Margery Allingham (1904-1966) published her first novel in 1923,
when she was all of 19 years old. Although the novel didn’t do well financially,
she continued to write and publish plays, verse and stories. And then, in 1929,
she struck gold with a new detective Albert Campion, and it was Campion that
rocketed his creator into the front ranks of the Golden Age of Mystery writers.
Two years before Campion’s first appearance, Allingham wrote
a serialized story for the Daily Express,
entitled The
White Cottage Mystery. It was published in book form in 1928. It’s a
complete story, but it has the feel of a serialized narrative – dramatic,
cliffhanging chapter endings and sudden narrative developments that keep the
reader guessing.
Jerry Chaloner is a young man with a fast sports car.
Driving through a small town, he gives a pretty girl a lift; she’s walking with
a limp from a blister on her foot. She lives with her sister and brother-in-law
at what’s called White Cottage. The girl goes inside, and Jerry begins to talk
with a passing policeman, until they hear a gunshot. They rush inside the house
and discover a body with a gunshot to the chest. The victim turns out to be
Eric Crowther, the next-door neighbor.
As it turns out, just about everyone has a motive, and the
opportunity, to have shot Crowther. The suspects include Norah Bayliss, the
young woman with the blister; Eva Christenson, Norah’s sister and mistress of
White Cottage; Eva’s husband Roger, confined to a wheelchair because of a war
injury; several servants at White Cottage; and even several members of Crowther’s
household next-door.
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| Margery Allingham |
As it turns out, Jerry Chaloner’s father is Detective Chief
Inspector W.T. Chaloner of Scotland Yard, which Jerry announces rather
breathlessly and dramatically at the end of the first chapter. And DCI Chaloner
is known for catching his villains. And in this case, he will chase suspects
from rural England to the French Riviera and back again.
Except this time, he might not catch his villain. By choice.
The
White Cottage Mystery is a fast-paced, fun read,
occasionally verging on the melodramatic but stepping back before it becomes
too unbelievable. It also offers a small window into how newspapers once serialized
fiction.
Related:
Top photograph by Annie Spratt via Unsplash. Used with
permission.
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