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Sir John Appleby #31
The Ampersand Papers
Sir John Appleby narrowly escapes being struck by the falling body of archivist Dr. Sutch, who may have been pushed from the North Tower of Lord Ampersand's Treskinnick Castle by someone looking for the Ampersand papers or gold
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Michael Innes
119 books92 followersMichael Innes was the pseudonym of John Innes MacKintosh (J.I.M.) Stewart (J.I.M. Stewart).
He was born in Edinburgh, and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Oriel College, Oxford. He was Lecturer in English at the University of Leeds from 1930 - 1935, and spent the succeeding ten years as Jury Professor of English at the University of Adelaide, South Australia.
He returned to the United Kingdom in 1949, to become a Lecturer at the Queen's University of Belfast. In 1949 he became a Student (Fellow) of Christ Church, Oxford, becoming a Professor by the time of his retirement in 1973.
As J.I.M. Stewart he published a number of works of non-fiction, mainly critical studies of authors, including Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling, as well as about twenty works of fiction and a memoir, 'Myself and Michael Innes'.
As Michael Innes, he published numerous mystery novels and short story collections, most featuring the Scotland Yard detective John Appleby.
He was born in Edinburgh, and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Oriel College, Oxford. He was Lecturer in English at the University of Leeds from 1930 - 1935, and spent the succeeding ten years as Jury Professor of English at the University of Adelaide, South Australia.
He returned to the United Kingdom in 1949, to become a Lecturer at the Queen's University of Belfast. In 1949 he became a Student (Fellow) of Christ Church, Oxford, becoming a Professor by the time of his retirement in 1973.
As J.I.M. Stewart he published a number of works of non-fiction, mainly critical studies of authors, including Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling, as well as about twenty works of fiction and a memoir, 'Myself and Michael Innes'.
As Michael Innes, he published numerous mystery novels and short story collections, most featuring the Scotland Yard detective John Appleby.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 27, 2020
When Lord Ampersand is told that some of his family papers may be worth serious money, he hires an archivist--recommended by his shifty son, Lord Skillet--to evaluate the mass of material which the family has whimsically stored in the North tower, which can only be accessed by a rickety wooden staircase. Retired policeman Sir John Appleby is walking on the beach when the stairway collapses, killing the archivist. Accident or something more? Not one of the best of Innes' books, but still written with his usual flair.
April 23, 2022
Pleasant mystery of manners—slight, light, and fluffy.
Did Not Finish
December 2, 2023This is pretty much EXACTLY what happened during my Phd.
January 8, 2023
In between intense, thoughtful, meaningful writing, I need some palate refreshers. This is a silly story with characters named Ampersand (&), Diggit, Skillet, Cave, Sutch. Hidden treasure, literary and otherwise, skulking, ne'er-do-wells, skullduggery, ocean-cliff towers, old spinsters, and moldering gentry all abound. Fun, funny, and easy.
August 15, 2022
A chance encounter leads Appleby to become involved with a suspicious death, a treasure hunt, a literary investigation, and family drama galore - many good elements that didn’t fully come together for me in this very slow-moving story.
March 17, 2024
A quick and entertaining read. A ridiculous aristocratic family, an Enid Blyton type setting in a crumbling castle, a ship's treasure and yet to be discovered, possible literary masterpieces make this a fun read.
May 24, 2022
From bad to worse throughout this book. Michael Innes, hang your head.
Repetitions, ridiculous, roundabout.
Repetitions, ridiculous, roundabout.
February 19, 2023
That was a strange and somewhat interesting story.
August 9, 2020
Review 8/8/20
I originally read The Ampersand Papers in 2011 before I devised my Mount TBR reading challenge. At that time I rated it as a solid outing, though not one of Innes's best. I'm still of that mind. I think it takes too long to get Sir John involved and I much prefer the stories where he's brought on stage early in the book. The Digitts are amusing (if sometimes annoying) characters and I particularly like Lady Ampersand who may not be clever in a standard way, but certainly knows more about what's going on in the castle than her husband. Full review may be found on my blog My Reader's Block.
[January 23, 2011]
The Ampersand Papers (1978) is another mystery by Michael Innes which stars Sir John Appleby. Sir John is a retired member of Scotland Yard and is on his way to the home of some friends when he decides to take a rest from his travels and take a walk along a likely-looking stretch of beach. He is literally on the spot when the body of Dr. Ambrose Sutch, an archivist, falls to his death down the cliff from the North Tower of Treskinnick Castle. The Castle is the ancestral home of Lord Ampersand and Sutch had been employed to sort out family papers...hopefully to find long-lost correspondence from Shelley and Byron among the papers of Adrian Digitt (one of the family's ancestors). Is this death just an accident? Or was he pushed? Could there be motive in the potentially valuable family documents? Or perhaps there is some truth to the legend of Spanish gold hidden on the estate?
