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Lovejoy #20
The Rich and the Profane
A new mystery for Lovejoy Antiques, Inc., involves the somewhat nefarious Lovejoy in a plot to rob the treasure of Albansham priory, which leads to a chase to the Channel Islands and a number of sudden disappearances and close calls. Reprint.
344 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Jonathan Gash
93 books73 followersJohn Grant is an English crime writer, who writes under the pen name Jonathan Gash. He is the author of the Lovejoy series of novels. He wrote the novel The Incomer under the pen name Graham Gaunt.
Grant is a doctor by training and worked as a general practitioner and pathologist. He served in the British Army and attained the rank of Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was head of bacteriology at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for the University of London between 1971 and 1988.
Grant won the John Creasey Award in 1977 for his first Lovejoy novel, The Judas Pair. He is also the author of a series of medical thrillers featuring the character Dr. Clare Burtonall.
Grant lives outside Colchester in Essex, the setting for many of his novels. He has also been published in Postscripts.
Grant is a doctor by training and worked as a general practitioner and pathologist. He served in the British Army and attained the rank of Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was head of bacteriology at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for the University of London between 1971 and 1988.
Grant won the John Creasey Award in 1977 for his first Lovejoy novel, The Judas Pair. He is also the author of a series of medical thrillers featuring the character Dr. Clare Burtonall.
Grant lives outside Colchester in Essex, the setting for many of his novels. He has also been published in Postscripts.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 3, 2011
If your only exposure to Lovejoy is the old Ian McShane TV show, you are in for a shock when you read a Lovejoy book - rarely has an adaptation changed the whole feel of a character so much.
On TV, Lovejoy was a loveable rogue, prepared to do a bit of forgery, delighted with adultery, but always prepared to help people out. The original is significantly darker. Yes, he's still a forger, still a woman's man, but he spends much of his time in fear, and has been known to kill in self-defence or revenge. Oh and he's not a smooth southerner, he's a rough-edged Lancastrian.
In this particular book he doesn't have to - but it doesn't prevent there being four violent deaths in the story.
However, if you don't mind that darker feel, it's a delight. This is one of the better of the more modern Lovejoy books, with a wonderfully complex scam, a messy plot with a vast array of characters and some surprising twists. The other thing you don't get from the TV show is that Jonathan Gash piles in fascinating factoids, many but not all about antiques. My only slight concern with these is that he does make one very visible factoid error, referring to the Mary Celeste as the 'Marie Celeste', which makes you wonder about the accuracy of the rest - and one or two may be made up - but it still adds to the fun,
On TV, Lovejoy was a loveable rogue, prepared to do a bit of forgery, delighted with adultery, but always prepared to help people out. The original is significantly darker. Yes, he's still a forger, still a woman's man, but he spends much of his time in fear, and has been known to kill in self-defence or revenge. Oh and he's not a smooth southerner, he's a rough-edged Lancastrian.
In this particular book he doesn't have to - but it doesn't prevent there being four violent deaths in the story.
However, if you don't mind that darker feel, it's a delight. This is one of the better of the more modern Lovejoy books, with a wonderfully complex scam, a messy plot with a vast array of characters and some surprising twists. The other thing you don't get from the TV show is that Jonathan Gash piles in fascinating factoids, many but not all about antiques. My only slight concern with these is that he does make one very visible factoid error, referring to the Mary Celeste as the 'Marie Celeste', which makes you wonder about the accuracy of the rest - and one or two may be made up - but it still adds to the fun,
March 14, 2015
20th in the Lovejoy series. It starts with a young woman asking Lovejoy to teach her how to steal an antique from an auction to spite her rich aunt, and ends with mayhem in the Channel Islands. Along the way Lovejoy gets involved with a vast array of people wanting to exploit him, usually for purposes he doesn't understand until too late; impersonates an impresario; and creates on the fly and on the run one of the biggest and boldest scams he's ever come up with to save his own neck and a few others.
I found it a bit hard to keep track of what was going on, but I think this had more to do with reading it on and off over the course of a week than any fault in the book. Lovejoy is his usual whining, womanising, self-pitying self, with the usual constant stream of chatter about antiques. And as usual, underneath the unselfconscious whining and the scamming large and small, he's actually trying to do the right thing by the people he thinks deserving of it. I prefer the earlier books in the series, but wouldn't mind reading this one again.
I found it a bit hard to keep track of what was going on, but I think this had more to do with reading it on and off over the course of a week than any fault in the book. Lovejoy is his usual whining, womanising, self-pitying self, with the usual constant stream of chatter about antiques. And as usual, underneath the unselfconscious whining and the scamming large and small, he's actually trying to do the right thing by the people he thinks deserving of it. I prefer the earlier books in the series, but wouldn't mind reading this one again.
September 16, 2012
Started reading this on holiday in Donegal, funny and interesting as I volunteer in Oxfam shop and always looking out for likely antique finds coming in! Will release here in Donegal when I have finished...
