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John Coffin Mystery #16
A coffin for Pandora
Book by Butler, Gwendoline
219 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
About the author
Gwendoline Butler
89 books21 followersGwendoline Williams Butler (aka Jennie Melville)
Gwendoline Williams was born on 19th August 1922 in South London, England, UK, daughter of Alice (Lee) and Alfred Edward Williams, her younger twin brothers are also authors. Educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where she read History, and later lectured there. On 16th October 1949, she married Dr Lionel Harry Butler (1923-1981), a professor of medieval history at University of St. Andrews and historian, Fellow of All Souls and Principal of Royal Holloway College. The marriage had a daughter, Lucilla Butler.
In 1956, she started to published John Coffin novels under her married name, Gwendoline Butler. In 1962, she decided used her grandmother's name, Jennie Melville as pseudonym to sign her Charmian Daniels novels. She was credited for inventing the "woman's police procedural". In addition to her mystery series, she also wrote romantic novels. In 1981, her novel The Red Staircase won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Gwendoline Williams was born on 19th August 1922 in South London, England, UK, daughter of Alice (Lee) and Alfred Edward Williams, her younger twin brothers are also authors. Educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where she read History, and later lectured there. On 16th October 1949, she married Dr Lionel Harry Butler (1923-1981), a professor of medieval history at University of St. Andrews and historian, Fellow of All Souls and Principal of Royal Holloway College. The marriage had a daughter, Lucilla Butler.
In 1956, she started to published John Coffin novels under her married name, Gwendoline Butler. In 1962, she decided used her grandmother's name, Jennie Melville as pseudonym to sign her Charmian Daniels novels. She was credited for inventing the "woman's police procedural". In addition to her mystery series, she also wrote romantic novels. In 1981, her novel The Red Staircase won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 30, 2015
In a word: BORING.
The narrator is overly-smart in an anachronistic way that's not supposed to be anachronistic, but rather "educated" & "enlightened" & "bohemian." I wasn't impressed. Instead she sounded like a pretentious middle-class snob who thought entirely too much of her powers of observation & understanding of human nature.
The plot was splintered into so many threads that I couldn't keep interest in any of them, though I'm sure they were all meant to come together at some point. Conversations & scenes were brief, the emotional involvement was distant, & I didn't care for the supporting cast (three red flags for Bad Literary Fiction). Usually I wait longer before giving up on a book, but whatever. I gave it a fair try -- 60/250 pages is plenty of time to warm up to a short novel, especially one I've had since 2004.
Meh.
2 stars...but only because I save one-star reviews for books that inspire disgust, hair-pulling, and/or metaphorical diabetes. This one isn't even worth getting angry about. Boring book iz boring, y'all.
The narrator is overly-smart in an anachronistic way that's not supposed to be anachronistic, but rather "educated" & "enlightened" & "bohemian." I wasn't impressed. Instead she sounded like a pretentious middle-class snob who thought entirely too much of her powers of observation & understanding of human nature.
The plot was splintered into so many threads that I couldn't keep interest in any of them, though I'm sure they were all meant to come together at some point. Conversations & scenes were brief, the emotional involvement was distant, & I didn't care for the supporting cast (three red flags for Bad Literary Fiction). Usually I wait longer before giving up on a book, but whatever. I gave it a fair try -- 60/250 pages is plenty of time to warm up to a short novel, especially one I've had since 2004.
Meh.
2 stars...but only because I save one-star reviews for books that inspire disgust, hair-pulling, and/or metaphorical diabetes. This one isn't even worth getting angry about. Boring book iz boring, y'all.
November 11, 2021
In the final quarter of the 19th Century, in Oxford, Mary Lamont, artist's daughter, part-time governess, aspiring pioneer female student, and would-be New Woman, finds herself mixed up in family secrets and an increasingly worrying series of crimes. Mary is a wonderful creation—smart, unsentimental, confident, both worldly and naive and just the slightest bit officious (to be fair, she recognizes this about herself)—and getting to know her is one of the pleasures of the book. The other is the authority with which Gwendoline Butler, best known for her series of mystery novels, takes us into the respectable and particularly the less-respectable spheres of Victorian Oxford and London. We believe absolutely in the truth of the historical world she creates. "Sarsen Place" comfortably straddles both the Gothic and mystery genres. Full of memorable characters, but none more so than Mary, herself. The novel is just a sheer, unadulterated delight.
July 30, 2024
I bought this book on a whim from one of those street second-hand stalls where you can get some worn-out paperbacks for 2 euro. It was 16th book in the series from the author I’ve never heard of so it was quite a whim indeed.
Well, technically it can be seen as the first book in the series because here we learn how Jack Coffin became a policeman.
I like how Gwendoline Butler plays with gothic tropes, adding into Victorian story some strong-willed witty woman narrator.
It was fun to read really.
Well, technically it can be seen as the first book in the series because here we learn how Jack Coffin became a policeman.
I like how Gwendoline Butler plays with gothic tropes, adding into Victorian story some strong-willed witty woman narrator.
It was fun to read really.
August 28, 2017
Unexceptional mystery. More of a classic 70s gothic (governess, nightgowns, brooding rich men, glimpses of women in capes, etc.) than a whodunnit, and no hint whatsoever that this was part of a mystery series, Inspector Coffin himself is vestigial at best.
Enjoyable enough, but never thrilled, never deepened, never blossomed. Inert.
Would try another of hers, as the writing is good, the plot and characters just didn't take off in a particularly memorable way.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
Enjoyable enough, but never thrilled, never deepened, never blossomed. Inert.
Would try another of hers, as the writing is good, the plot and characters just didn't take off in a particularly memorable way.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
April 4, 2023
Spooky story of the mysterious house (Sarsen House) with the spooked little girl (Alice, maybe 10?) Our heroine, Mary Lamont, is ahead of her time- smarty, kind of sophisticated, but also in touch with the working folk and headed to the 1st class of lady oxford folks. So- she needs to figure out why her charge (Alice) is so spooked. Soon, girls keep getting killed or kidnapped so it ratchets up in seriousness. Not too great in lots of ways (how the lines tie together) but i do like her ambiguous response to the men in her life and her role.
July 9, 2018
I can't say that it is a great mystery book but it is very well written, close to be a literature.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2018
I didn't realize this book was a gothic thriller -- I thought it was a plain old mystery. Gave up at about 30 pages -- with a TBR stack of over 800, I can't afford to read a book I don't like.
January 30, 2026
My bf got this from me from a library sale and it was actually quite a fun read.
Idk what all the hate is about, it was actually full of quite astute observations and social commentary.
Idk what all the hate is about, it was actually full of quite astute observations and social commentary.
Want to Read
March 31, 2019Synopsis: aka Sarsen Place. A Victorian thriller complete with a series of bizarre crimes and a bold, beautiful and well-educated heroine.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews