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| The Club of Queer Trades |
| G.K. Chesterton |
| Wordsworth Classics Iwordsworth Editions Limited SBN: 1-85326-260-9 |
Review by Gwyneth Box  |
| A collection of six detective stories by the creator of Father Brown. The narrator of these tales, Charles Swinburne, is cut from the same cloth as Hastings and Dr Watson – well-intentioned, but gullible, and no match for the quick wits of the hero Basil Grant. Grant was a High Court judge until the day he apparently had a breakdown in court and retired; in these stories his methods are intuitive rather than conventional as he aids his zealous would-be detective brother to solve what are best described as puzzles rather than actual crimes. Each story leads us to the Club of Queer Trades, an organisation membership of which is only open to those who have invented their means of earning a living. The first story tells of Major Brown who is caught up in incredible adventures after being mistaken for a client of “The Adventure and Romance Agency Limited”. This organisation seems to have been the direct forerunner of the organisation portrayed in the film The Game starring Michael Douglas. Each story is complete in itself, but the Club is a common thread which draws them all together and prepares us for the final tale in which the mystery surrounding Basil himself is explained. This is not a book to disturb your sleep: the tales are gentle mysteries without murders and violence. But they are written with the wry humour typical of Chesterton, and are well worth an hour or two of your time. |
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