The Smiler With The Knife

A review of The Smiler with the Knife by Nicholas Blake – 231203

While taxonomically this is the fifth in Nicholas Blake’s Nigel Strangeways series, it really is his wife’s, Georgia’s story, and although published in 1939, it is a tale that is profoundly relevant today. Taking its title from a quotation from Chaucer’s The Knight’s tale – after all, Nicholas Blake is the pseudonym of the erudite poet, Cecil Day-Lewis – it tells of a Fascist plot to take over Britain. The relevance today is that the mastermind is a populist conservative who attempts to harness the frustrations of the working classes, think red wall, over a woeful government and who appeals to their deeply ingrained sense of patriotism and injustice.    

Blake’s choice of Georgia to play the central role is a masterstroke. As a famous explorer in her own right she has the public profile needed to infiltrate the ranks of the shadowy secret society, The English Banner. She has grit, determination, is unphased by the presence of danger, and her mission satisfies her psychological need for adventure. It is unusual to see such a strong female character. Nigel, a more self-effacing character, and his uncle, Sir John, head of C Branch at Scotland Yard, on the other hand, are content to pull the strings in the background.

This is a thriller rather than a conventional murder mystery although there more than enough bodies to satisfy the most bloodthirsty of readers. Blake cleverly evokes a dark, menacing atmosphere that makes each death more powerful and moving, enhancing the sense of danger that Georgia faces. Structurally, each chapter stands on its own, providing a new puzzle to solve or a new set of clues to assimilate. There are some novelties, including a dramatic escape from a store in the guise of a Father Christmas, and a clock-golf course that is more than just a game.

Georgia is not on her own and soon discovers that a leading cricketer, Peter Braithwaite, is someone whom she can trust. His demise is both tragic and emotionally charged. The eminence grise, Chilton Canteloe, is a finely drawn character and the more we learn about him, the more we realise how his persona and charms could potentially win over the British public. But it is not just a charm offensive, with arms stockpiled in strategic points throughout the country. An earthquake in Nottingham is caused by the sabotage of one of them.

The story starts innocuously enough with the Strangeways receiving a demand from the local council to put their hedges in order. While making a start they find a locket hidden there. Curious, Nigel determines to find out its significance and embarks upon a trail that leads to a neighbour who acts suspiciously, a local ghost, and a Fascist plot. The hedge makes a reappearance at the end of the story. Despite Georgia’s derring-do on behalf of her country the Council are still insistent that the damn hedge be sorted out. There’s gratitude for you.

I have one cavil about what is otherwise another fine addition to the canon of Nicholas Blake. In the first chapter he rather gives the game away but such is the power of his writing and the intense atmosphere that he has created that the reader quickly forgets that the ultimate safety of the leading protagonist is assured. I wonder why he did it. Perhaps it is a reflection of the fraught times in which he wrote and he needed to reassure his readers that those fighting the evils of Fascism will ultimately prevail.

Any one blasé about the perilous times we live in now would do well to read this book. Perhaps it should be part of the National Schools Curriculum. Now, there’s a thought.