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Roderick Alleyn #19
Death of a Fool
The village of South Mardian likes the old ways. The very old ways. This may be 1957, but South M. still features a blacksmith, a village idiot, and an elaborate fertility ritual performed at the winter solstice. There s squabbling, of course, and things come to a head (nyuck, nyuck, nyuck) when one of the ritual s main players is found be-headed, everything north of his neck having been neatly lopped off by a ritual sword. Alleyn does have to contain a certain incredulous amusement at South M. s fetishistic embrace of the 18th century he does not, for example, have what one might call a real passion for morris dancing but he contains the giggles long enough to name the baddie and return all to the warm embrace of pre-Industrial Britain."
281 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1957
219 people are currently reading
890 people want to read
About the author
Ngaio Marsh
223 books803 followersDame 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 alone survived to publish in the 1980s. Over a fifty-year span, from 1932 to 1982, Marsh wrote thirty-two classic English detective novels, which gained international acclaim. She did not always see herself as a writer, but first planned a career as a painter.
Marsh's first novel, A MAN LAY DEAD (1934), which she wrote in London in 1931-32, introduced the detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn: a combination of Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey and a realistically depicted police official at work. Throughout the 1930s Marsh painted occasionally, wrote plays for local repertory societies in New Zealand, and published detective novels. In 1937 Marsh went to England for a period. Before going back to her home country, she spent six months travelling about Europe.
All her novels feature British CID detective Roderick Alleyn. Several novels feature Marsh's other loves, the theatre and painting. A number are set around theatrical productions (Enter a Murderer, Vintage Murder, Overture to Death, Opening Night, Death at the Dolphin, and Light Thickens), and two others are about actors off stage (Final Curtain and False Scent). Her short story "'I Can Find My Way Out" is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier "Jupiter case" referred to in Opening Night. Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation (Artists in Crime), and who features in several later novels.
Series:
* Roderick Alleyn
Of all the "Great Ladies" of the English mystery's golden age, including Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh alone survived to publish in the 1980s. Over a fifty-year span, from 1932 to 1982, Marsh wrote thirty-two classic English detective novels, which gained international acclaim. She did not always see herself as a writer, but first planned a career as a painter.
Marsh's first novel, A MAN LAY DEAD (1934), which she wrote in London in 1931-32, introduced the detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn: a combination of Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey and a realistically depicted police official at work. Throughout the 1930s Marsh painted occasionally, wrote plays for local repertory societies in New Zealand, and published detective novels. In 1937 Marsh went to England for a period. Before going back to her home country, she spent six months travelling about Europe.
All her novels feature British CID detective Roderick Alleyn. Several novels feature Marsh's other loves, the theatre and painting. A number are set around theatrical productions (Enter a Murderer, Vintage Murder, Overture to Death, Opening Night, Death at the Dolphin, and Light Thickens), and two others are about actors off stage (Final Curtain and False Scent). Her short story "'I Can Find My Way Out" is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier "Jupiter case" referred to in Opening Night. Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation (Artists in Crime), and who features in several later novels.
Series:
* Roderick Alleyn
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 243 reviews
August 14, 2017
I am in the midst of a job change, therefore, not feeling up to reading anything heavy. Fortunately, I was able to pick up a few mysteries (the old-fashioned English ones where the murder takes place at a country mansion and everyone including the police treat it as a sort of intellectual puzzle, rather than the gory and gritty American police procedurals) to help me through this period.
Ngaio Marsh is one of those elderly English lady writers (well, she's a New Zealander, but English in spirit) for whom murder is the perfect afternoon cup of tea, like Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers and P. D. James. Her sleuth, Inspector Roderick Alleyn is however much more conventional than your usual eccentric detective: he also does not keep everything close to his chest until the final reveal. That said, he is a sharp individual, and his detection process is as engrossing as any of the others.
In the village of South Mardian, the "Dance of the Five Sons" is performed at winter solstice, a leftover from a pagan past. In this mumming play, the father - the fool - is beheaded by his sons and resurrected miraculously at the end, while a hobby horse called 'Crack' and a hermaphroditic figure named 'Betty' prance around. Here, the father is played by the village blacksmith William Andersen, popularly known as 'The Guiser' and the five sons are all played by his own sons. The Betty is the local clergyman's son Ralph Stein and Crack is Simon Begg, son of the grocer turned petrol-station owner. The village doctor Otterly plays the fiddle and the whole drama is enacted on the grounds of the Mardian Castle, in front of the redoubtable nonagenarian Dame Alice Mardian. To spice things up, there is also Camilla Campion, the pretty daughter of William Andersen's prodigal daughter and the love interest of Ralph, and Mrs. Bunz, the German immigrant folklorist who is an unwelcome intruder on the scene.
The dance goes on as planned until the very last scene, when the supposed resurrection does not take place. On closer examination, they find that the old man has really been decapitated.
Of course, it seems that almost everyone has a motive for murder. The prime suspect is Ernie, the Guiser's last son, who is "not quite right in the head": his dad has killed his old dog the previous day, and prevented him from enacting the coveted role of the fool by refusing to step aside. But then, Ralph also has a motive as the old man was dead against his marrying his granddaughter. His son Chris, in love with the pub owner's daughter Trixie also has a grouse against his father as he is against the match. And lastly, Simon Begg can also be added to the list of suspects because he wanted to convert the smithy into a garage-cum-service station, to which idea the sons are amenable but the blacksmith dead against.
Enter Roderick Alleyn...
------------------------------
As mysteries go, this is only average. I guessed half of it, but the way the murder happened was a surprise and on hindsight entirely logical and possible. But as I said earlier, it is indeed a pleasure to read these cosy whodunits: the writing is fluent and beautiful (the English of a bygone era - no four-letter words sprinkled about), the characters sympathetically and humorously portrayed and the story perfectly planned and rounded off.
Recommended for all classic mystery lovers.
Ngaio Marsh is one of those elderly English lady writers (well, she's a New Zealander, but English in spirit) for whom murder is the perfect afternoon cup of tea, like Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers and P. D. James. Her sleuth, Inspector Roderick Alleyn is however much more conventional than your usual eccentric detective: he also does not keep everything close to his chest until the final reveal. That said, he is a sharp individual, and his detection process is as engrossing as any of the others.
In the village of South Mardian, the "Dance of the Five Sons" is performed at winter solstice, a leftover from a pagan past. In this mumming play, the father - the fool - is beheaded by his sons and resurrected miraculously at the end, while a hobby horse called 'Crack' and a hermaphroditic figure named 'Betty' prance around. Here, the father is played by the village blacksmith William Andersen, popularly known as 'The Guiser' and the five sons are all played by his own sons. The Betty is the local clergyman's son Ralph Stein and Crack is Simon Begg, son of the grocer turned petrol-station owner. The village doctor Otterly plays the fiddle and the whole drama is enacted on the grounds of the Mardian Castle, in front of the redoubtable nonagenarian Dame Alice Mardian. To spice things up, there is also Camilla Campion, the pretty daughter of William Andersen's prodigal daughter and the love interest of Ralph, and Mrs. Bunz, the German immigrant folklorist who is an unwelcome intruder on the scene.
The dance goes on as planned until the very last scene, when the supposed resurrection does not take place. On closer examination, they find that the old man has really been decapitated.
Of course, it seems that almost everyone has a motive for murder. The prime suspect is Ernie, the Guiser's last son, who is "not quite right in the head": his dad has killed his old dog the previous day, and prevented him from enacting the coveted role of the fool by refusing to step aside. But then, Ralph also has a motive as the old man was dead against his marrying his granddaughter. His son Chris, in love with the pub owner's daughter Trixie also has a grouse against his father as he is against the match. And lastly, Simon Begg can also be added to the list of suspects because he wanted to convert the smithy into a garage-cum-service station, to which idea the sons are amenable but the blacksmith dead against.
Enter Roderick Alleyn...
