tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post3761077455757688903..comments2024-03-28T10:31:55.774-07:00Comments on The Passing Tramp: Now Before You: The Dagger (1928), by Anthony WynneThe Passing Tramphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-3733923436085593272014-11-17T23:44:54.213-08:002014-11-17T23:44:54.213-08:00Was anyone ever murdered (in present time) in it? ...Was anyone ever murdered (in present time) in it? I'm nearly halfway though and there have been no present-time murders! The Dagger was shorter and kept the murders a-coming!<br /><br />Gosh, I hope I'm not sounding bloodthirsty or anything here. I knew a girl in junior high school who couldn't abide any Christie unless it had at least two murders and she really preferred three (or more).The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-65175116039267933872014-11-17T22:54:07.474-08:002014-11-17T22:54:07.474-08:00I agree with John. The Horseman of Death is tediou...I agree with John. The Horseman of Death is tedious. Unlike him, however, I read the whole thing. I'm funny that way...Darrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14062628395256120383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-12706169547635736872014-11-16T17:14:23.626-08:002014-11-16T17:14:23.626-08:00I've just gotten to the point where Sacha is s...I've just gotten to the point where Sacha is seemingly lashed around the neck by the phantom horseman in a locked room at Ninon's flat. So, finally, there is a locked room problem apparently, though no (new) murder. This one does drag more than The Dagger; I wonder if the serialization encouraged him to tarry? A lot of melodrama too; the whole marry-me-or-I-will-destroy-the-man-you-love thing is straight out of Victorian sensation.<br /><br />In Carr's hands this probably would have been terrific. I still think ti would make a great film scenario, though! Oh, well, I will stick with it and let everyone know how it comes out!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-71699490886836270532014-11-16T16:55:32.631-08:002014-11-16T16:55:32.631-08:00Wish I could tell you. It dragged so much I never ...Wish I could tell you. It dragged so much I never finished it. I wouldn't dare try to read it again. All his energy is spent on building up creepy atmosphere and dire forbodings but there is no pay off. I ditched the book just short of the halfway mark. If there is a pick up in genuine action rather than endless talk and scheming it must happen well past the 100 page mark. Just wasn't worth it for me.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-61730567191628458882014-11-16T12:32:57.007-08:002014-11-16T12:32:57.007-08:00I was reading The Horseman of Death. Is there eve...I was reading The Horseman of Death. Is there ever a murder, or is it just murder-in-the-past? This was one of the novels of his that was serialized in a pulp mag.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-81046214802257246002014-11-16T11:54:14.185-08:002014-11-16T11:54:14.185-08:00My suggestions for new readers to Wynne: ROOM WIT...My suggestions for new readers to Wynne: ROOM WITH THE IRON SHUTTERS, MYSTERY OF THE ASHES, THE RED LADY (aka THE HOLBEIN MYSTERY), THE FOURTH FINGER which is one of the rare (perhaps the *only*) book of Wynne's that displays a sense of humor. I do not recommend THE BLUE VESUVIUS, THE HORSEMEN OF DEATH (the most boring of all his books I've read) or THE TOLL HOUSE MURDER.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-49108240451283175402014-11-15T03:32:10.566-08:002014-11-15T03:32:10.566-08:00I love how the four colors on Muriel (black, red, ...I love how the four colors on Muriel (black, red, tan, a sliver of white) are replicated on the daggers and borders. Honestly, it's one of my very favorite jacket designs from that era.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-44148550791994549132014-11-15T03:29:05.907-08:002014-11-15T03:29:05.907-08:00Isn't it, though? Aside from Muriel looking al...Isn't it, though? Aside from Muriel looking all Lady Macbeth like with that dagger, the dagger background design is wonderful. It would make a great, if macabre, wallpaper design! I must day, the art deco era sure had style in abundance.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-68911553335444673032014-11-15T03:26:33.264-08:002014-11-15T03:26:33.264-08:00I hope he'll be reprinted someday. I've b...I hope he'll be reprinted someday. I've been in contact with a grandson.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-5233525578638790992014-11-15T00:46:37.403-08:002014-11-15T00:46:37.403-08:00I know embarrassingly little (i.e., nothing) about...I know embarrassingly little (i.e., nothing) about this author, and must try to track down some of his work. Many thanks for the introduction.<br /><br />That cover is truly wonderful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-9054461574910219342014-11-14T23:03:25.179-08:002014-11-14T23:03:25.179-08:00Very interesting post, Curt. That is a fantastic b...Very interesting post, Curt. That is a fantastic book cover design.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-21907403739065104712014-11-14T09:15:50.102-08:002014-11-14T09:15:50.102-08:00I'm thinking how this could make a terrific fi...I'm thinking how this could make a terrific film, with the writers taking some of the stodginess out of the prose. The scene you're talking about would be one of memorable horror.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-59537942681674013422014-11-14T09:01:31.568-08:002014-11-14T09:01:31.568-08:00It certainly does leave a mark! I'll always r...It certainly does leave a mark! I'll always remember this Wynne novel for the bizarre events surrounding the removal/retrieval of the titular murder weapon. The tell-tale puddle of water that ought to have set off alarm bells fooled me outright. That particular scene and what the culprit had to do in order to get the dagger is the kind of thing you find regularly in the shudder pulps. I can't think of anything more grisly in modern crime fiction until you get to the murderer's frantic retrieval of a tie pin stuck in his victim's hand in <i>Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square</i>, aka <i>Frenzy</i>. But Wynne wins (ha!) in topping that scene with a far more gruesome act of desperation.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.com