Ebook279 pages4 hours
Night at the Vulcan
By Ngaio Marsh
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this ebook
“The theatre plays backdrop to romance and murder . . . Good reading.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Newly arrived from New Zealand and in need of funds, Martyn Tarne takes a job as a dresser to the Vulcan Theater’s leading lady. Along with a paycheck, this also provides her with a ringside seat to the backstage circus—and the eventual murder that occurs on opening night. Inspector Alleyn is soon called to solve the case and put a stop to all the drama . . .
“To my thinking, no other writer evokes ‘the incense of the playhouse’ or describes the technical details of stage production with the degree of authenticity that Dame Ngaio achieved in novels like Enter a Murderer, Killer Dolphin, Night at the Vulcan and Light Thickens.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times
“The brilliant Ngaio Marsh ranks with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers.” —Times Literary Supplement
Also published under the title Opening Night
Newly arrived from New Zealand and in need of funds, Martyn Tarne takes a job as a dresser to the Vulcan Theater’s leading lady. Along with a paycheck, this also provides her with a ringside seat to the backstage circus—and the eventual murder that occurs on opening night. Inspector Alleyn is soon called to solve the case and put a stop to all the drama . . .
“To my thinking, no other writer evokes ‘the incense of the playhouse’ or describes the technical details of stage production with the degree of authenticity that Dame Ngaio achieved in novels like Enter a Murderer, Killer Dolphin, Night at the Vulcan and Light Thickens.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times
“The brilliant Ngaio Marsh ranks with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers.” —Times Literary Supplement
Also published under the title Opening Night
Author
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Ngaio Marsh was born in New Zealand in 1895 and died in February 1982. She wrote over 30 detective novels and many of her stories have theatrical settings, for Ngaio Marsh’s real passion was the theatre. She was both an actress and producer and almost single-handedly revived the New Zealand public’s interest in the theatre. It was for this work that the received what she called her ‘damery’ in 1966.
Read more from Ngaio Marsh
Collected Short Mysteries Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Roderick Alleyn Mysteries: Surfeit of Lampreys, Death and the Dancing Footman, and Colour Scheme Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBodies from the Library 3: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bodies from the Library 4: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Night at the Vulcan
Titles in the series (36)
Tied Up in Tinsel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Singing in the Shrouds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killer Dolphin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hand in Glove Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5False Scent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Light Thickens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Grave Mistake Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When in Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death of a Fool Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Overture to Death Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Clutch of Constables Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death at the Bar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead Water Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death and the Dancing Footman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Photo Finish Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Died in the Wool Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Swing, Brother, Swing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Final Curtain Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Money in the Morgue Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Artists in Crime Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Enter a Murderer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Night at the Vulcan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death in a White Tie Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black As He's Painted Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Colour Scheme Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nursing Home Murder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Last Ditch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scales of Justice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vintage Murder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Surfeit of Lampreys Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related ebooks
Artists in Crime Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Final Curtain Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spinsters in Jeopardy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swing, Brother, Swing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killer Dolphin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Singing in the Shrouds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Grave Mistake Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scales of Justice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death at the Bar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead Water Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Photo Finish Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Ditch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Colour Scheme Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hand in Glove Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5False Scent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Surfeit of Lampreys Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Died in the Wool Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Death and the Dancing Footman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When in Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Clutch of Constables Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black As He's Painted Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death of a Fool Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Overture to Death Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Death in a White Tie Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Roderick Alleyn Mysteries Volume 2: Death in Ecstasy, Vintage Murder, Artists in Crime Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLight Thickens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Roderick Alleyn Mysteries Volume 3: Death in a White Tie, Overture to Death, Death at the Bar Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tied Up in Tinsel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vintage Murder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Enter a Murderer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Mystery For You
The Stories of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Flight: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5None of This Is True: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pretty Girls: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hallowe'en Party: Inspiration for the 20th Century Studios Major Motion Picture A Haunting in Venice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pale Blue Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Short Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Pharmacist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunting Party: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5False Witness: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Sleep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Daughter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hidden Staircase: Nancy Drew #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Life We Bury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finlay Donovan Is Killing It: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pieces of Her: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder Under a Red Moon: A 1920s Bangalore Mystery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Murdery Mystery Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iron Lake (20th Anniversary Edition): A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Devil in a Blue Dress (30th Anniversary Edition): An Easy Rawlins Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summit Lake Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Side: A Collection of Mysteries & Thrillers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Woman in the Library: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Night in the Lonesome October Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for Night at the Vulcan
Rating: 3.7847681920529803 out of 5 stars
4/5
151 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm fondest of mysteries where the characters are complex and their interactions more interesting than just trying to guess whodunit. This book delivers a rich set of theater people and some interesting looks at the theater behind the scenes.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Marsh's novels about the theatre are overwrought and histrionic. It seems weird that she could write in this vein about a milieu and subject with which she was so familiar. One of the actors rapes his wife, and the teenage protagonist deflects the sexual overtures of the night watchman at the theatre. All of this is somewhat obliquely or ambiguously described, but no intelligent adult could miss it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The bulk of this book is not about the murder that justifies its inclusion within the Alleyn series but rather with the background against which the murder takes place. Unlike previous books I felt I understood who must be the murder not because of painstakingly distributed clues. Marsh paints her characters and interactions more carefully and more believably than in many of her books. The exception, in my opinion, is the portrait of the character to actually commits the murder. In that case either Marsh felt she could not more clearly paint his/her portrait without giving the conclusion away or because she herself finds it difficult to get inside the mind of such a murderer.Marsh so clearly enjoyed writing about actors and the theater that one wonders if she was dissuaded by her publishers from doing so and therefore found herself forced to place murders within theaters and the theater community in order to write about what she found most interesting.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An unsatisfactory mystery with an equally unsatisfactory romance subplot. A young woman emigrates to England, eager for a career in the theater. Down to a few coins, she miraculously comes across The Vulcan Theatre, which is in desperate need of a dresser. One thing leads to another in a most improbable set of coincidences, and the murder mystery is on. Not Marsh’s best effort.
Book preview
Night at the Vulcan - Ngaio Marsh
d book_preview_excerpt.html |ݒƑ@=*̠dۢ"m;4P݀@`+=.v_@'9{Sd(TeɓYݛ>~co/lϟ+|r.&\p'||̸۟>P|xM?/z_;̱Lcs
<+Pj Ceu/>i*ZT1C1akO3ԇ+E/4B$A9.ihsܦ0C^#X=-_Cׅǯ=ᾡTS*r77m,sSL$Cx>|슩ZRIO5wX>SX3Qv5ᙸ`$If=C}Y i.gcxM'68 ZrH9ctN㜃K"]zmwNm"L%Joj~7c86Eo X-YRseV1
)1bܐ)YSNS_!C~~}ޔkh=P](puc})SJN)&ċ`.TrG_&E #)aE[9+s #TeJ-zjYhe,nkc~B8%nljKy-X67 ŘhucwMմ0KCOqeDtPgP4mR
ܪ/6G<P
3fG5%=LW^>Ts_i냠r0Ԥ5&wpU0G1ڜzQt3y(C}J1VLT-4 5Cguvb:b_%e2G~ 43/e[XyPS9cHCv/0%qxI{4N%&xv6#>C|}!r"!>7V) qnn6AVKwCDm?.ia+ؔ/*%8[({eו-lȴ
QḾ*RTT
l\t]C-DM@<'ᦖ]
om}!/R,?"$!TYшJKWJ:ʧb#2hYT\N5YéJӁ^,R&ak88!7JkjkcCFUΘHu#w;a
^Fccwe
])ql[fHЏM {U8'sS3)K4D2RD0
~ SKh.ob4#|3|ΩY8 {Gq͇^4?{`>!M{jpK|18x`;/5:.0(#EaqAU>FaF~C\gCeK
:2ցH-%MVfZaa*ܢ_et?ljLM2&N/XRQMHcݳ@zLng֝0(f #pz_Ъ4,\Zzs_qO?9Kҡ$'ێD'w*
']a#cA{Ḃdq=GO$3UNǗMg0B$%掱z6/~
64
0Mq}-}eqA"6/v-(gxL.slrKLjU;(E XŠO-ĭoM(z cM6adITns31Z[#%_;ZK WTدt<ImbsvSa"arͣS 6%zV\D|[e9@
<(Cc`hE4e}Ge|15V>*rY
>JW^N2ҍr21csYA˳R/K4*LqF,]fJg<%$W 0(titO;.Jg6u-;Unj>!}S_uZGckHfPbNgſhG(["n^toSy
9}PqWF
/7_X&3Үͫ?S!,}*["Gf77:pI Dί}b-M?L?beHɉ=8/&c j꒬Zy:.Y)Re0,]eAG^.hKvC1:&<W&cLAF