Poison in Jest
by John Dickson Carr
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Early Carr, whose mix of Gothic atmosphere with family murder mystery recalls Van Dine's Greene Murder Case, but without the earlier novel's cheeky, high-camp sensibility. Here, the earnest efforts to generate Gothic shivers fail miserably, while the narrative, at least in the early chapters, is needlessly confusing, with much bouncing around between past and present. Influence of some of the cheesier Father Brown stories is much in evidence, including abundance of belabored Chestertonian paradoxes. Women, typical for Carr, are either bitches or damsels in need of rescue by one of the colorless males. The business with Caligula's hand, ludicrous to begin with, fizzles out into an inconsequential red herring.
Non-series grim story set in Vienna and in the U.S.
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228+ Works 18,969 Members
John Dickson Carr, the master of locked room mysteries, was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. He was educated at Haverford College and the Sorbonne in Paris. Carr is a prolific writer with more than 80 novels and collections of short stories to his credit. He began his writing career at the age of 26 with his first published novel, It show more Walks At Night. Some of his most popular works are The Three Coffins (1935), The Burning Coat (1937), and The Bride of Newgate (1951). Carr also collaborated with Adrian Doyle, the son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (1954). Carr met his wife in 1932 and settled in England in 1933. He was drafted by the United States military in World War II, and was ordered to remain in England and work with the BBC. He lived in many cities throughout the world until 1967, when he permanently moved to Greenville, South Carolina. John Dickson Carr also wrote mystery novels under the name Carter Dickson. He died in Greenville in 1977. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- poison in jest
- Original publication date
- 1932
- People/Characters
- Judge Quayle; Mrs. Quayle; Jeff Marle; Mr. Rossiter
- Important places
- Pennsylvania, USA
- First words
- Prologue: Dusk was coming down from the Wiener Wald, and pink sunset had already faded from the low plain where Vienna lies.
Chapter 1: Judge Quayle half rose out of his chair. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The orchestra-leader lifted his baton; the surge of a waltz rolled out across the tables, above the clatter of glasses and the low hum: "To thee, beautiful lady, I raise my eyes..."
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Members
- 211
- Popularity
- 154,253
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.35)
- Languages
- 5 — English, French, Italian, Polish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 24
