C. A. ALINGTON – Gold and Gaiters. Faber and Faber, UK, hardcover, 1950. No US edition.

   In Chapter Five, on page 65, the Reverend Cyril Alington says readers may complain that a novel without “a hero is one thing, but a novel without action quite another.” Action remains lacking for a goodly number of pages — until Chapter Nine, Page 97, in fact — but the appreciative reader won’t care.

   This novel should be read, as are the “crime” novels of P. G. Wodehouse, for the author’s style and humor. By the time the gold Roman coins are stolen from the Cathedral Library, which is in the charge of Archdeacon Castleton, that good man, the reader should be enjoying himself or herself far too much to worry about what is happening or not happening.

   Delightful froth.

Bio-Bibliographic Note: According to Wikipedia, “Cyril Argentine Alington (22 October 1872 – 16 May 1955) was an English educationalist, scholar, cleric, and prolific author. He was the headmaster of both Shrewsbury School and Eton College. He also served as chaplain to King George V and as Dean of Durham.”

   The Wiki page also contains an extensive bibliography. Of those a dozen are detective fiction, and of course they can also be found in Hubin, including one as by S. C. Westerham. If you’re interested, two copies of Gold and Gaiters are available on the Internet at the current time, both in the $20-30 range.