------------------------------
As mysteries go, this is only average. I guessed half of it, but the way the murder happened was a surprise and on hindsight entirely logical and possible. But as I said earlier, it is indeed a pleasure to read these cosy whodunits: the writing is fluent and beautiful (the English of a bygone era - no four-letter words sprinkled about), the characters sympathetically and humorously portrayed and the story perfectly planned and rounded off.
Recommended for all classic mystery lovers.
November 11, 2021
In this 19th book in the 'Roderick Alleyn' series, the British detective investigates the death of a folk dancer. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
In the English village of South Mardian the winter solstice is marked by a complex ritual dance performed solely by men. This year, not long after WW II, the major participants in the dance are the local smithy and his four sons - who have a long ancestry in the area - a village doctor, a parson's son/lawyer, and a former army officer.
The story acted out in the dance is described as resembling 'King Lear' because it involves children (in this case sons) at odds with their old father. The superstitious ritual includes donning elaborate costumes and dancing, reciting, jingling, chasing girls, and brandishing swords.
Toward the latter part of the ritual one of the sons beheads the father, who sinks out of sight behind a boulder. Then, at the dramatic climax, the father is supposed to come back to life and jump up from behind the rock. This time, however, the father doesn't pop up. It turns out he's actually been beheaded.
The entire village is on hand to watch the ritual dance, including an overbearing dowager and her eccentric niece, a sexy barmaid, a pretty young acting student, etc. Also present is a German visitor - a woman who studies and writes about English folklore/folk dances. The lady is regarded with suspicion by some villagers, both because she's German and a woman.
When Detective Roderick Alleyn shows up to investigate the murder he asks each dance participant and a number of observers to describe - in excruciating detail - all aspects of the dance.
Every witness claims that no one went near the boulder shielding the old man between the time he was 'beheaded' in the dance and the time he was supposed to rise up again.
The questioning of witnesses takes up a large part of the book and is exceedingly repetitive and tedious. Moreover, since I didn't actually see the dance and am not familiar with British folk dancing, the descriptions were difficult to follow. And finally, when the murderer and modus operandi were exposed I couldn't picture it and it didn't make sense.
In the time covered by the story various other things are going on in South Mardian. There's a 'Romeo and Juliet' type romance (the relatives don't approve); the German woman acts peculiar and fears the police; there's pressure on a couple to marry (against their wishes) because they were seen canoodling in the forest (a product of those conservative times); the smithy and his sons have real life arguments; etc. The characters, however, are not well fleshed out and not terribly interesting.
This is not one of Ngaio Marsh's best books. It seems more like a book about British folk dancing than a mystery. I wouldn't recommend it.
You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/
May 22, 2023
An entertaining read. Morris dancing with a twist!
Annually in the depths of winter in a remote English village the Dance of the five sons is performed on Sword Wednesday during the Winter Solstice. It has been performed for hundreds of years. The key characters in the dance are "The Fool", "The Hobbyhorse" "and "The teaser" (called "Betty").
Mrs. Bunz, an eccentric German folklorist turns up at Mardian Castle wanting to witness the secretive annual folk dance. She is given short thrift by 94 year old Dame Alice an eccentric snobbish lady of the manor. The dance is performed by miserly and bad tempered William Andersen the local blacksmith with his five sons, Dan, Andy, Ned, Chris and slightly mad Ernie. During the dance, Andersen is found dead in gruesome circumstances.
Superintendent Alleyn arrives with the faithful Fox. There are a lot of motives. Tension between Ernie and his father over the playing of the fool and a dead dog. Beggs an ex RAF pilot running a failing business and wanting the Smithy for a new service station. Class snobbery between different families and the eccentric Mrs Buntz going to any lengths to discover the rest of the dance.
All in all a humorous and well crafted story with a good ending with the reconstruction of the dance and the role of the Hobby horse and Betty.
In the end the motive is money.
Annually in the depths of winter in a remote English village the Dance of the five sons is performed on Sword Wednesday during the Winter Solstice. It has been performed for hundreds of years. The key characters in the dance are "The Fool", "The Hobbyhorse" "and "The teaser" (called "Betty").
Mrs. Bunz, an eccentric German folklorist turns up at Mardian Castle wanting to witness the secretive annual folk dance. She is given short thrift by 94 year old Dame Alice an eccentric snobbish lady of the manor. The dance is performed by miserly and bad tempered William Andersen the local blacksmith with his five sons, Dan, Andy, Ned, Chris and slightly mad Ernie. During the dance, Andersen is found dead in gruesome circumstances.
Superintendent Alleyn arrives with the faithful Fox. There are a lot of motives. Tension between Ernie and his father over the playing of the fool and a dead dog. Beggs an ex RAF pilot running a failing business and wanting the Smithy for a new service station. Class snobbery between different families and the eccentric Mrs Buntz going to any lengths to discover the rest of the dance.
All in all a humorous and well crafted story with a good ending with the reconstruction of the dance and the role of the Hobby horse and Betty.
In the end the motive is money.
July 3, 2019
This is the nineteenth, Roderick Alleyn novel, in what is a slightly infuriating series. If any author could be called inconsistent – often brilliant, but too often banal, then Marsh is that author. Some of her mysteries are fantastic and there have been many that I have really enjoyed. However, this book, published in 1957, feels to be almost written by rote.
We have a small village, a winter solstice, and – bizarrely – morris dancing. Add a stereotypical German folk specialist, a pair of lovers with, of course, objections to their being together, a group of bizarre villagers, all with their allegiances, secrets,motives and customs, and then, of course, it all ends in murder.
So, we have a brief lead up the crime, then Alleyn, and Fox, question everyone, finishing in a recreation of events and the murderer is unearthed. All rather formulaic, but I will read on, as, sometimes, she could be brilliant…
We have a small village, a winter solstice, and – bizarrely – morris dancing. Add a stereotypical German folk specialist, a pair of lovers with, of course, objections to their being together, a group of bizarre villagers, all with their allegiances, secrets,motives and customs, and then, of course, it all ends in murder.
So, we have a brief lead up the crime, then Alleyn, and Fox, question everyone, finishing in a recreation of events and the murderer is unearthed. All rather formulaic, but I will read on, as, sometimes, she could be brilliant…
February 14, 2010
My favourite Ngaio Marsh story is the one that does not involve the theatre or New Zealand. Death of a Fool is set in a snowy English village holding out against the 20th century. It could easily be silly, but Ngaio Marsh is far too good a writer to slip into that error.
The story has a village smithy, a mediæval folk dance, eccentric gentry, a village natural, and an artsy German folklorist doing a wonderful imitation of the modern obsession with ethnicity. I am in awe of a New Zealander who could have written a classic murder mystery in such a setting and absolutely pulled it off.
The story has a village smithy, a mediæval folk dance, eccentric gentry, a village natural, and an artsy German folklorist doing a wonderful imitation of the modern obsession with ethnicity. I am in awe of a New Zealander who could have written a classic murder mystery in such a setting and absolutely pulled it off.
March 5, 2024
Set just after World War II, Marsh represents a rural village in England that still hangs on to the ways of the past....the long ago past. For centuries the village of South Maridan has celebrated the winter solstice with a Wednesday Sword Dance. Outsiders are not generally welcomed to the festivities which features the "Dance of the Five Sons" and revolves around the death and resurrection of the father figure (the Fool), played by William Anderson or the Guiser as he's known--the local black smith. The parts of the sons are taken by his own sons with two additional parts, "Crack" (who chases and tries to "tar" the young women) and the "Betty" (a teasing figure who also tries to woo the ladies), played by Simon Begg (ex-military son of the local grocer) and Ralph Stines (son of the local clergyman). But Mrs. Bunz, an eccentric German researcher of such ancient rites, comes rolling into the village and is determined to see all there is to see and makes a general nuisance of herself as William Anderson and his sons and friends rehearse for the big day.
Also in the mix is Dr. Otterly who plays the fiddle for the dance, Dame Alice Maridan who hosts the Sword Dance every year at Maridan Castle and also Ralph's aunt, Dulcie who is companion to Dame Alice, Trixie--a local barmaid, dalliance of Ralph's but planning to wed one of the blacksmith's sons though the old Guiser doesn't approve, and Camilla Campion--daughter of William Anderson's wayward daughter and serious love interest for Ralph. Camilla has recently come to South Maridan to see if she can patch things up with the grandfather who virtually disowned his daughter when she ran off to marry a "popish" man.
