Wed 29 Dec 2021
An Archived Mystery Review by Bob Adey: HENRY CECIL – A Woman Named Anne.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[7] Comments
HENRY CECIL – A Woman Named Anne. Michael Joseph, UK, hardcover, 1967. Harper & Row, US, hardcover, 1967. Academy Chicago, US, trade paperback, 2005. House of Stratus, UK, softcover, 2008.
The whole of this book revolves around a divorce case. Most of the action takes place in court and deals with the questioning of various witnesses in the case or Amberley v. Amberley. The cross examination is mainly directed (by Charles Coventry, Q.C., one of the most brilliant of his calling) at very attractive Mrs. Anne Preston, as he seeks to trap her into admitting that she did commit adultery with the defendant, Michael Amberley.
Not much or a plot for a mystery novel, you might suppose. But you would be wrong. The dialogue alone is well worth twice the price of admission., and just when, towards the end, you think that the truth has finally emerged., the author applies another, final, deft twist, and bowls you over.
Quite the most enjoyable book I’ve read in months.
December 29th, 2021 at 9:05 pm
This is a new one for me. Prompted on by Bob’s final line, I went looking for other reviews:
Not too much depth to this one:
https://sschambe.wordpress.com/2018/03/27/book-review-a-woman-named-anne-henry-cecil-9-adult-out-of-print/
But Curtis Evans on his blog says:
“The first book I read by Cecil, A Woman Named Anne (1967), seems to me indisputably a mystery, and a very good one, although the puzzle presented is not one of murder, but rather whether the male party to a divorce action was having it off with the dazzling Anne of the title.”
http://thepassingtramp.blogspot.com/2014/12/i-saw-it-with-my-own-two-eyes.html
Between Bob and Curtis, I was convinced. Found a new reprint copy on eBay for less than $10, including postage, and it’s now winging its way to me.
December 29th, 2021 at 10:15 pm
I don’t think I have ever been less than entertained by Cecil.
December 30th, 2021 at 10:07 am
I’ve read several of his courtroom novels and a couple of short story collections. Always fun.
December 30th, 2021 at 11:18 am
Taken from Henry Cecil’s Wikipedia page:
“Henry Cecil Leon (19 September 1902 – 23 May 1976), who wrote under the pen-names Henry Cecil and Clifford Maxwell, was a judge and a writer of fiction about the British legal system. He was born near London in 1902 and was called to the Bar in 1923. Later in 1949 he was appointed a County Court Judge, a position he held until 1967. He used these experiences as inspiration for his work. His books typically feature educated and genteel fraudsters and blackmailers who lay ludicrously ingenious plots exploiting loopholes in the legal system. There are several recurring characters, such as the drunken solicitor Mr Tewkesbury and the convoluted and exasperating witness Colonel Brain. He writes well about the judicial process, usually through the eyes of a young barrister but sometimes from the viewpoint of the judge; Friends at Court contains a memorable snub from a County Court judge to a barrister who is trying to patronise him.”
Novels
The Painswick Line (1951)
No Bail for the Judge (1952)
Ways and Means (1952)
Natural Causes (1953)
According to the Evidence (1954)
Brothers in Law (1955)
Friends at Court (1956)
Much in Evidence (1957) (US title: The Long Arm)
Sober as a Judge (1958)
Settled Out of Court (1959)
I Married the Girl (1960, as Clifford Maxwell)
Alibi for a Judge (1960)
Daughters in Law (1961)
Unlawful Occasions (1962)
Independent Witness (1963)
Fathers in Law (1965) (US title: A Child Divided)
The Asking Price (1966)
A Woman Named Anne (1967)
No Fear or Favour (1968) (US title: The Blackmailers)
Tell You What I’ll Do (1969)
The Buttercup Spell (1971)
The Wanted Man (1972)
Truth With Her Boots On (1974)
Cross Purposes (1976)
Hunt the Slipper (1977)
Short story collections
Full Circle (1948)
Portrait of a Judge (1964)
Brief Tales from the Bench (1968)
December 30th, 2021 at 1:26 pm
And I was introduced to his work with the neatly-done horror story, “Proof”, in one of the first horror anthologies I read.
December 30th, 2021 at 1:36 pm
From The House of the Nightmare: And Other Eerie Tales (1968), edited by Kathleen Lines.
December 30th, 2021 at 2:13 pm
Indeed. And she didn’t make it easy to find Cecil’s other work! Took me some years to stumble across it.