found some of the author’s books on Open Library.