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Surfeit of Lampreys; Death and the Dancing Footman; The Colour Scheme
Commemorating 75 years since the Empress of Crime's first book, the fourth volume in a set of omnibus editions presenting the complete run of 32 Inspector Alleyn mysteries.
864 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
36 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
About the author
Ngaio Marsh
224 books809 followersDame Ngaio Marsh, born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900, but she was born in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.
Of all the "Great Ladies" of the English mystery's golden age, including Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh alone survived to publish in the 1980s. Over a fifty-year span, from 1932 to 1982, Marsh wrote thirty-two classic English detective novels, which gained international acclaim. She did not always see herself as a writer, but first planned a career as a painter.
Marsh's first novel, A MAN LAY DEAD (1934), which she wrote in London in 1931-32, introduced the detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn: a combination of Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey and a realistically depicted police official at work. Throughout the 1930s Marsh painted occasionally, wrote plays for local repertory societies in New Zealand, and published detective novels. In 1937 Marsh went to England for a period. Before going back to her home country, she spent six months travelling about Europe.
All her novels feature British CID detective Roderick Alleyn. Several novels feature Marsh's other loves, the theatre and painting. A number are set around theatrical productions (Enter a Murderer, Vintage Murder, Overture to Death, Opening Night, Death at the Dolphin, and Light Thickens), and two others are about actors off stage (Final Curtain and False Scent). Her short story "'I Can Find My Way Out" is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier "Jupiter case" referred to in Opening Night. Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation (Artists in Crime), and who features in several later novels.
Series:
* Roderick Alleyn
Of all the "Great Ladies" of the English mystery's golden age, including Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh alone survived to publish in the 1980s. Over a fifty-year span, from 1932 to 1982, Marsh wrote thirty-two classic English detective novels, which gained international acclaim. She did not always see herself as a writer, but first planned a career as a painter.
Marsh's first novel, A MAN LAY DEAD (1934), which she wrote in London in 1931-32, introduced the detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn: a combination of Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey and a realistically depicted police official at work. Throughout the 1930s Marsh painted occasionally, wrote plays for local repertory societies in New Zealand, and published detective novels. In 1937 Marsh went to England for a period. Before going back to her home country, she spent six months travelling about Europe.
All her novels feature British CID detective Roderick Alleyn. Several novels feature Marsh's other loves, the theatre and painting. A number are set around theatrical productions (Enter a Murderer, Vintage Murder, Overture to Death, Opening Night, Death at the Dolphin, and Light Thickens), and two others are about actors off stage (Final Curtain and False Scent). Her short story "'I Can Find My Way Out" is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier "Jupiter case" referred to in Opening Night. Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation (Artists in Crime), and who features in several later novels.
Series:
* Roderick Alleyn
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 26, 2020
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed my first Marsh novel! I found it to be delightful.
In this mystery the focus is the Lamphrey family. I must warn you, with seven members to the family and all the servants and aunts and uncles who also get involved – the character cast is quite a long one. It can be a lot to keep your head wrapped around. But I ended up charmed by the family of the Lamphreys. Maybe because I am from a big family too, so seeing that dynamic worked well for me and made me feel at home. Maybe because they are ignorant aristocrats at times who are perfectly charming too. But something about them made me fall in love with them. With them all!
The mystery was unpredictable, and I couldn’t guess whodunnit. Sometimes the inspector could get a bit technical when describing the crime and his theories – but I didn’t mind too much. I loved all the Macbeth references and the hint of witchcraft themes. Maybe more than I would’ve at any other time because I’d coincidentally just finished reading the play myself.
All in all, I found this to be an incredibly suspenseful novel, and I thought the explanation and outcome of the mystery was believable. When it came to the motivations for the crime, I also believed it completely in the end.
I can’t wait to read another book of hers!
I have other reviews for the other two novels in this bind up, on their respective book pages.
This review and others can be found on Olivia's Catastrophe: https://oliviascatastrophe.com/2020/0...
In this mystery the focus is the Lamphrey family. I must warn you, with seven members to the family and all the servants and aunts and uncles who also get involved – the character cast is quite a long one. It can be a lot to keep your head wrapped around. But I ended up charmed by the family of the Lamphreys. Maybe because I am from a big family too, so seeing that dynamic worked well for me and made me feel at home. Maybe because they are ignorant aristocrats at times who are perfectly charming too. But something about them made me fall in love with them. With them all!
The mystery was unpredictable, and I couldn’t guess whodunnit. Sometimes the inspector could get a bit technical when describing the crime and his theories – but I didn’t mind too much. I loved all the Macbeth references and the hint of witchcraft themes. Maybe more than I would’ve at any other time because I’d coincidentally just finished reading the play myself.