Ernie, the youngest son, has a run-in with his father just before the dance. The young man, who is a bit mentally handicapped, is quite attached to his mongrel of a dog. It's not explained exactly what is wrong with the animal, but his brothers and father all tell him that the dog should be put down. The Guiser finally does shoot the animal and this sends Ernie into a crying rage. He's also jealous of his father's central part in the Sword Dance. He's quite sure that he could dance the Fool even better than his father and is very put out that he must be the "Whiffler" (who whisks his sword back and forth in pantomime to clear the way for the revered Fool).
His brother Chris also has a dust-up with the Guiser in the days leading up to the dance. Chris is Trixie's intended, but the Guiser doesn't want to see his son wedded to such a girl. (The Guiser really is an awful snob all 'round.) And the brothers as a group are a bit put out with the old man over a scheme to sell the smithy--which really doesn't pay like it did in the days before automobiles--and start up a gas station/garage. They, of course, are in favor of a more profitable venture and he stubbornly refuses to give up the old ways.
And so comes the day of the dance. All goes well until the Fool is supposed to rise up from behind the rock where he has fallen after a mock beheading at the hands of his sons. When he doesn't get up on cue, the sons investigate only to find that William Anderson has actually been beheaded in truth. The local Superintendent and Sergeant of police were among those in the audience and everyone (including them) present--dancers and audience alike--are positive that no one came near the Guiser once he fell down, perfectly alive, behind the stone. So, how could he have been killed? Superintendent Carey and his Chief Constable have the good sense to realize that they need the help of the Yard...and the Yard has the good sense to send Inspector Roderick Alleyn to figure out the mystery of the impossible beheading.
Marsh always sets her scene well. The reader immediately gets the feel of the village from the moment Mrs. Bunz shows up in her little car--all eager to join in the festivities and completely missing that the chilly nature of her reception by the inhabitants has nothing to do with winter weather. The characters come to life and I definitely got the flavor of the dance and music performed for us all. I was slightly disappointed that I spotted the villain of the piece early on--but for the life of me I couldn't see how the thing was done, so I can't say the mystery was spoiled for me altogether. Really a quite interesting study of small village life in rural England.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Listened to audio version--finished 3/4/24. New review on my blog My Reader's Block.
Also in the mix is Dr. Otterly who plays the fiddle for the dance, Dame Alice Maridan who hosts the Sword Dance every year at Maridan Castle and also Ralph's aunt, Dulcie who is companion to Dame Alice, Trixie--a local barmaid, dalliance of Ralph's but planning to wed one of the blacksmith's sons though the old Guiser doesn't approve, and Camilla Campion--daughter of William Anderson's wayward daughter and serious love interest for Ralph. Camilla has recently come to South Maridan to see if she can patch things up with the grandfather who virtually disowned his daughter when she ran off to marry a "popish" man.
Ernie, the youngest son, has a run-in with his father just before the dance. The young man, who is a bit mentally handicapped, is quite attached to his mongrel of a dog. It's not explained exactly what is wrong with the animal, but his brothers and father all tell him that the dog should be put down. The Guiser finally does shoot the animal and this sends Ernie into a crying rage. He's also jealous of his father's central part in the Sword Dance. He's quite sure that he could dance the Fool even better than his father and is very put out that he must be the "Whiffler" (who whisks his sword back and forth in pantomime to clear the way for the revered Fool).
His brother Chris also has a dust-up with the Guiser in the days leading up to the dance. Chris is Trixie's intended, but the Guiser doesn't want to see his son wedded to such a girl. (The Guiser really is an awful snob all 'round.) And the brothers as a group are a bit put out with the old man over a scheme to sell the smithy--which really doesn't pay like it did in the days before automobiles--and start up a gas station/garage. They, of course, are in favor of a more profitable venture and he stubbornly refuses to give up the old ways.
And so comes the day of the dance. All goes well until the Fool is supposed to rise up from behind the rock where he has fallen after a mock beheading at the hands of his sons. When he doesn't get up on cue, the sons investigate only to find that William Anderson has actually been beheaded in truth. The local Superintendent and Sergeant of police were among those in the audience and everyone (including them) present--dancers and audience alike--are positive that no one came near the Guiser once he fell down, perfectly alive, behind the stone. So, how could he have been killed? Superintendent Carey and his Chief Constable have the good sense to realize that they need the help of the Yard...and the Yard has the good sense to send Inspector Roderick Alleyn to figure out the mystery of the impossible beheading.
Marsh always sets her scene well. The reader immediately gets the feel of the village from the moment Mrs. Bunz shows up in her little car--all eager to join in the festivities and completely missing that the chilly nature of her reception by the inhabitants has nothing to do with winter weather. The characters come to life and I definitely got the flavor of the dance and music performed for us all. I was slightly disappointed that I spotted the villain of the piece early on--but for the life of me I couldn't see how the thing was done, so I can't say the mystery was spoiled for me altogether. Really a quite interesting study of small village life in rural England.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Listened to audio version--finished 3/4/24. New review on my blog My Reader's Block.
February 18, 2014
Ngaio Marsh, in the second of her mysteries I have read, shows herself to be a master of human observation. Marsh combines that with the ability to describe her well drawn characters using humor and engaging them actions that hint at the psychology underneath.
The murder mystery is a perfect genre for someone able to portray the smallest ripples of emotion and perception. One of these characters is capable of murder. In this mystery she has her detective, Alleyn, say "Motive, I detest motive!" Often many people have a motive, but which one is off the rails enough to take a life?
In addition to her character skills Marsh sets this mystery deep in the rural north of England and we get to see what village life was truly like there not long after WWII. Great book!
The murder mystery is a perfect genre for someone able to portray the smallest ripples of emotion and perception. One of these characters is capable of murder. In this mystery she has her detective, Alleyn, say "Motive, I detest motive!" Often many people have a motive, but which one is off the rails enough to take a life?
In addition to her character skills Marsh sets this mystery deep in the rural north of England and we get to see what village life was truly like there not long after WWII. Great book!
July 2, 2019
Just ok (2 stars on my personal scale). I listened to this one on Audible and although Nadia May is usually a favorite narrator, the rural accents of some characters were almost unintelligible and the constant descriptions of folk dances didn’t make sense. I don’t know if reading the book would’ve helped me to make sense or be more interested!
I found it more interesting once the murder occurred during a performance of a folk dance, and Inspector Alleyn and crew arrived to investigate. Then i5 became rather obvious who the killer was, and I skimmed the last few chapters to the end. Some interesting characters, but this one really didn’t hold my interest.
I found it more interesting once the murder occurred during a performance of a folk dance, and Inspector Alleyn and crew arrived to investigate. Then i5 became rather obvious who the killer was, and I skimmed the last few chapters to the end. Some interesting characters, but this one really didn’t hold my interest.
February 4, 2021
B+:
Not usually a fan of reading colloquial language, but I didn't mind it here, as it really set the mood for this story of a folklore re-enactment in a rural village. The way that the murder is concealed is very clever, and I had guessed the wrong culprit. All-in-all, one of Marsh's stronger novels.
Not usually a fan of reading colloquial language, but I didn't mind it here, as it really set the mood for this story of a folklore re-enactment in a rural village. The way that the murder is concealed is very clever, and I had guessed the wrong culprit. All-in-all, one of Marsh's stronger novels.
July 5, 2010
At this point in my rereading of Marsh I realize that I am having trouble seeing the books as they were received when first written and published. This particular story bothered me particularly for a number of reasons:
First, Marsh's books continue to be painfully class ridden. Members of the gentry are well educated, speak standard English and either privately wealthy or hold down jobs as artists, lawyers or doctors. Members of the lower class are badly educated, speak painfully broad dialect and carry on the modern day equivalent of the jobs of their forebears. The books was published in 1956 and yet it reads as if it were a flashback to a time far earlier.
