Roderick Alleyn
Encyclopedia
Roderick Alleyn is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 who first appeared in 1934. He is the policeman hero of the 32 detective novels of Ngaio Marsh
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Ngaio Marsh DBE , born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900...

. Marsh and her gentleman detective
Gentleman detective
The gentleman detective is a type of fictional character. He has long been a staple of crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories set in Britain in the Golden Age...

 belong firmly in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction
Golden Age of Detective Fiction
The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels produced by various authors, all following similar patterns and style.-Origins:Mademoiselle de Scudéri, by E.T.A...

, although the last Alleyn novel, Light Thickens, was published as late as 1982.

Marsh mentions in an introduction that she named her detective Alleyn after Alleyn's School
Alleyn's School
Alleyn's School is an independent, fee-paying co-educational day school situated in Dulwich, south London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of the historic Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation, which also included James Allen's Girls' School , Dulwich...

, colloquially known as Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...

, where her father had been a pupil. Like the school and the Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn
Edward Alleyn
Edward Alleyn was an English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of Dulwich College and Alleyn's School.-Early life:...

 after whom the school is named, the detective's surname is pronounced "Allen".

Background and Early Life

Roderick Alleyn is a gentleman detective
Gentleman detective
The gentleman detective is a type of fictional character. He has long been a staple of crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories set in Britain in the Golden Age...

, whose family and educational background may be deduced from comments in the novels. In brief, Alleyn was apparently born around 1892-1894, graduated from Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 around 1915, served in the army for three years in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, then spent a year (1919–1920) in the British Foreign Service
Diplomatic service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel enjoy diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to other countries...

. He finally joined the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...

 as a constable in about 1920 or 1921.

Marsh's 32 novels form a chronological series that follows Alleyn's detective
Detective
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"...

 career. When the series opens (A Man Lay Dead
A Man Lay Dead
A Man Lay Dead is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the first novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1934. The plot concerns a murder committed during a detective game of murder at a weekend party in a country house...

, 1934), Alleyn is aged about 40 and is already a Detective Chief-Inspector
Inspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...

 in the CID
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...

 at Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...

. As the series progresses, Alleyn marries and has a son, and eventually rises to the rank of Chief Superintendent
Superintendent (police)
Superintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...

.

Family background

Throughout the novels, Alleyn is clearly a member of the gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....

. He is the younger brother of a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

, and was raised in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

 where his mother, Lady Alleyn, continued to live. Lady Alleyn is unseen
Unseen character
In fiction, an unseen character is a character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in...

 until the sixth novel, Artists in Crime
Artists in Crime
Artists in Crime is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of an artists' model; Agatha Troy is introduced for the first time....

(1938).

From the beginning of the series, Alleyn's father is dead: his older brother, Sir George Alleyn, is already enjoying the baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

cy. Their late father, also named George (Death in a White Tie
Death in a White Tie
Death in a White Tie is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the seventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of a British lord after a party....

, 1938) implicitly had at least one brother (Alleyn's paternal uncle), because the first novel (A Man Lay Dead
A Man Lay Dead
A Man Lay Dead is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the first novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1934. The plot concerns a murder committed during a detective game of murder at a weekend party in a country house...

, 1934) mentions a cousin, Christina Alleyn, who remains an unseen character
Unseen character
In fiction, an unseen character is a character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in...

. Christina is a chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...

 who trained at Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1934, Christina Alleyn is in her mid-twenties.

Alleyn is on tolerably good terms with his older brother, Sir George Alleyn, the current baronet, who throughout most of the series is an unseen character
Unseen character
In fiction, an unseen character is a character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in...

. In Artists in Crime
Artists in Crime
Artists in Crime is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of an artists' model; Agatha Troy is introduced for the first time....

(1938), their mother indicates that Sir George is more conventional and less intelligent than his detective younger brother. The novel Death in a White Tie
Death in a White Tie
Death in a White Tie is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the seventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of a British lord after a party....

features Sarah Alleyn, a daughter of Sir George, and mentions that Sir George's wife (Alleyn's sister-in-law) is named Grace and that the elder Lady Alleyn is called Helena (at least, she is addressed as such by Lady Lorrimer). Like his younger brother, Sir George entered the Foreign Service: Death in a White Tie
Death in a White Tie
Death in a White Tie is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the seventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of a British lord after a party....

implies that Sir George is the Governor of Fiji in the late 1930s, as he writes to Alleyn from Government House
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the residences of Governors-General, Governors and Lieutenant-Governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. It serves as the venue for the Governor's official business, as well as the many receptions and functions hosted by...

 in Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...