I loved this book mainly for the style! The story became very involved and complicated by the antique underworld slang, though some of it was explained. But I enjoyed the part where he went to Guernsey as I have been there on holiday. Lent to a non-BC friend - she would love it but is not really into computers, and will prossibly get it back OK for releasing again.
I loved this book mainly for the style! The story became very involved and complicated by the antique underworld slang, though some of it was explained. But I enjoyed the part where he went to Guernsey as I have been there on holiday. Lent to a non-BC friend - she would love it but is not really into computers, and will prossibly get it back OK for releasing again.
July 8, 2012
I may be biased because I love the Lovejoy TV series and I'm a fool for anything English mystery but I did enjoy this book immensely. Jonathan Gash spins a witty turn - the book is replete with interesting characters, unique prose, and eccentric twists. Everything this brit-mystery lover would want in a book of this genre. :)
May 31, 2017
The usual Lovejoy, except that he’s nicer to the women in his life, and the flamer he includes in every book is not gay this time. Also, a woman rescues him by killing his would-be killer, rather than his killing the would-be killer by accident in terrified self-defense himself.
January 23, 2023
Once again the later Jonathan Gash books seem to disappoint. The author's nice little insights into the Lovejoys scams, which made the reads more enjoyable appear to have run dry. While many of the characters like Algernon and Hayley have all but vanished.
January 20, 2022
A fun Lovejoy with no real ending.
Read
December 30, 2012When I picked up this book at the used book sale, I knew nothing about Lovejoy. Apparently there is a long series of Lovejoy books (more than 20), plus a TV series. It’s British. It is so British that when Lovejoy started to speak, I could barely understand him, what with the unfamiliar slang. At times this American reader encountered about one new word per page, and I pride myself on my above average vocabulary. Well, it’s even larger now. Lovejoy is a character. Lovejoy is an antiques expert. He is extremely knowledgeable about glazes and manufacturing processes and historical oddities, but his true gift is that he can “sense” a genuine valuable antique by some supernatural means. He is a “divvy.” He divines it. The valuable pieces call to him, and he loves them. Unfortunately Lovejoy is always broke, and always in trouble. He never minds making a little forgery, “liberating” an item from an owner that does not appreciate it, and he spouts lies with effortless ease. He also spouts all kinds of pronouncements about life in general, the antiques business, women, gardening, scientific studies, and many other subjects, and these pronouncements are often funny. He is undoubtedly a rogue, but is apparently a loveable rogue, as he has friends all over, and he beds a string of women. Some of them hold grudges, but many owe him favors.
In this book… no, I can hardly bear to sum up the plot. It is so convoluted that I hardly can. But there is a priory in the English countryside that goes broke. There is a bubbling mud pool. There is a valuable painting that is stolen from the priory, and then stolen back again. On the island of Guernsey Lovejoy meets a crazy lady who paints the same picture over and over again. He meets a family of antiques forgers, whose paralyzed daughter paints objects using a brush in her teeth. There are almost as many characters as there are slang words. He is beaten up. He is arrested for impersonating a show business producer, and his punishment is to follow through and put on the show he claimed he had planned. Along the way some people get shot, and miraculously, one of them is not Lovejoy. He ends the book where he began, alone and with nothing, and ready to start the madness all over again in the next book.
In this book… no, I can hardly bear to sum up the plot. It is so convoluted that I hardly can. But there is a priory in the English countryside that goes broke. There is a bubbling mud pool. There is a valuable painting that is stolen from the priory, and then stolen back again. On the island of Guernsey Lovejoy meets a crazy lady who paints the same picture over and over again. He meets a family of antiques forgers, whose paralyzed daughter paints objects using a brush in her teeth. There are almost as many characters as there are slang words. He is beaten up. He is arrested for impersonating a show business producer, and his punishment is to follow through and put on the show he claimed he had planned. Along the way some people get shot, and miraculously, one of them is not Lovejoy. He ends the book where he began, alone and with nothing, and ready to start the madness all over again in the next book.
May 31, 2025
I’m a bit disappointed in this book. It started off so well—funny, engaging, and packed with fascinating information about history and antiques. There was a murder mystery, sneaking around to thieve antiques, and some classic East Anglian shenanigans. But sometime after page 200, the storytelling—strong until then—slowed down, and the plot began to drift.
There were still interesting ideas emerging, especially in Guernsey, and this time the number of characters wasn’t overwhelming. But I found myself wondering why none of this was developed. The humor disappeared, and the setting became vague and nondescript. (Granted, I’m not a native English speaker, so I might miss some things obvious to English speaking readers.)
