Clutch of Constables

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Clutch of Constables
ClutchOfConstables.jpg
First edition
Author Ngaio Marsh
LanguageEnglish
Series Roderick Alleyn
Genre Detective fiction
Publisher Collins Crime Club
Publication date
1968
Media typePrint
Preceded by Death at the Dolphin  
Followed by When in Rome  

Clutch of Constables is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1968. The plot concerns art forgery, and takes place on a cruise on a fictional river in the Norfolk Broads; the "Constable" referred to in the title is John Constable, whose works are mentioned by several characters.

Contents

Plot summary

The novel is structured around a training course that detective, Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard, is giving to trainee police detectives, with specific reference to his successful identification and capture of the international fraudster, crook and killer 'The Jampot' also known as Foljambe.

Meanwhile, Alleyn's celebrity painter wife Agatha Troy has just successfully launched her latest exhibition and, on a whim, takes a canal cruise on the MV Zodiac through 'Constable' country. That is, East Anglia, referring to John Constable RA, the old master, not the punning PC constable of the book's title.

Her fellow passengers are, of course, the usual assorted bunch of suspects, when the murder takes place of Hazel Rickerby-Carrick, a needy, tiresome spinster whose diary is her "self-propelling journal" and who indiscreetly boasts of carrying around her neck a fabulous Fabergé, jewelled zodiac ornament, which is, of course missing.

The passengers, all suspects, include: a literary lepidopterist clearly much smitten by Troy, a pair of gushing American tourists in search of antiques, a sporting Australian clergyman, a London slum landlord with a talent for fine graphics and, finally, a grandly exotic and distinguished surgeon of Afro-European origin, to whom Troy is greatly attracted, and who is the subject of overt racism from several of the passengers.

The plot develops around a conspiracy to plant fake Constable paintings in the international art market, and, Alleyn arrives hot-foot to protect his wife, solve the crime, unmask and arrest 'The Jampot' [ who? ]

Reception

Maurice Richardson wrote in The Observer , "It may not be Miss Marsh’s best but it’s got all that zest of hers like a hot cross bun which keeps you reading." [1] The Illustrated London News took the same tone: "Miss Marsh has captured the ambience of life on an 'inshore liner' with her usual flair... I enjoyed the story. It has an inventive, pacey plot with an unusual setting and some nicely nasty suspects." [2]

Themes

Dr. Natouche belongs in a series of the author's sympathetically portrayed, grandly classy victims of racism in her novels (cf Vintage Murder, Colour Scheme, Black As He's Painted and her final novel Light Thickens). It is interesting how often Marsh makes Alleyn or Troy strongly attracted to them.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

Roderick Alleyn is a fictional character who first appeared in 1934. He is the policeman hero of the 32 detective novels of Ngaio Marsh. Marsh and her gentleman detective belong firmly in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, although the last Alleyn novel, Light Thickens, was published in 1982.

The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries is a British detective television series, broadcast on BBC1, which was adapted from nine of the novels by Dame Ngaio Marsh, featuring the character Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. The pilot episode was shown in 1990, with Simon Williams playing the part of Alleyn. Two series followed in 1993 and 1994, with Patrick Malahide replacing Williams in the title role.

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<i>When in Rome</i> (novel) 1970 detective novel by Ngaio Marsh

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<i>Tied Up in Tinsel</i> 1972 detective novel by Ngaio Marsh

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<i>Black as Hes Painted</i> 1974 detective novel by Ngaio Marsh

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<i>Grave Mistake</i> 1978 detective novel by Ngaio Marsh

Grave Mistake is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirtieth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1978. The plot concerns the supposed suicide of a wealthy widow in a chic rest spa, and involves a rare and famous postage stamp.

References

  1. ↑ Richardson, Maurice (27 October 1968). "Crime Ration". The Observer . p. 29.
  2. ↑ Le Foe, Dominic (16 November 1968). "Thrills for the first frosts". The Illustrated London News . No. 6746. p. 28.


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