. In the much later novel, When in Rome (1970), Alleyn remarks that his older brother was once the British Ambassador there. Sir George finally appears in person, but only briefly, at an embassy function in Black As He's Painted
Black As He's Painted
Black As He's Painted is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-eighth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1974. The plot concerns the newly-independent fictional African nation of Ng'ombwana, whose president and Alleyn went to school together, and a series...

(1974).

In the earliest five novels, Alleyn is single—and quite attracted to actresses, as described in both Enter a Murderer
Enter a Murderer
Enter a Murderer is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the second novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1935. The novel is the first of the theatrical novels for which Marsh was to become famous, taking its title from a line of stage direction in Macbeth, and the plot...

(1935) and Vintage Murder
Vintage Murder
Vintage Murder is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1937. The plot centers on a traveling theatrical troupe in New Zealand. One of the cast members was a minor character in Enter a Murderer, and refers to that case early...

(1937). Subsequently, in Artists in Crime
Artists in Crime
Artists in Crime is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of an artists' model; Agatha Troy is introduced for the first time....

(1938), Alleyn meets Agatha Troy whom he later marries. Troy is a famous painter, particularly of portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...

s, and features in many later novels. They have one son, Ricky; Ricky plays major roles as a child in Spinsters in Jeopardy
Spinsters in Jeopardy
Spinsters in Jeopardy is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the seventeenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1954. The novel takes place in the countryside of France, where Alleyn is vacationing with Agatha Troy, now his wife, and their son Ricky; it concerns an...

(1954) and as a young adult in Last Ditch
Last Ditch
Last Ditch is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-ninth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1977. The plot concerns drug smuggling in the Channel Islands, and features Alleyn's son, Ricky, in a central role....

(1977).

The 32 Alleyn Novels

  • A Man Lay Dead
    A Man Lay Dead
    A Man Lay Dead is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the first novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1934. The plot concerns a murder committed during a detective game of murder at a weekend party in a country house...

    (1934)
  • Enter a Murderer
    Enter a Murderer
    Enter a Murderer is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the second novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1935. The novel is the first of the theatrical novels for which Marsh was to become famous, taking its title from a line of stage direction in Macbeth, and the plot...

    (1935)
  • The Nursing Home Murder
    The Nursing Home Murder
    The Nursing Home Murder is a work of detective fiction by New Zealand author Ngaio Marsh.-Synopsis:The British Home Secretary, Sir Derek O'Callaghan MP, has received several death threats from anarchists affiliated with Stalinist Communism - and a pleading letter threatening suicide from Jane...

    (1935)
  • Death in Ecstasy
    Death in Ecstasy
    Death in Ecstasy is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fourth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1936.When lovely Cara Quayne dropped dead to the floor after drinking the ritual wine at the House of the Sacred Flame, she was having a religious experience of a sort...

    (1936)
  • Vintage Murder
    Vintage Murder
    Vintage Murder is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1937. The plot centers on a traveling theatrical troupe in New Zealand. One of the cast members was a minor character in Enter a Murderer, and refers to that case early...

    (1937)
  • Artists in Crime
    Artists in Crime
    Artists in Crime is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of an artists' model; Agatha Troy is introduced for the first time....

    (1938)
  • Death in a White Tie
    Death in a White Tie
    Death in a White Tie is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the seventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of a British lord after a party....

    (1938)
  • Overture to Death
    Overture to Death
    Overture to Death is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the eighth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1939. The plot concerns a murder during a village theatrical performance; Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp minor plays a prominent part in the story. So...

    (1939)
  • Death at the Bar
    Death at the Bar
    Death at the Bar is a 1940 novel by Ngaio Marsh which was adapted for television in 1993 as part of the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries. The episode was directed by Michael Winterbottom and starred Patrick Malahide as Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. The title is a pun on the legal term the bar, and...

    (1940)
  • Surfeit of Lampreys
    Surfeit of Lampreys
    Surfeit of Lampreys is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the tenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1941. The plot concerns the murder of a British peer, a theme to which Marsh would return; the novel was published as Death of a Peer in the United States.Its title...

