What do you think?
Rate this book
Paul Temple #12
Paul Temple und der Fall Gilbert. 5 CDs.
An aeroplane crashes on the cliffs of Dulworth Bay, and two boys disappear from a public school in the same village. Are the two events connected?
And, who is the mysterious Curzon? His name first appears etched on a cricket bat owned by one of the missing Baxter boys, but nobody at the school, in the village or the boys' father has heard of him.
And, who is the mysterious Curzon? His name first appears etched on a cricket bat owned by one of the missing Baxter boys, but nobody at the school, in the village or the boys' father has heard of him.
Audio CD
First published January 1, 1972
About the author
Francis Durbridge
342 books34 followersFrancis Henry Durbridge was an English playwright and author born in Hull. In 1938, he created the character Paul Temple for the BBC radio serial Send for Paul Temple.
A crime novelist and detective, the gentlemanly Temple solved numerous crimes with the help of Steve Trent, a Fleet Street journalist who later became his wife. The character proved enormously popular and appeared in 16 radio serials and later spawned a 64-part big-budget television series (1969-71) and radio productions, as well as a number of comic strips, four feature films and various foreign radio productions.
Francis Durbridge also had a successful career as a writer for the stage and screen. His most successful play, Suddenly at Home, ran in London’s West End for over a year.
A crime novelist and detective, the gentlemanly Temple solved numerous crimes with the help of Steve Trent, a Fleet Street journalist who later became his wife. The character proved enormously popular and appeared in 16 radio serials and later spawned a 64-part big-budget television series (1969-71) and radio productions, as well as a number of comic strips, four feature films and various foreign radio productions.
Francis Durbridge also had a successful career as a writer for the stage and screen. His most successful play, Suddenly at Home, ran in London’s West End for over a year.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 17, 2016
Vacation entertainment. I LOVE these classic BBC radio dramas and must admit that the plot is less important to me - more important is the set up of voices, the acting (some of it comical when assessed with modern standards for creating suspense ...), and sounds for each of the Paul Temple plays. Any of these Paul Temple cases goes well with cleaning your apartment, ironing shirts (if that is what you do), gardening or with just sitting in the darkness at night with a single candle on your table.
May 18, 2014
One of the weaker Paul Temple stories, feels a bit like I've read it all before and there's little new or unusual plot development.
June 17, 2022
Rating between 2.5 & 3
An okay book that was enjoyable to read but probably won't stay in the memory for very long.
As with the majority of the PT novels I have read, the plot is fast moving whilst the detection elements are somewhat lacking. A lot seems to happen off page so the reader is generally playing a guessing game for the guilty party or parties.
Despite the book being published in the 1970's the writing style of FD always feels like story is set in the mid 1950's to the early 1960's , never any later.
Personally I think for most of the titles I have read I much preferred the radio serializations, the actors were all spot on for the characters they played, the momentum of the plot always kept the excitement/interest level high for each part and the gathering of the suspects together at the end became a trope all of its home (not that FD created it but it did become a stale of detectives both prose and tv/movie).
Overall then an okay read and definitely worth reading for PT fans but newcomers not sure.
An okay book that was enjoyable to read but probably won't stay in the memory for very long.
As with the majority of the PT novels I have read, the plot is fast moving whilst the detection elements are somewhat lacking. A lot seems to happen off page so the reader is generally playing a guessing game for the guilty party or parties.
Despite the book being published in the 1970's the writing style of FD always feels like story is set in the mid 1950's to the early 1960's , never any later.
Personally I think for most of the titles I have read I much preferred the radio serializations, the actors were all spot on for the characters they played, the momentum of the plot always kept the excitement/interest level high for each part and the gathering of the suspects together at the end became a trope all of its home (not that FD created it but it did become a stale of detectives both prose and tv/movie).
Overall then an okay read and definitely worth reading for PT fans but newcomers not sure.
November 22, 2018
Höre mir momentan nochmal alle meine Paul Temple Hörbücher an. Eine ausführliche Rezension, die eigentlich für alle Fälle steht, gibt es hier: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Einer der schwächeren Folgen mit einer Geschichte, die mich nicht so überzeugt hat...
Einer der schwächeren Folgen mit einer Geschichte, die mich nicht so überzeugt hat...
July 7, 2018
Review follows soon / Razing might change
January 14, 2019
Not the best PT mystery but I love these studio recordings which fit seamlessly with the story.
March 6, 2020
Two boys have disappeared from Steve's home village. Vosper's copper's nose smells something suspisious so Paul & Steve are dragged into the case.
February 7, 2026
Not one of the better ones. I was rather disappointed in the ending. If the solution would have been true, the criminals would not have acted as they did earlier in the book.
April 26, 2013
Francis Durbridge's Curzon Case stars his long-time detective Paul Temple and his lovely wife Steve who - despite the police's best efforts - investigate some missing boys in Steve's hometown. Once again we have a pompous protagonist (how that Steve tolerates Paul I cannot comprehend), class warfare, a motley plot involving smugglers, fine art, drugs, and the restaurant scene. Or am I thinking of the meals consumed in various picnics and parties? Durbridge's style is canonically Golden Age, although somewhat racier and in a possibly more modern setting. In classic style, the detective brings everyone into a room for his final revelation. I'm not convinced, however, that he is even in the class just below that of Christie or Allingham.
June 18, 2012
Anthony Head again reads a Paul Temple. fun story involving missing boys, caves, and cricket bats. One of the better stories, with lots of action and quite a few twists and turns.
September 15, 2014
Not just boring, irritating major characters, ridiculous plot.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews