Sun 29 Jun 2014
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: RUSSELL THORNDYKE – The Devil in the Belfry.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[4] Comments
William F. Deeck
RUSSELL THORNDYKE – The Devil in the Belfry. Dial Press, UK, hardcover, 1932. First published in the UK: Butterworth, hardcover, 1931, as Herod’s Peal.
It’s bad enough that Brigadier-General Sir Lionel Hansaw has received a threatening letter from someone he claims is a Hindu. In the mistaken belief that he is a good judge of men, he hires former Captain John Carfax as his bodyguard. While Carfax is neglecting his duty and viewing and listening to a bell-ringing session with the general’s niece, the general is shot dead in his study by a tall Hindu.
The peal being rung as the general died was Herod’s Peal, banned by the Roman Catholic Church many years before. Ringing the peal were the Bede Bell-ringers, nine erstwhile convicts led by the Reverend Lord Upnor, a fanatic on campanology. As Lord Upnor’s group travels about, they continue to employ Herod’s Peal, and each time it is rung, someone is murdered.
Carfax, wishing to find the general’s murderer since he did nothing to prevent the crime, aids Scotland Yard detective Macready in the investigation, if it can be called that, of the various deaths.
In my review of Thorndike’s The Slype, which you can find here, I criticized the plot. I can’t in this novel, for it is a good one. But the characterization and description that made The Slype so enjoyable is totally missing here, though the setting is the same. That marvelous policeman, Sergeant Wurren, appears only briefly, a total waste of a wonderful character. Thorndike tries to do something with Winning, the bell-ringers’ advance man, but it’s not enough.
For campanology addicts like Lord Upnor.
June 30th, 2014 at 1:57 am
Where is Doctor Syn when you need him? This must not have been the book John Buchan meant when he praised Thorndyke.
Sounds as if even the Scarecrow couldn’t smuggle enough interest in for a decent read.
June 30th, 2014 at 3:02 pm
It’s a shame that Thorndyke is such a neglected novelist. I’m a huge fan of the Dr Syn books, but it took me years to find all of the series, and the Syn books are supposed to be his most famous! To be honest, I don’t think that I’ve ever seen copies of anything else by Thorndyke, despite years of bookshop browsing.
June 30th, 2014 at 5:06 pm
Bradstreet
Same here. I’ve read three of the Syn books, but no idea how many there are. I’ve also seen the George Arless and Peter Cushing takes not to mention Patrick McGoohan and Disney.
I’m sure the Buchan comment was on the Dr. Syn books. A few were released here in paperback, but as far as I know only the first and second book. I really didn’t know Thorndyke wrote anything else.
June 30th, 2014 at 5:54 pm
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Syn
The Dr. Syn books detail his adventures and attempts to help the people of Dymchurch and the surrounding area evade the Excise tax. There are:
Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh (1915)
Doctor Syn on the High Seas (1935)
Doctor Syn Returns (1935)
Further Adventures of Doctor Syn (1936)
Courageous Exploits of Doctor Syn (1938)
Amazing Quest of Doctor Syn (1939)
Shadow of Doctor Syn (1944)
Note that the “first” book, Doctor Syn, is actually the final story chronologically; the others proceed in published sequence.
An expanded version of Doctor Syn Returns titled The Scarecrow Rides was published for the US market by The Dial Press in 1935.