Second, one expects the murder mystery writer to use smoke and mirrors to distract the reader from the "truth" of whodunnit. What is not reasonable is that her detectives should be able to solve the crimes they are investigating in little time if it were not for the fact that they are constantly unwilling to do their actual work. In earlier books Alleyn felt uncomfortable requiring fingerprints from suspects and in later books he seems to feel uncomfortable actually asking questions. People don't answer questions. Police don't ask questions. Suspects are allowed to mill around and move things. In this particular case the SPOILER WARNING!!!!! murderer spends much of the book ordering those who witnessed the murder to shut up whenever they come close to spilling the truth--in front of police officers. The only way Marsh can account for the difficulty of solving the case is to have the local police officers act like bucolic yokels and the men from Scotland Yard to spend more of their time deferring to the gentry and feeling uncomfortable asking questions than doing the work they were called in do to.
Marsh does not limit her stereotyping to the gentry and the "peasants" either. The German woman in this book acts not like someone who has lived in England for years but rather as a recent refugee from the movie version of Nazi Germany. Marsh also throws in, for good measure, a rather nasty picture of the those who are 'inappropriately' interesting in British forkways. Appropriate interest is felt by members of the British gentry. Inappropriate interest is felt by foreigners who wear "different" clothes and speak with accents.
Throw in a thoroughly broad and uninformed picture of epilepsy and you have a book that seems to have been designed to reflect the biases and preconceptions of the fairly narrow demographic that made up Marsh's readership.
First, Marsh's books continue to be painfully class ridden. Members of the gentry are well educated, speak standard English and either privately wealthy or hold down jobs as artists, lawyers or doctors. Members of the lower class are badly educated, speak painfully broad dialect and carry on the modern day equivalent of the jobs of their forebears. The books was published in 1956 and yet it reads as if it were a flashback to a time far earlier.
Second, one expects the murder mystery writer to use smoke and mirrors to distract the reader from the "truth" of whodunnit. What is not reasonable is that her detectives should be able to solve the crimes they are investigating in little time if it were not for the fact that they are constantly unwilling to do their actual work. In earlier books Alleyn felt uncomfortable requiring fingerprints from suspects and in later books he seems to feel uncomfortable actually asking questions. People don't answer questions. Police don't ask questions. Suspects are allowed to mill around and move things. In this particular case the SPOILER WARNING!!!!! murderer spends much of the book ordering those who witnessed the murder to shut up whenever they come close to spilling the truth--in front of police officers. The only way Marsh can account for the difficulty of solving the case is to have the local police officers act like bucolic yokels and the men from Scotland Yard to spend more of their time deferring to the gentry and feeling uncomfortable asking questions than doing the work they were called in do to.
Marsh does not limit her stereotyping to the gentry and the "peasants" either. The German woman in this book acts not like someone who has lived in England for years but rather as a recent refugee from the movie version of Nazi Germany. Marsh also throws in, for good measure, a rather nasty picture of the those who are 'inappropriately' interesting in British forkways. Appropriate interest is felt by members of the British gentry. Inappropriate interest is felt by foreigners who wear "different" clothes and speak with accents.
Throw in a thoroughly broad and uninformed picture of epilepsy and you have a book that seems to have been designed to reflect the biases and preconceptions of the fairly narrow demographic that made up Marsh's readership.
February 22, 2013
Sigh, why can't I make the Goodreads website work so that the British version of the book is the one I can display.
'Off With His Head' is my version, a much better title too!
Marvellous plot this one, and a real puzzler when I read it first. The characters are a wondrous mix of the sweet and delightful, right up to the fantastic. You can tell, reading this, that Marsh was someone who loved the theatre. The plot reads like a play script, full of dramatic moments.
There are some lovely in-jokes, punning and the actual Mardian Morris of the Five Sons is a fabulous construction. Marsh is such an intelligent writer. And her dialogue is spot on. I wish the younger writers of historical novels would study her dialogue to learn how to effortlessly flow between rural working class, rural middle and upper middle classes and the so called 'old gentry' in the 1st half of the 20thC. She had a good ear and her dialogue never descends into artificial 'this is how a doctor/lord/servant should speak.
'Off With His Head' is my version, a much better title too!
Marvellous plot this one, and a real puzzler when I read it first. The characters are a wondrous mix of the sweet and delightful, right up to the fantastic. You can tell, reading this, that Marsh was someone who loved the theatre. The plot reads like a play script, full of dramatic moments.
There are some lovely in-jokes, punning and the actual Mardian Morris of the Five Sons is a fabulous construction. Marsh is such an intelligent writer. And her dialogue is spot on. I wish the younger writers of historical novels would study her dialogue to learn how to effortlessly flow between rural working class, rural middle and upper middle classes and the so called 'old gentry' in the 1st half of the 20thC. She had a good ear and her dialogue never descends into artificial 'this is how a doctor/lord/servant should speak.
February 21, 2017
I did feel obligated to read this book I had checked out, trying to give this author another opportunity to capture my admiration. The first stumbling block is the dialect of the blacksmith and family. The next major problem is the staging of ancient dance that is too complicated to explain. It seems to me that the play was the thing for Marsh, and for me the play and all the characters were annoying at best.
December 19, 2014
Part of the enjoyment of this book was not only the excellent descriptions but the historical information regarding some of the ancient English folk dances and traditions occurring around the Christmas seasoning. Marsh also presents material that would suggest that Shakespeare incorporated some of the folk themes in his "King Lear." Marsh's knowledge of theatre was also very helpful.
March 22, 2020
Set in 1950s Britain, an annual ritual dance held on the winter solstice. The winter solstice is nearing, and South Mardian is preparing for its local mummery play that the community has held on Sword Wednesday for centuries, passing along the music and dance.
Dame Alice Mardian is greatly displeased by the presence of an outsider, Mrs. Bunz, a folklore specialist, because the people of South Mardian want to keep things local. Dr. Otterly plays the fiddle for the dance, William Andersen, the local blacksmith known locally as “the Guiser,” plays the Fool, while his five sons (Dan, Andy, Nat, Chris, and Ernie, whose initials together spell “dance”) play the five sons of the dance. Ernie, who is “not quite right in the head,” has long wanted to play the Fool, and it seems he will get his wish when he produces a note from the Geiser, who has been sick, saying that he can’t go on. They all do the routine, which ends with a mock decapitation of the Fool by the swords of all five sons. When it comes time for the Fool to rise, Ernie laughs hysterically, “Blood for the stone!” They discover that not only is the Geiser dead, but he has been decapitated. Inspector Alleyn of Scotland Yard becomes involved as he unravels the mysteries of the eighteenth century ceremony.
I just love these old British mysteries.
Dame Alice Mardian is greatly displeased by the presence of an outsider, Mrs. Bunz, a folklore specialist, because the people of South Mardian want to keep things local. Dr. Otterly plays the fiddle for the dance, William Andersen, the local blacksmith known locally as “the Guiser,” plays the Fool, while his five sons (Dan, Andy, Nat, Chris, and Ernie, whose initials together spell “dance”) play the five sons of the dance. Ernie, who is “not quite right in the head,” has long wanted to play the Fool, and it seems he will get his wish when he produces a note from the Geiser, who has been sick, saying that he can’t go on. They all do the routine, which ends with a mock decapitation of the Fool by the swords of all five sons. When it comes time for the Fool to rise, Ernie laughs hysterically, “Blood for the stone!” They discover that not only is the Geiser dead, but he has been decapitated. Inspector Alleyn of Scotland Yard becomes involved as he unravels the mysteries of the eighteenth century ceremony.
I just love these old British mysteries.
October 24, 2022
Nineteenth in the Inspector Roderick Alleyn detective vintage mystery series and revolving around a group of five Morris dancers in a village in Kent. It was originally published in 1957.
Death of a Fool is also titled Off With His Head.
My Take
The main premise in Death of a Fool is the Morris dancing, and Marsh explains its different dances and the theme behind each. Marsh also makes use of dialect, which gives color to the Andersons. Lucky for us Marsh uses third person global subjective point-of-view allowing us an inside look on the thoughts and feelings of a number of characters.
