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It is October 1936. Lord Edward Corinth is invited by his friend Joe Weaver, the press lord and close friend of the British royal family, to recover certain letters stolen from the King's intimate friend Wallis Simpson. There is no mystery about who has taken these letters - it is known to be Mrs Raymond Harkness, a former mistress of the King and a close friend of Edward's.
So Edward sets off for Haling, the country house of Conservative MP Leo Scannon, where Mrs Harkness has also been invited. He is far from easy in his mind at the task before him, but he cannot guess that a case of retrieving stolen property is soon to be complicated by murder.
Edward is joined by his friend and fellow sleuth Verity Browne, recently returned from the savagery of the Spanish Civil War. Weary and disheartened by the Republican reversals, she welcomes the distraction of helping Edward investigate the murder.
Very soon the pair also become involved with political protest at home and the fight against Fascism, the Cable Street riots and the Jarrow March. Against this background of social unrest they battle to find the truth behing the Hollow Crown in what the poet W. H. Auden called 'a low, dishonest decade'.
book reviews
- Booklist
Roberts' use of period detail...gives the tale terrific texture. Recommend this one heartily to history-mystery devotees. - Publishers Weekly
Roberts just keeps getting better with each book...It's highly recommended for fans of Love in a Cold Climate and Gosford Park.
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