Tue 26 Apr 2011
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: CLIFFORD WITTING – Silence After Dinner.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[6] Comments
William F. Deeck
CLIFFORD WITTING – Silence After Dinner. Hodder & Stoughton, UK, hardcover, 1953. No US edition?
A clergyman committed two murders — one perhaps justified, one definitely not — in China in 1947. That clergyman is now in England and involved with the village of Yateham.
But there are three, one of them defrocked, who are connected in one way or another with the village. Which one is the killer? And which one murders one of the others? Or was the murderer possibly the young baronet, protecting the reputation of his betrothed?
Witting is obviously not an admirer of churchmen; none of them, including the retired rector of Yateham, is a wholly admirable character. Despite the solution not being fair play, the novel is entertaining and well worth reading.
April 26th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
Bill left us with little more than a tease for this book, especially with that last line, which certainly sounds encouraging.
To little avail, I fear. There is but one copy listed for sale on ABE, and that for the paltry sum of $339.76. Plus postage.
There is a page for Witting on the Golden Age of Detection wiki, however:
http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7932493/Witting,-Clifford
along with a list of some 16 total detective novels to his credit, some of which I recognize from their titles and therefore should be much easier to find.
Quoting Nick Fuller:
“Why is Witting so obscure? His detection is genuinely engrossing, and his style is witty, if occasionally facetious. He could do setting very well … His books have the genuine whodunit pull. He can brilliantly misdirect the reader … or invent a genuinely clever and simple murder method … He experimented with form: the surprise victim … In short, he always has something to offer the reader, and found original ideas within the conventions of the formal detective story.”
He sounds like my kind of author.
April 26th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
He wrote some good books. I have a copy of this one and will happily sell it for the bargain price of $339.75.
April 26th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Postage free!
April 26th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
Although I will reluctantly pass on the offer, it sounds like a good deal to me.
But first:
Have you read it?
April 27th, 2011 at 12:51 am
Steve, yes indeed!
It has its points, but I would not say it’s his best. I generally concur with the view that Measure for Murder is his best, but I liked Midsummer Murder a lot too (though the 1950s Hodder paperback is heavily edited). My postwar favorite probably is A Bullet for Rhino. Witting is one of the more literary traditional English detective novelists and is well worth seeing out generally.
April 27th, 2011 at 7:31 am
Curt,
at 399,75, this sounds like a bargain that I could easily top with that bridge I could sell you- interested? Think of all the toll revenue !
The Doc