Cheap The Gyrth Chalice Mystery (Book) (Margery Allingham) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of The Gyrth Chalice Mystery

Rite of Passage
"The Gyrth Chalice Mystery" was the first Allingham mystery I read. By coincidence, I was then the same age Allingham was when she wrote it (despite there being several wars in between). I was immediately taken with the story with its heady mix of adventure, English snobbery, humor and the supernatural. When I was done reading I was a British mystery addict and an eternal fan of Albert Campion, Allingham's detective.

I am much older now, and this is the third or fourth time I've reread this novel. I can only report that it gets better with age. Unlike some authors whose work is best remembered rather than reexperienced, Margery Allingham's works are every bit as much fun now as they were then. Perhaps the secret of their long popularity is that they are the highest order of entertainment, full of adventure and humor.

In 'The Gyrth Chalice Mystery' Campion's assignment is the protection of the ancient Gyrth chalice from theft by a nefarious ring of art collectors. The secret of the chalice is passed from fathers to sons on their 25th birthday, and this is the time that the chalice is most vulnerable. Campion must first track down the current heir, Percival, and bring him home for the ceremony. No sooner is this accomplished when Percival's somewhat flaky aunt is frightened to death by the 'chalice monster.' With that we are off and running.

Allingham does her usual best to delight and bemuse, mixing forgers, racing people, gypsies, academics and other English country folks of every sort and form into the heady stew which is a Campion adventure. Campion has matured tremendously since the first novels and is in full possession of his role as the somewhat zany yet brilliant master of the chase. Allingham doesn't write mystery stories as such. Often she gives the villain of the piece away and the real mystery is how Campion will manage to save the day. "The Gyrth Chalice" is just such a tale. The ending comes as a complete surprise and adds a dimension to the tale, which makes it especially remarkable and memorable.

---

One of Allingham's Finest!
"The Gyrth Chalice Mystery" was the first Allingham mystery I read. At that time I was the same age Allingham was when she wrote it (despite there being several wars in between). I was immediately taken with the story with its heady mix of adventure, English snobbery, humor and the supernatural. When I was done reading I was a British mystery addict and an eternal fan of Albert Campion, Allingham's detective.

I am much older now, and this is the third or fourth time if reread this novel. I can only report that it gets better with age. Unlike some authors whose work is best remembered rather than reread, Margery Allingham's works are every bit as much fun now as they were then. Perhaps the secret of their long popularity is that they are the highest order of entertainment, full of adventure and humor.

In "The Gyrth Chalice Mystery" Campion's assignment is the protection of the ancient Gyrth chalice from theft by a nefarious ring of art collectors. The secret of the chalice is passed from fathers to sons on their 25th birthday, and this is the time that the chalice is most vulnerable. Campion must first track down the current heir, Percival, and bring him home for the ceremony. No sooner is this accomplished when Percival's somewhat flaky aunt is frightened to death by the 'chalice monster.' With that we are off and running.

Allingham does her usual best to delight and bemuse, mixing forgers, racing people, gypsies, academics and other English country folks of every sort and form into the heady stew which is a Campion adventure. Campion has matured tremendously since the first novels and is in full possession of his role as the somewhat zany yet brilliant master of the chase. Allingham doesn't write mystery stories as such. Often she gives the villain of the piece away and the real mystery is how Campion will manage to save the day. "The Gyrth Chalice" is just such a tale. The ending comes as a complete surprise and adds a dimension to the tale, which makes it especially remarkable and memorable.

---

Mystery Author masters the surreal
It has often been my observation that mystery authors excel at the occult. Though not necessarily demonic, this book definitely presses it's nose against the glass of the unknown with a masterful push in the way of suspense. Margery Allingham has created in Campion a detective of great literary versatility and has at once made him endearing, laughable, and yet shrouded in a brilliant fog. Although the plot does leave something to be desired in the way of clues, as a traditional detective story would demand, it is all made up for with the excitement of the final scene, and the masterful use of the English language to carve out scenes; a talent that Margery Allingham has continually taken advantage of.