Characters vanished without explanation, storylines were cut short, the murderers were “punished,” and suddenly it was just... over. I even guessed the killer—which didn’t help. (Though I admit I’d already read the book before, when it first came out.) Still, about two-thirds of the book was genuinely enjoyable before it flattened out in the end, into a pancake. It felt as if the author had run out of ideas but kept going anyway. Honestly, it might have worked better if it ended 100 pages earlier. Also, I wondered: why do the characters who get the most page time always have to be the rich and famous, the "high rollers"? Why not spend more time with the more complex, “ordinary” ones—like Dove, the disabled painter? Characters like that could’ve added real humanity to a story that ended up feeling a bit hollow. And maybe that’s the point: Just like the author loses track of his characters, Lovejoy does the same—he throws away good relationships, discarding them even when they could bring depth and connection to his life.
Oh—and I never figured out what the treasured antique was supposed to be in the end.
There were still interesting ideas emerging, especially in Guernsey, and this time the number of characters wasn’t overwhelming. But I found myself wondering why none of this was developed. The humor disappeared, and the setting became vague and nondescript. (Granted, I’m not a native English speaker, so I might miss some things obvious to English speaking readers.)
Characters vanished without explanation, storylines were cut short, the murderers were “punished,” and suddenly it was just... over. I even guessed the killer—which didn’t help. (Though I admit I’d already read the book before, when it first came out.) Still, about two-thirds of the book was genuinely enjoyable before it flattened out in the end, into a pancake. It felt as if the author had run out of ideas but kept going anyway. Honestly, it might have worked better if it ended 100 pages earlier. Also, I wondered: why do the characters who get the most page time always have to be the rich and famous, the "high rollers"? Why not spend more time with the more complex, “ordinary” ones—like Dove, the disabled painter? Characters like that could’ve added real humanity to a story that ended up feeling a bit hollow. And maybe that’s the point: Just like the author loses track of his characters, Lovejoy does the same—he throws away good relationships, discarding them even when they could bring depth and connection to his life.
Oh—and I never figured out what the treasured antique was supposed to be in the end.
January 21, 2013
Meh. Lovejoy is a sort of know-it-all (actually do-it-all) but was too unappealing to be the anti-hero as intended. The asides about the histories of particular antiques and why they are valuable was interesting but not enough to rescue this book for me.
I read it on the recommendation of my used book dealer when I told her I liked Sarah Caudwell and John Mortimer. I suspect Lovejoy's heavy Brit vernacular was the connection in her mind. But it lacked the "rapist-like wit"* of the aforementioned authors.
It was a quick read otherwise I would not have finished it. Still pining for the mystery novel that entrances.
*See Dumb and Dumber
I read it on the recommendation of my used book dealer when I told her I liked Sarah Caudwell and John Mortimer. I suspect Lovejoy's heavy Brit vernacular was the connection in her mind. But it lacked the "rapist-like wit"* of the aforementioned authors.
It was a quick read otherwise I would not have finished it. Still pining for the mystery novel that entrances.
*See Dumb and Dumber
September 7, 2008
As always, Johnathan Gash's anti-hero Lovejoy is involved in another antique scam where he narrowly escapes intact. Gash is a wonderfully witty and engaging writer and for anyone who loves antiques, reading the Lovejoy novels is an education - with snippets of ancient technique, how-to in fakery (or 'reproductions' as Lovejoy calls them), histories of craftmen. And of course - Lovejoy - what a loveable rascal! More Lovejoy please!
September 18, 2010
Not really finished, because I put it down about 7/8ths of the way through with a big old Who Cares?! The really annoying thing is that the author has a long, long list of books he's written. If only I could stand this book enough to finish it, there would be plenty more where that came from. But the self-conscious attempts at quirkiness and humor fell way flat for me. Hated it, bugged by it, et leave-me-alone cetera.
June 13, 2023
My local library didn't have Lovejoy #1 (The Judas Pair), so I settled for #20. It's full of witty dialog and hilarious narration by the (anti)hero, but the plot's weak. The ending is exciting but mildly disappointing in that Lovejoy needs considerable luck to muddle through. It satisfied my curiosity about the differences between character in the TV adaptation and the books but wasn't entertaining enough to make me read any more of the series.
November 4, 2007
I am big fan of these books, ever since I read 'Ten Word Game' this year. I love his style, dialogue and of course Lovejoy. :) Not as great as 'Possessions of a Lady' but still better than most stuff out there now.
November 8, 2015
This is the original Lovejoy, not the same person as in the tv series. He knows antiques and shares his knowledge, and that's very interesting. Things just don't go very well for him. I like a better moralled main character, and not everything going wrong, so this was not my kind of story.
January 16, 2017
Jonathan Gash's humor comes through in this Lovejoy mystery more so than others I've read in the series. His bed romping might turn some readers off (a product of the times the book was released) but the mystery and laughs are good enough to keep you going.
October 26, 2011
Not as much fun as most other mysteries.
May 12, 2012
Not my favorite, unfortunately. This one could have been a decent television/movie in its own right.
January 8, 2016
Didn't Finish
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews