"I suppose we'd better ask some questions."- D.I. Anastasia Hardy (Kate Ellis' "The Odour of Sanctity," collected The Mammoth Book of Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Crimes, 2000)
The year 1920 is generally accepted as a
semiofficial starting point for the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, which
witnessed the debut of Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot in The Mysterious
Affair at Styles, and the rest, as they say, is history. During the same
period, H.C. Bailey and one of his two series-characters, Mr. Reginald "Reggie"
Fortune, were introduced in a collection of short stories, entitled Call Mr.
Fortune (1920), and was the first of many popular and critically acclaimed
mysteries from his hands – good and recognizable enough for Christie to spoof
in Partners in Crime (1929).
Howard Haycraft noted at the time: "it
seems safe to say that any impartial statistical poll of the sentiments of
readers on both side of the Atlantic would assure a position high on the list
to H.C. Bailey" and S.S. van Dine reputedly began to reshape Philo Vance in
the image of Reggie Fortune, but, today, Bailey has (undeservedly) become a
footnote in the genre’s history.
I say undeservedly based on a handful of
novels, such as the excellent and reissued Shadow on the Wall (1934) and
Black Land, White Land (1937) or the superb and sadly out-of-print The
Sullen Sky Mystery (1935), with only The Great Game (1939) falling
short of the mark – which is surprising considering it's a crossover of sorts.
And I like crossovers! However, The Bishop's Crime (1940) proved to be a
return to those earlier novels.
The cathedral village of Badon is the
backdrop of The Bishop's Crime and dominating the horizon of the town is
the historical tower of Badon Cathedral, known as "Jacob's Ladder," on which a
previous prior envisioned angels ascending and descending from heaven, but the
past keeps its hold on the place in other ways. There used to be shrine devoted
to a statuette of the Virgin Mary, discovered by the founder of the church, a
Saxon King, however, the treasure was reputedly lost at sea after Henry VIII
claimed it – which begs the question if the relics were hidden before the
shipping accident.
A historical subplot is briefly teased
with one or two murders buried deep in the past of Badon, but they're left
there and Fortune's expertise is called upon when the body of a burglar is
discovered on a well-frequented road to London. However, it's not an accident
and foul play is suspected. Fortune retraces the steps of the victim back to
Badon based on the content of the stomach and analyzing the dirt found
underneath his nails. There's another criminal element meeting an unfortunate
end and it becomes obvious someone's hunting for lost treasure, but Fortune has
difficulty getting a solid grip on the case.
It depresses and somewhat amuses Fortune
as he pieces together a mosaic of slander clues, scattered across the centuries
in Greek and Latin, to form a complete picture of the events that took place in
Badon, and the Biblical references, lines of poetry, lost treasure and historic
tie-ins makes The Bishop's Crime play out like a small epic. The
resolutions, once again, reveals Fortune as an ancestor of Gladys Mitchell's
Mrs. Bradley as he plays judge, jury and executions (by proxy) in meting out
his own peculiar brand of justice for every guilty person involved in the case.
That's interesting aspect of the "plump, drawling Reggie Fortune," who
has no qualms about manipulating people into murdering each other in the
pursuit of justice – much to the shock of Lomas ("My God!"). Still weird
to think a TV-series like Dexter can be connected to H.C. Bailey, Gladys
Mitchell (Speedy Death, 1929) and Rex Stout (Black Orchids, 1942 and "Boody Trap" in Not Quite Dead Enough, 1944).
Finally,
I realize my review has been rather summary and lacking detail, but that's
because there were gaps in reading the book, nonetheless, I enjoyed the read
even if it didn't quite reach the heights of The Sullen Sky Mystery and Shadow
on the Wall. It's easy to see why Bailey was considered as one of the
leading lights of (British) detective fiction and reminded me to give the short
Reggie Fortune stories a shot.
