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Opening Night (Roderick Alleyn #16)
by
Ngaio Marsh
A classic Ngaio Marsh novel reissued in B-format.
Dreams of stardom had lured Martyn Tarne from faraway New Zealand to make the dreary, soul-destroying round of West End agents and managers in search of work. The Vulcan Theatre had been her last forlorn hope, and now, driven by sheer necessity, she was glad to accept the humble job of dresser to its leading lady.
And then ca...more
Dreams of stardom had lured Martyn Tarne from faraway New Zealand to make the dreary, soul-destroying round of West End agents and managers in search of work. The Vulcan Theatre had been her last forlorn hope, and now, driven by sheer necessity, she was glad to accept the humble job of dresser to its leading lady.
And then ca...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
August 20th 2001
by HarperCollins
(first published 1951)
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Originally published on my blog here in October 1998.
Opening Night, something of a return to form for Ngaio Marsh after a series of somewhat disappointing stories, is closely related to the short story I Can Find My Way Out, with which it shares a setting. Following the murder at the Dolphin Theatre which is the subject of the earlier story, it has lain empty for the best part of fifteen years. In the superstitious business of acting, nobody wanted to reopen such an unlucky theatre.
Eventually, i...more
Opening Night, something of a return to form for Ngaio Marsh after a series of somewhat disappointing stories, is closely related to the short story I Can Find My Way Out, with which it shares a setting. Following the murder at the Dolphin Theatre which is the subject of the earlier story, it has lain empty for the best part of fifteen years. In the superstitious business of acting, nobody wanted to reopen such an unlucky theatre.
Eventually, i...more
Pleasantly surprised at how entertaining "Night at the Vulcan" was. I was previously thoroughly underwelmed by "Light Thickens", my first of the Alleyn novels, but found myself quite enjoying this one.
Vulcan's strength partly lies in its protagonist, Martyn Tarne, who is interesting and sweet of nature, and therefore quite easy to like. It helps considerably when you can like and follow what the protagonist is saying and doing. The secondary characters, as well, are all very well fleshed out and...more
Vulcan's strength partly lies in its protagonist, Martyn Tarne, who is interesting and sweet of nature, and therefore quite easy to like. It helps considerably when you can like and follow what the protagonist is saying and doing. The secondary characters, as well, are all very well fleshed out and...more
Apr 23, 2012
rabbitprincess
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of Golden Age mysteries who like character best
Shelves:
bought-secondhand,
2012
* * * 1/2
Down-on-her-luck Martyn Tarne (yes, "Martyn" is a female name, which threw me off a bit until I figured it out) is applying for theatre work in England, having recently arrived from New Zealand. She's down to two shillings and a few-odd pence and is seriously considering sleeping in a homeless shelter for the night. However, luck is upon her when she arrives at the Vulcan Theatre: the dresser for the noted Helena Hamilton has been taken ill, so Martyn steps into the breach. But the thea...more
Down-on-her-luck Martyn Tarne (yes, "Martyn" is a female name, which threw me off a bit until I figured it out) is applying for theatre work in England, having recently arrived from New Zealand. She's down to two shillings and a few-odd pence and is seriously considering sleeping in a homeless shelter for the night. However, luck is upon her when she arrives at the Vulcan Theatre: the dresser for the noted Helena Hamilton has been taken ill, so Martyn steps into the breach. But the thea...more
The bulk of this book is not about the murder that justifies its inclusion within the Alleyn series but rather with the background against which the murder takes place. Unlike previous books I felt I understood who must be the murder not because of painstakingly distributed clues. Marsh paints her characters and interactions more carefully and more believably than in many of her books. The exception, in my opinion, is the portrait of the character to actually commits the murder. In that case eit...more
Martyn Tarne's trip to England to be an actress swiftly came acropper thanks to stolen traveller's cheques. Her search for employment has, for a fortnight, been a fruitless slog, and it is only when all other chances have come up blank that she heads for the theatre of her famous distant cousin, Actor-Director Adam Poole. But she's too late for the auditions, and near collapse from hunger and exhaustion.
