From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

An Oxford Tragedy

J.C. Masterman

Start date: February 1, 2023

Finish date: February 28, 2023

Discussion: Group Challenges

Why we're reading this: Second in our Scenes of Classic Crime challenge for 2023.
[close] Second in our Scenes of Classic Crime challenge for 2023.

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Group Challenges

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
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last updated Sep 02, 2025 12:08AM

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) - SPOILER Thread
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What Members Thought

May 11, 2015 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Written by Sir John Cecil Masterman, this book was first published in 1933. An academic himself, “An Oxford Tragedy,” was the first of two mysteries set in the fictional St Thomas’s College, Oxford University – the second is, “The Case of the Four Friends,” which was published in 1953. As well as being an author, a member of the Detection Club (members included Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie and Anthony Berkeley), an academic and a sportsman, Masterman was the chairman of the Twenty Committe ...more

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Jan 18, 2023 Susan in NC rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: tbr-with-gr-groups, detectives-23challenge

Very difficult to review, I don’t want to give spoilers; in some ways, the author masterfully presented the effects of a murder on a closed community, as an unpopular don is shot dead while sitting in another’s room, waiting for a meeting.

In other ways, I found the writing weirdly dated in places - understandable, it was written in 1933, but distracting. Also the narrator, another don (Winn), the eldest of the Common Room members, is so fastidious and fussy, going on about how the murder has de ...more

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

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

I believe this was written in 1933; a golden-age mystery classic that's on every list of the top 100 classic mystery stories I could find. If you like this sort of thing, then I do recommend it. If you are too much of a reader that deals with stuff in the present, you probably won't like it or you may be bored.

The setting is Oxford University; St. Thomas's College. A distinguished guest has arrived, and the Vice-President of the college hosts a dinner for him which is attended by all of the dons I believe this was written in 1933; a golden-age mystery classic that's on every list of the top 100 classic mystery stories I could find. If you like this sort of thing, then I do recommend it. If you are too much of a reader that deals with stuff in the present, you probably won't like it or you may be bored.

The setting is Oxford University; St. Thomas's College. A distinguished guest has arrived, and the Vice-President of the college hosts a dinner for him which is attended by all of the dons. The guest is one Mr. Brendel, from Germany; he is fascinated with the subject of murder and as dinner proceeds, the conversation turns to how easy it is to find a killer, what the perfect murder and how to commit it might be. The hour grows late, and as much as everyone is enjoying this disturbing (don't forget -- it's the 30s and these are a group of distinguished Oxford dons!) conversation, there are certain dons which have to leave the festivities to work. One of these is Professor Shirley, who was supposed to have met another of the dons, Hargreaves, in his office some time back. He excuses himself, goes up to Hargreaves' office; not 20 minutes goes by until the fellows still in the dining room are informed that Shirley is dead, having been shot with a pistol in Hargreaves' office, one that had earlier been confiscated by some ne'er-do-well students and had been left loaded. Well, Scotland Yard is called in, but it is Professor Brendel here who is asked to investigate by the college vice-president. He does warn the vice-president that he may not like what Brendel uncovers; and as the investigation proceeds, it turns out he is correct.

What's kind of cool about this novel is the focus on what the effects of the murder are on the inhabitants of St. Thomas's College. Today we're so jaded but back then, there was much that was scandalous!

I liked it; I'm a British mystery fan, the older the book the better. If you are into the golden age/classic mystery style, then you'll like this one as well. ...more

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Feb 03, 2023 Carolien rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: english-mystery, 2023

A group of Oxford academics have dinner together and a while later one of them is found shot dead. The list of suspects is whittled down pretty quickly, but there are a complete lack of clues leaving a visiting professor and the police stumped.

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Mar 05, 2011 Bev rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: academic-mystery, vintage-mystery, mystery

Like so many of the mysteries that have an academic setting, An Oxford Tragedy is written by a scholary man. J. C (Sir John Cecil) Masterman was a well-known academic, sportsman and author. He was a don at Oxford University as well as serving as the chair of the Twenty Committee, an organization which controlled British double-agents during World War II.

Masterman wrote his first mystery, the one featured today, in 1933. It takes place at the fictional St. Thomas's College in Oxford. The dons of Like so many of the mysteries that have an academic setting, An Oxford Tragedy is written by a scholary man. J. C (Sir John Cecil) Masterman was a well-known academic, sportsman and author. He was a don at Oxford University as well as serving as the chair of the Twenty Committee, an organization which controlled British double-agents during World War II.

Masterman wrote his first mystery, the one featured today, in 1933. It takes place at the fictional St. Thomas's College in Oxford. The dons of the college are enjoying some moments of fellowship in the Common Room--indulging in port and cigars and listening to Ernst Brendel, a visitor to the college, discuss law (his profession) and crime and detection (his personal interests). It isn't long before Brendel has a chance to put his amateur skills into practice. An unpopular tutor is found shot to death in the Dean's lodgings and the police are baffled. There doesn't seem to be any clues nor any definite motive for the crime. After all, if everyone who was unpopular were to be shot.....

It is Brendel who is perceptive enough to discover the tangled motives that can drive the academic mind and to uncover the passions that can fuel the decision to kill. He uses psychology in much the same way Hercule Poirot does. There is no mention of "little grey cells," but the reader knows they are hard at work. Brendel also has a way of getting the suspects to talk and soon is able to discover the murderer through a psychological process of elimination. The story is much about atmosphere and less about plot than other mysteries.

Masterman does a wonderful job with the psychology of the crime and in creating the academic setting. The reader really feels like she has been to Oxford and hob-nobbed with the dons. This book was one of the first "academic mysteries" that I read. It is said that Masteman helped pave the way for writers like Michael Innes and Edmund Crispin. That is certainly true in the case of my reading journey. Being exposed to An Oxford Tragedy helped to start me on my hunt for other mysteries set not only at Oxford or Cambridge but at just about any academic institution. It is a fine British mystery and an excellent example of the mystery set in college. ...more

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Jan 31, 2023 Sandy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-detective-grp, z2023-scenes-classic-crime, rread-2023

The setting of this book is excellent and I felt it portrayed the college community well. The narrator is interested in giving an accurate account, including his dithering over decisions. The "detective" is a foreigner, thus not part of the community. The title is apt, as a 'tragedy' it is. ...more

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