tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post2274146877928660970..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: The Clock in the Hatbox (1939) by Anthony GilbertTomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-21203359753265996292018-03-10T21:53:59.958+01:002018-03-10T21:53:59.958+01:00Usually, it takes some time to finally get around ...Usually, it takes some time to finally get around to reading a recommendation, but I rarely forget about them. And this one definitely deserves to be compared to some of the well-known classics. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-32808915411192842172018-03-10T03:40:00.598+01:002018-03-10T03:40:00.598+01:00So, you finally did read it. And I am so glad that...So, you finally did read it. And I am so glad that ultimately you didn't find the praise OTT. I myself find it somewhere in the company of Roger Acroyd, Burning Court, ATTWN, but then I am very fond of Gilbert.<br /><br />Thanks for the link to my review. neerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01986509319841061021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-66484959611851356802018-03-09T23:09:43.847+01:002018-03-09T23:09:43.847+01:00Well, you got me interested in Death Against the C...Well, you got me interested in <i>Death Against the Clock</i> and have added the title to my never-ending wish list, but is the book really an example of Gilbert engaging in pure, old-fashioned and undiluted detective work? A race against the clock to save someone from the gallows is, if I'm not mistaken, generally considered to be suspense. So even that one doesn't seem to be entirely free from thriller and suspense influences. <br /><br />I've only one Egerton title on my shelves, <i>The Body on the Beam</i>, but have not yet read it and no idea how much it differs from the Crook titles. However, going by your brief description of <i>The Man With Button Boots</i>, I suppose Gilbert was trying emulate someone like A.E.W. Mason early on in her career, but abandoned that path when she created Scott Egerton and Arthur Crook. <br /><br />Anyway, good luck with getting to the end of the book! TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-24721287220216870602018-03-09T22:30:37.556+01:002018-03-09T22:30:37.556+01:00Well, I have good news for you, Yvette. The Murder...Well, I have good news for you, Yvette. The Murder Room reprinted <i>Hatbox</i> as a paperback or ebook edition. So you should be able to get your hands on this one relatively easy. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-17867691406722323962018-03-09T22:16:36.616+01:002018-03-09T22:16:36.616+01:00Enjoyed your review though I probably won't ge...Enjoyed your review though I probably won't get a chance to read this as it seems to be a hard to find title - as are the others you mention. Oh well, they're still fun to read about.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-72659880276276448512018-03-09T19:31:19.759+01:002018-03-09T19:31:19.759+01:00The more I read Gilbert the more I see she does ha...The more I read Gilbert the more I see she does have a lot in common with Fleming, TomCat. Very insightful comparison to <i>Polly...</i> They have a lot in common -- as plotters, as stylists, and as challengers of the conventions of detective novel formulae. Why hadn't I seen it myself?<br /><br />So far I've only encountered one book in Gilberts' vast output that could be called a genuine traditional detective novel, one that Crook actually enters very early in the book and does Q&A style detective work. That one is <i>Death Against the Clock</i>. Though published in 1958 has much in common with <i>The Clock in the Hatbox</i> in that both are about attempts to save wrongfully accused killers.<br /><br />I'll have to find a copy of <i>She Shall Die</i> to see how it stand as alongside my three favorite Gilberts so far: <i>...Hatbox, Death Knock Three Times</i> and <i>30 Days to Live.</i><br /><br />OH! I've also managed to get hold of both books featuring Malleson's little known Parisian policeman M. Dupuy. However, I'm struggling with the first one. I wonder if her very early books from the 1930s (the ones with Egerton, none of which I've read though I have most of them) were as laboriously written as <i>The Man With Button Boots.</i> Hope I manage to finish it. I had to set it aside for a couple of weeks while I read some other much more exciting, interesting and shorter (!) books.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-62164171922262429802018-03-09T14:49:55.904+01:002018-03-09T14:49:55.904+01:00Gilbert did have a foot in the suspense and thrill...Gilbert did have a foot in the suspense and thriller genre, but, from what I read, she always tried to keep the other one firmly planted in the traditional detective story. So a good deal of the Arthur Crook novels are hybrids of (domestic) suspense, thrillers and the detective story. How well this works depends on the individual reader, but I quite liked them. <br /><br />And there are a number of titles that are more detective than suspense/thriller (e.g. <i>Death at the Door</i>, <i>The Scarlet Button</i> and <i>Death Knocks Three Times</i>). But none of them are as good as <i>She Shall Die</i> or <i>The Clock in the Hatbox</i>. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-54187307611450292018-03-09T01:34:38.780+01:002018-03-09T01:34:38.780+01:00Thanks for the review, and I'm glad to hear th...Thanks for the review, and I'm glad to hear that this is one of those 'cunningly cut gems from the genre's Golden Era' - as it seems like Gilbert didn't write too many of those, with much of her output leaning towards thriller rather than puzzle-mystery... Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-62456236555379297422018-03-08T22:19:10.845+01:002018-03-08T22:19:10.845+01:00You didn't check the link, did you? ;) I only ...You didn't check the link, did you? ;) I only linked to your list or recommendation. Not the GAD review. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-10548720877586694312018-03-08T21:05:28.020+01:002018-03-08T21:05:28.020+01:00Could you replace the link to my GAD review with t...Could you replace the link to my GAD review with this one? https://grandestgame.wordpress.com/list-of-authors/anthony-gilbert/the-clock-in-the-hat-box-anthony-gilbert/ <br /><br />Spoilers!Nick Fullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668031989499870182noreply@blogger.com