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Academic Body
A retired theatrical director struggles with a new career as drama professor at a small, Maine college while trying to woo his wife away from the New York stage. When he finds himself a murder suspect, he becomes a reluctant sleuth with only three weeks in which to solve all three problems.
247 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2010
About the author
Shirley S. Allen
3 books1 followerShirley S. Allen (1921-2013) was a Shakespearean scholar, political columnist, and novelist.
She was the author of the historical mystery ACADEMIC BODY and the biographical novel ROXANNA BRITTON, based on the life of her great-grandmother, a pioneer of the American west.
Shirley's book on the 19th century actor-manager Samuel Phelps, SAMUEL PHELPS AND SADLER'S WELLS THEATRE, is widely considered the definitive work on Mr. Phelps.
She was born Shirley May Seifried in Oak Park, Illinois in 1921, the daughter of John F. Seifried and Hazel Rogers Seifried. Shirley received a B.A. from Carleton College and a Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College.
Among her scholarly publications is a history of performances of Shakespeare's plays during the years of the Gold Rush in California, requested for the International Shakespeare Conference in Stratford in 1981.
Married to Archibald W. Allen, a professor of classics at Yale, Colby, and Wesleyan, she brought up three children before becoming a professor of English at the University of Connecticut.
After retiring to California, she became a political columnist and fiction writer. In 2010, at the age of 89, she published the cozy mystery ACADEMIC BODY with Mainly Murder Press. It is now available as an ebook through Kotu Beach Press.
In the 1990s, Shirley and her sister Muriel S. Campbell found Roxanna Britton's grave in Elsinore CA and bought her a headstone.
Shirley died in Berkeley, CA in December of 2013 at the age of 92, surrounded by her loving family. She is survived by her daughters Anne R. Allen and Elizabeth L. Allen and three grandsons, Daniel, William and Christopher Mullaney as well as Muriel's daughters Janet Campbell Webber and Bonnie Campbell Munt and their families.
Her daughter, author Anne R. Allen is executor of her literary estate.
She was the author of the historical mystery ACADEMIC BODY and the biographical novel ROXANNA BRITTON, based on the life of her great-grandmother, a pioneer of the American west.
Shirley's book on the 19th century actor-manager Samuel Phelps, SAMUEL PHELPS AND SADLER'S WELLS THEATRE, is widely considered the definitive work on Mr. Phelps.
She was born Shirley May Seifried in Oak Park, Illinois in 1921, the daughter of John F. Seifried and Hazel Rogers Seifried. Shirley received a B.A. from Carleton College and a Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College.
Among her scholarly publications is a history of performances of Shakespeare's plays during the years of the Gold Rush in California, requested for the International Shakespeare Conference in Stratford in 1981.
Married to Archibald W. Allen, a professor of classics at Yale, Colby, and Wesleyan, she brought up three children before becoming a professor of English at the University of Connecticut.
After retiring to California, she became a political columnist and fiction writer. In 2010, at the age of 89, she published the cozy mystery ACADEMIC BODY with Mainly Murder Press. It is now available as an ebook through Kotu Beach Press.
In the 1990s, Shirley and her sister Muriel S. Campbell found Roxanna Britton's grave in Elsinore CA and bought her a headstone.
Shirley died in Berkeley, CA in December of 2013 at the age of 92, surrounded by her loving family. She is survived by her daughters Anne R. Allen and Elizabeth L. Allen and three grandsons, Daniel, William and Christopher Mullaney as well as Muriel's daughters Janet Campbell Webber and Bonnie Campbell Munt and their families.
Her daughter, author Anne R. Allen is executor of her literary estate.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 16, 2010
This book has many elements that I simply love--a stage director who solves a mystery by blocking the crime out like a play, his delightful diva of a wife who is forced to give up her acting career for him, a small campus rife with academic and other sorts of scandal, and a cast of suspects with so many secrets that you will be kept guessing right up until the very end.
The tone of the book is definitely that of a "cozy" mystery. There is virtually no bloodshed, little violence, nor graphic sex (but lots of enchanting innuendo between the professor and his wife). What there is, is a fascinating puzzle that the reader unravels along with the amateur sleuth/scholarly stage director Paul Godwin. The motives, alibis, and character connections are so wonderfully convoluted and intertwined that readers, just like Paul, may want to diagram the murder on scratch paper as they go along.
