Before we start, I have an announcement: I have completed a blog archive under “The Library” tab above, so it’ll be easier for you to find specific posts. I’ve also added tabs and fixed images on old posts.
All quotes not from the book are taken from Bentley's Those Days. Image is taken from the Mystery Writers of America-New York Chapter.
Even though I love mystery fiction, there are a lot of famous authors I haven’t read much, if any of, and a bunch of famous works that I haven’t touched. One of those was Trent’s Last Case. Oh, I knew about it. I knew that it was written by novelist Edmund Clerihew Bentley--inventor of the comic verse form the clerihew--as a lighthearted jab at the then burgeoning genre of mystery fiction. I knew that it codified the faliable detective and the idea of “the false solution, then the true” that later authors like Ellery Queen would make much of. But I’d never actually read the book. Now, if you look at the title of this post, you can tell that I have, at long last, read it.
Trent’s Last Case (aka, The Woman in Black) opens with the death of Sigsbee Manderson, the great Wall Street financier, who could make the business world quake in terror. He is found outside his home, a bullet in his eye, unusual scratches and bruising on his wrists. The death sends shockwaves through the business world but barely impacts the average man: “the world lost nothing worth a single tear.” Manderson was a man of great brilliance but little human feeling, but he didn’t inspire obvious resentment among his wife, secretary, and servants. Who might have hated him enough to ambush him in the middle of night?
The case is brought to Philip Trent, an artist and the special correspondent for the Record. He has already distinguished himself in the "Illkley mystery." Now, the reader might be confused at how we ended up at his last case already, but the Manderson death will challenge the great man. Who was Manderson meeting at midnight? Who drank extra from the decanter? Why did no one in the house, including the restless butler, hear the shot that killed him? Why was Manderson almost fully dressed, but missing his dental plate?
Trent must also deal with his attraction to Manderson’s wife, "the woman in black" and the niece of a friend. This romance is about what you would expect from the time period; very melodramatic and over-the-top. But there's a point to it. Bentley is presenting a more realistic detective, "recognisable as a human being, and...not quite so much the 'heavy' sleuth." One can't imagine Sherlock or Dr. Thornedyke being distracted by a woman's beauty. That's not to say Trent just spends his investigation waxing lyrical. He crawls all over the estate, measuring shoes, finding guns, and even indulging in some primitive fingerprinting. All of which leads him directly to the culprit…or does it?
Trent’s Last Case is "not so much a detective story so much as an exposure of detective stories." To Trent's credit, his explanation is sound and logical and answers some of the major questions of the affair. But in the end, he misses the key points and ultimately points the finger at the wrong person. "Why not show up the Holmesian method?" Bentley asked. But that doesn't meant that he skipped out on writing a solid mystery. The major parts are clued or at least can be reasonably guessed at, especially for modern readers who are more familiar with the tricks of the trade.* The final explanation isn’t, but that’s the point. Bentley jabs the ribs of the great detective by noting that not everything can be deduced with pure logic, and that random chance and “the blasted cussedness of things in general” (thank you John Dickson Carr) can derail any carefully laid plan…and any efforts to work it out. Just as Upton Sinclair aimed at the public’s heart and hit them in the stomach, Bentley aimed at the reader’s funny bone to point out how silly this all was ("Detective-story fans...do not want to be told that the detective hero has made an ass of himself.") and smacked them in the brain. Many future authors would read this and take what was meant as a decisive jab at the genre and focus on the fallible detective, the multiple solutions…and mix in some clever cluing to spice it up.
I enjoyed this book overall. Reading the rather flowery and dramatic narration makes one have more respect for the Christies of the world for taking the old melodrama and forcing it into a more grounded mold. But this is still a short and worthy read. And besides, it’s public domain, so it’s free to boot! Casual mystery fans might not need to rush out and read it, but anyone interested in the history of the genre should check it out. I'm glad I read it. Recommended.
*I did not figure it out.
Other Reviews: Playing Detective, crossexaminingcrime, Mrs. K. Investigates, The Grandest Game in the World.
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