The Mysterious Mr. Badman: A Yorkshire Bibliomystery

by W.F. Harvey

Overview

First published in a limited run in 1934, this exceedingly rare and fast-paced bibliomystery set against the landscapes of Yorkshire is long overdue its return to print.

The note read:

"Will the gentleman who took by mistake a copy of Bunyan's Life and Death of Mr. Badman, return it as soon as possible, as the book is in demand."

On holiday in Keldstone visiting his nephew, Jim, blanket manufacturer Athelstan Digby agrees to look after the old bookshop on the ground floor of his lodgings while his hosts are away. On the first day of his tenure, a vicar, a chauffeur and an out-of-town stranger enquire after The Life and Death of Mr. Badman by John Bunyan. When a copy mysteriously arrives at the shop in a bundle of books brought in by a young scamp, and is subsequently stolen, Digby moves to investigate the significance of the book along with his nephew, and the two are soon embroiled in a case in which the stakes have risen from antiquarian book-pinching to ruthless murder.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728278681
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	12/05/2023
Series:	British Library Crime Classics
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	338,436
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2023

This classic mystery by Harvey (1885–1937) was first published in 1934. While his nephew, Dr. Jim Pickering, considers taking over a local doctor's practice, Athelstan Digby holidays nearby in Yorkshire. When Mr. Digby's landlords need to attend a funeral, he offers to watch their bookshop for the day. That afternoon, three customers (a vicar, a chauffeur, and a stranger to the area) all ask for a copy of the same book, John Bunyan's The Life and Death of Mr. Badman. Late in the day, a young boy shows up with books to sell, including the Bunyan. Digby takes it to his room to check it out and finds a letter stuck between the pages. He realizes the contents of the letter could change the course of English politics. When the book and letter are stolen, Digby, his nephew, and the stepdaughter of the Home Secretary set out to recover them. The trio face a wily foe who won't hesitate to use blackmail, kidnapping, and murder to achieve his goal. VERDICT Fans of Golden Age mysteries and the British Library Crime Classics will enjoy the adventure and humor represented by the shrewd Mr. Digby.—Lesa Holstine

Library Journal

2023-09-21
Fans of the classic horror stories “August Heat” and “The Beast With Five Fingers” will welcome their author’s return with a sedate Yorkshire detective story out of print since its first publication in 1934.

Blanket manufacturer Athelstan Digby is minding the bookshop owned by his landlord, Daniel Lavender, when the Rev. Percival Offord, of Worpleswick Vicarage, enters to ask whether the shop has a copy of John Bunyan’s The Life and Death of Mr. Badman. Digby doesn’t know, and a search through the shelves turns up only copies of Bunyan’s Holy War and Pilgrim’s Progress. But Digby doesn’t need to look when another customer arrives an hour later asking for The Life and Death of Mr. Badman, or when a chauffeur turns up toward evening seeking the same title. The series of non-coincidences is capped half an hour later when a boy follows the three customers to sell a parcel of books he’s been given by Diana Conyers of Deepdale End, one of which just happens to be The Life and Death of Mr. Badman. Before Digby and his curious nephew, Dr. Jim Pickering, can venture more than a few guesses as to why Bunyan’s book would suddenly be such a hot commodity, one of its prospective purchasers is found dead, followed by another. By the second murder, Digby and Pickering have already branched off in different directions in search of answers. They both get hoodwinked by their quarry, neither of them shines as a detective, and the repeated conversations in which they review the evidence keep much suspense from building. But the story maintains a low-key charm that makes it well worth sticking with till the final anticlimax.

Harvey makes a strong case for the existence 90 years ago of a cozy procedural.

Kirkus Reviews