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surgeon; the society woman on whom, twenty years earlier, he performed a facelift that has disfigured her for life; her two adult sons, bitter rivals in love and for their mother's affections; the fiancée of one brother who still nurtures feelings for the other brother who jilted her; and two equally bitter business rivals in the beauty industry.
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is called in, as he and his wife, the painter Agatha Troy, are staying nearby with the
Copelands, who featured in the 1939 novel. Alleyn stages a re-enactment with the suspects, in which the key witness is the titular footman, who has lingered in the hall to listen to the radio while surreptitiously
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It is 1940. We meet wealthy dilettante
Jonathan Royal of Highfold Manor, Cloudyfold, Dorset, gleefully outlining to the poetic dramatist Aubrey Mandrake his plan to host a house party of guests whose mutual animosity is sure to provide a cruelly macabre entertainment. Among them are: an Austrian
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Soon after the guests are gathered, Highfold Manor is cut off by a snowstorm with the phone line down, although the house still has electric power, possibly from a private generator. The victim is dispatched by a murderous blow from a Maori greenstone
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was likewise mixed, but concluded, "Miss Marsh shows again her literary skill and sense of character in her story of a cranky old man who amuses himself by observing among his friends social reactions which he did not expect to end in tragedy".
252:, was impressed with this novel by Marsh, noting the diverse personalities and the clever plot. She closed by saying "the interest of character is brilliant and unflagging, and both incident and conversation are alive with wit."
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234:: despite its limitations, he wrote, "we can enjoy and appreciate the intricate plot and the ingenuity of the murderer, and we have a fair chance to solve the puzzle".
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The weapon chosen is derived from Marsh's New
Zealand nationality and background, and classically typical of the Golden Age Whodunnit's devotion to arcane weaponry.
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books and was first published in 1941 in the US by Little Brown of Boston and in 1942 in the UK by
Collins Crime Club. It was written in New Zealand, but set in a
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by Luigi
Pirandello deeply impressed Ngaio Marsh. She herself later directed it with great success.
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Dear, Peter; Davalle, Peter (8 August 1987). "Television and Radio".
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broadcast a 90-minute adaptation, starring Nigel Graham (as Alleyn),
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The novel's host and broad plot concept bear a kinship to
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450:"100 Local Interest Writers - South Central MediaScene"
852:. Further suggestions might be found on the article's
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192:as "Miss Marsh's favourite among her own books".
339:"Classic Crime Novels That Still Thrill Today"
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255:Aubrey Mandrake says that Royal has invited
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432:(27 January 1942). "New Detective Novels".
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929:Novels set in mansions and country houses
850:See guidelines for writing about novels
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217:attempting the novelty dance band hit
270:Six Characters in Search of an Author
168:The novel received good reviews from
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412:(11 January 1942). "Crime Stories".
370:. Harper Collins. pp. 164–170.
285:Similarity of plot to other authors
842:. You can help Knowledge (XXG) by
467:"Television and Radio: Saturday".
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317:, and dramatised by Alan Downer.
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399:Hands, Knees and Boomps-a-Daisy.
490:. 17 December 1990. p. 30.
473:. 27 December 1986. p. 28.
337:Irvin, Kay (21 October 2021) .
807:The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries
368:Ngaio Marsh: Her Life In Crime
22:Death and the Dancing Footman
1:
635:Death and the Dancing Footman
507:. No. 62842. p. 21.
454:www.south-central-media.co.uk
142:Death and the Dancing Footman
418:. No. 6196. p. 3.
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550:Inspector Roderick Alleyn
277:Allusions to real weapons
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934:British detective novels
924:Collins Crime Club books
484:"Television and Radio".
366:Drayton, Joanne (2008).
16:1942 book by Ngaio Marsh
939:1940s crime novel stubs
914:Novels set in the 1940s
579:The Nursing Home Murder
241:The Manchester Guardian
228:reviewed the novel for
186:. It was hailed by the
899:Roderick Alleyn novels
698:Singing in the Shrouds
248:Kay Irvin, writing in
153:, the eleventh of her
834:This article about a
754:Black as He's Painted
677:Spinsters in Jeopardy
919:Novels set in Dorset
733:Clutch of Constables
726:Death at the Dolphin
607:Death in a White Tie
189:New Zealand Listener
909:Fiction set in 1940
904:1941 British novels
800:Ngaio Marsh Theatre
663:Swing Brother Swing
628:Surfeit of Lampreys
435:Manchester Guardian
118:Surfeit of Lampreys
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838:of the 1940s is a
343:The New York Times
295:Cards on the Table
250:The New York Times
171:The New York Times
86:Collins Crime Club
33:First edition (UK)
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691:Off With His Head
684:Scales of Justice
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390:Overture To Death
305:In December 1986
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438:. p. 3.
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346:. Retrieved
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315:Steven Pacey
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836:crime novel
705:False Scent
546:Ngaio Marsh
307:BBC Radio 4
301:Adaptations
263:Development
207:mere weapon
151:Ngaio Marsh
43:Ngaio Marsh
893:Categories
761:Last Ditch
719:Dead Water
321:References
212:Inspector
183:The Tatler
161:, England
854:talk page
504:The Times
267:The play
221:Reception
100:1942 (UK)
98:1941 (US)
77:Publisher
792:See also
49:Language
348:8 April
52:English
557:Novels
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159:Dorset
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57:Series
39:Author
145:is a
108:Print
67:Genre
840:stub
372:ISBN
350:2024
313:and
180:and
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83:(US)
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149:by
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