We, the Accused

by Ernest Raymond

Ernest Raymond was not generally regarded as a crime novelist, and 'We The Accused' is not a puzzle story of the traditional kind, but a realistic novel based on the Crippen case. Paul Presset, a nondescript schoolmaster, cannot resist an open opportunity to rid himself of his overbearing, nagging wife. This powerful and haunting novel traces the dawn of motive in his mind through the murder and resulting manhunt, arrest, trial, and a final, terrible culminating scene.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Modern, Mystery

509 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Ernest Raymond (1888–1974) was a British novelist, best known for his first novel, Tell England (1922), set in World War I. His next biggest success was We, The Accused (1935), generally thought to be a reworking of the Hawley Harvey Crippen case, which was made into a BBC drama starring Ian Holm in 1980. He wrote over fifty novels. Raymond's autobiography was published in two volumes; the first, The Story of My Days, 1888-1922, was published in 1968; the second, Please You, Draw Near, 1922-1968, in 1969. He was awarded an OBE in 1972, and died in 1974.

Raymond was educated at St Paul's and at Chichester Theological College. He was ordained in the Anglican Church in 1914 and served on six fronts in the First World War. He resigned Holy Orders in 1923. He wrote many books, including the novels Damascus Gate (1923), A Chorus Ending (1951), The City and the Dream (1958, which concluded his London Gallery series of novels portraying London life in the first half of the twentieth century), Mr Olim (1961), and The Bethany Road (1967). Other titles include Two Gentlemen of Rome:The Story of Keats and Shelley (1952), and Paris, City of Enchantment (1961).

George Orwell in 1945 praised Raymond as a "natural novelist" who could portray convincingly the lives of ordinary people. In particular he praised We, the Accused for its emotional power, while criticizing the clumsy and long-winded way it is written.

(Source: Wikipedia).

Reviews

[notgettingenough · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this, along with CS Forester’s early novel Payment Deferred, by Kate McCallum, author of checklists of mystery fiction, published by Copperfield Press. I’ve had my periods of reading vast amounts of the stuff, but not for years of late. Nonetheless, with such a well-informed recommendation, and the books handed to me, I was not going to say no!

Neither of these is a mystery. They are both early examples of sitting behind the shoulder of the murderer, following developments as he does. And partly because of the books’ titles, but also because of the period in which they were written, one knows in broad terms, how they will end. No murderer would have escaped his fate back then. A price had to be paid.

In fact, in the case of We, the Accused, we watch everything, it’s something of a police procedural. It’s incredibly detailed with striking and awful descriptions of what happens after the police get onto it. The chase, the trial, the period of three weeks before he hangs. But it is equally detailed in its description of scenery, neighbours, childhood – the lot. Overall I don’t think Raymond is a good enough writer to do this justice, but, he does it well enough. After a slight irritation early on as yet another tangent started, I got into the zone and found it hard to put down. He’s at his weakest when he is in the shoes of the female and as these are critical points – her agreeing to sex, her deciding to accept that he has murdered and still love him, her salvation at the end – I find none of these convincing. Indeed, the ending involving the stranger who saves her is plain silly.


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[Andrew Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent novel. Birds-eye view of a marriage breaking down and a husband choosing a bad way to get out of it. Methodical but not boring.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up.

I came across this book quite by chance listening to a YouTube vlog.

This is a very powerful moving story. The author did a great job of not taking sides and revealing the characters good and bad. I had tears in my eyes at the end.

[Davidg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel follows the mundanely unhappy life of Paul Presset. When the possibility of love and happiness is offered to him, but there is always his complaining wife to prevent it being realised. And so, gradually, the idea of killing her grows in his mind. And the deed is done and the inevitable consequences result.

This is a beautifully understated novel. It could be presented as melodrama but it is much quieter and realistic. In particular, I loved the way that our sympathies lie with Presset, without diminishing the seriousness of his crime. As a reader, I wanted him to be happy, knowing that it could never be. And then the hunt, the trial and the last days knowing that the end is imminent. All very quietly and devastatingly done.

At times, the age of the book shows. There is a lot of detailed description, holding up the plot for several pages at a time. Depending on my mood, sometimes I read it and loved it, but at others, I did find myself skipping paragraphs to get back to the protagonists and the story. It is because it was a slightly laboured read at times that I have given it four not five stars.

[Michael Spain]

First discovered this book while working as, of all things, a prison officer. I enjoyed the way that the writer manages to make the story flow so convincingly that you hardly notice the decision to murder it feels so innocuous. I also enjoyed how easy it was to get inside the head of the main character Arthur Preset.

[Christopher Borum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best stories I've ever read. It's not really a mystery, because you know what happened and you follow Paul along as he plans and carries out his murder. It's really a psychological study of how someone can descend to a point where killing seems the best solution. The small bothers and little compromises pile together to create an unbearable situation. The rationalization of what is being contemplated at first seems absurd, but later perhaps even the reader can imagine taking the same route. Paul and his girlfriend are written with such care and sympathy that you find yourself hoping they'll escape somehow. But you know they shouldn't, and that they won't. The chase sequences in the back half of the book are stirring, although the action builds slowly. I won't spoil it, but you'll figure out how the book ends fairly early on, and that does not detract from the story at all. The final scene is chilling.

[Tom Leland · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know you're loving a book when at around page 50 you look and see there's a total of 510 pages, and you're glad. Best book I've read in years -- hope I can somehow watch the BBC production starring Ian Holm.

[John Sargent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book many years ago. I found out about it from Vincent Price on Mystery on PBS. This story has been on my mind for many years, as it is a very impressive work of writing. I'm glad I came back to it. It is well done and has a great plot. I trust it shall never fade away.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two or three years ago, I stumbled upon this book and simply could not put it down. Suffice it to say that due to the author's skill, the killer and his lover are made sympathetic. It was riveting.

[Mary Narkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in paperback format at a local laundromat. Couldn't put it down once I started it. I want to read it again.

Dense prose, well written , interesting, scary or rather, unsettling.

[Ann Repetto · Rating 4 out of 5]

So different from anything I've read (and I've read a lot). Kind of a slog in the beginning. I'm so glad I stuck w/it. The whole story of a crime. Really interesting and really affecting.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping story of a mild-mannered man who overestimates his own intelligence and everyone's around him and tries to outsmart the police by killing his overbearing wife. All the characters are well-drawn; today the wife would probably be diagnosed as a depressive but she definitely makes you sort of root for Presset to get away with it.
Good setup, gripping manhunt - long, but definitely worth it.

[Jess Sturman-Coombs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would read this book again! I absolutely loved the story; dark, twisted and full of suspense. I couldn't put it down and would recommend it to anyone who likes to read about characters on the run and getting away with murder!

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: based on the Crippen case. A nondescript schoolmaster wants rid of his overbearing wife.