Death of a Gossip
Encyclopedia
Death of a Gossip is a mystery
novel by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney
), first published in 1985
. It is set in the fictional town of Lochdubh, Scotland and is the first novel of a series featuring the local constable Hamish Macbeth
.
. They attend the Lochdubh School of Casting : Salmon and Trout Fishing, owned and operated by John Cartwright and his wife Heather. What should be a relaxing holiday amid glorious Highland lochs and mountains becomes a misery. One of the party, Lady Jane Withers, a society widow and notorious gossip columnist, upsets everyone with her snobbishness, sharp tongue and rudeness. Lady Jane soon learns that each of her fellow guests has a secret in their past that they would prefer to remain unknown. When her Ladyship is found dead in Keeper's Pool, no-one is surprised and everyone is relieved.
Hamish Macbeth
, Lochdubh's local policeman, has to search for a murderer amongst the many suspects. No-one is willing to talk. With the assistance of Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, the love of his life, Hamish solves the mystery in his usual unorthodox style. Hamish's success does not endear him to Chief Inspector Blair, a senior detective from the nearby fictional town of Strathbane.
, private investigator
or amateur sleuth
solves the crime by careful observation of the group. At the end of the novel they are all brought together in a drawing room where one by one each person is shown to be innocent and the guilty party is exposed.
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...
novel by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney
Marion Chesney
Marion Chesney is a popular and prolific author. She has written numerous successful historical romance novels under her own name, including the Travelling Matchmaker and Daughters of Mannerling series. Using the pseudonym M. C...
), first published in 1985
1985 in literature
The year 1985 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Isaac Asimov - Robots and Empire*Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale*Jean M. Auel - The Mammoth Hunters*Iain Banks - Walking on Glass...
. It is set in the fictional town of Lochdubh, Scotland and is the first novel of a series featuring the local constable Hamish Macbeth
Hamish Macbeth
Hamish Macbeth is a fictional police officer who serves as his town's detective in a series of mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton . The novels are published in the UK by Constable & Robinson. In an interview, the author recalls,...
.
Plot
Eight people of varied background meet in the fictional village of Lochdubh in Northern ScotlandNorthern Scotland
Northern Scotland is an administrative division of Scotland used for police and fire services. It consists of Highland, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands and the Western Isles. The police service uses Northern in its name, but the fire service uses the name Highlands and Islands Fire and...
. They attend the Lochdubh School of Casting : Salmon and Trout Fishing, owned and operated by John Cartwright and his wife Heather. What should be a relaxing holiday amid glorious Highland lochs and mountains becomes a misery. One of the party, Lady Jane Withers, a society widow and notorious gossip columnist, upsets everyone with her snobbishness, sharp tongue and rudeness. Lady Jane soon learns that each of her fellow guests has a secret in their past that they would prefer to remain unknown. When her Ladyship is found dead in Keeper's Pool, no-one is surprised and everyone is relieved.
Hamish Macbeth
Hamish Macbeth
Hamish Macbeth is a fictional police officer who serves as his town's detective in a series of mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton . The novels are published in the UK by Constable & Robinson. In an interview, the author recalls,...
, Lochdubh's local policeman, has to search for a murderer amongst the many suspects. No-one is willing to talk. With the assistance of Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, the love of his life, Hamish solves the mystery in his usual unorthodox style. Hamish's success does not endear him to Chief Inspector Blair, a senior detective from the nearby fictional town of Strathbane.
Characters
- John Cartwright: Owner of the Lochdubh School of Casting: Salmon and Trout Fishing
- Heather Cartwright: Wife of John, believed to be the better angler
- Hamish MacbethHamish MacbethHamish Macbeth is a fictional police officer who serves as his town's detective in a series of mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton . The novels are published in the UK by Constable & Robinson. In an interview, the author recalls,...
: Lochdubh's village constable - Mr. Marvin Roth: An American from New York who used to operate a sweatshop
- Mrs. Amy Roth: An ex-stripper from New York
- Lady Jane Winders: Widow of a Labour Peer; she is "The Gossip"; a gossip columnist for newspaper
- Jeremy Blythe: A barrister from London
- Alice Wilson: A secretary from London
- Charlie Baxter: A twelve-year-old from London with divorced parents
- Major Peter Frame: Former army officer, the only member of the class with prior fishing experience
- Daphene Gore: from Oxford who used to be in an insane asylum
- Priscilla Halburton-Smythe: The daughter of a wealthy local landowner
Genre
Death of a Gossip is a slightly modified version of an English Drawing Room Mystery. This type of mystery brings together a group of people, one of the group is murdered and the detectiveDetective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
, private investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
or amateur sleuth
Sleuth
-Theatre and film:*Sleuth , a 1970 play by Anthony Shaffer*Sleuth , a film adaptation of the Anthony Shaffer play, directed by Joseph L...
solves the crime by careful observation of the group. At the end of the novel they are all brought together in a drawing room where one by one each person is shown to be innocent and the guilty party is exposed.
Publication history
- 1985, USA, St. Martin's PressSt. Martin's PressSt. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
ISBN 978-0312186371, Pub Date March 1985, Hardcover - 1988, USA, Fawcett PublicationsFawcett PublicationsFawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett . At the age of 16, Fawcett ran away from home to join the Army, and the Spanish-American War took him to the Philippines. Back in Minnesota, he became a...
publisher ISBN 9780312186371, Pub date 12 April 1988, Mass Market Paperback - 1999, USA, Grand Central Publishing, ISBN 978-0446607131, Pub Date 01 Feb 1999, Mass Market Paperback
- 1989, UK, Savannah Koch publisher, ISBN 978-0951446409, Pub Date 5 August 1989, Hardcover
- 1994, UK, Bantam BooksBantam BooksBantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
, London, ISBN 978-0553407914, Pub Date 28 July 1994, Paperback - 2008, UK, Robinson Publishing, ISBN 978-1845296650, Pub Date 23 April 2008, Paperback
External links
- Death of a Gossip web page on UK publisher Constable & Robinson's web site.