From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Black Plumes

Margery Allingham

Start date: March 1, 2016

Finish date: March 31, 2016

Discussion: Group reads

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What Members Thought

Jan 22, 2016 Susan rated it liked it

I love Golden Age mysteries, but have stalled before while trying to read the Campion books, so was keen to read this stand alone book. Published in 1940, it centres on a private art gallery, owned by the Ivory family. The elderly Mrs Gabrielle Ivory is the matriarch and, while her son, Meyrick, is away, the gallery is run by Robert Madrigal; who is married to Meyrick’s daughter, Phillida. There is also Phillida’s half sister, Frances, who feels that something is very wrong. Strange things have I love Golden Age mysteries, but have stalled before while trying to read the Campion books, so was keen to read this stand alone book. Published in 1940, it centres on a private art gallery, owned by the Ivory family. The elderly Mrs Gabrielle Ivory is the matriarch and, while her son, Meyrick, is away, the gallery is run by Robert Madrigal; who is married to Meyrick’s daughter, Phillida. There is also Phillida’s half sister, Frances, who feels that something is very wrong. Strange things have been happening, including a painting by the artist, David Field, slashed. There have also been a vase broken, a special catalogue burnt and a host of minor incidents that add up to make Frances uncomfortable. Add to that the fact that Robert is trying to push Frances to marry his former batman, the odious Henry Lucar, and we begin the story with a very uncomfortable feeling of dread, which is well written.

When David Field proposes a fake engagement, to help Frances out, she never imagines that it will cause anything but ill feeling with Robert Madrigal and Henry Lucar. The two men had returned from an expedition heroes, while their companion, ‘Dolly’ Godolphin was missing, presumed dead. However, when Mrs Gabrielle Ivory, the staunch Victorian, hears that someone she sees as a former servant intends to try to marry her granddaughter, she becomes involved in a family dynamic which will lead to murder…

This is a mystery full of mysterious disappearances and reappearances, intrigue, some good characters – Allingham makes full use of everyone in the household, including servants, who are so often ignored in mysteries at this time – and a little romance. I found some of the speech grating, especially that of the detective inspector, Mr Bridie; the staunch, unflappable Scotsman. Also, the parts where the elderly Mrs Gabrielle Ivory wandered (both physically and literally) as a ghostly presence throughout the book, was a little wearing. So, did this help improve my difficult relationship with this very well known Golden Age author? Slightly, yes, but I am still not completely won over. Rated 3.5 stars.

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Feb 23, 2016 Judy rated it really liked it

I'm a fan of the Albert Campion novels and have often revisited them, but hadn't read this standalone novel since I was a teenager. Published in 1940, it doesn't mention the war, but it is set in a London full of forebodings and rumours, so the atmosphere of the Blitz is not very distant. The story is set in and around a small art gallery and the home of the family who run it, 90-year-old matriarch Gabrielle Ivory and her descendants.

At the start of the book, there is shock when a painting in th I'm a fan of the Albert Campion novels and have often revisited them, but hadn't read this standalone novel since I was a teenager. Published in 1940, it doesn't mention the war, but it is set in a London full of forebodings and rumours, so the atmosphere of the Blitz is not very distant. The story is set in and around a small art gallery and the home of the family who run it, 90-year-old matriarch Gabrielle Ivory and her descendants.

At the start of the book, there is shock when a painting in the gallery is slashed, the latest in a series of malicious tricks. Frances, Gabrielle's granddaughter, is worried about what is happening both to the business and to her family - especially when her brother-in-law, the domineering Robert, tries to force her to marry an unpleasant friend of his. Then there is a mysterious disappearance and the plot thickens.

I would have liked more of the book to be set in the gallery - there's actually less Bohemian atmosphere than I'd been hoping for. However, all the characters are interesting and I especially enjoyed the conversational style of dashing artist David, whose way of talking has hints of Campion. Gabrielle herself is a well-drawn character, too, with her once brilliant mind sliding in and out of focus. I wasn't so keen on the detective, though, a caricatured Scottish policeman whose dialect gets a bit hard to read.

Overall, I enjoyed it and found it very atmospheric, even though for me it isn't quite up there with her very best. The Kindle edition that I read has a preview chapter for one of the best Campions, Look to the Lady, at the end, which reminded me just how witty and compelling those books are. Unfortunately, the Kindle edition also has a lot of scanning errors which get very distracting, with the word "He" appearing as "lie" countless times.

I understand that older editions of the novel contain some uses of racist language, as with many detective stories from this era, but the worst of this had been removed from the edition I read. ...more

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Mar 14, 2016 Damaskcat rated it liked it

Margery Allingham is an author whose books I would love to enjoy but somehow they don't quite do it for me. I can appreciate she was a good writer and she creates some marvellous characters but somehow I just can't get to grips with her books and this one is no exception.

'Black Plumes' is a standalone novel which centres round the Ivory family and their prestigious art gallery. A spate of malicious incidents results in damage to a valuable painting but this is only the tip of the iceberg of what ...more

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Feb 12, 2008 Nancy Oakes rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction, crime-fiction-uk, classic-mystery-fiction

While the director of the Ivory Art Gallery has been out of the country, someone has been vanadalizing the gallery. As if that weren't enough, someone's gone and killed the acting director, Mr. Robert Madrigal, the director's son-in-law. With a long list of suspects, the police certainly have their hands full, especially when another dead body turns up.

The book seemed to drone on and on -- Allingham is very into her characters and she seems to have done them to death here. Her characterization ...more

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Apr 13, 2014 Jan C rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, mystery, library, england

Great. I picked this up at the library last week prior to a trip to North Carolina. The miles flew by. I didn't know whether this was a Campion story or not. But I took the risk of reading out of order. Not a problem because it wasn't a Campion story.

Fascinating tale about a family involved in an art gallery. Early on a painting is slashed and the unpleasant Robert Madrigal agrees to pay for the repair because the painter was pretty peeved. Then it appears that Madrigal is trying to force his h ...more

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Dec 01, 2013 Neer rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: libraries, brit-lit, women-writers, mysteries, reads-13

Better than the last two books read of Allingham but still not really top-class.

More here:

http://inkquilletc.blogspot.in/2013/1... ...more

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Feb 21, 2016 Jay-me (Janet) rated it really liked it

Shelves: new-2016

Kindle edition had some errors, particularly the substitution of "lie" and "lie's" for "he" and "he's". ...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Gina Dalfonzo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

No Albert Campion here, but it's still excellent. :-) Allingham has an amazing way with words and a knack for creating strong characters and a spooky atmosphere. ...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Laura Anne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, british-isles

This a good mystery from the golden age (unfortunately it shows its vintage with the repetition of a racial slur). I'm bumping it up to four stars because I like Allingham's style. The dialogues are well written and the characters are memorable; I especially liked the Victorian matriarch and her 19-year old granddaughter. ...more

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