Sheer luck gives her a chance to be not an actress but a dresser, and she's more than happy t...more
Sheer luck gives her a chance to be not an actress but a dresser, and she's more than happy t...more
Mar 31, 2013
Kathleen Hagen
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012-nonfiction,
2013-audio
Night at the Vulcan, by Ngaio Marsh, b-plus, Narrated by James Saxon, Produced by Audio Partners Publishing, downloaded from audible.com.
At the venerable Vulcan Theater, tensions are running
high on opening night. There are the usual problems, certainly: muffed lines, a late curtain, egos butting heads. But the show must go on! And it does,
then the entire production is upstaged when the leading man is found backstage, dead. Was it suicide or murder, Scotland Yard's inspector Roderick
Alleyn takes...more
At the venerable Vulcan Theater, tensions are running
high on opening night. There are the usual problems, certainly: muffed lines, a late curtain, egos butting heads. But the show must go on! And it does,
then the entire production is upstaged when the leading man is found backstage, dead. Was it suicide or murder, Scotland Yard's inspector Roderick
Alleyn takes...more
There's nothing like an old fashioned murder mystery! A good plot, and proper characters, who all have a motive. Just like the Ngaio Marsh I read last year, with this one it is a good way into the book before the murder happens. Before which in this story we have poor Martyn and her arrival at the Vulcan theatre, we learn something of her background and become fully emersed in her fortune's as they begin to unexpectedly change, when she is given the part of understudy to the supporting female ch...more
I believe this was the first Roderick Alleyn book I read, way back in the mists of time. I adored it then - not so much now. A starving young actress is hired as a dresser in a theatre with as many personality types as is usual; about halfway through there is an interesting-to-visualize murder, and Alleyn finally appears to solve it. Perhaps because I read this on audio, I didn't feel much sympathy for any of the characters, nor did I care for the small romance (although perhaps Marsh intended t...more
aka "Opening Night"
Opening Night (large print edition).
There is perhaps nothing that gives one so strong a sense of theatre from the inside as the sound of invisible players in action. The disembodied and remote voices, projected at an unseen mark, the uncanny quiet off-stage, the smells and the feeling that the walls and the dust listen, the sense of a simmering expectancy; all these together make a corporate life so that the theatre itself seems to breathe and pulse and give out a warmth. Thi...more
Opening Night (large print edition).
There is perhaps nothing that gives one so strong a sense of theatre from the inside as the sound of invisible players in action. The disembodied and remote voices, projected at an unseen mark, the uncanny quiet off-stage, the smells and the feeling that the walls and the dust listen, the sense of a simmering expectancy; all these together make a corporate life so that the theatre itself seems to breathe and pulse and give out a warmth. Thi...more
I like detectives. Not all of them by any means, but I like them. Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Lord Peter Wimsey, Inspector Grant, and most recently, Inspector Alleyn. Any new-to-me Alleyn mystery is a cause for rejoicing, the donning of a smoking jacket and the putting up of an 'occupied' sign on my (non-existent) study door. Lord Peter is perhaps my favorite but Alleyn comes close.
I'm not sure how many Alleyns I've read so far; my wild guess is about ten. They have, at this point, started to g...more
I'm not sure how many Alleyns I've read so far; my wild guess is about ten. They have, at this point, started to g...more
Ngaio Marsh is the filler in my reading list. enjoyable at the time, doomed to be completely forgotten.
I do find it unusual that the murder doesn't happen til halfway thru -- and thus you don't get the recurring character (the detective) showing up til then.
The characters all verge on annoying, even the one you're obviously supposed to sympathize with, but hey, it's set in a theatre, so that's what we call accuracy. ;-)
I do find it unusual that the murder doesn't happen til halfway thru -- and thus you don't get the recurring character (the detective) showing up til then.
The characters all verge on annoying, even the one you're obviously supposed to sympathize with, but hey, it's set in a theatre, so that's what we call accuracy. ;-)
I love the books by Ngaio Marsh that are set in the theatre, such as this one, Death at the Dolphin, Final Curtain and Light Thickens. She had a great love for the theatre and for Shakespeare - it really comes through in her work. And her detective, Roderick Alleyn is such a great character! Ngaio Marsh's books are still really readable and have stood the test of time surprisingly well.
