The Golden Age of Murder convinced me that I need to read more Golden Age mystery authors that are not Agatha Christie, so I decided to look for some Josephine Tey (also, my library doesn’t have Anthony Berkeley so I will have to find his books in a bookstore which will take some time). I’ve read, and am overdue for a re-read of, The Daughter of Time and Miss Pym Disposes, but not her Inspector Alan Grant series so A Shilling for Candles was something new.
A Shilling for Candles is a mystery about the murder of a famous actress – Christine Clay. It looks like a suicide, except for some unexplainable facts. Inspector Alan Grant has to figure out who killed Christine, and why.
The title comes from a portion of Christine’s will, which left “a shilling for candles” to her odious brother. But to be honest, that didn’t really have much to do with the mystery. Inspector Grant has to work through multiple leads, many of them dead-ends. Still, the fun is in reading how different people are handling the case because apart from Inspector Grant, there’s also Jammy Hopkins (press) and Erica Burgoyne (Chief Inspector’s Daughter).
Speaking of Erica Burgoyne, her character type seems to be a staple of Golden Age mysteries. She’s one of those girls who’s not like modern girls in her self-unawareness and straightforwardness. Characters like Grant think about how unusual she is, yet I seem to see her in many Christie novels (thinking of Iris is Sparkling Cyanide and Cornelia in Death on the Nile). I’m going to have to read more widely to confirm it but I wonder if this character archetype was popular and why.
The plot was pretty interesting. Grant does his thing, Erica does hers, and Jammy tries to interfere/do his own thing but everything ties together in the end. The denouement was a bit abrupt for my tastes but it wasn’t unbelievable.
Overall, I enjoyed A Shilling for Candles. On first glance, Inspector Alan Grant isn’t as unique as Poirot or Lord Peter Whimsey (he’s more of a Hastings-type if you ask me) but I enjoyed going through this mystery with him. I’ll definitely have to look for more books in his series this year.
I read Tey’s “The Singing Sands” and “The Daughter of Time.” Clearly, the second book is the one I’d recommend. I did not give the first book a glowing review, but with the passage of time I might reconsider my criticisms. Note: “The Daughter of Time” was voted the best crime mystery of all time in 1990!
Oooh I really need to read The Daughter of Time now! Got to hunt it down at the library
I haven’t tried Tey, although I had several of her books at one time (I bought them from e-bay and they were described as “good” condition, but were literally falling apart and pages were missing). I should probably check the library.
Wow, that’s terrible condition for books described as “good”. I think you could try starting with Daughter of Time if your library has that – I’m overdue for a reread but I remember liking it very much!
I am sure you now realise The Daughter of Time was also a Grant novel. I can highly recommend The Franchise Affair. Grant doesn’t make much of an appearance in that one, but it is an excellent book.
Thank you for recommending The Franchise Affair! I must find time to read it – I’ve not read much Golden Age mystery lately
It’ Wimsey, not Whimsey