Appleby On Ararat

Sir John Appleby #7

by Michael Innes

Inspector Appleby is stranded on a very strange island, with a rather odd bunch of people - too many men, too few women (and one of them too attractive) cause a deal of trouble. But that is nothing compared to later developments, including the body afloat in the water, and the attack by local inhabitants.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Golden Age Mystery, British Literature

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1941

About the author

Michael Innes was the pseudonym of John Innes MacKintosh (J.I.M.) Stewart (J.I.M. Stewart).

He was born in Edinburgh, and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Oriel College, Oxford. He was Lecturer in English at the University of Leeds from 1930 - 1935, and spent the succeeding ten years as Jury Professor of English at the University of Adelaide, South Australia.

He returned to the United Kingdom in 1949, to become a Lecturer at the Queen's University of Belfast. In 1949 he became a Student (Fellow) of Christ Church, Oxford, becoming a Professor by the time of his retirement in 1973.

As J.I.M. Stewart he published a number of works of non-fiction, mainly critical studies of authors, including Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling, as well as about twenty works of fiction and a memoir, 'Myself and Michael Innes'.

As Michael Innes, he published numerous mystery novels and short story collections, most featuring the Scotland Yard detective John Appleby.

Reviews

[Karl]

Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard Appleby murder mystery set on a small tropical island about a group of survivors of torpedo attack of the coast of Australia.

[Abigail Bok · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review contains partial spoilers.

The insidious thing about evil ideas is that they infect the brains of even those who refuse to adopt them. (Words of warning to present-day America.) The truth of this proposition is clear in much of the popular fiction written during World War II, and Appleby on Ararat is no exception. It seems to be currently out of print, and that’s probably a good thing.

Michael Innes occasionally sported with fantasy in his murder mysteries, and this is one of the most phantasmagorical of his novels. It opens with his usual hero, John Appleby, afloat on an ocean liner in the South Pacific—an odd enough place for him to be, and a setting little accounted for beyond some vague references to war work. He is in the café on the deck with an Australian hottie, a retired colonel, a clergyman, an Afro-British anthropologist, and a prim English spinster; why they are all there, who knows? They engage in some inconsequential chat and then one sees a whale that proves to be not a whale. Their ship blown up, only the café area remains, turned upside-down and floating on its domed glass ceiling. From there the ill-assorted company manages to be pitched onto an island just before they all die of thirst and exposure. The island is presented as a preposterous amalgam of ignorance about the flora and fauna of the South Pacific, both on the part of the characters and on the part of the author, and Innes bends it to the will of his plot like Prospero.

As if all this weren’t improbable enough, the plot thickens and a whole new cast of characters-unlikely-to-be-found-in-the-South-Pacific appears, and soon people start to die. The mystery by this time is not so very mysterious, and it’s obvious that Germans will be involved. Which brings me back to that infection of ideas.

The WWII-era Germans were so obsessed with race and blood lines that they got even those who opposed them thinking along the same lines, and that infection creeps into this book in ways that are very uncomfortable to read today. The Afro-British anthropologist comes in for only a bit of stereotyping and an unconscious obsession with his physical self, not too dreadful. But then there are “natives” of a particularly trite and offensive type, plus the Germans who can be recognized by their supposedly German personalities, and the discomfort keeps piling up. That it’s all supposed to be lightly humorous and entertaining only makes things worse.

I’m including a few more spoilers in this review because really, you don’t want to read it. It’s quite short but feels long from all the cringing.

[Dillwynia Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have to have been the weirdest drawing room mystery I have ever encountered. Set on a South Pacific island, it has the hallmarks of a writer recently moved to a new country - in this instance Australia. We now have Australian references, which isn't surprising as JIM Stewart became Professor of English at Adelaide University. The raft made from the cafe section of the ship was a little too far fetched.

It was an easy read, but I didn't find the mystery fun nor truly satisfying. Some of the red herrings were just plain silly or stupid. What I did find enjoyable were the malapropisms involving literature. They were very witty and funny and showed a man who was widely read and knew European literature as much as English. So, if nothing else, he was an asset to Adelaide Uni during his tenure there. I hope his lectures were as entertaining.

I didn't quite knock the book off within a 24 hr period, but I was close, it obviously is an easy read (I can be a slow reader assessing the clues etc)

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wartime can upset the plans of even a Scotland Yard man--which is why John Appleby is on a liner in the Pacific when it's torpedoed. He and five others land on a seemingly deserted island. When one of their number is killed (by savages?), they also learn that there's a hotel and an archaeological expedition on the other side of the island. But Appleby soon figures out that something else is going on--something that should be of interest to a policeman and, to boot, to a loyal English subject. So it's off on a voyage again. One of the most antic of the Appleby books.

[Carol Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far I've read 2 Michael Innes books and they have whetted my appetite for more. There is a kookiness to both this book and The Daffodil Affair that is refreshing and intriguing. The mystery itself is pretty well plotted in both cases but the interest is more is wondering how weird it can get!