All in all, I found this to be an incredibly suspenseful novel, and I thought the explanation and outcome of the mystery was believable. When it came to the motivations for the crime, I also believed it completely in the end.
I can’t wait to read another book of hers!
I have other reviews for the other two novels in this bind up, on their respective book pages.
This review and others can be found on Olivia's Catastrophe: https://oliviascatastrophe.com/2020/0...
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July 23, 2021I’ve read silly books before but only just now been impelled to start a new category for myself.
They’re so silly, in fact, that I’ve found myself wondering about the category of women writers you see described as writers of the golden age of crime. Ngaire Marsh is one.
Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham are others.
They all run with stereotyped characters, English country house business, all are steeped in the class prejudice of their time and place.
Ngaio Marsh, a New Zealander who lived for some time in England, has assembled casts of caricatures, her plots are shaky and her detective, who only ever appears half way or more through the story, is devoid of personality.
Oh dear.
I am desperate for light reading while we’re in COVID lockdown again (the Delta strain has entered Australia despite our almost-closed borders) and reliant on e-books. Marsh didn’t hit the spot.
They’re so silly, in fact, that I’ve found myself wondering about the category of women writers you see described as writers of the golden age of crime. Ngaire Marsh is one.
Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham are others.
They all run with stereotyped characters, English country house business, all are steeped in the class prejudice of their time and place.
Ngaio Marsh, a New Zealander who lived for some time in England, has assembled casts of caricatures, her plots are shaky and her detective, who only ever appears half way or more through the story, is devoid of personality.
Oh dear.
I am desperate for light reading while we’re in COVID lockdown again (the Delta strain has entered Australia despite our almost-closed borders) and reliant on e-books. Marsh didn’t hit the spot.
April 28, 2010
Surfeit of Lampfreys: Token New Zealander. Eccentric and rather brattish English titles. Charades. Good.
Death and the Dancing Footman: Very good! Enjoyed the footman immensely. Good mystery, really liked Aubrey Mandrake as a narrator. William was extremely hard done by. Like that the murderer practically got the last word. The Copelands make a reappearance (and Alleyn fulfills the phrophecy he made in 'Overture to Death').
Colour Scheme: Set in NZ during the War, a Died in the Wool that isn't as good. A bit uncomfortable.
Death and the Dancing Footman: Very good! Enjoyed the footman immensely. Good mystery, really liked Aubrey Mandrake as a narrator. William was extremely hard done by. Like that the murderer practically got the last word. The Copelands make a reappearance (and Alleyn fulfills the phrophecy he made in 'Overture to Death').
Colour Scheme: Set in NZ during the War, a Died in the Wool that isn't as good. A bit uncomfortable.
October 18, 2020
Ngaio (pronounced NYe-o, in case you were wondering) Marsh was one of the great mid-century British mystery writers. A nostalgic re-read, good if you are a Christie fan.
February 22, 2021
I had to look up the word “surfeit” before I began reading Ngaio Marsh’s book, Surfeit of Lampreys. Surfeit means “an excessive amount.” And Lamprey is the family name of the people in the novel – in the mansion where our story takes place. There are the two brothers, their wives, their children, and grandchildren, a maid, and a driver – an excessive number of Lampreys.
The family, save for Uncle Gabriel – one of the two brothers – spend money like it is going out of style. They had been wealthy, but it hadn’t lasted. That didn’t stop them from spending, so they would occasionally go to Uncle Gabriel for a “loan.” The family had gathered for just this purpose, but Gabriel was fed up, and he refused his brother the loan.
Next thing you know, he’s dead, with a skewer through his eye.
Inspector Alleyne comes to sort it out and must deal with a tight-knit family who is all too good at covering for each other.
[This review appears on my blog, my YouTube channel, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com.]
The family, save for Uncle Gabriel – one of the two brothers – spend money like it is going out of style. They had been wealthy, but it hadn’t lasted. That didn’t stop them from spending, so they would occasionally go to Uncle Gabriel for a “loan.” The family had gathered for just this purpose, but Gabriel was fed up, and he refused his brother the loan.
Next thing you know, he’s dead, with a skewer through his eye.
Inspector Alleyne comes to sort it out and must deal with a tight-knit family who is all too good at covering for each other.
[This review appears on my blog, my YouTube channel, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com.]
September 26, 2012
So what do you do when a member of the English nobility--Lord Wutherford--is found dying with a meat skewer driven through his eye and into his brain? Especially since he is in a closed elevator with his estranged wife and his nephew and they both protest their innocence? Obviously you have to call in Scotland Yard and let Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn sort it all out. And sort it out he does.
December 10, 2023
#10 in the Scotland Yard Chief Detective Superintendent Roderick Alleyn mystery series.
