''The Nebuly Coat'' is a

suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...

novel written by

J. Meade Falkner John Meade Falkner (8 May 1858 – 22 July 1932) was an English novelist and poet, best known for his 1898 novel '' Moonfleet''. An extremely successful businessman, he became chairman of the arms manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth durin ...

. It was published in 1903 and has since been adapted for the stage.

Plot

The book tells of the experiences of a young architect, Edward Westray, who is sent to the remote town of Cullerne to supervise restoration work on Cullerne Minster. He finds himself caught up in Cullerne life, and hears rumours about a mystery surrounding the claim to the title of Lord Blandamer, whose coat of arms in the Minster's great transept window is the nebuly coat of the title. When the new Lord Blandamer arrives, promising to pay all the costs of the restoration, Westray suspects that the new lord is not what he seems. ''The Telegraph'' said the book "could strike the careless reader as no more than a curiosity, a bit of amateur work. Yet this would be a mistake."

Background

''The Nebuly Coat'' includes elements that were central interests in Falkner's life, church architecture and heraldry. The massive Romanesque arches of Cullerne Minster recall those of

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

which Falkner was familiar with through his work as Honorary Librarian to the Dean and Chapter as well as viewing it from his house on

Palace Green Palace Green is an area of grass in the centre of Durham, England, flanked by Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle. The Cathedral and Castle together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although initially not part of the site itself, Palace Green ...

Publication history

* 1903 1st edition, Edward Arnold,

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 ...

* 1904 5th impression, Edward Arnold, London * 1943

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(together with '' The Lost Stradivarius'') * 1983 Three Rivers Bks, and * 1988 Oxford University Press * 1989 Oxford Paperbacks, * 2004

Ash-Tree Press Ash-Tree Press is a Canadian company that publishes supernatural and horror literature. The press has reprinted notable collections of ghostly stories by such writers as R. H. Malden, A. N. L. Munby, L. T. C. Rolt, Margery Lawrence, and Elea ...

Ashcroft, British Columbia Ashcroft ( 2016 population: 1,558) is a village in the Thompson Country of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is downstream from the west end of Kamloops Lake, at the confluence of the Bonaparte and Thompson Rivers, and is in the Tho ...

, * 2006 Steve Savage Publishers Limited * 2009 Athelstane Kindle Edition

ASIN Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononymously as Asin, is a former Indian actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She beg ...

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Productions

It was adapted for radio in the Story Time slot on the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

Thea Holme Thea Holme (nee Johnston, 1904–1980) was a British actor and writer. Holme was born Thea Johnston in 1904. Her father was the architect Philip Mainwaring Johnston. She studied art at The Slade and then theatre at the Central School of Drama. ...

starting on 1 April 1965. It was produced by Brian Miller, and the organ was played by Edward Fry at St. Monica's Chapel, Bristol. The actors were: *Canon Parkyn: Eric Anderson *Westray:

Peter Marinker Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

*Dr Ennefer: Ronald Russell *Sharnall:

Peter Pratt Peter Pratt (21 March 1923 – 11 January 1995) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his comic roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. Pratt started his career in the chorus of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1945, ...

*Janaway: Robert Bashford *Creole singer: Mollie Petrie *Anastasia:

Carol Marsh Carol Marsh (born Norma Lilian Simpson; 10 May 1926 – 6 March 2010) was an English actress, best known for playing the part of Rose in the 1947 film '' Brighton Rock''. Marsh was born in Southgate in North London and was educated at a convent ...

*Miss Joliffe: Gladys Spencer

References

Review
''The Spectator''. 14 November 1903. pp. 813–14.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nebuly Coat, The 1903 British novels Church buildings in fiction English novels Novels about architects