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The Fashion in Shrouds (Heinemann, 1938)

A new twist in this mystery features Campion's sister, Valentine Ferris, described as 'the second to leave the nest'. Val is now a fashion designer for a prestigious couteurer, Lady Papendeik. Val's star client, the actress Georgia Wells, is surprised to learn that her former fiancé, Richard Portland-Smith, who had disappeared without a trace while on a walking holiday three years earlier, had apparently committed suicide; Campion found the body, involved at the request of Portland-Smith's father. Now Georgia, married to the brutish Sir Raymond Ramilies, has seized on Val's paramour, Alan Dell, of Alandel Aeroplanes. Val is distressed, and Amanda Fitton chooses this moment to reappear. Six years older than in her previous appearance in Sweet Danger, she is working as a designer of aeroplanes, under Dell, and is concerned for the furture of her important work. However, as events progress, it becomes clear that there are darker motives intertwined not only with the death of Portland-Smith, but of the murders that are still to come. Appearances by both Lugg and Stanislaus Oates round out this thoroughly enjoyable volume.

Interestingly, The Fashion in Shrouds was later edited down considerably by the author herself for inclusion in Mr Campion's Lady: the Second Margery Allingham Omnibus.

Also of interest: the Caroll & Graf edition depicted above wins points for what must be the most inaccurate back cover text of all time. The first paragraph reads as follows: "Among the beautiful people, George Well's suicide was last year's gossip. But Albert Campion stubbornly refused to close his personal books on the affair. Campion barely scratches the surface before finding himself vest-deep in a deadly game of cat and mouse."

...which just goes to show that skimming the first chapter of a book doesn't always give one the right information...

 BOOKS
 

 

Order The Fashion in Shrouds today from Amazon.co.uk

The cover illustration is from the out of print Orion edition. The Penguin editon appears to still be in print.

 AUDIO
 

 

Order The Fashion in Shrouds in Audio format today from Amazon.co.uk

Read by Francis Matthews, star of radio and television. Complete and unabridged on ten cassettes.




This page was last updated 18 september 2002.
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