    (1941), published in USA as Death of a Peer
  • Death and the Dancing Footman
    Death and the Dancing Footman
    Death and the Dancing Footman is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the eleventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1942. The plot concerns a murder committed at a country house in Dorset....

    (1942)
  • Colour Scheme
    Colour Scheme
    Colour Scheme is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twelfth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1943. The novel takes place in New Zealand during World War II; the plot involves suspected Nazi activity at a hot springs resort on the New Zealand coast and a...

    (1943)
  • Died in the Wool
    Died in the Wool
    Died in the Wool is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1945. The novel concerns the murder of a New Zealand parliamentarian on a remote sheep farm, said to be located near Mount Cook...

    (1945)
  • Final Curtain
    Final Curtain
    Final Curtain is a 1947 novel by Ngaio Marsh, which was adapted for television in 1993 as part of the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries.-Plot:Agatha Troy Alleyn is waiting for the return of her husband Roderick Alleyn after a long separation during World War II...

    (1947)
  • Swing Brother Swing
    Swing Brother Swing
    Swing Brother Swing is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1949. The plot concerns the murder of a big band leader in London; the novel was published as A Wreath for Rivera in the United States....

    (1949), published in USA as A Wreath for Rivera
  • Opening Night
    Opening Night (novel)
    Opening Night is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1951. It was published in the United states as Night at the Vulcan....

    (1951), published in USA as Night at the Vulcan
  • Spinsters in Jeopardy
    Spinsters in Jeopardy
    Spinsters in Jeopardy is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the seventeenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1954. The novel takes place in the countryside of France, where Alleyn is vacationing with Agatha Troy, now his wife, and their son Ricky; it concerns an...

    (1954), republished in the USA as The Bride of Death (1955)
  • Scales of Justice
    Scales of Justice (novel)
    Scales of Justice is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the eighteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1955. The plot concerns the murder of Colonel Carterette, an enthusiastic fisherman in charge of publishing the controversial memoirs of the local baronet....

    (1955)
  • Off With His Head
    Off With His Head
    Off With His Head is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the nineteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1957. The plot concerns a village festival in the English countryside, and features Morris dancing among other folkloric elements...

    (1957), published in USA as Death of a Fool
  • Singing in the Shrouds
    Singing in the Shrouds
    Singing in the Shrouds is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twentieth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1959. The plot concerns a serial killer who is on a transatlantic voyage to South Africa....

    (1959)
  • False Scent
    False Scent
    False Scent is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-first novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1960. The plot concerns the murder of an aging stage actress, and continues Marsh's fascination with the theater and with acting....

    (1960)
  • Hand in Glove
    Hand in Glove (novel)
    Hand in Glove is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-second novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1962. This story finds its way into an upper society party gone astray into the path of precarious murder....

    (1962)
  • Dead Water
    Dead Water (novel)
    Dead Water is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-third novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1964.The plot concerns a murder in a small coastal village, where a local spring believed to have miraculous healing properties is enriching many of the local...

    (1964)
  • Death at the Dolphin
    Death at the Dolphin
    Death at the Dolphin is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-fourth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1967. The plot centers on a glove once owned by Hamnet Shakespeare, on display at a newly-renovated theater called the Dolphin; the novel was published as...

    (1967), published in USA as Killer Dolphin
  • Clutch of Constables
    Clutch of Constables
    Clutch of Constables is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1968. The plot concerns art forgery, and takes place on a cruise on a fictional river in the Norfolk Broads; the "Constable" referred to in the title is...

    (1968)
  • When in Rome
    When in Rome (novel)
    When in Rome is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-sixth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1970. The novel takes place in Rome, and concerns a number of murders among a group of tourists visiting the city; much of the action takes place in the "Basilica...

    (1970)
  • Tied Up in Tinsel
    Tied Up in Tinsel
    Tied Up in Tinsel is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-seventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1972. The novel takes place at a country house in England over the course of a few days during the Christmas season....

    (1972)
  • Black As He's Painted
    Black As He's Painted
    Black As He's Painted is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-eighth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1974. The plot concerns the newly-independent fictional African nation of Ng'ombwana, whose president and Alleyn went to school together, and a series...

    (1974)
  • Last Ditch
    Last Ditch
    Last Ditch is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-ninth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1977. The plot concerns drug smuggling in the Channel Islands, and features Alleyn's son, Ricky, in a central role....

    (1977)
  • Grave Mistake
    Grave Mistake
    Grave Mistake is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirtieth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1978. The plot concerns the murder of an elderly widow in a nursing home, and involves a rare, and famous, postage stamp....

    (1978)
  • Photo Finish
    Photo Finish (novel)
    Photo Finish is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirty-first, and penultimate, novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1980. The novel takes place on a millionaire's private island in New Zealand, and features the world premiere of an opera entitled The Alien...

    (1980)
  • Light Thickens
    Light Thickens
    Light Thickens is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirty-second, and final, novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1982. The plot concerns the murder of the lead actor in a production of Macbeth in London, and the novel takes its title from a line in the play...

    (1982)


In addition, three Alleyn stories are contained in the short story collection Death on the Air and Other Stories, first published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers in 1995. The three Alleyn stories are:
  • Death on the Air (1936)
  • I Can Find My Way Out (1946 - USA)
  • Chapter and Verse: The Little Copplestone Mystery (1974 - USA)


The collection, besides seven non-Alleyn stories, also includes two "biographical" essays written by Ngaio Marsh: Roderick Alleyn and Portrait of Troy.

Birth, Education and Early Career

Alleyn was reportedly educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 and Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

, and worked in the British Foreign Service
Diplomatic service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel enjoy diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to other countries...

 for a year (1919–1920) before joining the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...

. A much later novel, Scales of Justice
Scales of Justice
Scales of Justice can refer to:* Justice* Scales held by Lady Justice symbolizing the measure of a case's support and opposition* Scales of Justice , a 1983 Australian television drama* Scales of Justice , a 1990 American series...

(1955), gives sketchy details of this period in Alleyn's life. The reasons for the switch in careers are never made explicit.

Early in his police career, Alleyn wrote a textbook that became widely admired: Principles and Practice of Criminal Investigations, by Roderick Alleyn, M.A. (Oxon), C.I.D. (Sable and Murgatroyd, 21s), which is mentioned in a footnote to Chapter 6 of Vintage Murder
Vintage Murder
Vintage Murder is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1937. The plot centers on a traveling theatrical troupe in New Zealand. One of the cast members was a minor character in Enter a Murderer, and refers to that case early...

(1937).

In the first few novels, Alleyn is in his early forties. In the first, A Man Lay Dead
A Man Lay Dead
A Man Lay Dead is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the first novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1934. The plot concerns a murder committed during a detective game of murder at a weekend party in a country house...

(1934), Nigel Bathgate (Alleyn's future Watson) is clearly stated to be twenty-five, and Alleyn is much older, judging by the tone of his remarks to Bathgate. In the second, Enter a Murderer
Enter a Murderer
Enter a Murderer is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the second novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1935. The novel is the first of the theatrical novels for which Marsh was to become famous, taking its title from a line of stage direction in Macbeth, and the plot...

(1935), there is a minor inconsistency, in that Bathgate appears to be slightly younger than before. Bathgate says that he has been working as a journalist for only 15 months, ever since he 'came down' (that is, graduated) from Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

. However, Alleyn comments that it is almost 20 years since he (Alleyn) came down from Oxford. Assuming both gentlemen graduated with a typical three-year Oxbridge
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...

 degree at around age 21, then in 1934 or 1935 Bathgate is about 22 or 23 and Alleyn is about 20 years older, indicating his birth was around 1893 or 1894.

The fifth novel, Vintage Murder
Vintage Murder
Vintage Murder is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1937. The plot centers on a traveling theatrical troupe in New Zealand. One of the cast members was a minor character in Enter a Murderer, and refers to that case early...

(1937), is explicitly set in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 in June 1936—according to an epilogue
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...

 dated September 1936 and set three months after the novel's action. In Chapter 16, Alleyn states his age, while speaking to a teenager: 'Rude you think? I'm twenty-five years older than you. Old gentlemen of forty-two are allowed to be impertinent. Especially when they are policemen.'

Vintage Murder
Vintage Murder
Vintage Murder is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1937. The plot centers on a traveling theatrical troupe in New Zealand. One of the cast members was a minor character in Enter a Murderer, and refers to that case early...

(1937) also indicates Alleyn spent three years in the army after graduating, presumably during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Nowhere in the series are details of this military service ever given. Immediately after the army, he spent a year in the British Foreign Service
Diplomatic service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel enjoy diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to other countries...