While I didn't enjoy the romance as much on second reading, this is definitely one of my favourite Marsh books - she really shows her love and understanding of the theatre, and brings all the tensions and excitements of rehearsals to the page. The murder mystery itself is perhaps a little straightforward, but works well as the sum of all the undercurrents running backstage.
It's been awhile since I read an Inspector Alleyn mystery. This one fell into my lap quite accidentally and I am happy to say that I enjoyed the experience quite a bit. The characters are well drawn and the story is engaging. My only quibble is that the last third of the book could have been longer. It felt rushed to me.
This book is another of Marsh's forays into the world of theater and quite good. So much of the book is NOT about the murder, but about theater, and it's an interesting peek behind the scenes, and makes for a nifty who-dunnit when it finally happens...or more accurately, a how dunnit, I guess.
It has been years and years since I read Ngaio Marsh and now I am wondering why I waited so long to pick up another one of her books. A very interesting, character-centric story of the London theatre with murder as a side-note. This book is not just for mystery lovers.
Jan 27, 2013
Joy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
classic mystery lovers
After DEATH ON THE HIGH C'S, I went on to my favorite theatrical mystery. Young Australian actress Martyn Tarne, on her last legs looking for a job in London, is more lucky than she could expect when she falls into a job at the Vulcan. A dear character, she creates a separated viewpoint for readers to watch the company's triumphs and wrangles in a play written especially for them. Fascinating characters call me repeatedly back: Leading lady Helena Hamilton, producer Adam Poole, assistant Jacko,...more
view all 8 comments
Another classic murder mystery featuring Roderick Alleyn, Ngaio Marsh returns to one of her pet subjects - the theatre.
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
Gentleman detective, Inspector Alleyn probes a top actor's mysterious death.
Gentleman detective, Inspector Alleyn probes a top actor's mysterious death.
I like Marsh's theater mysteries. This one is more interesting for the theater setting and characters than for the mystery.
Night at the Vulcan (Roderick Alleyn Mysteries) by Ngaio Marsh (1998)
First of her books I'd ever read. It was a lot of fun.
long but good even if inevitable conclusion
Jul 13, 2012
Sarah von Allmen
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
crime-and-mystery,
vintage-crime
Also titled "Opening Night".
A good murder mystery.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Listened to as an unabridged audiobook. Charming story.
One of my favourite books. The protagonist (while perhaps a little too good to be true) effortlessly captures sympathy, and her journey is marvellously complemented by a full cast of rich and vivid characters.
May 07, 2013
Eddy Allen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction-and-westerns,
entertainment-sports
A London actor was dying for a star billing...
From the leading lady's liaison to the harassment of an aging juvenile lead-there's never a dull moment, darling, at the Vulcan Theatre. But vanity and hysterics, suspicion and superstition, brandy and jealousy, are upstaged by a death on opening night. Was it really suicide? Or a macabre encore to a long-ago murder in the same backstage room? Scotland Yard's cast of suspects for the final curtain.
From the leading lady's liaison to the harassment of an aging juvenile lead-there's never a dull moment, darling, at the Vulcan Theatre. But vanity and hysterics, suspicion and superstition, brandy and jealousy, are upstaged by a death on opening night. Was it really suicide? Or a macabre encore to a long-ago murder in the same backstage room? Scotland Yard's cast of suspects for the final curtain.
I have always loved Marsh and I think this is one of her best books. She knows the theater environment well and gives you the feeling of really being backstage. My only complaint would be that the actual mystery doesn't begin until half-way through, but the characters and their background development hold you interest through the first half.
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Dame Ngaio Marsh, born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900, but she was born in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.
Of all the "Great Ladies" of the English mystery's golden age, including Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh...more
More about Ngaio Marsh...
Of all the "Great Ladies" of the English mystery's golden age, including Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh...more
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