It's amazing that people have stayed in place for so many centuries. Look at Otterly and his family for years back being doctors and playing the fiddle.
I really don't get why everyone says the ambitious Ernie is loony just because he has epilepsy. Okay, well, he is rather loony and gets quite emotional. But is it possible that he became loony because that's how people interpreted his epilepsy?
The Andersons are true to their time period— misogynistic and so anti-Roman Catholic that they preferred to banish Bessie than accept her falling in love — and marrying! — an RC. I do like that Camilla sticks up for her parents and herself, pointing out that it was the Andersens who were too snooty. It's rather scary that Marsh wrote this in the mid-1950s and this attitude was still in existence. Wait, why am I surprised? This attitude about religion was prevalent in my own family in the 1960s!
They're rather unfeeling as well, threatening to kill Ernie's dog. That Guiser is a cold, unfeeling man. Dame Alice is nutty with a bad memory and a firm belief in class separation. Dulcie is not all there either, and it could be due to inbreeding or that kick in the head from a horse twenty years ago. Thinking she's flirting with Alleyn, you can definitely tell she's off.
Otterly thinks the Morris dance theme is the same as that of King Lear. Mrs Bünz thinks all's fair in taking notes on the Morris dancers, even if she does have to spy on them. She does make the point that the Mardian dancers are the richest example in England.
Everything in Death of a Fool revolves around the Morris dancers with additional conflicts including the Andersons' anger at their Bessie, unsure about their granddaughter/niece Camilla, Camilla's own questions about marrying Ralph, and the argument between the Old Guiser and his sons who want to add on a garage and petrol pumps to the smithy.
Lol, I had to laugh at the rector noting that the funds raised from this pagan dance were going to the belfry roof.
I really don't understand Camilla's reluctance to marry Ralph. And she makes me nuts with her back-and-forth. Another weird bit is Otterly's reaction to the McNaughton Rules. I should have thought he'd be pro the Rules?? Ya gotta love Trixie, Thompson is certainly interested, lol.
Per usual, Alleyn begins to explain his thoughts on how the crime happened, but then Marsh leaps to finish his explanation without giving us his thoughts. On the other end of the policeman's duty is Sergeant Obby charged with watching over the Andersen brothers who keep trying to get Obby to leave them alone. Another interesting bit of police-fear is Mrs Bünz with the fears she brought along from Nazi Germany.
Aww, there's a sweet bit of back history relating a bit about Camilla's father and how he met Bess Andersen.
Death of a Fool is primarily character-driven with some fantastical action and those historical notes about Morris dancing. The pace was reasonable with bits of humor and honesty. The ending was a shocker. All that dancing around the obvious suspects . . .
That's our Alleyn, impressing people everywhere. And running into local coppers who don't follow the "rules". You'll laugh at those dinners Dame Alice puts on . . . at least the wine is superb.
The Story
At the winter solstice, South Mardian's swordsmen weave their blades in an ancient ritual dance. But for one of them, the excitement proves too heady, and his decapitation turns the fertility rite into a pageant of death. Now Inspector Roderick Alleyn must penetrate not only the mysteries of folklore, but the secrets and sins of an eccentric group who include a surly blacksmith, a domineering dowager, and a not-so-simple village idiot.
The Characters
Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn is in CID at Scotland Yard. His team includes Inspector Fox, a.k.a. Brer Fox; Sergeants Bailey and Thompson, fingerprints and photography, respectively; and, Curtis is the police surgeon. The local superintendent is Yeo Carey stationed in Yowford. His men include Sergeant Bob Obby, PC Carey, and Sergeant Yardley.
Anna Bünz is a German immigrant, who is fascinated by British folklore, especially of Morris dancers / Hobby Horses, and she's vice-president of the Friends of British Folklore, Guild of Ancient Customs, The Hobby Horses.
Mardian Castle is . . .
. . . mostly a ruin with the renovated bit lived in by Dame Alice Mardian, a.k.a. Aunt Akky, and her great-niece, Dulcie. The thirty-year-old Ralph Stayne, a lawyer in Biddlefast with Messrs Stayne and Stayne, is Dame Alice's great-great nephew and the local parson's son. Sam Stayne is the local rector who had fallen in love with Dulcie's older sister — despised by Dame Alice because he isn't interested in riding to hounds. JNO McGlashan is the aging gardener. The elderly parlormaid gossips with Trixie. Ambrose Hilary Mardian wrote a journal in 1798.
William Anderson, a.k.a. Old Guiser, at the Copse Smithy/Forge, is the blacksmith. He's also a tyrant, a snob, and a hypocrite. His sons include Daniel, the oldest; Chris has a mechanic's ticket and had been a commando in the war; Andy and Nat, the twins, are farmers; and, the loony, epileptic Ernest who treasures his dog, Keeper. They're all Chapel. Bill is Daniel's son. Or he could be Andrew's youngest. Marsh isn't sure.
The Green Man is a local pub in South Mardian where the easy-going Trixie Plowman serves. Her father, Tom Plowman, owns the pub. A fellow guest is the eighteen-year-old Camilla Campion, a drama student in love with Ralph. She's also the Old Guiser's granddaughter, estranged due to her mother's, Bessie's, marriage to a, gasp, Roman Catholic and a baronet, Sir Camillo Campion, who's an authority on Italian primitives.
Wing Commander Simon Begg, a.k.a. Simmy-Dick, was a bomber pilot and hero in the war, and now he runs a service station in Yowford. He asked for Ernie as his batman, a corporal, during the war. Begg's father used to run the grocer's in the village, Beggs for Everything. Dr Henry Otterly delivered Camilla's mama. Mary Yeoville is in labor.
The Mardian Mawris Dance of the Five Sons
A male-only group, they perform at the Winter Solstice party, a.k.a. Sword Wednesday. The Old Guiser, "The Disguised One", is the Fool/Old Man. Ralph is the Betty, a hermaphrodite. Ernie is the Whiffler. Begg is Crack, the Old 'Oss, the Hobby Horse. He "inherited the role from another Begg who was killed in the raids. Otterly has played fiddle for thirty years. The organist is the village postman.
Loony, Lord Rekkage, now deceased, founded the Build of Ancient Customs. Old Moley Moon is a poacher.
Three hundred years ago, Betsey Andersen was burned for a witch — and that's the first capital crime in the area. The McNaughton Rules are about a person who is insane at the time of the crime being not guilty with a discretionary sentence. Old Yeo Anderson at Copse Forge had been a morris dancer in 1798.
The Cover and Title
The cover is primarily lime green. It's a darker lime that gradates to lime in the lower center of the upper half. The title is a deep lime green gradating up to white. The stretched out banner is a pale green with the author's name in its usual art deco font and filled in with solid black, black lines, and a glow of white around the whole. In the bottom half, the usual one-sided scalloped rays spread out in an angle from the bottom to the sides. The scallops are in white with the ground between each of the four lines gradating from the deep lime green to bright lime. The bottom center graphic has a gradated background of deep red to a dull red. The engraved silver hilt of a sword is prominent with the blade sliding off at the bottom. I'm guessing they chose this highly decorated hilt because it's not as "sexy" as the wooden handle of the slasher. There's a banner that arches across the bottom with the series info in a deep lime green.
The title is accurate, if metaphorical, hmmm . . . maybe not . . . of the Death of a Fool.
Death of a Fool is also titled Off With His Head.
My Take
The main premise in Death of a Fool is the Morris dancing, and Marsh explains its different dances and the theme behind each. Marsh also makes use of dialect, which gives color to the Andersons. Lucky for us Marsh uses third person global subjective point-of-view allowing us an inside look on the thoughts and feelings of a number of characters.
It's amazing that people have stayed in place for so many centuries. Look at Otterly and his family for years back being doctors and playing the fiddle.
I really don't get why everyone says the ambitious Ernie is loony just because he has epilepsy. Okay, well, he is rather loony and gets quite emotional. But is it possible that he became loony because that's how people interpreted his epilepsy?
