''Police at the Funeral'' 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
Margery Louise Allingham (20 May 1904 – 30 June 1966) was an English novelist from the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", and considered one of its four "Queens of Crime", alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh.
Alli ...
, first published in October 1931, in the United Kingdom by
Heinemann Heinemann may refer to:
* Heinemann (surname)
* Heinemann (publisher), a publishing company
* Heinemann Park, a.k.a. Pelican Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
See also
* Heineman
* Jamie Hyneman
James Franklin Hyneman (born Se ...
, London and in 1932 in the United States by
Doubleday, Doran
Doubleday is an American publishing company. It was founded as the Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897 and was the largest in the United States by 1947. It published the work of mostly U.S. authors under a number of imprints and distributed th ...
, New York. It is the fourth novel with the mysterious
Albert Campion
Albert Campion is a fictional character in a series of detective novels and short stories by Margery Allingham. He first appeared as a supporting character in ''The Crime at Black Dudley'' (1929), an adventure story involving a ring of criminals, ...
, aided as usual by his butler/valet/bodyguard
Magersfontein Lugg
Magersfontein Lugg is a fictional character in the Albert Campion detective novels, written by Margery Allingham. Servant and factotum to Mr Campion, Lugg is a former burglar, with a gruff manner, who hinders Campion socially as much as he helps d ...
and his policeman friend
Stanislaus Oates
This is a list of the recurring characters in the Albert Campion novels and short stories by Margery Allingham.
Central characters
*Albert Campion describes himself (in ''Police at the Funeral'') as a professional adventurer. He is a member of ...
.
Plot introduction
When
Albert Campion
Albert Campion is a fictional character in a series of detective novels and short stories by Margery Allingham. He first appeared as a supporting character in ''The Crime at Black Dudley'' (1929), an adventure story involving a ring of criminals, ...
is called in by the fiancee of an old college friend to investigate the disappearance of her uncle, he little expects the mysterious spate of death and dangers that follows among the bizarre inhabitants of Socrates Close,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. He and
Stanislaus Oates
This is a list of the recurring characters in the Albert Campion novels and short stories by Margery Allingham.
Central characters
*Albert Campion describes himself (in ''Police at the Funeral'') as a professional adventurer. He is a member of ...
must tread carefully, and battle some complex family dynamics, to solve the case.
Plot summary
Stanislaus Oates
This is a list of the recurring characters in the Albert Campion novels and short stories by Margery Allingham.
Central characters
*Albert Campion describes himself (in ''Police at the Funeral'') as a professional adventurer. He is a member of ...
is being followed by a stranger, and runs into his friend
Campion in the bizarrest of places. Campion is waiting for a client, Joyce Blount, the fiancee of his solicitor friend Marcus Featherstone, and when she arrives she clearly recognises Oates' stalker, but denies having seen him before. After Campion hears Joyce's story, of the disappearance of her Uncle Andrew on the way home from church, news reaches them that Andrew's murdered body has been found in a stream.
They head to
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, where Campion meets Marcus and hears more about the family of Andrew, his imperious Great-Aunt Caroline and the clutch of feckless relatives who live off her, including Uncle William, who was with Andrew when he went missing, and about the body, found tied up and shot in the head. He meets William, and learns that Oates' mysterious stalker was Cousin George, who visits rarely and has some power over Great-Aunt Caroline.
Next morning, more bad news hits the family; Aunt Julia is found dead in her bed, poisoned by a surreptitious morning cup of tea. Campion heads to the house and meets the famous Caroline Faraday, who hires him to help them resolve matters. Oates analyses the teacup and finds traces of
conium
''Conium'' ( or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. , Plants of the World Online accepts six species.
All species of the genus are poisonous to humans. ''C. maculatum'', also known as hemlock, is infamous for being highly p ...
poison (hemlock, the poison that was used to execute Socrates, and one of the species in the carrot genus, including dill, and parsnip), while Campion finds a stash of weight-loss pills in Julia's room.
