Red in the Morning

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Red in the Morning
Red In The Morning dustjacket.jpg
1946 dustjacket
Author Dornford Yates
SeriesChandos books
GenreNovel
Publisher Ward Lock & Co [1]
Publication date
1946 [1]
Media typePrint
Pages255 [1]
Preceded by An Eye for a Tooth  
Followed by Cost Price  

Red in the Morning is a 1946 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer), the seventh in his 'Chandos' thriller series. The events of the story immediately follow those of his 1939 novel Gale Warning in which Richard Chandos and Jonathan Mansel appear as characters. The book was published in the US under the title Were Death Denied. [2]

Contents

Plot

The novel is largely set in the countryside around Pau, in South-West France, although Dieppe, Chartres and Vendôme also feature. Chandos and Mansel interfere with a gang robbery at Biarritz, and are hunted down with murderous intent by the gang's leader, Daniel Gedge (a.k.a. "Auntie Emma", previously bested by Mansel in Adèle and Co. ). Characters familiar from earlier books include Jenny Chandos, John and Audrey Bagot, Carson, Bell, Rowley, Toby Rage, and the minor villain Punter. Other villains include the fallen scholar Brevet, counterfeiter Baron Horace de Parol (owner of the Château of Arx), and his niece, Mona Lelong, a.k.a. "The Stoat". The latter changes sides and helps Chandos escape capture through a series of partly-flooded caverns lying underneath the chateau.

Background

Red in the Morning was written rapidly by Mercer, who needed at this stage in his life to ensure he remained in the ranks of best-selling authors. Much of his private fortune was tied up in his house "Cockade", south of Pau (the building of which was described in his novel of the year before, The House That Berry Built ) and it was becoming increasingly likely that he and his wife would be unable to live there after the war. [3]

Critical reception

US edition Were Death Denied dustjacket.jpg
US edition

Although the war meant that the book could not be printed in the same quantities as previous books, it was still highly successful for the time. It shows no signs of having been written rapidly, and many followers of Mercer consider it to be one of his best. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dornford Yates</span> English writer and novelist (1885–1960)

Cecil William Mercer, known by his pen name Dornford Yates, was an English writer and novelist whose novels and short stories, some humorous, some thrillers, were best-sellers during the Interwar Period.

<i>The House That Berry Built</i> 1945 novel by Dornford Yates

The House That Berry Built is a 1945 humorous semi-autobiographical novel by the English author Dornford Yates, featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters. It is a lightly fictionalised recounting of the construction of the author's house Cockade in the commune of Eaux-Bonnes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France.

<i>The Brother of Daphne</i> 1914 short story collection by Dornford Yates

The Brother of Daphne is a 1914 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, the first book published under the pen name he had been using for magazine pieces since 1910. This was also the first book to feature the group of characters that featured in many of his future works: Bertram ('Berry') Pleydell, his wife and cousin Daphne Pleydell, Daphne's brother Boy Pleydell, another cousin Jonathan ('Jonah') Mansel, and Jonah's younger sister Jill Mansel. The group of five - Berry, Daphne, Boy, Jonah and Jill - later came to be known collectively as 'Berry and Co'.

<i>Berry and Co.</i> 1921 short story collection by Dornford Yates

Berry and Co. is a 1921 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, his third book, featuring his recurring characters Bertram ('Berry') Pleydell, his wife and cousin Daphne Pleydell, Daphne's brother Boy Pleydell, another cousin Jonathan ('Jonah') Mansel, and Jonah's younger sister Jill Mansel. The group of five - Berry, Daphne, Boy, Jonah and Jill - are collectively 'Berry and Co.'

<i>Jonah and Co.</i> 1922 short story collection by Dornford Yates

Jonah and Co. is a 1922 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters.

<i>Adèle and Co.</i> 1931 novel by Dornford Yates

Adèle and Co. is a 1931 comic novel by the English author Dornford Yates, featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters. This was Yates's first full-length Berry novel, following several earlier Berry short story collections. It was the first Berry book to be published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton, and not to be serialised in The Windsor Magazine.

<i>The Berry Scene</i> 1947 short story collection by Dornford Yates

The Berry Scene is a 1947 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters.

<i>Blind Corner</i> (novel) 1927 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Blind Corner is a 1927 novel by the English author Dornford Yates. The book was the first in his Chandos thriller series and is narrated in the first person by Richard Chandos. In addition to Chandos and his servant Bell, the novel features a cast of characters who recur in many of the later books: George Hanbury and Jonathan Mansel; their respective servants Rowley and Carson; and Tester the Sealyham terrier. Mansel's character also appears as Jonah Mansel in the author's 'Berry' series of comic books and short stories, though he is not written for comic effect in this nor the later 'Chandos' books.

<i>Perishable Goods</i> 1928 novel by Dornford Yates

Perishable Goods is a 1928 novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the second in his Chandos thriller series and a sequel to Blind Corner. The story features the recurrent characters Richard Chandos (narrator), Jonathan Mansel and George Hanbury, with their respective servants Bell, Carson and Rowley.

<i>Blood Royal</i> 1929 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Blood Royal is a 1929 novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the third in his Chandos thriller series. The story features the recurrent characters Richard Chandos (narrator) and George Hanbury, with their servants Bell and Rowley. Jonathan Mansel does not appear in this book.

<i>Fire Below</i> 1930 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Fire Below is a 1930 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the fourth in his Chandos thriller series and a sequel to Blood Royal. The book was published in the US under the title By Royal Command.

<i>She Fell Among Thieves</i> 1935 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

She Fell Among Thieves is a 1935 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the fifth in his 'Chandos' thriller series. It was serialised in Woman's Journal. The title comes from a phrase in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

<i>An Eye for a Tooth</i> 1943 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

An Eye for a Tooth is a 1943 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the sixth in his 'Chandos' thriller series. The events of the story immediately follow those of Blind Corner.

<i>Cost Price</i> 1949 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Cost Price is a 1949 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the eighth and last in his 'Chandos' thriller series. It serves as a sequel to his 1932 novel Safe Custody. The book was published in the US under the title The Laughing Bacchante.

<i>The Stolen March</i> 1926 fantasy novel by Dornford Yates

The Stolen March is a 1926 fantasy novel by the English author Dornford Yates, first serialised in The Windsor Magazine.

<i>Safe Custody</i> 1932 novel by Dornford Yates

Safe Custody is a 1932 novel by the English author Dornford Yates. It was serialised weekly in five parts in The Saturday Evening Post in October and November 1931 as "Your Castle of Hohenems", illustrated by F. R. Gruger.

<i>Gale Warning</i> 1939 novel by Dornford Yates

Gale Warning is a 1939 novel by the English author Dornford Yates. It was first serialised in Woman's Home Companion.
Although it includes Chandos and Mansel, as a first person narrative by another character it is not normally counted as one of the author's 'Chandos' books.

<i>Shoal Water</i> 1940 novel by Dornford Yates

Shoal Water is a 1940 novel by the English author Dornford Yates. It was first serialised in Blue Book between July and October 1940, as When The Devil Drives, with illustrations by Austin Briggs.

<i>Neer-Do-Well</i> 1954 detective novel by Dornford Yates

Ne'er-Do-Well is a 1954 detective novel by the English author Dornford Yates, his only work of the genre. Although Richard Chandos narrates, the book is not generally classified as a 'Chandos' title.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  2. ↑ Macdonald, Kate (2015). Novelists Against Social Change. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 226. ISBN   978-1137457714.
  3. ↑ Smithers 1982, p. 201.
  4. ↑ Smithers 1982, p. 202.

Bibliography


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