The Andersons are true to their time period— misogynistic and so anti-Roman Catholic that they preferred to banish Bessie than accept her falling in love — and marrying! — an RC. I do like that Camilla sticks up for her parents and herself, pointing out that it was the Andersens who were too snooty. It's rather scary that Marsh wrote this in the mid-1950s and this attitude was still in existence. Wait, why am I surprised? This attitude about religion was prevalent in my own family in the 1960s!
They're rather unfeeling as well, threatening to kill Ernie's dog. That Guiser is a cold, unfeeling man. Dame Alice is nutty with a bad memory and a firm belief in class separation. Dulcie is not all there either, and it could be due to inbreeding or that kick in the head from a horse twenty years ago. Thinking she's flirting with Alleyn, you can definitely tell she's off.
Otterly thinks the Morris dance theme is the same as that of King Lear. Mrs Bünz thinks all's fair in taking notes on the Morris dancers, even if she does have to spy on them. She does make the point that the Mardian dancers are the richest example in England.
Everything in Death of a Fool revolves around the Morris dancers with additional conflicts including the Andersons' anger at their Bessie, unsure about their granddaughter/niece Camilla, Camilla's own questions about marrying Ralph, and the argument between the Old Guiser and his sons who want to add on a garage and petrol pumps to the smithy.
Lol, I had to laugh at the rector noting that the funds raised from this pagan dance were going to the belfry roof.
I really don't understand Camilla's reluctance to marry Ralph. And she makes me nuts with her back-and-forth. Another weird bit is Otterly's reaction to the McNaughton Rules. I should have thought he'd be pro the Rules?? Ya gotta love Trixie, Thompson is certainly interested, lol.
Per usual, Alleyn begins to explain his thoughts on how the crime happened, but then Marsh leaps to finish his explanation without giving us his thoughts. On the other end of the policeman's duty is Sergeant Obby charged with watching over the Andersen brothers who keep trying to get Obby to leave them alone. Another interesting bit of police-fear is Mrs Bünz with the fears she brought along from Nazi Germany.
Aww, there's a sweet bit of back history relating a bit about Camilla's father and how he met Bess Andersen.
Death of a Fool is primarily character-driven with some fantastical action and those historical notes about Morris dancing. The pace was reasonable with bits of humor and honesty. The ending was a shocker. All that dancing around the obvious suspects . . .
That's our Alleyn, impressing people everywhere. And running into local coppers who don't follow the "rules". You'll laugh at those dinners Dame Alice puts on . . . at least the wine is superb.
The Story
At the winter solstice, South Mardian's swordsmen weave their blades in an ancient ritual dance. But for one of them, the excitement proves too heady, and his decapitation turns the fertility rite into a pageant of death. Now Inspector Roderick Alleyn must penetrate not only the mysteries of folklore, but the secrets and sins of an eccentric group who include a surly blacksmith, a domineering dowager, and a not-so-simple village idiot.
The Characters
Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn is in CID at Scotland Yard. His team includes Inspector Fox, a.k.a. Brer Fox; Sergeants Bailey and Thompson, fingerprints and photography, respectively; and, Curtis is the police surgeon. The local superintendent is Yeo Carey stationed in Yowford. His men include Sergeant Bob Obby, PC Carey, and Sergeant Yardley.
Anna Bünz is a German immigrant, who is fascinated by British folklore, especially of Morris dancers / Hobby Horses, and she's vice-president of the Friends of British Folklore, Guild of Ancient Customs, The Hobby Horses.
Mardian Castle is . . .
. . . mostly a ruin with the renovated bit lived in by Dame Alice Mardian, a.k.a. Aunt Akky, and her great-niece, Dulcie. The thirty-year-old Ralph Stayne, a lawyer in Biddlefast with Messrs Stayne and Stayne, is Dame Alice's great-great nephew and the local parson's son. Sam Stayne is the local rector who had fallen in love with Dulcie's older sister — despised by Dame Alice because he isn't interested in riding to hounds. JNO McGlashan is the aging gardener. The elderly parlormaid gossips with Trixie. Ambrose Hilary Mardian wrote a journal in 1798.
William Anderson, a.k.a. Old Guiser, at the Copse Smithy/Forge, is the blacksmith. He's also a tyrant, a snob, and a hypocrite. His sons include Daniel, the oldest; Chris has a mechanic's ticket and had been a commando in the war; Andy and Nat, the twins, are farmers; and, the loony, epileptic Ernest who treasures his dog, Keeper. They're all Chapel. Bill is Daniel's son. Or he could be Andrew's youngest. Marsh isn't sure.
The Green Man is a local pub in South Mardian where the easy-going Trixie Plowman serves. Her father, Tom Plowman, owns the pub. A fellow guest is the eighteen-year-old Camilla Campion, a drama student in love with Ralph. She's also the Old Guiser's granddaughter, estranged due to her mother's, Bessie's, marriage to a, gasp, Roman Catholic and a baronet, Sir Camillo Campion, who's an authority on Italian primitives.
Wing Commander Simon Begg, a.k.a. Simmy-Dick, was a bomber pilot and hero in the war, and now he runs a service station in Yowford. He asked for Ernie as his batman, a corporal, during the war. Begg's father used to run the grocer's in the village, Beggs for Everything. Dr Henry Otterly delivered Camilla's mama. Mary Yeoville is in labor.
The Mardian Mawris Dance of the Five Sons
A male-only group, they perform at the Winter Solstice party, a.k.a. Sword Wednesday. The Old Guiser, "The Disguised One", is the Fool/Old Man. Ralph is the Betty, a hermaphrodite. Ernie is the Whiffler. Begg is Crack, the Old 'Oss, the Hobby Horse. He "inherited the role from another Begg who was killed in the raids. Otterly has played fiddle for thirty years. The organist is the village postman.
Loony, Lord Rekkage, now deceased, founded the Build of Ancient Customs. Old Moley Moon is a poacher.
Three hundred years ago, Betsey Andersen was burned for a witch — and that's the first capital crime in the area. The McNaughton Rules are about a person who is insane at the time of the crime being not guilty with a discretionary sentence. Old Yeo Anderson at Copse Forge had been a morris dancer in 1798.
The Cover and Title
The cover is primarily lime green. It's a darker lime that gradates to lime in the lower center of the upper half. The title is a deep lime green gradating up to white. The stretched out banner is a pale green with the author's name in its usual art deco font and filled in with solid black, black lines, and a glow of white around the whole. In the bottom half, the usual one-sided scalloped rays spread out in an angle from the bottom to the sides. The scallops are in white with the ground between each of the four lines gradating from the deep lime green to bright lime. The bottom center graphic has a gradated background of deep red to a dull red. The engraved silver hilt of a sword is prominent with the blade sliding off at the bottom. I'm guessing they chose this highly decorated hilt because it's not as "sexy" as the wooden handle of the slasher. There's a banner that arches across the bottom with the series info in a deep lime green.
The title is accurate, if metaphorical, hmmm . . . maybe not . . . of the Death of a Fool.
January 6, 2017
First book of 2017!
This one is fairly solid. I like the location - rural English village. And the Morris dancing stuff is interesting. Don't think I've read it before. And the dialect being written out helped rather than hindered, which is something of a feat. Solid addition to the series.
And because I'm apparently giving this a try again this year (until I get distracted and forget about it, I'd imagine) - 2017 Reading Challenge: A book by an author from a country you've never visited (New Zealand)
This one is fairly solid. I like the location - rural English village. And the Morris dancing stuff is interesting. Don't think I've read it before. And the dialect being written out helped rather than hindered, which is something of a feat. Solid addition to the series.
And because I'm apparently giving this a try again this year (until I get distracted and forget about it, I'd imagine) - 2017 Reading Challenge: A book by an author from a country you've never visited (New Zealand)
June 22, 2016
Set in 1950s Britain, an annual ritual dance held on the winter solstice. When one of the principle participants is beheaded, Inspector Alleyn of Scotland Yard becomes involved as he unravels the mysteries of the eighteenth century ceremony.
January 2, 2017
This was a reread. I remembered the basics, but not all the details. Actually, I was impressed what a strong impression some parts left, while other parts I remembered as being completely different.
