Reading time now

 I finished "The Mysterious Mr Badman" (1934, by W F Harvey) night before last. This was a mystery novel about a blanket-company owner (the wonderfully-named Athelstan Digby) traveling in Yorkshire to meet up with his adult nephew, a young doctor who is doing a locum tenens for the town's physician. 

They wind up getting  mixed up in a mystery: not one, not two, but three men show up looking for a John Bunyan book called "The Life and Death of Mr Badman" (it's a real book; I looked it up). And then a young boy, given a pile of books by a woman he knows, who told him he could sell them at the used book shop in the town (which happens to be where Mr Digby is staying on his holiday, and he is minding the store for the day so the owner and his wife can go somewhere together)

As it turns out, "Mr Badman" isn't what's important; it's a letter in it, which could lead to blackmail and a Cabinet Minister having to resign, and and and.

There are lots of characters in this one, and I admit after not reading on it for a few days,, I went back to reread a big chunk of it to refresh myself. One of the villains of the piece is Olaf Wake (who just SOUNDS like a villain). There are a couple of murders revolving, apparently, around the people who want the letter getting taken out so they don't talk. 

Eventually the book is stolen from Digby, and much of the last third of the novel involves a convoluted scheme to try to get the letter back and save the family (which Jim, the nephew, turns out to be connected to - he is marrying the stepdaughter) from embarrassment.

At one point Jim is attacked in a "motor wreck," knocked unconscious*, and is told, when he wakes up, that his leg and other ankle are broken, and he's in a "village hospital"

Without spoiling too much- this bit plays a bit on one of my phobias/uncomfortable things,  being lied to by an "authority" and not knowing what is true or correct, and feeling helpless in the situation

 (*In a lot of these old mysteries, characters get "concussions" regularly, and they are not seen as NEARLY as serious as they are now....I know people who were concussed in a car accident, for example, and were told to limit anything that could cause eyestrain  - reading or handwork or writing - for weeks and weeks, I'd find that very frustrating)

Anyway, the typical way these vintage mysteries work, good almost always wins in the end, and it does here. And just before Diana (Jim's intended) sees Digby before the denoument, she kisses the old bachelor on the cheek because he's been so kind to her.

 

I like Athelstan Digby. He's an old bachelor - I assume in his 50s or 60s, though it seems people were "older" back then; it's possible he could be about my age and most days I don't feel particularly elderly. He's a little fussy but also benevolent. It's noted he's fairly devout - he says his prayers at night, he's a member of a Bible society (I think he's what's called Nonconformist in the UK; probably a Methodist). He at one point provides a detailed list of the tools and things he carries in his pockets. So he definitely has a charm and distinctiveness and he reminds me a bit of Mordecai Tremaine, another old bachelor who gets mixed up in mysteries. (Tremaine is a retired tobacconist; it's implied Digby is still active in his firm). The Tremaine novels were about a decade later and I wonder if either there was something "in the air" or if maybe Tremaine was inspired a bit by Digby.

 There are a few short stories featuring Digby. I want to read them - there is an affordable volume (the out of print, vintage versions are all over $100) but it's one of those "facsimile reprints" that's basically a scan and often has bad typos creep in, but I decided to order it - it was less than $10 and if I find it simply unreadable (in terms of print quality) it's not TOO bad to pitch it. 

 

So last night, I  decided to restart "All Clear" by Connie Willis. I started this a while back, but back in October because of upsetting things going on in my life and in the world, it felt like too much to keep going with. Maybe this time I'll finish it; I am pretty sure it will be more hopeful than "Black Out" (the first of the two books in the series) because this is where things get wrapped up, the time travelers resolve the problems, and at least some of them get to go back (I don't know if any of her stories a time traveler dies; I can't remember any of her novels/stories I read that had one). So maybe this time I won't bounce off it (she says with nervous confidence as she eyes the world once again rocketing towards war.....)

Back in the field tomorrow; if I'm too wiped out there may not be a post. My colleague and I are going to try to get the two remaining sites.