The story is told by and through the eyes of 20 year old New Zealander "commoner" Roberta Gray who has known and unofficially adopted by the aristocratic British Lamprey family since she was 14. The family moved back to England when she was 16 and is rejoining them in England.
The Lampreys had plenty of charm who bask in their eccentricity while bumbling along from one financial crisis to another always on the verge of bankruptcy. When Roberta joins them in London, they are on the verge of another financial collapse hoping that the father's older brother (who is an awful character) and holder of the family's title, estate and money will yet bail them out. The father is in next in line to inherit the title, etc. A meeting has been set up with the older brother who refuses to bail them out. He is then murdered as he leaves the building, thus opening the door for Alleyn and his Scotland Yard team to investigate the death.
The story is told by and through the eyes of 20 year old New Zealander "commoner" Roberta Gray who has known and unofficially adopted by the aristocratic British Lamprey family since she was 14. The family moved back to England when she was 16 and is rejoining them in England.
The Lampreys had plenty of charm who bask in their eccentricity while bumbling along from one financial crisis to another always on the verge of bankruptcy. When Roberta joins them in London, they are on the verge of another financial collapse hoping that the father's older brother (who is an awful character) and holder of the family's title, estate and money will yet bail them out. The father is in next in line to inherit the title, etc. A meeting has been set up with the older brother who refuses to bail them out. He is then murdered as he leaves the building, thus opening the door for Alleyn and his Scotland Yard team to investigate the death.
September 3, 2018
I am on a delicious Ngaio Marsh "bender"-- one after another of these tri-mystery collections.
If you are considering a similar carouse of your own, I heartily recommend this one, especially for "Surfeit of Lampreys."
The pleasure lies in the nice, gradual development of interesting characters. You KNOW it's a murder mystery, but it begins as a novel of manners, introducing a cast of colorful uppercrust characters as charming as they are feckless. After several chapters you realize that's it's not only a "whodunnit" but a "who'sgonnagetit."
Marsh's skillful character development represented by the different responses to Our Hero Detective's questioning is another treat.
"Colour Scheme" is similarly delicious, but not quite as. And yes, it's good not to read this pellmell one-right-after-the-other, but to allow a little breathing space between mysteries, so that the similarities between them will be minimized and you will just have a fine old wallow.
If you are considering a similar carouse of your own, I heartily recommend this one, especially for "Surfeit of Lampreys."
The pleasure lies in the nice, gradual development of interesting characters. You KNOW it's a murder mystery, but it begins as a novel of manners, introducing a cast of colorful uppercrust characters as charming as they are feckless. After several chapters you realize that's it's not only a "whodunnit" but a "who'sgonnagetit."
Marsh's skillful character development represented by the different responses to Our Hero Detective's questioning is another treat.
"Colour Scheme" is similarly delicious, but not quite as. And yes, it's good not to read this pellmell one-right-after-the-other, but to allow a little breathing space between mysteries, so that the similarities between them will be minimized and you will just have a fine old wallow.
February 27, 2023
When this hold came in from the library I was filled with inordinate glee and also the certain knowledge that I was about to lose sleep until I finished all three novels.
I will say that watching Everything Everywhere All At Once and then finishing Surfeit of Lampreys consecutively was a very strange experience I do not necessarily recommend. The clash between surreal, absurd, deadly serious Chinese sci-fi of the 2020s and the absent-minded British nobility of the 1940s did strain the suspension of disbelief. I think the British nobility came off the worse in this encounter.
I will say that watching Everything Everywhere All At Once and then finishing Surfeit of Lampreys consecutively was a very strange experience I do not necessarily recommend. The clash between surreal, absurd, deadly serious Chinese sci-fi of the 2020s and the absent-minded British nobility of the 1940s did strain the suspension of disbelief. I think the British nobility came off the worse in this encounter.
January 17, 2024
This is one of my favorite Roderick Alleyn mysteries. I love the quiet orphaned visitor, Roberta Grey, who is staying with the Lampreys. One of the characters refers to Roberta as Jane Eyre - and this book does have a mad woman stalking its halls - but I think of Roberta as more like Fanny Price in a book that’s more satisfying to read than Mansfield Park.
Alleyn is at his best sorting through the dissimulation and vagaries of the Lampreys and Fox is staunch and capable, as always. A fun read!
Alleyn is at his best sorting through the dissimulation and vagaries of the Lampreys and Fox is staunch and capable, as always. A fun read!
May 22, 2020
Well yes, Ngaio Marsh was the real Queen of Mystery. This trilogy bundles some of her best books. Clever plots, well written dialogues and very lively stories made her books timeless. You like Agatha Christie because each one of her books resemble a puzzle. You love Ngaio Marsh because all the characters in her books are real.