.

The sixth novel, Artists in Crime
Artists in Crime
Artists in Crime is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of an artists' model; Agatha Troy is introduced for the first time....

(1938), rapidly follows the action of Vintage Murder
Vintage Murder
Vintage Murder is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1937. The plot centers on a traveling theatrical troupe in New Zealand. One of the cast members was a minor character in Enter a Murderer, and refers to that case early...

(that is, occurs in late 1936), and contains letters between Lady Alleyn and her younger son during his return to England. These show that Alleyn's mother turns 65 in 1936, and that Alleyn is about 20 years younger. The same correspondence shows that Lady Alleyn's birthday is on the seventh of September, and that Alleyn's (forty-third) birthday follows soon after. Hence, from information in the fifth and sixth novels, Alleyn was probably born in September or October, 1893.

Alleyn as a gentleman detective

The gentleman detective has long been a staple of British crime fiction, particularly in novels from the Golden Age
Golden Age of Detective Fiction
The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels produced by various authors, all following similar patterns and style.-Origins:Mademoiselle de Scudéri, by E.T.A...

.

One obvious comparison with Roderick Alleyn is the fictional Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...

. Alleyn's family background resembles the relationships created by Dorothy Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...

 for her fictional Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...

 (born 1890). Like Alleyn, Wimsey has a titled older brother, who however is far more grand—he's a duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...

. Like Alleyn, Lord Peter's brother is less intelligent and more conventional than his more famous younger sibling. Alleyn's mother, Lady Alleyn, closely resembles in manner the Dowager Duchess of Denver, Wimsey's mother. Both ladies are affable and intelligent, and strongly support (and perhaps prefer) their younger sons. One marked difference between the fictional biographies of Alleyn and Wimsey, who are about the same age, is in their military service during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Alleyn's army service is glossed over and never discussed, whereas Wimsey's
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...

 distinguished service on the Western Front has mentally scarred him for life.

Like Alleyn, at least two of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...

's detectives clearly belong in the gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....

. Her elderly spinster, Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...

, is not from the aristocracy but is quite at home amongst them, while the diminutive Mr. Satterthwaite (in The Mysterious Mr. Quin
The Mysterious Mr. Quin
The Mysterious Mr. Quin is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on April 14 1930 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year...

(1930) and Three Act Tragedy
Three Act Tragedy
Three Act Tragedy is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1934 under the title Murder in Three Acts and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in January 1935 under Christie's original title...

(1934)) has a similar background and is wealthy besides. Her most famous detective character, Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...

, is a foreigner, and is thus outside the English class system (of which Poirot takes advantage).

Two later and widely known gentleman detectives may also be compared to Alleyn. These are Adam Dalgliesh
Adam Dalgliesh
Adam Dalgliesh is a fictional character who has been the protagonist of fourteen mystery novels by P. D. James. Dalgliesh first appeared in James's 1962 novel Cover Her Face and has appeared in a number of subsequent novels.-Character:...

, created by P. D. James
P. D. James
Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL , commonly known as P. D. James, is an English crime writer and Conservative life peer in the House of Lords, most famous for a series of detective novels starring policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh.-Life and career:James...

, and Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse is a fictional character in the eponymous series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, as well as the 33-episode 1987–2000 television adaptation of the same name, in which the character was portrayed by John Thaw. Morse is a senior CID officer with the Thames Valley...

, created by Colin Dexter
Colin Dexter
Norman Colin Dexter, OBE, is an English crime writer, known for his Inspector Morse novels which were written between 1975 and 1999 and adapted as a television series from 1987 to 2000.-Early life and career:...

. Like Alleyn, Dalgliesh flourishes in the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...

 despite being definitely gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....

, but is a recluse and a poet. However, Morse works in Oxford and is (or was) upwardly mobile: he apparently won a scholarship to Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 but subsequently failed. Like Alleyn and Wimsey, Morse served in the British army before joining the police.

Adaptations

Several of the Roderick Alleyn novels have been adapted
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...

 for television, though none as yet for mainstream cinema release. Four novels were adapted for New Zealand television in 1977, with Alleyn played by George Baker
George Baker (actor)
George Baker, MBE was an English actor and writer. He was best-known for portraying Tiberius in I, Claudius, and Inspector Wexford in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.-Personal life:...

