tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post8498309498677590772..comments2024-03-28T10:31:55.774-07:00Comments on The Passing Tramp: Victorian Tableaux Vivants, #1: The Blackheath Poisonings (1978), by Julian SymonsThe Passing Tramphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-54703924067810602612012-04-01T12:18:03.105-07:002012-04-01T12:18:03.105-07:00Sergio,
Thanks, I was hoping you would like it, a...Sergio,<br /><br />Thanks, I was hoping you would like it, as I know you are a Symons admirer. You reminded me I actually have seen The American television version of The Thirty-First of February. It had William Conrad I recall.<br /><br />I would definitely recommend that people read the book, Blackheath Poisonings, before seeing the film, because the book does a much better job with Paul's story, in my view. And a key plot point seems a little more believable the way it's handled in the book!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-10358998621454481032012-04-01T10:49:31.959-07:002012-04-01T10:49:31.959-07:00Terrific review Curt - actually I've only ever...Terrific review Curt - actually I've only ever read this one in Italian so I'll seek it out to read in the original. By the way, several other works by Symons were filmed over the decades - a short list would include a 1956 version of THE NARROWING CIRCLE, an adaptation of THE THIRTY-FIRST OF JANUARY for the Alfred Hitchcock Hour TV series, a version of THE MAN WHO KILLED HIMSELF starring Donals Pleasance and Shelley Winters titles ARTHUR, ARTHUR (1969) and adaptations of several short stories for TV including episodes of TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-77357486516954545672012-03-31T16:37:06.651-07:002012-03-31T16:37:06.651-07:00Patrick,
Oh, sexual misdeeds are quite important ...Patrick,<br /><br />Oh, sexual misdeeds are quite important to the plot, I'm just saying he's not really sexually explicit about them like writers are today. That's what's quite mild by today's standards. Frankly it's not much more sexually explicit than Peter Lovesey's Waxwork, which came out the same year and involves as a plot point naughty nude photos of women.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-85748156442203405712012-03-31T16:21:50.527-07:002012-03-31T16:21:50.527-07:00That's odd-- the copy I have insist on plaster...That's odd-- the copy I have insist on plastering sexual misdeeds over the front cover and back, as though it were a major plot point! I was working under that impression when I read your review, so it does relieve me to hear you say that.<br /><br />I suppose that one of the great things about this genre is that there's always going to be *something* to read.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-42180936683123401322012-03-31T14:24:07.168-07:002012-03-31T14:24:07.168-07:00Martin,
Thanks. They changed the character of Be...Martin,<br /><br />Thanks. They changed the character of Bertie the pious quite a bit, didn't they? Probably for the better. Symons really laid it on pretty heavily with him, in contrast with the other major characters. He's such an absolute drip!<br /><br />Patrick,<br /><br />There are only a couple sexually explicit bits in the book and even those are very, very brief. The book deals with some outre matters, but, lor', it's nothing like modern stuff today. You'd probably like The Detling Secret better, though!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-34080899326390768962012-03-31T11:52:48.524-07:002012-03-31T11:52:48.524-07:00An excellent review of a book I like a lot, my fav...An excellent review of a book I like a lot, my favourite of Symons' historical mysteries. I was fortunate to attend the pre-screening of the TV version at a crime convention in Nottingham, and afterwards there was a very good discussion about the storyline and the adaptation.Martin Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-40629969708546145272012-03-30T18:37:23.464-07:002012-03-30T18:37:23.464-07:00I bought a copy of this book, but to be perfectly ...I bought a copy of this book, but to be perfectly honest I'm not entirely sure anymore whether to read it. Symons is an interesting figure in the genree's history-- and I say that BLOODY MURDER is the best of its kind; despite all its flaws no other book takes such a wide look at the genre in such a 'readable' way.<br /><br />But, speaking from a purely personal standpoint, I just don't *like* twisted sexual relationsihps. And so that's why I'm holding off. Whispers of that sort of stuff have kept me away from the likes of Ruth Rendell and Patricia Highsmith as well... and when I see obvious indications of it, such as THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, I run the other way, throwing Holy Water behind me.<br /><br />It's purely a matter of personal preference... but it's still a preference. If a book places a lot of emphasis on sexual matters, be they normal or abnormal, I'm a lot less likely to enjoy it. (What would Freud say? Actually, forget I said that-- I don't want to know.)<br /><br />But that's just me.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.com