Ebook347 pages8 hours
Mr. Campion's Abdication
By Mike Ripley
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
2.5/5
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About this ebook
‘So where exactly did Albert Campion stand on the Abdication?’ ‘Behind the throne, slightly to the left?’ suggested Commander Charles Luke.
Margery Allingham’s Mr Campion finds himself masquerading as technical advisor to a very suspicious but glamorous Italian film producer and her crew hunting for buried treasure that never was in the Suffolk village of Heronhoe near Pontisbright which used to host trysts between Edward VIII and Mrs Wallis Simpson.
‘When it came to the Abdication Crisis in ’36 those dirty week-ends in Heronhoe were quickly forgotten, except not by the Prince. The story goes – that when he married Mrs Simpson, in 1937 that would be, he actually sent a valuable thank you gift to Heronhoe. That was what became known as the Abdication Treasure although there’s no record of anything going to Heronhoe Hall, or of anybody ever receiving anything from the Duke of Windsor and nobody anywhere claims to have actually seen anything resembling treasure.’
‘So how is Albert Campion involved? You said the treasure doesn’t exist.’
‘It doesn’t,’ Lord Breeze said firmly, ‘and I have been instructed to tell you to tell Campion, that unless he wants to risk embarrassing Buckingham Palace, he’d better lay off. There’s no such thing as the Abdication Treasure, so there’s nothing to find and Campion had better make sure he doesn’t find it!’
Margery Allingham’s Mr Campion finds himself masquerading as technical advisor to a very suspicious but glamorous Italian film producer and her crew hunting for buried treasure that never was in the Suffolk village of Heronhoe near Pontisbright which used to host trysts between Edward VIII and Mrs Wallis Simpson.
‘When it came to the Abdication Crisis in ’36 those dirty week-ends in Heronhoe were quickly forgotten, except not by the Prince. The story goes – that when he married Mrs Simpson, in 1937 that would be, he actually sent a valuable thank you gift to Heronhoe. That was what became known as the Abdication Treasure although there’s no record of anything going to Heronhoe Hall, or of anybody ever receiving anything from the Duke of Windsor and nobody anywhere claims to have actually seen anything resembling treasure.’
‘So how is Albert Campion involved? You said the treasure doesn’t exist.’
‘It doesn’t,’ Lord Breeze said firmly, ‘and I have been instructed to tell you to tell Campion, that unless he wants to risk embarrassing Buckingham Palace, he’d better lay off. There’s no such thing as the Abdication Treasure, so there’s nothing to find and Campion had better make sure he doesn’t find it!’
Author
Mike Ripley
Mike Ripley was born in 1952. As well as being a noted critic and Lecturer in Crime Writing, he is the author of the ‘Angel’ series of crime novels, for which he has twice been the recipient of a Crime Writers’ Association Award. Working with the Margery Allingham Society, he completed the Albert Campion novel left unfinished, Mr Campion’s Farewell, and has written further continuation novels in the series.
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Titles in the series (10)
Mr Campion's Fox Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr. Campion's Abdication Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mr Campion's War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr Campion's Fault Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr Campion's Séance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr Campion's Visit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr Campion's Coven Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr Campion's Wings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr Campion's Mosaic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMr Campion's Memory Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Reviews for Mr. Campion's Abdication
Rating: 2.727272727272727 out of 5 stars
2.5/5
11 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This book was sent to me by the publisher Severn House via Netgalley. Thank you.Mr. Campion’s Abdication is an ambling, really ambling, mystery set in 1970 with flashbacks to the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936. The nice thing about the book is visiting 70-year-old Albert Campion, the faithful Lugg, and Albert’s actor son Rupert and clever daughter-in-law Perdita. Even Lady Amanda makes an appearance in the novel.The premise is that Campion is paying for an Italian TV documentary about an archeological site at Heronhoe in Suffolk. The site was of a ship burial discovered in 1936 where no grave goods were found. However, the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Simpson visited the Heronhoe excavation and, since then, rumors persisted that there actually was a treasure still hidden. Whether it was a golden hoard like nearby Sutton Hoo or a generous gift given by the Prince of Wales to one of the locals is fuzzy. Rupert and his actress wife are playing Edward and Wallis in the docudrama. The dig itself is being conducted by a group of three college kids and their young American director. Besides the slim plot, there is a problem here. If the site is too important to allow development, surely English Heritage would object to a bunch of amateurs mucking about with it. The big disappointment, in my opinion, is presented in the cover of the book which features a very good portrait of Edward Prince of Wales. I expected something to do with the actual abdication or at least some real connection between the prince and Campion. There was nothing beyond a very, very slight thread. Campion was sent to Heronhoe before the prince’s arrival to check for nosy journalists and shoo them away. That’s it. The plot is more about improbable foreign gangsters and the secrets of pub owners. And the treasure storyline is almost too serendipitous.This is a pleasant read, but does not live up to the suggested title.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Oh dear: This was ever so very boring....Albert Campion is producing a movie about a mysterious treasure, an archaeological dig that has since been reburied, and a secret rendezvous between David & Wallis. His son & daughter-in-law are playing David & Wallis.Most of the book is focused on the mysterious treasure, which most of the town's people say is non-existent.... But the treasure hunters believe differently and will stop at nothing, not even murder to get the treasure.The book was boring, the mystery really wan't apparent until the end, which I skipped from page 113 to 204 to get to.There was a definite lack of Campion's usual wry humor and the characters were not only flat but unlikable as well.Pah! Boo! Hiss!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It's 1970 and Albert Campion is still in business as he becomes involved in a film production company at Heronhoe, Suffolk. Re-nacting the visit of Edward and Mrs Simpson at an archaeological dig in 1936. But rumours of a treasure, the Abdication Treasure, bring past deeds to the surface. And what is the connection to a death of a 17 year old girl in 1955.
Am enjoyable story, well-written, keeping my interest until the conclusion.
A NetGalley Book - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A princely treasure hunt!This was unusually difficult to get into. I really wanted to connect more fully with the story as the whole events around Edward's abdication, Mrs Simpson and their Nazi leanings has always fascinated me. The 'what ifs' are too horrendous to contemplate. The thing is that this was my first meet up with Albert Campion and so I do not have an understanding of who he is. He worked in mysterious ways--not fully visible to the naked eye, mine that is!Thirty plus years later Campion is assisting with a film/documentary by an Italian company about the Prince and Mrs Simpson during their time at Heronhoe Hall and of a gift supposedly sent to show the Prince's appreciation to the Hall's owners, a gift now dubbed the Abdication Treasure. Campion's son and daughter-in-law appear as actors.Buckingham Palace wants to put a stop to rumors of the treasure. A secretive background to a secretive time in history begets a secretive novel that almost passed me by.I did like the cover, quite evocative.A NetGalley ARC
Book preview
Mr. Campion's Abdication - Mike Ripley
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