''More Work for the Undertaker'' is a

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

by Margery Allingham, first published in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, in the United Kingdom by

William Heinemann William Henry Heinemann (18 May 1863 – 5 October 1920) was an English publisher of Jewish descent and the founder of the Heinemann publishing house in London. Early life On 18 May 1863, Heinemann was born in Surbiton, Surrey, England. Heine ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and in the United States by Doubleday,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It is the thirteenth novel in the Albert Campion series. The book focuses on Apron Street, an isolated neighbourhood in London. Going "up Apron street" has become a byword for a criminal vanishing. This proves to be done by the Bowels family, the undertakers of the title. More sinister proves to be the effort of the local banker to eliminate the eccentric Palinode family, which has inherited shares of stock once thought worthless. The banker proves also to be the moving force behind the service the Bowels family runs for criminals.

Note on the Title

''More Work for the Undertaker'' was the title of a comical 1895 music-hall song written by

Fred W. Leigh William Frederick Bridgen (1871 – 21 August 1924), known professionally as Fred W. Leigh, was an English lyricist who co-wrote several popular music hall songs of the early twentieth century, Biography Born in London, he worked when young i ...

(1871 - 1924) The chorus of this song is traditionally sung by Yale when they are winning against Harvard.Mark F. Bernstein, ''Football: The Ivy League Origins of an American Obsession'' p. 70 ( Univ. of Pennsylvania Press,2001)

References

* Margery Allingham, ''More Work for the Undertaker'', (London:

, 1948) * Margery Allingham, ''More Work for the Undertaker'', (Vintage,

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, 2007)

External links

An Allingham bibliography
with dates and publishers, from the UK Margery Allingham Society {{Albert Campion 1948 British novels Novels by Margery Allingham Heinemann (publisher) books