. Colour Scheme
Colour Scheme
Colour Scheme is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twelfth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1943. The novel takes place in New Zealand during World War II; the plot involves suspected Nazi activity at a hot springs resort on the New Zealand coast and a...

and Died in the Wool
Died in the Wool
Died in the Wool is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1945. The novel concerns the murder of a New Zealand parliamentarian on a remote sheep farm, said to be located near Mount Cook...

are set in New Zealand, while Opening Night
Opening Night (novel)
Opening Night is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1951. It was published in the United states as Night at the Vulcan....

and Final Curtain
Final Curtain
Final Curtain is a 1947 novel by Ngaio Marsh, which was adapted for television in 1993 as part of the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries.-Plot:Agatha Troy Alleyn is waiting for the return of her husband Roderick Alleyn after a long separation during World War II...

are set in London. The theme of Opening Night involves a New Zealand actress with a startling resemblance to the lead actor.

Nine novels with British settings were adapted for British television as The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries
The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries
The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries is a British detective television series adapted from nine of the Roderick Alleyn novels by Ngaio Marsh. It originally aired between 1990 and 1994.In the pilot episode Detective Inspector Alleyn was played by Simon Williams...

. In the pilot, Artists in Crime
Artists in Crime
Artists in Crime is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of an artists' model; Agatha Troy is introduced for the first time....

(1990), Alleyn was played by Simon Williams
Simon Williams (actor)
Simon Williams is an English actor known for playing James Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. Frequently playing upper-class roles, he is also known for playing Dr...

, and then by Patrick Malahide
Patrick Malahide
Patrick Malahide is a British actor, who has played many major film and television roles.-Personal life:Malahide, real name Patrick Gerald Duggan, was born in Reading, Berkshire, the son of Irish immigrants, a cook mother and a school secretary father...

 in eight more tales (1993–94): A Man Lay Dead
A Man Lay Dead
A Man Lay Dead is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the first novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1934. The plot concerns a murder committed during a detective game of murder at a weekend party in a country house...

, The Nursing Home Murder
The Nursing Home Murder
The Nursing Home Murder is a work of detective fiction by New Zealand author Ngaio Marsh.-Synopsis:The British Home Secretary, Sir Derek O'Callaghan MP, has received several death threats from anarchists affiliated with Stalinist Communism - and a pleading letter threatening suicide from Jane...

, Final Curtain
Final Curtain
Final Curtain is a 1947 novel by Ngaio Marsh, which was adapted for television in 1993 as part of the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries.-Plot:Agatha Troy Alleyn is waiting for the return of her husband Roderick Alleyn after a long separation during World War II...

(the second TV adaptation), Death at the Bar
Death at the Bar
Death at the Bar is a 1940 novel by Ngaio Marsh which was adapted for television in 1993 as part of the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries. The episode was directed by Michael Winterbottom and starred Patrick Malahide as Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. The title is a pun on the legal term the bar, and...

, Death in a White Tie
Death in a White Tie
Death in a White Tie is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the seventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of a British lord after a party....

, Hand in Glove
Hand in Glove (novel)
Hand in Glove is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-second novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1962. This story finds its way into an upper society party gone astray into the path of precarious murder....

, Dead Water
Dead Water (novel)
Dead Water is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-third novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1964.The plot concerns a murder in a small coastal village, where a local spring believed to have miraculous healing properties is enriching many of the local...

and Scales of Justice
Scales of Justice (novel)
Scales of Justice is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the eighteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1955. The plot concerns the murder of Colonel Carterette, an enthusiastic fisherman in charge of publishing the controversial memoirs of the local baronet....

.

A BBC radio adaptation was made starring Jeremy Clyde
Jeremy Clyde
Michael Thomas Jeremy Clyde is an English actor and musician. The son of Lady Elizabeth Wellesley, he made his first public appearance as a pageboy at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1953...

 as Alleyn. Four stories were recorded between 2001 and 2006; A Man Lay Dead (2001), A Surfeit of Lampreys (2001), When in Rome (2003), and Opening Night (2006)

DVD release

The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries
The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries
The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries is a British detective television series adapted from nine of the Roderick Alleyn novels by Ngaio Marsh. It originally aired between 1990 and 1994.In the pilot episode Detective Inspector Alleyn was played by Simon Williams...

(the 1990s British productions) are available on Region Two DVD as a four disc pack.
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