The book is easy to read and just the right length. The author knows her literary history, too, with examples from ancient Greek drama to Shakespeare to L. Frank Baum provided to enrich the prose. I loved it!
The tone of the book is definitely that of a "cozy" mystery. There is virtually no bloodshed, little violence, nor graphic sex (but lots of enchanting innuendo between the professor and his wife). What there is, is a fascinating puzzle that the reader unravels along with the amateur sleuth/scholarly stage director Paul Godwin. The motives, alibis, and character connections are so wonderfully convoluted and intertwined that readers, just like Paul, may want to diagram the murder on scratch paper as they go along.
The book is easy to read and just the right length. The author knows her literary history, too, with examples from ancient Greek drama to Shakespeare to L. Frank Baum provided to enrich the prose. I loved it!
September 12, 2012
The story opens in the icy rain en route to the Dean's Reception. Paul Godwin's stunning wife Lenore, a Broadway star, has just arrived from New York, hopefully to stay. A weak heart forced Paul, a former director, into teaching drama. Now he must woo Lenore from the bright lights.
Paul's plans go south when the Dean accuses him of dallying with a female student and says he can produce evidence. Paul knows he's innocent, but agrees to a meeting.
Before they can meet, however, someone does in the Dean with a blunt object. Paul becomes a suspect and so do his colleagues, since the slimy murder victim kept real and fabricated blackmail material on all of them.
Paul turns detective to clear his name. He and Lenore team up, just like the old days, to map suspects like they would actors in a play. But everyone has a motive, from the philandering French instructor to the radical Sociology professor to the Dean's spinster secretary (who's not so uptight after all). The secrets and surprises keep piling up.
Academic Body features a quirky, memorable cast in the tradition of Agatha Christie. If you're a classic movie fan who enjoyed "The Thin Man," you'll love the repartee of Paul and Lenore Godwin. The twisty plot and claustrophobic atmosphere kept me turning pages and wondering whodunnit.
I also think it's brilliant that someone from the "publish or perish" milieu (Shirley Allen used to be an English professor) published a mystery where an academic villain perishes!
Paul's plans go south when the Dean accuses him of dallying with a female student and says he can produce evidence. Paul knows he's innocent, but agrees to a meeting.
Before they can meet, however, someone does in the Dean with a blunt object. Paul becomes a suspect and so do his colleagues, since the slimy murder victim kept real and fabricated blackmail material on all of them.
Paul turns detective to clear his name. He and Lenore team up, just like the old days, to map suspects like they would actors in a play. But everyone has a motive, from the philandering French instructor to the radical Sociology professor to the Dean's spinster secretary (who's not so uptight after all). The secrets and surprises keep piling up.
Academic Body features a quirky, memorable cast in the tradition of Agatha Christie. If you're a classic movie fan who enjoyed "The Thin Man," you'll love the repartee of Paul and Lenore Godwin. The twisty plot and claustrophobic atmosphere kept me turning pages and wondering whodunnit.
I also think it's brilliant that someone from the "publish or perish" milieu (Shirley Allen used to be an English professor) published a mystery where an academic villain perishes!
June 5, 2016
I just finished up this rousing novel by the late Shirley S. Allen and found it hard to put down. Your main character Paul Godwin finds himself in a quagmire when a disagreeable professor is killed in his office. You not only get a glimpse of the murder but got a peek inside how much politicking goes on a college campus. You are introduced to a hodgepodge of characters who are unique and devious. Not only do you get a peak inside the characters that roam around this university but you get a peak inside Paul's marriage to the artistic Lenore. This unusual relationship adds a certain tenderness and warmth to a grisly murder. I enjoy reading this book and recommend it to anyone who loves mysteries set on a college campus. I love the way the late Shirley S. Allen uses such evocative word pictures such as the cool breeze touching someone's face and how emotions overtake certain characters in distressing and frightening situations. This is a wonderful book that I recommend to you all of you. Shirley S. Allen did an outstanding job.
April 3, 2015
I hemmed and hawed between giving this one or two stars. I liked the protagonist well enough, but I didn't really get into the story. It seemed weirdly disjointed to me. The reason for the murder, to me, was rather flimsy. I never really got a sense of the characters, including the protagonist, who is a former Broadway director who now, because of health reasons, works as a professor at a small town college. His wife is (was?) a famous stage actress. The book is set in the 1962/63 school year. It was winter, but I don't recall if it was before or after the new year. I found parts of it confusing and found myself looking back a few pages to verify information. I don't know if that was because I just couldn't get into the book or because the writing was not clear...or memorable. The author passed away, so there are no other books of hers to compare.
