by Minnie Apolis
Discussions of the first
English-language mystery novel usually center around authors in the
era of the 1850s to 1880s, with names like Wilkie Collins, Charles
Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and several other
mostly obscure names.
But it turns out that the
oldest English-language novel (often called a proto-novel instead)
also has an episode that is clearly a murder mystery. Sir Thomas
Malory wrote the perennial best-seller about the days of King Arthur
in Le Morte D'Arthur, published in 1485 by the printer William
Caxton. More of the public knows it as a rather loose collection of
tales of romance, battle, tragedy, pageantry, knighthood, and pure
fable. Whether there is any actual history in any of its
conglomeration of tales is still being debated.
Nevertheless this brings us
to the main topic, the murder mystery. Buried way back in Book XVIII
(18), Chapters Three through Eight, is this briefly told account of a
death of a dinner guest.
Queen Guinevere holds a
celebratory dinner for the knights of the Round Table who had come
home after the Grail quest had been fulfilled. The guest list
included Sir Gawain, Sir Sir Agravaine, Sir Gaheris, Sir Gareth, Sir
Mordred, Sir Bors, Sir Galihodin, Sir Ector, Sir Lionel, Sir
Palomides, his brother Safere, Sir La Cote Mal Taile, Sir Persant,
Sir Ironside, Sir Brandiles, Sir Kay, Sir Mador, Sir Patrise, Aliduk
of Ireland, Sir Astamore, and Sir Pinel le Savage. (Notable by his
absence was the Queen's beloved Sir Lancelot, who was once again out
of favor.) This feast is not held at the Round Table, but “in a
privy place by themselves.”
The Queen spared no expense
laying out a good table, with venison and assorted meats, and “all
manner of dainties.”
The unfortunate Sir Patrise,
a cousin of Sir Mador, ate a poisoned apple and fell down dead. When
Sir Parise ate this apple, “he swelled so till be brast (burst),
and there Sir Patrise fell down suddenly dead among them.” That of
course threw a pall over the whole banquet.
The knights jumped up
angrily. And who was accused of the murder but the Queen herself.
Considering that the Queen had arranged for this dinner, invited all
the guests, and provided all the edibles, it looked very black for
her.
The apparent target of the
poisoned apple was Sir Gawain, who was known to be fond of fruit at
dinner.
The Queen could muster no
excuse when accused by the knights, nor when questioned by her
husband, King Arthur. Sir Mador made the formal accusation of treason
and swore to be avenged of the death of his cousin, Patrise. (All
capital offenses at this time were called treason. No distinctions
were made by type or motive, this being before the age of lawyers.)
And the legal system being as
primitive as it was, instead of a trial, Queen Guinevere's fate was
determined by a joust. Some knight would have to take her part and
fight in one-on-one combat if she was to escape being burned at the
stake.
None of the knights who
attended the banquet would take her part. A joust was set for fifteen
days hence. Sir Bors was assigned the job of defending the Queen's
honor by default, but King Arthur hoped that Sir Lancelot would yet
appear. Bors preferred not to endure the wrath of the other knights.
Bors reached Sir Lancelot,
who was resting in the company of a hermit named Brasias. Lancelot
promises to come but not till the hour of the joust.
The day arrives, Lancelot
defeats Sir Mador and successfully defends the Queen's honor, thereby
preventing her death at the stake. The Queen stands legally excused.
Lancelot's identity is revealed, “and there was made great joy and
mirths in the court.”
Finally, the truth comes out
about who the real murderer was, and his motive. It just so happened
that one of the ladies of the lake sauntered into the court, the one
called Nimue. Nimue was wife to Sir Pelleas, and had been the object
of a romantic obsession on the part of Merlin. Nimue could only get
rid of him by making him prisoner inside a tree or rock (accounts
differ), where Merlin remained forever. Do we have to define her
further as a sorceress, witch, or practitioner of the dark arts?
At any rate, Nimue saunters
in to the court and when she hears of this false accusation of the
Queen, declares right off that the Queen was never guilty of this
crime. She then goes on to name the murderer: Sir Pinel. Motive: to
avenge the death of his cousin, Sir Lamorak. One imagines her
questioning the perp a la Perry Mason in a courtroom scene: Isn't it
true that you harbored a grudge over the death of your cousin
Lamorak? Isn't it true that you swore vengeance? Isn't it true that
you purchased a poison from the local apothecary shop in Londinium
the night before the banquet?
