The Case of the Unfortunate Village: A Ludovic Travers Mystery

Ludovic Travers #8

by Christopher Bush

“It was some sort of sudden death?”

Travers made a face. “It certainly was sudden. I’ll say it’s ten to one it was murder.”

Ludovic Travers is asked by an old school friend, Henry Dryden, to investigate the cause of the agitation in the formerly placid village of Bableigh – not to mention the gunshot death, ruled an accident, of Dryden’s friend Tom Yeoman, the local impoverished squire. Even after Travers and ex-CID associate John Franklin arrive in Bableigh, however, the spell of unfortunate village “accidents” continues. And now there are rumours of a witches’ coven, right in the heart of the community… Can Ludo and Franklin solve the mystery of the strange malaise that has afflicted the unfortunate Bableigh, and return the community to its previous state of pastoral grace?

The Case of the Unfortunate Village was originally published in 1932. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

Christopher Bush was educated in the local school. He then won a scholarship to Thetford Grammar, and went on to study modern languages at King's College London, after which he worked as a school teacher.

He participated in both world wars.

He was a prolific writer of detective novels, wrote three autobiographical novels and nine books about Breckland life using the nom-de-plume Michael Home.

He lived in Great Hockham.

Reviews

[John]

Another fiendishly complex plot from Bush. At times they are hard going but so far they have all been very cleverly written in marvellous English. As the series goes on we are getting to know Travers much better and I am more appreciative of his qualities. In this one there are some very strange goings on which are difficult to describe without spoiling the plot. Franklin again features as much if not more than Travers but Wharton only appears briefly at the end. Some excellent character descriptions of the protagonists, especially the vicar.

[Eric]

3.5 stars.

This, number eight in the Ludovic Travers series, is rather strange although not quite as strange as it may seem at first.

Ludovic and John Franklin are called upon by Ludo’s friend , Henry Dryden, to investigate what is wrong in the formerly idyllic village of Bableigh.

It is very difficult to say much about this novel without giving the game away. Black magic is in the air. There are murders and financial deception. There is a colony of artists and a group of characters with allegorical names. There are several deaths.

Some knowledge of the poem “The Hermit” by Thomas Parnell (1679-1718) and of Voltaire’s novella “Zadig” just might help you work it all out.

In the end I think I found it just a tad too clever and convoluted and there were some points which escaped me. Did I correctly work out the significance of the dead dog, for instance?

Travers helps a criminal to evade justice…for reasons of which I am uncertain. Not quite everything is explained in the final chapter…if you stay the course.

[John Frankham]

Unusually, this whodunnit by one of the now-being-re-issued Golden Age writers, Christopher Bush was a bit of a struggle to get through! A nice mystery in a village on a chalk ridge between the North and South Downs, a lovely map to show who lived where, and where the roads and footpaths went, a good few deaths, but .....?

I think maybe there was too much chat between the three chaps trying to solve the mystery. Too clever by half? Still a good read and much fun, with a curious dénouement!

The GR blurb:

'Ludovic Travers is asked by an old school friend, Henry Dryden, to investigate the cause of the agitation in the formerly placid village of Bableigh – not to mention the gunshot death, ruled an accident, of Dryden’s friend Tom Yeoman, the local impoverished squire. Even after Travers and ex-CID associate John Franklin arrive in Bableigh, however, the spell of unfortunate village “accidents” continues. And now there are rumours of a witches’ coven, right in the heart of the community… Can Ludo and Franklin solve the mystery of the strange malaise that has afflicted the unfortunate Bableigh, and return the community to its previous state of pastoral grace?'