A good Ngaio Marsh, but not her best.
A good Ngaio Marsh, but not her best.
Read
October 16, 2024As an American, I had to concentrate too hard to understand the audio version of this book, especially when the British narrator also tried to add Ms. Bunz's accent. I gave up after listening to less than 1 hour.
January 6, 2021
Another clever and entertaining read from the Detective Alleyn series. The setting is another small English village, and this time it's a traditional dance immersed in pagan symbolism, from fertility rites to death and rebirth. The dance takes place annually during the winter solstice and involves eight men in elaborate yet primitive costumes, each taking a role, some more desirable than others. At the heart of everything is the local blacksmith who serves as village patriarch, and his five sons who each bear a sword during a complicated dance involving a choreographed ritual beheading and then an eventual rebirth. Only this time things turn garishly real.
The characters were for the most part complex and layered. There's the village matriarch who lives in the rebuilt remains of a burned down castle, more death and rebirth imagery if you will. She's the local nobility and the dance takes place on her land, hers being the front row seat, a spry and determined woman even at 94. Sitting beside her for the bloody spectacle are her great-niece Dulcie, a docile and devoted heir verging on spinsterhood yet convinced that every man is not so secretly contriving to compromise her chastity, and the local Rector, another generation in a long lineage of the village hierarchy and history.
Then the rest of the village attends en masse along the fields, including the local pub/innkeeper and his daughter, and a local woman with German origins who has a fanatical interest in ancient customs and rites. She's gotten wind of the Mardian Morris Dance of the Five Sons and persists with a fervent passion in inserting herself in the most uncomfortable manner. Essentially, she's a busybody who doesn't take no for an answer and makes herself most unwelcome.
There's also a village man, son of a shopkeeper, who made a name for himself during the war in the RAF and has found the re-entry to civilian life difficult in terms of lowered status/recognition and in making ends meet. There's the rector's son, now a barrister in the city, who loyally comes home regularly and participates in the winter solstice dance, but rebelliously seems disinclined to follow the rectors and the village matriarch's marital suggestions. And then to complicate matters there's the long lost granddaughter of the blacksmith, returned to endear herself to her estranged country folk. She's young, attractive, and charming to boot.
And at the center of it all the blacksmith, the village patriarch, a man of little words but passionate, often violent ones when he does erupt and is moved to speech. He's as much feared as he is respected and makes many enemies in the village, even at home among his sons. He rules with an iron fist and is tight fisted at that, hanging on to all his funds and his vitality well into his 90s with sons eager and impatient at this point to make a living and a name for themselves.
The tensions and personality conflicts all come to a head, pun intended, at the pinnacle of the winter solstice dance. It's up to Alleyn to discover the murderer, with some delightful insights about traditional rituals and ancient folklore along the way.
The characters were for the most part complex and layered. There's the village matriarch who lives in the rebuilt remains of a burned down castle, more death and rebirth imagery if you will. She's the local nobility and the dance takes place on her land, hers being the front row seat, a spry and determined woman even at 94. Sitting beside her for the bloody spectacle are her great-niece Dulcie, a docile and devoted heir verging on spinsterhood yet convinced that every man is not so secretly contriving to compromise her chastity, and the local Rector, another generation in a long lineage of the village hierarchy and history.
Then the rest of the village attends en masse along the fields, including the local pub/innkeeper and his daughter, and a local woman with German origins who has a fanatical interest in ancient customs and rites. She's gotten wind of the Mardian Morris Dance of the Five Sons and persists with a fervent passion in inserting herself in the most uncomfortable manner. Essentially, she's a busybody who doesn't take no for an answer and makes herself most unwelcome.
There's also a village man, son of a shopkeeper, who made a name for himself during the war in the RAF and has found the re-entry to civilian life difficult in terms of lowered status/recognition and in making ends meet. There's the rector's son, now a barrister in the city, who loyally comes home regularly and participates in the winter solstice dance, but rebelliously seems disinclined to follow the rectors and the village matriarch's marital suggestions. And then to complicate matters there's the long lost granddaughter of the blacksmith, returned to endear herself to her estranged country folk. She's young, attractive, and charming to boot.
And at the center of it all the blacksmith, the village patriarch, a man of little words but passionate, often violent ones when he does erupt and is moved to speech. He's as much feared as he is respected and makes many enemies in the village, even at home among his sons. He rules with an iron fist and is tight fisted at that, hanging on to all his funds and his vitality well into his 90s with sons eager and impatient at this point to make a living and a name for themselves.
The tensions and personality conflicts all come to a head, pun intended, at the pinnacle of the winter solstice dance. It's up to Alleyn to discover the murderer, with some delightful insights about traditional rituals and ancient folklore along the way.
March 8, 2020
My least favorite Marsh book so far. Just all indecipherable accents and unsympathetic characters with the backdrop of a cryptic occasion called a mummer. What is a mummer, you ask?
Good question. Marsh opens her book with a short forward blurb reading, "To anyone with the smallest knowledge of folklore it will be obvious that the Dance of the Five Sons is a purely imaginary synthesis combining in the most unlikely profusion the elements of several dances and mumming plays."
Well, crap. I don't have the smallest knowledge of folklore. So off to Google I go.
Mummer plays are performed by amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers (because there is little or no dialogue, therefore they are mute or mum) or guisers (because they are in dis-guise). Sometimes the plays include a sword dance. Characters can include a fool in cap and bells and a man dressed in woman’s clothes. It is likely that the basic story of death and resurrection was grafted onto an older pagan ritual.
So there you go. The premise of this book is a small town packed with rather disagreeable characters (Marsh compares one family of men to draft horses in harness snorting and stamping) most speaking in dialect that, damn my American ears and eyes, was incomprehensible so I never quite knew what was going on because I had no idea what anyone was saying. I needed subtitles. For a book.
The mummer play was described clearly enough, in language I am mostly fluent in, but I still had a hard time understanding the set and stage layout (this is not Marsh's fault; this is one of my failings as a reader--I need maps and diagrams because I can't construct places very well in my head) so I struggled with clarity here, too.
Therefore, for most of the book, I was simply lost.
And that would have been fine if I was enjoying my time with the characters, usually one of my prime reasons for finding Marsh books a pleasant diversion. But these characters were awful. Simply awful. Even the ingenue character designed to be sympathetic was annoying.
So ugh.
Yet even within this mess, Marsh has a knack for capturing people, no matter how unattractive they were to me as a reader; "Mrs. Bunz was the lady who sits near the front at lectures and always asks questions. She has an enthusiasm for obscure musicians, stands nearest to guides, keeps handicraft shops of the better class and reads Rabindranath Tagore. She weaves, forms circles, give talks, hand-throws pots and designs book-plates. She is sometimes a vegetarian, though not always a crank. Occasionally, she is an expert."
Brilliant.
Good question. Marsh opens her book with a short forward blurb reading, "To anyone with the smallest knowledge of folklore it will be obvious that the Dance of the Five Sons is a purely imaginary synthesis combining in the most unlikely profusion the elements of several dances and mumming plays."
Well, crap. I don't have the smallest knowledge of folklore. So off to Google I go.
Mummer plays are performed by amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers (because there is little or no dialogue, therefore they are mute or mum) or guisers (because they are in dis-guise). Sometimes the plays include a sword dance. Characters can include a fool in cap and bells and a man dressed in woman’s clothes. It is likely that the basic story of death and resurrection was grafted onto an older pagan ritual.
So there you go. The premise of this book is a small town packed with rather disagreeable characters (Marsh compares one family of men to draft horses in harness snorting and stamping) most speaking in dialect that, damn my American ears and eyes, was incomprehensible so I never quite knew what was going on because I had no idea what anyone was saying. I needed subtitles. For a book.
The mummer play was described clearly enough, in language I am mostly fluent in, but I still had a hard time understanding the set and stage layout (this is not Marsh's fault; this is one of my failings as a reader--I need maps and diagrams because I can't construct places very well in my head) so I struggled with clarity here, too.
Therefore, for most of the book, I was simply lost.