September 21, 2024
I really feel this was very clever and if I had made a chart like Inspector Allyn I could have probably figured it out but this was so zany and the family so weird that I just couldn’t rate it a 4. I’d like to know if any of them survived the war and rationing. Fortunately they didn’t have to. LOL.
January 2, 2021
Loved the three novels. In the Dancing Footman, the clues were visible right up front, but it was very enjoyable knowing I could see who the killer was, and why.
The first one is a great character reading, the last one is excellent - more about Maori customs and views, tough to see who dunnit.
The first one is a great character reading, the last one is excellent - more about Maori customs and views, tough to see who dunnit.
September 18, 2024
Surfeit of lampreys was not her best. It has a lot of humor in it with some classic Fox / Alleyn interactions. However the plot is a little too contrived and characters are not that exciting to me.
The other two books in this triology are quite good. The Colour scheme is a favorite.
The other two books in this triology are quite good. The Colour scheme is a favorite.
December 23, 2019
Not my favourite stories; Lampreys is a bit silly, Dancing Footman takes forever to get going, and Colour Scheme is... awkward. Going back to Nursing Home, Artists and White Tie, I think!
December 10, 2020
Not as good as some the other books by Ngaio Marsh. The family seemed very silly. The murderer was obvious.
But they are nice quick reads
And you've got to love Chief Inspector Alleyn.
But they are nice quick reads
And you've got to love Chief Inspector Alleyn.
January 3, 2021
Surfeit or Lampreys is so far my least favourite Ngaio Marsh story. I found it painful to get through. The other stories were enjoyable.
October 11, 2021
Very weird.
August 1, 2022
Love her books!
January 26, 2023
3.5
This classification is for "Color Scheme" only, as I can't seem to find it as a separate book on Goodreads...
This classification is for "Color Scheme" only, as I can't seem to find it as a separate book on Goodreads...
April 13, 2020
Another good omnibus of the Roderick Alleyn stories which are presented in chronological order.
These three were written during World War 2 and that is reflected in the stories, peripherally in Surfeit of Lampreys and Death and The Dancing Footman, and more explicitly in The Colour Scheme.
My favourite of the three is Surfeit of Lampreys which I was hooked into almost immediately, I really liked the family, they are an eccentric group who would drive you mad in reality but on the page they are very engaging. And I guessed wrong on the who, when and why.
Death and the Dancing Footman started off by having the feel of a 1920s melodrama. But I warmed to it as the story proper kicked off. Not my favourite of the Alleyn books but enjoyable too.
The Colour Scheme is set in New Zealand. Would/did Scotland Yard send a detective to the other side of the world in the middle of WW2? If you can accept that the story is a good one and I think Ngaio Marsh likes having her stories set at home. Do all the characters seem plausible? No not really but it's an interesting story.
These three were written during World War 2 and that is reflected in the stories, peripherally in Surfeit of Lampreys and Death and The Dancing Footman, and more explicitly in The Colour Scheme.
My favourite of the three is Surfeit of Lampreys which I was hooked into almost immediately, I really liked the family, they are an eccentric group who would drive you mad in reality but on the page they are very engaging. And I guessed wrong on the who, when and why.
Death and the Dancing Footman started off by having the feel of a 1920s melodrama. But I warmed to it as the story proper kicked off. Not my favourite of the Alleyn books but enjoyable too.
The Colour Scheme is set in New Zealand. Would/did Scotland Yard send a detective to the other side of the world in the middle of WW2? If you can accept that the story is a good one and I think Ngaio Marsh likes having her stories set at home. Do all the characters seem plausible? No not really but it's an interesting story.
August 24, 2022
Individually these stories work well enough. Collected together their weaknesses are amplified by repetition: too much emphasis on an outsider's perspective of their hosts' over-exaggerated eccentricities, with Alleyn descending from Olympus in the final act to shed light on the proceedings, and the outsider running off with the fair damsel at the end.
Of the three "The Dancing Footman" works best.
Of the three "The Dancing Footman" works best.
April 14, 2010
I am Addicted
June 13, 2011
BBC edition
November 20, 2013
I have read 'Surfeit of Lampreys' several times and always get a shiver at the manner of the murder. I love the characters and setting too.
April 16, 2014
I want to be part of the Lampreys.
Have not read the others because I'm doing it in order
Have not read the others because I'm doing it in order
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January 10, 2016I love it! Must read. hilarious.
November 30, 2016
The First and the Best!
At fourteen she was the first crime author I ever read. Forty years later she is still the best.! Excellent!
At fourteen she was the first crime author I ever read. Forty years later she is still the best.! Excellent!
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews