Thu 23 Feb 2017
JOHN CREASEY – The Baron Branches Out. Avon V2341, US, paperback; 1st printing, July 1970. Published in hardcover by Charles Scribner’s Sons, US, 1967, as by Anthony Morton. First published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton, 1961, as A Branch for the Baron, as by Anthony Morton.
The Baron, otherwise known as John Mannering, went more or less respectable sometime over the years and most definitely had done so by the time this book was published. In his early days, as described in more detail by David Vineyard in his review of Meet the Baron (1937) here on this blog, he was a gentleman thief, one specializing in jewels, and stealing only from those who could afford the loss.
Neither those early days nor his escapades on the other side of the law are mentioned in this book — nor (I believe) is he even referred to as the Baron — save obliquely in one regard. Mannering is now a well-known owner of a huge antiques establishment called Quinns, but when his latest idea brings him in close proximity to murder, the local police chap on hand is quite antagonistic and is convinced that Mannering has something to do with it.
Readers not versed in Mannering’s background will be puzzled by this antagonism, as there is nothing else to support it, and it is a small key to the story. And this has to do with that idea of Mannering’s I referred to a short while back, to wit: that of buying a British manor house about to torn down to make way for a new bridge, deconstructing it himself, and shipping the building materials off to Boston, then to be put back together there as a branch of Quinns in the US.
Of course things do not go as planned. There are hints of a ghost, a possible hoard of family jewels hidden somewhere in the mansion, a missing owner, and a couple of murders. But soon enough off to Boston the timbers and stones go, and sure enough, hints of ghosts, jewels, and murders show up as well.
Creasey has a very fluid, readable writing style, and it goes a long way in disguising the fact that neither the story nor the players in it are all that deep. It’s enjoyable enough, but a few hours after you finish it, you may start to ask yourself if that was all there was.
February 23rd, 2017 at 4:28 pm
I read a Baron book once. At least I think so; it didn’t impress me much and I wondered why anyone thought we needed The Baron when we already had The Saint.
February 23rd, 2017 at 4:50 pm
I’m going to have to take this book as my only example, but by the the time the 60s rolled around, any resemblance between the Baron and the Saint was pretty well forgotten. David may have more to say about this, but even in his early days, the Baron was only a second-rate Saint, if that.
February 23rd, 2017 at 10:59 pm
The early Baron differed from the Saint and the Toff in that his crimes and conflicts had a motive. He was never a breezy devil-may-care type. Even his non de guerre only came about because he had to create a recognizable persona to free an innocent man accused of one of his crimes.
He was never as cheerfully sociopathic or anarchic as the Saint (and thus less fun) or a social worker cum adventurer like the Toff. He mostly resembled Michael Lanyard, the Lone Wolf, who, while never caught, could never quite put his reputation behind him, or refrain from using those skills in a good cause.
Later Creasey often is too facile and forgettable. By then he was writing for old fans who just didn’t need a refresher on the Baron. But there are two periods to look for in Creasey’s work. In the thirties and forties he is learning and separating himself from his models Wallace, Sapper, and Charteris.
Post war to the early sixties he is developing his philosophy and political views (particularly with the Crime Haters, Dr. Palfrey, and Gideon), and developing a more personal approach to his heroes in order to crack the American market, and he cracks it wide open eventually).
His best books are from this era, when the Toff, Roger West, Dr. Cellini, Gideon, Dawlish, Palfrey, and the Baron are personally involved in their adventures and not just heroes. The Toff had experimented with this in the War, with West the first of his heroes to transition. Gideon,his best work, was the result.
February 23rd, 2017 at 11:13 pm
Thanks, David. We stand corrected re the Saint comparison. One of the things I’ve been meaning to do is to find some early (30s and 40s) Creasey to read, the British ones, but so far I haven’t had the time to track any down. Whenever I sample any later ones, it’s been hit or miss as to how enjoyable I find them. They’ve never been quite good enough to remember them distinctly, but they’ve always been good enough to keep trying.
February 24th, 2017 at 12:09 pm
I think Creasey did his best work under his “J. J. Marric” pseudonym. And his SF novels, mostly the Dr. Palfrey adventures, are fun to read once in a while.
February 24th, 2017 at 1:40 pm
I read and enjoyed quite a few of Marric’s Gideon series when they first came out, but I haven’t read one in years. I don’t know how they would hold up for me today, given my overall lack of interest in police procedurals. On the other hand, back in the day, I thought the Palfrey books were silly. Maybe today I could take them for what they are, fun to read.
February 24th, 2017 at 8:07 pm
Palfrey originally was a shootoff from Gordon Craigie and Z5, often battling Nazi war criminals. But as the series evolved it moved toward science fiction and global issues. Palfrey ran a veritable UN of agents dedicated largely to environmental issues which usually turned out to be the work of monomaniacal power mad Hitlerian types.
It’s best to read the books as unrelated since in some the world is virtually destroyed only to have remarkably recovered next book.
The Palfrey books in some ways resemble Quatermass and other British television serials popular in that period. They also reflect the political movement Creasey started in England and ran for Parliament as the candidate for.
They are best taken as end of the world adventures in the tradition of mostly British SF writers like Wells, Wyndham, Christopher, Ballard, and Priest. Silly, sometimes, fun, often, but always with a message. Depending on your mood they are good. I recommend MISTS OF DEATH as the best of the lot.
February 24th, 2017 at 8:15 pm
At their best the Gideon books are the British 87th Precinct. They are notable for the balance of suspense, humor, domesticity, and portraits of cops and crooks (both some better than others). Like McBain all the bad guys aren’t always caught, but unlike them Creasey expands to tackle varied backgrounds for Gideon’s orchestrated investigations as he did in other series — never waste research.