And that would have been fine if I was enjoying my time with the characters, usually one of my prime reasons for finding Marsh books a pleasant diversion. But these characters were awful. Simply awful. Even the ingenue character designed to be sympathetic was annoying.
So ugh.
Yet even within this mess, Marsh has a knack for capturing people, no matter how unattractive they were to me as a reader; "Mrs. Bunz was the lady who sits near the front at lectures and always asks questions. She has an enthusiasm for obscure musicians, stands nearest to guides, keeps handicraft shops of the better class and reads Rabindranath Tagore. She weaves, forms circles, give talks, hand-throws pots and designs book-plates. She is sometimes a vegetarian, though not always a crank. Occasionally, she is an expert."
Brilliant.
March 6, 2018
The winter solstice is nearing, and South Mardian is preparing for its local mummery play that the community has held on Sword Wednesday for centuries, passing along the music and dance orally for the Dance of the Five Sons in Death of a Fool by Ngaio Marsh. Dame Alice Mardian is greatly displeased by the presence of an outsider, Mrs. Bunz, a folklore specialist, because the people of South Mardian want to keep things local. As Dr. Otterly plays the fiddle for the dance, William Andersen, the local blacksmith known locally as “the Guiser,” plays the Fool, while his five sons (Dan, Andy, Nat, Chris, and Ernie, whose initials together spell “dance”) play the five sons of the dance. Ernie, who is “not quite right in the head,” has long wanted to play the Fool, and it seems he will get his wish when he produces a note from the Geiser, who has been sick, saying that he can’t go on. They all do the routine, which ends with a mock decapitation of the Fool by the swords of all five sons. When it comes time for the Fool to rise, Ernie laughs hysterically, “Blood for the stone!” They discover that not only is the Geiser dead, but he has been decapitated!
Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation
Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation
March 25, 2021
3.5 stars. A bit of a typical post-war Marsh, set in an small English village around the events of a local folk dance, with a frankly pretty brutal murder!
There’s all the usual Marsh ingredients - well developed, interesting characters, wintery atmosphere and a plot that keeps you guessing. Somehow though it felt a bit run-of-the-mill. It’s a bit on the long side for a Marsh book, and to be honest, for me, it could have been a bit shorter.
The nature of the gentry has clearly changed for Marsh since her early books, as it did for English society. No longer are the upper classes untouchable, no longer does she focus on (or even mention) Alleyn’s upper class roots. The fading aristocracy is a bit of a trope for her in these later books, and in this one she captures the death pangs of a once proud family well - in-breeding and all.
In many ways Marsh’s exploration of the nature of what a changing England is more interesting than the murder and plot in this book. She expertly juxtaposes ancient rituals, class divides and dying village life with the coming of main roads, service stations and science.
It’s a good read, a bit long, a bit ‘template Marsh’ but fantastically written as always.
There’s all the usual Marsh ingredients - well developed, interesting characters, wintery atmosphere and a plot that keeps you guessing. Somehow though it felt a bit run-of-the-mill. It’s a bit on the long side for a Marsh book, and to be honest, for me, it could have been a bit shorter.
The nature of the gentry has clearly changed for Marsh since her early books, as it did for English society. No longer are the upper classes untouchable, no longer does she focus on (or even mention) Alleyn’s upper class roots. The fading aristocracy is a bit of a trope for her in these later books, and in this one she captures the death pangs of a once proud family well - in-breeding and all.
In many ways Marsh’s exploration of the nature of what a changing England is more interesting than the murder and plot in this book. She expertly juxtaposes ancient rituals, class divides and dying village life with the coming of main roads, service stations and science.
It’s a good read, a bit long, a bit ‘template Marsh’ but fantastically written as always.
August 5, 2022
I think this is my first time reading this author, as august a writer as she is held...I think I will give her one more try, starting earlier in the series when it doesn't feel as 'phoned in' as it did to me. And maybe it was written in a time when it was fine to continue to use the same word over and over for someone saying something in a loud voice. Maybe no Thesaurus were available or the editor was resting on the author's laurels.
The story was decent, a bit convoluted for me but someone else might like it.
The story was decent, a bit convoluted for me but someone else might like it.
October 2, 2021
What a bizarre set of characters doing bizarre things! Sword dances, someone in a horse outfit tarring women, another costumed figure who can lift his whole costume up and swallowed a girl, a strange German lady, and of course 2 star struck lovers whose families are against them. I actually googled the 2 dances that this dance was a combination of.
Oh, and a decapitation. I loved the 2 old ladies! Of course Alleyn comes riding in to solve it all!
Oh, and a decapitation. I loved the 2 old ladies! Of course Alleyn comes riding in to solve it all!
May 19, 2024
Aside from the fact that I just don’t think this book was interesting, the author decided to swap the words “exclaimed”, “shouted”, “yelled” or something similar with the word “ejaculated” — over and over and over. Yes, I know it’s technically the definition (after the normal use of the word) and that must be so clever of the author to let us know (over and over and over) that there are many uses for the word “ejaculate”. Soooooooo annoying……
May 19, 2024
I liked this a lot. The business about the Morris dancers is fascinating. There's a much later Merrily Watkins novel by Rickman that draws on similar lore,and Ronald Hutton's scholarship shows us how many of these ancient pagan survivals are really late 18th century at most.
The characters in the village are so vivid and fascinating I regret a bit that in the end the resolution of the mystery is the last we'll hear of them. This is what cozy crime picked up on, between the more stringent or cerebral concerns of the golden age mystery -- people will read book after book set in the same little town or village, no matter how many murders take place there.
Anyway, a very tight novel with great atmosphere and brilliant dialogue.
The characters in the village are so vivid and fascinating I regret a bit that in the end the resolution of the mystery is the last we'll hear of them. This is what cozy crime picked up on, between the more stringent or cerebral concerns of the golden age mystery -- people will read book after book set in the same little town or village, no matter how many murders take place there.
Anyway, a very tight novel with great atmosphere and brilliant dialogue.
January 23, 2022
An excellent whodunit and, perhaps more puzzling, howdunit! Some interesting insights into old English folklore and Morris dancing, later of which I really had no understanding of at all I discovered.
September 2, 2022
Marsh did like to set her murders in the middle of a performance. In this case a cantankerous old patriarch in the annual Solstice Morris dance. It’s all a bit overheated and over complicated given the folklore plus the murder doesn’t really make sense, both in terms of motive and how it was done. Spot the dubious character.
September 30, 2019
As always, Ngaio Marsh’s writing style is magnificent. The first dozen paragraphs set the mood magnificently and show why she was a Grandmaster of crime writing.
The story is amusing and full of plot twists and will keep you guessing.
If it hadn’t been written in 1956, however, I would have given the novel three stars or less, great narrative style or not. True to its time, this book stereotypes epileptics as mentally ill. There’s also a comic, in fact ridiculous, German character who is such a cartoon that she never approaches believability, and an “obliging” barmaid straight out a book of stock characters.
I was also disquieted by the romance we are supposed to find delightful, between a thirty year old man with a settled job in a country law office and an 18 year old girl who seems very keen on the drama school she has just started. At book’s end, they are newly engaged, and it seems clear that things will go badly for the young woman, though not for the classist reasons her elders keep insisting on.
I almost wish Marsh’s ghost could rewrite this book or a sequel, set at least thirty years later.
The story is amusing and full of plot twists and will keep you guessing.
If it hadn’t been written in 1956, however, I would have given the novel three stars or less, great narrative style or not. True to its time, this book stereotypes epileptics as mentally ill. There’s also a comic, in fact ridiculous, German character who is such a cartoon that she never approaches believability, and an “obliging” barmaid straight out a book of stock characters.
I was also disquieted by the romance we are supposed to find delightful, between a thirty year old man with a settled job in a country law office and an 18 year old girl who seems very keen on the drama school she has just started. At book’s end, they are newly engaged, and it seems clear that things will go badly for the young woman, though not for the classist reasons her elders keep insisting on.
I almost wish Marsh’s ghost could rewrite this book or a sequel, set at least thirty years later.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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