The Progress of a Crime: A Fireworks Night Mystery

by Julian Symons, Martin Edwards (Introduction)

Overview

In the writhing, violent shadows, it seems as if the truth about the murder may have gone up in smoke...

The murder, a brutal stabbing, definitely took place on Guy Fawkes Night. It was definitely by the bonfire on the village green. There were definitely a number of witnesses to a row between a group of Teddy Boys. And yet, was it definitely clear to anybody exactly what they had seen? In the writhing, violent shadows, it seems as if the truth may have gone up in smoke.

Based on a real case and exhibiting characteristically thorough research and skillful plotting, Julian Symons' phenomenal 1960 novel is a searing drama of wrongful accusation, gripping policework and a sharp portrait of small-town tensions. This edition also includes the short story "The Tigers of Subtopia" and an Introduction by award-winning author Martin Edwards.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728219912
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Series:	British Library Crime Classics
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	297,014
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

JULIAN SYMONS (1912—1994) was a notable writer of British crime fiction from the 1950s until his death, publishing more than thirty novels. He served as President of the prestigious Detection Club, won two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, and is well known as the author of Bloody Murder, a classic history of crime fiction.

Editorial Reviews

01/11/2021

A confrontation during a dance between a gang of young hooligans and landowner James Corby in the English village of Far Wether drives this taut mystery from MWA Grand Master Symons (1912–1994), first published in 1960. After vowing to return, the gang members show up on Guy Fawkes Night when the residents of Far Wether burn an effigy of a legendary wicked local, Squire Oldmeadow, and set off fireworks. The night ends tragically with Corby’s fatal stabbing. Overheard cries of “Get him, King” before the murder lead the police to Jack Garney (aka King), the head of a group of coworkers in a canning factory. After Scotland Yard gets involved, Garney and a follower, Les Gardner, are charged with killing Corby and a related murder. Much of the action focuses on their trial, which is viewed from the perspective of journalist Hugh Bennett, who identified Gardner as being present on the fatal night. Symons excels at conveying the wide impact Corby’s murder has on multiple people. Fans of realistic, downbeat crime fiction will welcome this British Library Crime Classic reissue. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"[An] engrossing puzzle." - Booklist

"Symons excels at conveying the wide impact Corby's murder has on multiple people. Fans of realistic, downbeat crime fiction will welcome this British Library Crime Classic reissue." - Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2020-12-15
Guy Fawkes rides again, though a good deal more bleakly, in this Edgar-winning 1960 reprint by Symons (1912-1994).

It’s not much of an assignment for someone who’s not much of a reporter on a local paper: Take a train to Far Wether to cover a fundraising dance with a fireworks theme in place of a regular reporter who’s down with the flu. Before the night is over, though, Gazetterookie Hugh Bennett has watched the arrival of the Peter Street lot, seen the chaos the invading teenagers bring to the event, and witnessed the fatal stabbing of emcee James Corby, a partner in a timber business, when the ruffians’ jesting attempt to relieve him of his fireworks gets out of hand. Given the blanket of confusion the holiday, the disruption, and the murder have thrown over the event, it’s not clear who wielded the knife that killed Corby, but soon enough Detective Superintendent Frederick Twicker, who’s been sent down by Scotland Yard, arrests gang leader Jack “King” Garney and Leslie Gardner, who’s clearly a lot more devoted to Garney than to his own father, soggy Labour firebrand George Gardner. Throughout the investigation and the trial that follows, Symons fastens a gimlet eye on even the most sympathetic characters, who seem equally damned, and self-damned, whether or not justice is done. The enduring fear of juvenile delinquents that provides the engine for an appended short story, “The Tigers of Subtopia” (1982), makes it a perfect complement.

The first of Symons’ unmistakably sociological procedurals, and in some ways still the finest.

Kirkus Reviews

‘Brilliant’

The Guardian

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