Appleby's investigations take him through a puzzle of speleology and genealogy and reveal bitter family rivalries. There are many twists and turns before Appleby reveals the surprising solution. I found this mystery to be one of Innes' fairly solid outings. Not one of his best...but the twist at the end does make it a bit better than it might have been. It took rather a while to get to the action and to get Appleby involved. I much prefer the stories where Appleby appears early on. Something about the plot line works much better and I enjoy those stories so much more. Three stars.
I originally read The Ampersand Papers in 2011 before I devised my Mount TBR reading challenge. At that time I rated it as a solid outing, though not one of Innes's best. I'm still of that mind. I think it takes too long to get Sir John involved and I much prefer the stories where he's brought on stage early in the book. The Digitts are amusing (if sometimes annoying) characters and I particularly like Lady Ampersand who may not be clever in a standard way, but certainly knows more about what's going on in the castle than her husband. Full review may be found on my blog My Reader's Block.
[January 23, 2011]
The Ampersand Papers (1978) is another mystery by Michael Innes which stars Sir John Appleby. Sir John is a retired member of Scotland Yard and is on his way to the home of some friends when he decides to take a rest from his travels and take a walk along a likely-looking stretch of beach. He is literally on the spot when the body of Dr. Ambrose Sutch, an archivist, falls to his death down the cliff from the North Tower of Treskinnick Castle. The Castle is the ancestral home of Lord Ampersand and Sutch had been employed to sort out family papers...hopefully to find long-lost correspondence from Shelley and Byron among the papers of Adrian Digitt (one of the family's ancestors). Is this death just an accident? Or was he pushed? Could there be motive in the potentially valuable family documents? Or perhaps there is some truth to the legend of Spanish gold hidden on the estate?
Appleby's investigations take him through a puzzle of speleology and genealogy and reveal bitter family rivalries. There are many twists and turns before Appleby reveals the surprising solution. I found this mystery to be one of Innes' fairly solid outings. Not one of his best...but the twist at the end does make it a bit better than it might have been. It took rather a while to get to the action and to get Appleby involved. I much prefer the stories where Appleby appears early on. Something about the plot line works much better and I enjoy those stories so much more. Three stars.
January 12, 2013
Former Scotland Yard detective Sir John Appleby is taking a beach walk near Ampersand castle when a man literally drops dead at his feet. Dr. Sutch, part-time archivist for the penniless Lord Ampersand, has fallen to his death from the rickety external staircase rigged up to allow access to the castle's improvised archive room. Is this a suspicious death? Certainly the presence on the scene of a speleologist aptly named Mr. Cave and two coils of rope seem to indicate this is more than a tragic accident. It turns out that Dr. Sutch was searching for the papers of Adrian Ampersand, friend and correspondent of literary greats like Byron and Shelley. Several family members had a very vivid interest in recovering these potentially valuable papers. But then again, was the quest for these papers nothing more than a cover for a search for a legendary Spanish treasure, rumored to be hidden somewhere in the castle?
The charm of this book is NOT the detective aspect, which is underdeveloped. The ending is totally unsatisfactory, both from the point of view of finding the guilty party, finding the papers and finding the treasure. A convenient death in the very last page is not my idea of a good ending.
If you read this book from the 1960s, do it because it's fun reading about eccentric aristocrats. Michael Innes did a great job with the voices of the different characters, from the gruff Lord Ampersand to his acerbic relation Miss Digitt, the pedantic speech of the academic Dr. Sutch and the inconsequent verbal wanderings of Lady Ampersand.
The charm of this book is NOT the detective aspect, which is underdeveloped. The ending is totally unsatisfactory, both from the point of view of finding the guilty party, finding the papers and finding the treasure. A convenient death in the very last page is not my idea of a good ending.
If you read this book from the 1960s, do it because it's fun reading about eccentric aristocrats. Michael Innes did a great job with the voices of the different characters, from the gruff Lord Ampersand to his acerbic relation Miss Digitt, the pedantic speech of the academic Dr. Sutch and the inconsequent verbal wanderings of Lady Ampersand.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews