Beginning with a Bash
Encyclopedia
Beginning With a Bash is a novel
that was published in 1937 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
writing as Alice Tilton. It is the first of the Leonidas Witherall mysteries
.
.) This is the first Leonidas Witherall mystery novel and it sets the tone which was continued in the other seven. A murder occurs under embarrassing circumstances, and Leonidas forms a motley crew of assistants together in order to track down clues, chase around the town, and solve the mystery. There is a strong vein of humor and the plot is fast-moving.
Mystery writer and critic H. R. F. Keating
said: "This book is a splended example of marvellously brisk American writing ... [It] is more a how-will-he-get-out-of-it than a who-done-it. This, too, is a type of story that puts a premium on the sheer skill of the writing, and quick and wonderfully well-timed Alice Tilton's writing is. Yet she finds moments in the course of the whole hectic scramble for some instantly evocative descriptions of Boston's bone-chilling winter and ... for neat social comment."
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
that was published in 1937 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
Phoebe Atwood Taylor
Phoebe Atwood Taylor was an American mystery author.Phoebe Atwood Taylor wrote mystery novels under her own name, and as Freeman Dana and Alice Tilton. Her first novel, The Cape Cod Mystery, introduced the "Codfish Sherlock", Asey Mayo, who became a series character appearing in 24 novels...
writing as Alice Tilton. It is the first of the Leonidas Witherall mysteries
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
.
Plot summary
It's a cold winter in Boston, and Peters's secondhand bookstore has a sign that says "Come in and browse -- it's warm inside". The sign attracts the attention of Martin Jones, who's not only chilly but being chased by the police because his former boss, Professor North, has accused him of stealing $50,000 from the Anthropology Society. Inside the bookstore, he meets a former teacher from his days at Meredith Academy; Leonidas Witherall, "the man who looks like Shakespeare", who had lost all his money in the stock market crash of 1929, and become the bookstore's janitor. The bookstore's new owner is a pretty young redhead of Jones's acquaintance. After the departure of a book thief and a car accident outside, Professor North's body is discovered in the religion section. Witherall and company -- which soon includes a wealthy Boston dowager, North's sassy maid Gert, and Gert's mobster boyfriend Freddy -- spend the evening tracking down clues to the murderer's identity and trying to stay out of the clutches of Freddy's rival gang. Under Witherall's supervision, the group solves the murder and forces a confession from the murderer just in time to save Jones from the police.Literary significance & criticism
(See Phoebe Atwood TaylorPhoebe Atwood Taylor
Phoebe Atwood Taylor was an American mystery author.Phoebe Atwood Taylor wrote mystery novels under her own name, and as Freeman Dana and Alice Tilton. Her first novel, The Cape Cod Mystery, introduced the "Codfish Sherlock", Asey Mayo, who became a series character appearing in 24 novels...
.) This is the first Leonidas Witherall mystery novel and it sets the tone which was continued in the other seven. A murder occurs under embarrassing circumstances, and Leonidas forms a motley crew of assistants together in order to track down clues, chase around the town, and solve the mystery. There is a strong vein of humor and the plot is fast-moving.
Mystery writer and critic H. R. F. Keating
H. R. F. Keating
Henry Reymond Fitzwalter "Harry" Keating was an English crime fiction writer most notable for his series of novels featuring Inspector Ghote of the Bombay CID.-Life:...
said: "This book is a splended example of marvellously brisk American writing ... [It] is more a how-will-he-get-out-of-it than a who-done-it. This, too, is a type of story that puts a premium on the sheer skill of the writing, and quick and wonderfully well-timed Alice Tilton's writing is. Yet she finds moments in the course of the whole hectic scramble for some instantly evocative descriptions of Boston's bone-chilling winter and ... for neat social comment."