Malice Aforethought - Softcover

Francis Iles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060805323 ISBN 13: 9780060805326

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1981

Synopsis

On a balmy summer's day in 1930 the great and the good of the county are out in force for the annual, much-anticipated tennis party at the Bickleighs, although not everyone has much enthusiasm for the game. The tennis party exists for other reasons - and charmingly mannered infidelity is now the most popular pastime in the small but exclusive Devonshire hamlet of Wyvern's Cross. Which is why, in his own garden, the host, Dr Edmund Bickleigh, is desperately fighting to conceal the two things on his mind: a mounting passion for Gwynfryd Rattery - and the certain conviction that he is going to kill his wife ...

About this title

About the Author

Francis Iles is the pseudonym for Anthony Berkeley Cox, but it is for his two widely-acclaimed masterpieces, MALICE AFORETHOUGHT and BEFORE THE FACT, both written as Francis Iles, that he is most famous. Iles was also a literary reviewer for the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Times and the Guardian. He died in 1971.

From AudioFile

A COUNTRY DOCTOR DREAMS OF SELF-ASSERTION THAT COMES IN THE FORM OF MURDERING HIS WIFE. Malice Aforethought is a vintage mystery novel of British manners and attitudes. Bruce Montague's skillful depiction of the male and female characters, their snobbishness and exaggerated accents, is delightful and humorous. The listener learns about the social structures of the time and the pressures that cause people to commit acts they would otherwise never consider. While these pressures might seem insignificant to us now, Montague's reading gives life to the story and helps the listener understand how important they were to people in the limited social circles of that time. D.M.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1981
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060805323
• ISBN 13: 9780060805326
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 290