''Natural Causes'' is a 1953
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
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 the British writer
Henry Cecil
Sir Henry Richard Amherst Cecil (11 January 1943 – 11 June 2013) was a British flat racing horse trainer. Cecil was very successful, becoming Champion Trainer ten times and training 25 domestic Classic winners. These comprised four winners o ...
. It was his fourth novel. As with most of his work it combines
Wodehousian
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...
humour with a potentially major crime theme.
Synopsis
After a senior judge rules against the megalomaniac owner of Clarion Newspapers, Alexander Bean, the angry
tycoon
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
seeks revenge against him. He recruits a shady figure to try and blackmail the judge. When the blackmailer ends up dead, suspicion falls on the judge as a potential murder.A subplot also sees him having to preside over a
libel case over a disputed
Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
selection.
[Wood p.236]
References
Bibliography
* Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015.
* White, Terry. ''Justice Denoted: The Legal Thriller in American, British, and Continental Courtroom Literature''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003.
1953 British novels
Novels by Henry Cecil
Novels set in London
British comedy novels
Chapman & Hall books
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