What means Nimue used to
ascertain this information is not disclosed, but as a practitioner of
various arts of sorcery she might have scryed a dark mirror, tossed
rune stones, had a vision, or via some other unnamed craft.
While this murder mystery had
its literary significance, it is rather unsatisfying as a mystery
story. We are told that Sir Pinel's cousin was killed by Sir Gawain
when the guest list is given. And furthermore, Malory writes
“therefore for pure envy and hate Sir Pinel enpoisoned certain
apples for to enpoison Sir Gawaine” even before the accusation and
trial of Queen Guinevere. Obviously as an author Malory should have
retained that information until Nimue unveiled the identity of the
murderer. What seems so obvious to modern audiences was lost on Sir
Thomas Malory back then. It isn't like we'd seriously believe that
Guinevere was capable of murder.
Of the other candidates for
authors of early mysteries, my personal favorite is Wilkie Collins,
author of The Moonstone (1868) and The Woman in White
(1859). I obtained both several years ago from Dover reprints,
and feel that they could well be updated for modern audiences without
too many changes.
Dickens of course wrote the
unfinished Mystery of Edwin Drood; his earlier Bleak House
(1853) also features the murder of a blackmailer, with a police
inspector who tries to track down the killer. Unfortunately the
murder is buried about three-quarters of the way into the novel, and
we fully understand the identity and motive of the killer.
Edgar Allen Poe wrote several
mysteries including the first detective story, but usually as short
stories, before his death in 1849. Thomas Hardy's Tess of the
d'Urbervilles has Tess murder the man who has ruined her life
twice, but that is at the end of the lengthy novel about her
travails.
But I feel that even with the
deficiencies of Malory's style, that he is still the author of the
first murder mystery story.
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Books: Minnie recommends two good novels
by Minnie Apolis
False Impression by Jeffrey Archer
Paperback, 448 pages, Published Nov. 28th, 2006 by St. Martin's Press
A very interesting thriller, somewhat slow to build but with great characters, both on the good-guys side and on the villain side.
About an art historian specializing in attribution, Victoria Petrescu, whose best friend works as a secretary to a repulsive crook banker named Bryce Fenston, who specializes in extending multi-million-dollar loans to people who have fallen on hard times but have a masterpiece of art in their possession. There's an odd coincidence that many of these owners have their throats slit before they can get out of hock to Mr. Fenston.
Tch, Tch, such bad luck they have, hunh?
The story starts the day before 9/11, and go thru roughly two weeks of the calendar. Not sure if choosing that date is just a gimmick, but it does explain that the paperwork and other artworks have been vaporized in the destruction of the Twin Towers.
The setting is New York and London and Tokyo and Bucharest with a brief visit to Russia. The Romanian connection is key, as is explained in more than one thread of the plot as more than one character has roots there. Possibly the best one is the hit man, or hit lady, I should say, a former Romanian gymnast names Olga Krantz, who IMHO is a worthy successor to the memorable Russian hit-woman in >i>From Russian With Love -- Rosa Klebb.
Many supporting characters, most of whom have full histories provided. Giving it four stars.
The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
210 pages, Published May 10th, 2002)
ISBN 0349117047 (ISBN13: 9780349117041)
A charming novel in the series by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Botswana and starring the redoubtable Mme. Precious Ramotswe as the proprietor of the Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. It is remarkable how one is drawn into the lives of these Botswanans (is that the word?) in the very simple and direct language used by the author.
This is number 4 in the series. Mme Ramotswe has moved her office into the premises of her intended, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, mechanic and proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors -- along with Mr. Maketoni's two apprentices and her own assistant, Mma Grace Makutsi -- who is so very proud of having achieved a final score of 97 on her typing exam.
Mr. Maketoni and Mme Ramotswe look for ways to supplement their meager earnings at the Speedy Motors site. One of the ideas they hit on is to start a driving school, to be called the Learn to Drive with Jesus school -- which I think would be a good name for a driving school anywhere, hey?
Mma Makutsi meanwhile, hits on the idea of teaching men how to type -- poor, hapless men who are pecking away at the keys by the venerable hunt-and-peck system, too timid to enroll in a regular typing class where they may be outshone by the women.
In some ways the classes are a roaring success and yet in another way it brings Mma Makutsi to the brink of the greatest heartbreak in her harsh life.
But that is averted by a little gumshoe-ing on the part of Mme Ramotswe. So never fear, and pick up what is possibly the best entry in the series of novels.
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