[Jean Hontz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: Far from my favorite of the series.

Rather silly story of Appleby stranded on a tropical island after the ship he was on was torpedoed. WWII tale, with spies, lies and a nice dog. Casual racism rather marred it for me.

Yes, I know...

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining story. I suspect Innes only exposure to the Pacific was stories he read such as Treasure Island and Swiss Family Robinson. Appleby is on a ship that is torpedoed and the six survivors eventually wash up on an apparent uninhabited island.

One of the party is murdered and the survivors find the island is inhabited with even a hotel called Heaven. The other people are disreputable and Appleby with the Australian Diana Kittery investigate who murdered their friend.

SPOILER AHEAD

The two supposedly anthropologists looking for a Viking burial mound are in fact German spies guarding an oil depot hidden under sand. They murdered the Appleby’s friend because they feared he would see through their disguise. An explosive ending with happily George the dog surviving. Not a bad story if somewhat implausible that German U Boats would be in the Pacific.

[Nicholas George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Innes was an impressive wordsmith, and his creation John Appleby is always amusing, but this tale stretches the bounds of believability a bit too far. Appleby is taking what appears to be a pleasure cruise in the South Pacific during WWII (!) when his boat gets torpedoed and he ends up on a desert island that turns out to be inhabited. The inhabitants include mostly British folks with names like "Heaven" and "Hailstorm". It swirls off into an even more complex tale of spies and counter-spies from there.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible. Racist, classist and completely inaccurate. Obviously the author wasn't remotely trying to root this story in reality. Innes is best when he sticks to Academia, a world is actually understands. Would not recommend.

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one did not age well. Appleby always arrives on the scene of a murder in strange ways, but this one was over the top. Also the colonial, racist attitude was hard to take.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odd; a little more spy/adventure than mystery.

[David Megginson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Michael Innes wrote some entertaining intellectual murder mysteries. This bit of tripe isn't one of them. Skip it unless you're a fanatical completionist like I am.

[Amanda]

I am not even going to rate this as I gave up a few chapters in. I find Innes to be wildly uneven in quality, with this story basically a mess and more than a bit racist and sexist. Skip it.

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have loved two of Innes' other novels, but I was disappointed with this one. There are a number of ludicrous features to the plot, and he plays some of them for laughs, but not all. The impossibility of some events is never either adequately explained or highlighted as ridiculous. But the most unnerving feature of the book was a steady stream of racist bumbling. Innes not only uses outdated langauge for ethnicities, but shows a discomforting comfort with the notion of non-whites as inferior outsiders. I could not enjoy this book.

[Matt Brant]

In this 1941 thriller, series hero John Appleby is returning to London from the Sunburnt Country by ocean liner with a zany bunch of passengers. After the liner is torpedoed, the plucky band washes up on a deserted island in the South Pacific which turns out to be not so deserted. One of the passengers is murdered. By whom? For what earthly reason? This one is more adventure story than whodunnit. It isn't too wordy or frighteningly erudite so it does not feel too long, as ones set in country houses (Death by Water) and colleges (Seven Suspects) sometimes do.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sometimes forget how strange Michael Innes novels can be--and this is an odd one, definitely a lesser work, but not too bad. The first chapter is perfect--a portrait of a group of people in a cafe on an ocean liner, right before their ship is torpedoed. The group ends up on a tropical island, where a lot of crazy stuff happens. The book veers between action-adventure, murder mystery, psychological study, comedy of manners, political thriller...all entwined with clever observations, some really obscure erudition, and even some uncomfortable racism. As I said, odd. But I liked it okay.

[Annie Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I managed to get to the end of this odd book although strongly tempted to give up early on. It is dated in a way that made it lack credibility for me. The characters are flat, rather weird and not developed. The plot is unbelievable. The writing...well, I enjoyed the complex vocabulary but not the oddity of some of the similes and metaphors used (e.g., corruscation of culture). The descriptions of the tropical island did not ring true either - I've lived on one and he doesn't get it right.

[Ken · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointing book. (Innes's mystery output is very uneven in quality, and also in genre.) Starts out looking interestingly surreal (which, on the basis of prior experience, I wouldn't put past Innes), but ends up just implausible, and more a thriller than a mystery.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best Innes is whimsical, even fantastical, but here he goes well over the top and it doesn't help that The Guvnor (John Appleby) appears to get the horn on for one of his fellow castaways. A shame - it could have been a classic but ends up just blooming silly.

[Jenine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spare and cartoonish in a good way. Convincing period dialogue. Not much to title character.

[Particle_Person · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful racism. I couldn't finish it, it was so repellent. Do not read. (Other books by Innes have some racism, but NONE of them are as loathsome as this piece of shit.)

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not up to his usual standard.

[Littlelixie · Rating 2 out of 5]

His other books are usually fun. This is daft and fairly racist, even for the times.

[Leo G · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd book set early in WWII. Not a typical Appleby in any way and certainly a product of it's time. But I did enjoy reading it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Surreal and weird.