Albert campion

Albert Campion is a pseudonym used by a man who was born in 1900 in an aristocratic family of noble blood. Early novels hint that he and his family are on the list of succession, but this proposal has fallen in later works. He was educated at Rugby School and (fictitiously) at St. Ignatius College in Cambridge (according to a mini-biography included in one of the reprints of the novel Sweet Danger (1933); this is also hinted at in The Police at the Funeral). Inventive, resourceful and well educated, in his 20 years he took upon himself the name "Albert Campion" and began the life of an adventurer and detective amateur.

Description

Campion is thin, blond, wears horn-rimmed glasses and is often described as affable, harmless and soft, with a deceptively empty and unreasonable expression of his figure in general. Nevertheless, he is a man of power and action, and considers himself a useful and comforting "Uncle Albert" for friends and those who need it. In some stories, he lives in the apartment above the police station at number 17A, Bottle Street in Piccadilly, London. In early stories, he has a pet daw with the nickname Autolycus.

Family

Allingham makes various references to Campion's aristocratic background and hints at a connection with the underworld. A study of the books suggests that his father was a viscount and was already dead at the beginning of the series ^[3] . Campion's mother is mentioned several times and writes a letter in the novel “Fashion in a Shroud”, and Campion takes the car from her older brother (apparently, the current Viscount) in “Mysterious evidence”, but none of them appear personally. In Sweet Danger, it was mentioned that his brother was “still unmarried,” and therefore Campion would probably “one day become a viscount.” In the Tongue Coroner, Uncle Campion appears, the bishop, who refers to Campion as his only nephew. This indicates that by the middle of the Second World War, Campion's older brother Herbert had died, and Campion inherited the title. In Work for the Undertaker, whose actions take place immediately after the war, Camper’s servant appeals to his master as the “smart young viscount.” Campion's sister, Valentina Ferris, plays a central role in "Fashion in a Shroud"; this book shows that they are both separated from the whole family. In The Funeral Police, the Honorable Caroline Faraday knows her true identity and knows her grandmother Emily (whom she calls widowed) —he calls Campion with his real name Rudolph and at some point declares that the rest of his family blames Emily in that she encourages Campion in his adventures.

From the novel "The Mysterious Clue" and on, Campion is usually assisted by his servant, Legg, uncouth, rude and former robber. Campion is good friends with the inspector (later superintendent) Stanislav Oates of Scotland Yard, who, like Campion, is unorthodox, and Oates' protégé, Charles Luke, appears in later books.

In wartime, Campion is engaged in intelligence work, and after the war continues to have contact with the special services.

Campion also has many friends and allies scattered throughout London and the English hinterland, among whom are professional criminals. In the story “The Meaning of the Act,” Campion explains to Oates, that the secret of his success is to “drink with anyone and find new acquaintances where you find them.”

The Mysterious Evidence subtly shows that Campion is in love with Biddy Paget, around whom most of the story revolves; Campion is distraught when she marries an American at the end of the adventure, and his sadness about losing her is again mentioned in subsequent stories.

After a doomed passion for a married woman in “The Case of the Dead Pig,” Campion eventually marries Amanda Fitton, who first appears in “Sweet Danger” as a 17-year-old, and then becomes an aviation engineer; they have a son named Rupert. Her brother Hal reinstates the family title of Count Pontisbright as a result of the adventures described in Sweet Danger, and then Amanda becomes Lady Amanda as the Count's sister.

Forensic writer Mike Ripley (born 1952) recently took on the task of completing the unfinished manuscript of the Albert Campion series, which was started by Philip Youngman Carter before his death ^[4] . A fragment of the manuscript, which contained changes and minor corrections, but did not contain the contours of the plot, the outline of the character or the plan, was bequeathed to sister Margery Allingham Joyce; after Joyce's death in 2001, the manuscript was left to the Margery Allingham Society. It was only in 2012, when Ripley, with the approval and consent of the Society, assumed the task of completing Carter’s manuscript, which became the novel “Mr Campion’s Farewell” ^[5] .

The novel was published in March 2014 by Severn House Publishers.

