Murder at Buckingham Palace

by T.E.B. Clarke

Days before the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary, a housemaid at the palace is mysteriously murdered

Genres: Mystery

158 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1981

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barzun and Taylor describe this as "Absolutely topnotch" which is another example of their questionable taste and judgment. Absolutely average, and, coming from the pen of an author who wrote some of the best Ealing Studios filmscripts, supremely disappointing was my reaction.

I cannot imagine that anyone even in 1981 could be deceived into thinking this was a true but suppressed crime on the basis of a few photographs and one extract from a "handwritten" police report.

Apart fom a few interviews, there is little for the reader-detective to go on and the solution is based on a confession, without which the detectives would not have solved the murder of the housemaid in the library.

There is also rather a lot of slightly sleazy sexual activity in a relatively short story, most of which was irrelevant to the plot.

A curiosity but not a great experience for me.

[Stevyn Colgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a real curio. It's a murder-mystery, written as if it is the dramatistion of a real event ... that never actually happened. It's very well written and entertaining throughout but is fairly humourless. Which surprised me as T E B 'Tibby' Clarke is one of Britain's greatest, and yet least known, comic writers. He wrote the screenplays for many fims produced by Ealing Studios including 'The Blue Lamp' (which gave us the spin-off series of 'Dixon of Dock Green') and comedy classics such as 'Passport to Pimlico', 'The Titfeiled Thunderbolt' and 'The Lavender Hill Mob' for which he won an Oscar. Worth a read.

[Julian Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather old fashioned thriller, set in the royal palace, supremely well written and highly engaging.

As I was reading it I imagined I was watching a film, so well brought to life are the characters and descriptions of the houses and London life.

A good twisting storyline and thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

c1981: As it says on the tin really. A strange little book - a cross between a novel and a factual account of a murder of a maidservant just before the start of World War II. In TV terms, I suppose it may be referred to as a docu-drama. The author managed to spin the tale out to 158 pages. The real charm is the sneak peak into the workings and staff of Buckingham Palace in the 1930s. Recommended to specific members of the normal crew. "Elegant living may be a thing of the past, but regret at its going must be tempered with thought of its harshness for the many."

[Margaret]

Not bad - an enjoyable read. The Palace setting and era were interesting. Although I figured out a few things in the story I didn't guess who the murderer was.