February 22, 2016
An actor/directo, Paul Gofwin, r must take an easier job because of a bad heart. He takes a position as a teacher in a small college town. The dean is murdered and the police chief "blackmails" Paul into assisting him with finding the culprit ( rather reaching). Paul's wife has remained in New York in her acting career. As Paul tries to find clues, he steps on toes and is threatened by another professor and also the drug cartel. (also rather reaching). Paul is smarter than the local and state police as he finds the murderer. The plot is okay, but the circumstances can't be believed.
August 2, 2012
Three and a half stars, really. I enjoyed this more than I expected to - the acting and drama-related details and metaphors made the book for me. There were points where I felt the story logic or character's decisions were strained, but never quite enough to snap my suspension of disbelief. I didn't care that much about the protagonist's marital stresses, but fortunately that was not central to the book.
January 5, 2013
The story was slightly dragged out but still quite interesting. However, the ending was very sloppy.
It appears the author ran out of ideas ad just cut it off. She threw in a scene that didn't even fit.
There was a lot of crude language that was totally unnecessary. If the main character, a
theatre director and acting teacher, can keep his language clean why in the world wouldn't
university professors?
It appears the author ran out of ideas ad just cut it off. She threw in a scene that didn't even fit.
There was a lot of crude language that was totally unnecessary. If the main character, a
theatre director and acting teacher, can keep his language clean why in the world wouldn't
university professors?
August 15, 2012
I had little hopes of liking Academic Body simply because I don't get excited about this genre. But I was surprised at how much I was drawn into the book. As the mystery unfolded about who murdered the dean, I found myself examining the clues for myself, trying to stay one step ahead. Shirley Allen has written a fantastic murder mystery for that will keep you on your toes.
August 24, 2012
Quick read on my tiny iPhone. Good storyline, written in a somewhat timeless modern era due to the omission (intentional?) of a lot of detail that set it firmly in a specific decade. I was annoyed by how perfectly understanding Lenore and our hero (whose name slips my mind) were of each other despite several big stresses on their relationship.
September 13, 2012
I enjoyed reading this book by Shirley Allen. It was a fascinating study of colege life, that it is and what it ought to be. The characters were likeable for the most part and they worked to create a good plot. This is a good read.
J. Robert Ewbank author "Wesley's Wars" and "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms"
J. Robert Ewbank author "Wesley's Wars" and "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms"
January 19, 2014
This book opens a door, inviting you in to the ordinary home and life on a college campus. The characters are well developed and likeable. It’s the kind of life you would expect from most college towns.. and then the mysteries start and the murder and the secrets come rolling out leaving you turning page after page. This was a very nice read indeed.
I bought this book via Amazon
I bought this book via Amazon
October 9, 2016
Academic Body
This is a very well written mystery. I had no idea who had hit the dean over the head until the last chapter. The story went back and forth between people that the police was having one of the professors do there deducting for them. A must read if you like mysteries.
This is a very well written mystery. I had no idea who had hit the dean over the head until the last chapter. The story went back and forth between people that the police was having one of the professors do there deducting for them. A must read if you like mysteries.
March 17, 2014
A fun mystery
I'm a huge fan of soft murder mysteries. You know, without all of the gritty, graphic detail. That's why I loved this one so much. It was an easy, fast-paced read, perfect for cruising through on a road trip.
I'm a huge fan of soft murder mysteries. You know, without all of the gritty, graphic detail. That's why I loved this one so much. It was an easy, fast-paced read, perfect for cruising through on a road trip.
March 30, 2010
This is a good story with a clever plot and a suspenseful conclusion. Well written with a definitely-likable main character. An enjoyable read.
August 13, 2012
Once you get past the unbelievability of how the professor got involved in the murder, this was a nice little mystery. Hope there's more to come.
July 7, 2013
A solid campus mystery, where a visiting theater prof is drawn into investigating the death of a hated dean. Not perfect in plot, but setting and characters were likable.
August 15, 2012
Fun mystery that touches on university politics.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews