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The Case of the Gilded Fly (1944)

af Edmund Crispin

Serier: Gervase Fen (1)

Medlemmer	Anmeldelser	Popularitet	Gennemsnitlig vurdering	Omtaler
913	39	23,222	(3.28)	132
The very first case for Oxford-based sleuth Gervase Fen, one of the last of the great Golden Age detectives. As inventive as Agatha Christie, as hilarious as P.G. Wodehouse, this is the perfect entry point to discover the delightful detective stories of Edmund Crispin - crime fiction at its quirkiest and best. A pretty but spiteful young actress with a talent for destroying men's lives is found dead in a college room just yards from the office of the unconventional Oxford don Gervase Fen. Anyone who knew the girl would gladly have shot her, but can Fen discover who did shoot her, and why? Published during the Second World War, The Case of the Gilded Fly introduced English professor and would-be detective Gervase Fen, one of crime fiction's most irrepressible and popular sleuths. A classic locked-room mystery filled with witty literary allusions, it was the debut of 'a new writer who calls himself Edmund Crispin' (in reality the choral and film composer Bruce Montgomery), later described by The Times as 'One of the last exponents of the classical English detective story . . . elegant, literate, and funny.' This Detective Story Club classic is introduced by Douglas G. Greene, who reveals how Montgomery's ambition to emulate John Dickson Carr resulted in a string of successful and distinctive Golden Age detective novels and an invitation from Carr himself to join the exclusive Detection Club.… (mere)

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Very much of its time and place, I suppose. Lots and lots of pretentious "sparkling" dialog, oceans of alcohol, torrents of multi-syllabic Oxonian vocabulary. Not even very well-crafted: Fen knows within minutes who the murderer is, and the rest of the book stretches out interminably as he teases and hints, and in one place actually names the murderer to another character, but WE are not privy to what he says. Women are either sexual predators or desperately seeking, and not much else. Dated, tricksy, and mostly tedious. I won't read another. (

)

JulieStielstra | Sep 4, 2023 |

Fen is fun (

)

Overgaard | May 18, 2023 |

It took me 128 days to read this book. I can't say exactly why, as I enjoy Crispin's work - what I've read of it so far - but I started this on October 6th, put it down after about 5 chapters, and didn't pick it up again until earlier this week. Perhaps because it centres around the theater - a setting that doesn't do much for me at all - or maybe I just wasn't in the mood.

This is the first Fen mystery, and I suspect that's part of what I found tedious, along with the setting. I was also annoyed with Fen saying, at the half way mark, that he knew who the murderer was; as soon as he said that, all I could think was 'why do I have to read as many pages again before I find out?'

But I loved the way Crispin sort of did a Jasper Fforde with this book (and yes, I realise it's properly Jasper Fforde doing a Crispin with his Tuesday Next books, but go with it, please). The characters all have an awareness that they are, in fact, fictional characters living within the confines of the story, and the small asides that let the reader in on this knowledge are often subtle, but they always made me smile when I came across them. I've thoroughly enjoyed Crispin's sly humor in his other books and this one was no different, but I do think this might have made a better short story than a full-length novel. (

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murderbydeath | Feb 10, 2023 |

Una joven y temperamental actriz, a quien la totalidad de su compañía teatral detesta, muere asesinada en Oxford, en extrañas circunstancias, durante los ensayosde una nueva obra. Afortunadamente para la policía el crimen ocurre en la propia Facultad donde Gervase y Fen, hombre de letras y detective aficionado, imparte su enseñanza.

Natt90 | Nov 9, 2022 |

I really like a lot about this novel. The wit and humor is top-notch. Its self-referential/self-awareness is awesome. The subtle (and not-so) subtle satire and homage and parody are neat. The inclusion of little random sidesteps (the parrot? the fly?) is interesting. I think Fen is a character that either you understand and enjoy or you just simply don't "get." If you are one of the latter, I do feel bad because then this book is going to be wretched for you.

The pacing is a little sketchy. The murder resolution is also a bit difficult to piece together. Some of the novel seems a bit too meandering. Its a first effort written by an undergraduate, though. I will definitely read more Crispin. (

)

AQsReviews | Jul 7, 2022 |

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Indeholdt i

The Edmund Crispin Treasury Volume 1 af Edmund Crispin

6 Titles By Edmund Crispin Gervase Fen Series : The Case of the Gilded Fly - Holy Disorders - Love Lies Bleeding - Frequ af Edmund Crispin

The Edmund Crispin Treasury Volumes 1 & 2 af Edmund Crispin

The Case of the Gilded Fly | Who Killed Baker? af Edmund Crispin

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Kanonisk titel

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The Case of the Gilded Fly

Originaltitel

The Case of the Gilded Fly

Alternative titler

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Obsequies at Oxford

Oprindelig udgivelsesdato

1944

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(vis alle 11 elementer)

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Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

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Beslægtede film

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Hast thou done them? speak;
Will every savour breed a pang of death?
Christopher Marlowe

Hast du sie präpariert? Sprich:
Birgt jeder Hauch die Todesqual?

Tilegnelse

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For
MURIEL AND JOHN
donum memoriae causa

{a gift for the sake of memory}

Første ord

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To the unwary traveller, Didcot signifies the imminence of his arrival at Oxford; to the more experienced, another half-hour at least of frustration.

Citater

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He regarded Robert as a man might be regarded who has capped a peculiarly subtle and appropriate literary allusion with the hackneyed banality of a proverb.

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Originally published as "Obsequies at Oxford" in the US.

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Gervase Fen

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The very first case for Oxford-based sleuth Gervase Fen, one of the last of the great Golden Age detectives. As inventive as Agatha Christie, as hilarious as P.G. Wodehouse, this is the perfect entry point to discover the delightful detective stories of Edmund Crispin - crime fiction at its quirkiest and best. A pretty but spiteful young actress with a talent for destroying men's lives is found dead in a college room just yards from the office of the unconventional Oxford don Gervase Fen. Anyone who knew the girl would gladly have shot her, but can Fen discover who did shoot her, and why? Published during the Second World War, The Case of the Gilded Fly introduced English professor and would-be detective Gervase Fen, one of crime fiction's most irrepressible and popular sleuths. A classic locked-room mystery filled with witty literary allusions, it was the debut of 'a new writer who calls himself Edmund Crispin' (in reality the choral and film composer Bruce Montgomery), later described by The Times as 'One of the last exponents of the classical English detective story . . . elegant, literate, and funny.' This Detective Story Club classic is introduced by Douglas G. Greene, who reveals how Montgomery's ambition to emulate John Dickson Carr resulted in a string of successful and distinctive Golden Age detective novels and an invitation from Carr himself to join the exclusive Detection Club.

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