Uncle William approaches Marcus, telling him he has been suffering from blackouts, and Campion also finds the old man's service revolver is missing, along with some cord from the same (unused) room. Later, Campion finds William in the corridor, his hand badly cut; he almost faints, and Campion suspects mild poisoning. He and Oates inspect the scene where Andrew's body was found, but find nothing but an old hat, presumably swapped for Andrew's missing
bowler.
Back at the house, there has been another scare; a mysterious symbol like a stylised letter B has been drawn in chalk on one of the library windows. Campion and Oates suspect it is a sign used by tramps to communicate amongst themselves. Great-Aunt Caroline reveals that Andrew had been writing to old girlfriends, and Campion has an idea which could solve the case. He finds Uncle William has an alibi, having been seen in a pub at the time of the murder, in the midst of an amnesia attack, and the inquest into Andrew's death returns a verdict of murder.
Cousin George arrives at the house, and denounces his family, claiming to know who killed Andrew and insisting he be allowed to stay in the house, threatening to bring scandal on the family. He gets drunk and is locked in Andrew's room by Campion and Marcus. In the night, Campion spots a man in the gardens, and tackles him; he is a large-footed tramp named Beveridge.
In the morning, Campion is missing, and George is found dead in his bed, with a strong smell of
cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
in the room. When Campion and Oates arrive, Campion explains all – Andrew, watched secretly by George and his friend Beveridge, bound and then shot himself, arranging for the gun to fall from the bridge. George hid the gun in a tree and Beveridge took Andrew's hat. Andrew had previously placed several booby-traps around the house, including the poisoned pill which killed Julia, a hidden blade which cut William, and a cyanide-stuffed
pipe
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circular ...
which killed George.
Campion leaves the house with everyone's gratitude, and some interesting gifts.
The device Uncle Andrew used is similar to one in a
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
story
The Problem of Thor Bridge
"The Problem of Thor Bridge" is a Sherlock Holmes short story by Arthur Conan Doyle collected in '' The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes'' (1927). It was first published in 1922 in ''The Strand Magazine'' (UK) and ''Hearst's International'' (US). ...
.
Characters in "Police at the Funeral"
*
Albert Campion
Albert Campion is a fictional character in a series of detective novels and short stories by Margery Allingham. He first appeared as a supporting character in ''The Crime at Black Dudley'' (1929), an adventure story involving a ring of criminals, ...
, a mysterious adventurer of noble blood
*
Magersfontein Lugg
Magersfontein Lugg is a fictional character in the Albert Campion detective novels, written by Margery Allingham. Servant and factotum to Mr Campion, Lugg is a former burglar, with a gruff manner, who hinders Campion socially as much as he helps d ...
, Campion's servant, an ex-criminal
* Marcus Featherstone, friend of Campion, engaged to Joyce, lawyer and son of the family lawyer Hugh Featherstone
* "Great Aunt" Caroline Faraday, the powerful widow of a renowned academic, Dr. John Faraday
* Uncle William Faraday, Caroline's son, a bluff old man
* Aunt Julia Faraday, Caroline's daughter, an overweight, lazy woman, "spinster of the parish"
* Aunt Catherine "Kitty" Berry, Caroline's daughter, a widow, prone to hysterics
* Joyce Berry, Kitty's niece by marriage, engaged to Marcus
* Uncle Andrew Seeley, Caroline's nephew, a cantankerous fellow, who disappears at the start
* Cousin George Faraday, the black sheep of the family, a reprobate
*
Stanislaus Oates
This is a list of the recurring characters in the Albert Campion novels and short stories by Margery Allingham.
Central characters
*Albert Campion describes himself (in ''Police at the Funeral'') as a professional adventurer. He is a member of ...
, a senior Scotland Yard man, Campion's friend
Television
The story was faithfully adapted for television by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
as Lugg. The film also featured
as William. Originally broadcast as two separate hour-long episodes, the original UK air date was 5 February 1989. The series was shown in the United States by
.
including many Campion books, from the UK. Margery Allingham Society