Novels

• " Black Dudley " (eng. The Crime at Black Dudley) (1929) (US name: The Black Dudley Murder ); in Russia also went under the name "Crime in the Black Dudley"
• " Mysterious evidence " (eng. Mystery Mile) (1930); in Russia also went under the name "Mystery of Mile"
• " The Secret of the Bowl " (Look to the Lady) (1931) (US title: The Gyrth Chalice Mystery )
• " Police at the funeral " (Eng. Police at the Funeral) (1931)
• Sweet Danger (1933) (US name: Kingdom of Death or The Fear Sign )
• Death of a Ghost (1934)
• " Flowers for the Judge " (born Flowers for the Judge) (1936) (American name: Legacy in Blood )
• " The Case of the Dead Pig " (English The Case of the Late Pig) (1937)
• "" (English Dancers in Mourning) (1937) (American name: Who Killed Chloe? )
• " Fashion in a Shroud " (eng. The Fashion in Shrouds) (1938); in Russia was also published under the name "Fashion on the Shroud"
• Traitor's Purse (1941) (US name: The Sabotage Murder Mystery )
• "Tongue Coroner" (eng. Coroner's Pidgin) (1945) (US name: Pearls Before Swine )
• " Work for the Undertaker " (Eng. More Work for the Undertaker) (1948); also published in Russia under the name "Urgently need an undertaker"
• " Tiger in the smoke " (eng. The Tiger in the Smoke) (1952)
• The Beckoning Lady (1955) (US name: The Estate of the Beckoning Lady )
• " Hide me " (born Hide My Eyes) (1958) (American name: Tether's End or Ten Were Missing )
• The China Governess (1962)
• The Mind Readers (1965)
• Cargo of Eagles (1968) (completed by Philip Youngman Carter)
• Mr. Campion's Farthing (1969) (by Philip Youngman Carter)
• Mr. Campion's Falcon (1970) (US name: Mr. Campion's Quarry ) (by Philip Youngman Carter)
• Mr Campion's Farewell (2014) - Completed by Michael Ripley Outline by Philip Youngman Carter
• Mr Campion's Fox (2015) (author Michael Ripley)
• Mr Campion's Fault (2016) (author Michael Ripley)
• Mr Campion's Abdication (2017) (author Michael Ripley)
• Mr Campion's War (2018) (author Michael Ripley)

Stories

• Mr. Campion: Criminologist (1937), a collection of short stories:
  • The case of the late pig
  • The Case of the White Elephant
  • The Case of the Man with the Sack
  • The border-line case
  • The case of the widow
  • The Case of the Pro and the Con
  • The Case of the Old Man in the Window
• Mr. Campion and Others (1939, 1950), a collection of short stories:
  • The widow
  • The Name on the Wrapper
  • The hat trick
  • The question mark
  • The old man in the window
  • The white elephant
  • The frenchman's gloves
  • The longer view
  • Safe as houses
  • The Definite Article
  • The Meaning of the Act
  • A Matter of Form
  • The danger point
• The Casebook of Mr. Campion (1947), a collection of short stories:
  • The Case of the Question Mark
  • The crimson letters
  • The Definite Article
  • The magic hat
  • A Matter of Form
  • The Meaning of the Act
  • Safe as houses
• The Allingham Case-Book (1969) storybook:
  • Tall story
  • Three is a Lucky Number
  • The villa maria celeste
  • The psychologist
  • Little Miss Know-All
  • One Morning They'll Hang Him
  • The lieabout
  • Face value
  • Evidence in Camera
  • Joke over
  • The lying-in-state
  • The pro and the con
  • Is there a doctor in the house?
  • The borderline case
  • They Never Get Caught
  • The minds eye mystery
  • Mum Knows Best
  • The Snapdragon and the CID
• The Allingham Minibus (US name: Mr. Campion's Lucky Day and Other Stories ) (1973) story collection:
  • He was asking after you
  • Publicity
  • The perfect butler
  • The barbarian
  • Mr Campion's Lucky Day
  • Tis not hereafter
  • The correspondents
  • He Preferred Them Sad
  • The unseen door
  • Bird thou never wert
  • The same to us
  • She hear it on the radio
  • The Man With The Sack
  • The secret
  • A Quarter of a Million
  • The pioneers
  • The sexton's wife
  • The wink
• The Return of Mr. Campion (1989) story collection:
  • The case is altered
  • My friend Mr Campion
  • The dog day
  • The wind glass
  • The beauty king
  • The black tent
  • Sweet and low
  • Once in a lifetime
  • The kernel of truth
  • Happy christmas
  • The wisdom of esdras
  • The Curious Affair in Nut Row
  • What to do with an Aging Detective

Campion (1959–1960)

Two stories about Campion were adapted by the BBC in 1959 and 1960, with Bernard Horsfall (1930–2013) in the title role and Wally Patch (1888–1970) as Legg. Each story was shown in six 30-minute episodes. In 1959, the adaptation of “The Case of the Dead Pig” also included John Ruddock (1897–1981) in the role of Oates Inspector. In 1960, the adaptation of the Death of a Ghost included Arthur Brow (1905-1978).

Campion (1968)

In 1968, The Case of the Dead Pig was adapted for television, starring Brian Smith and George Sewell (1924–2007) as Legg [10]. It was part of the BBC Detective series (1964-1969), which was an anthology of a series with screen versions of detective novels.

Campion (1989–1990)

In 1989 and 1990, the first eight novels of the series (with the exception of Black Dudley) were adapted for two seasons, each story being shown in two-hour episodes. Peter Davison (born 1951) played Campion, Brian Glover was Legg (1934–1997), and Andrew Bert (1945–2018) was Oates.