Death of a Bookseller
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-23 09:51:49
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Bernard J. Farmer
- ISBN：0712353283
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Summary
An honest policeman， Sergeant Wigan， escorts a drunk man home one night to keep him out of trouble and， seeing his fine book collection， slowly falls in to the gentle art of book collecting。 Just as the friendship is blossoming， the policeman's book-collecting friend is murdered。
To solve the mystery of why the victim was killed， and which of his rare books was taken， Wigan dives into the world of 'runners' and book collectors， where avid agents will gladly cut you for a first edition and then offer you a lift home afterwards。 This adventurous mystery， which combines exuberant characters with a wonderfully realised depiction of the second-hand book market， is sure to delight bibliophiles and classic crime enthusiasts alike。
To solve the mystery of why the victim was killed， and which of his rare books was taken， Wigan dives into the world of 'runners' and book collectors， where avid agents will gladly cut you for a first edition and then offer you a lift home afterwards。 This adventurous mystery， which combines exuberant characters with a wonderfully realised depiction of the second-hand book market， is sure to delight bibliophiles and classic crime enthusiasts alike。
Reviews
Joyce Rigg
，
I felt that I should have loved this book but I didn't and I don't know why。 It is a good story， especially if you love books。 The characters were very real even though there were so many I sometimes got confused。 It has taken me 5 days to read this while most detective stories of this size would normally take only one or two。 I have given it 4 stars as I feel the problem is mine。 Interesting story ， well written， must be me。 I felt that I should have loved this book but I didn't and I don't know why。 It is a good story， especially if you love books。 The characters were very real even though there were so many I sometimes got confused。 It has taken me 5 days to read this while most detective stories of this size would normally take only one or two。 I have given it 4 stars as I feel the problem is mine。 Interesting story ， well written， must be me。 。。。more
Erin Britton
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Death of a Bookseller， the 100th title to be published in the British Library’s sublime Crime Classics series， marks a welcome return to print for Bernard J Farmer。 As Martin Edwards notes in his informative introduction to this new edition， copies of the previously long out of print title have been much sought after by collectors of classic detective novels over the years， not least because of the central role played by books， booksellers and collectors in the mystery。 In fact， the 1956 novel i Death of a Bookseller， the 100th title to be published in the British Library’s sublime Crime Classics series， marks a welcome return to print for Bernard J Farmer。 As Martin Edwards notes in his informative introduction to this new edition， copies of the previously long out of print title have been much sought after by collectors of classic detective novels over the years， not least because of the central role played by books， booksellers and collectors in the mystery。 In fact， the 1956 novel is not just notable for the insights it offers into the world of bibliophiles， it is also an unusual mashup of a detailed police procedural and an outlandish gothic horror story。Full review available at Crime Fiction Lover:https://crimefictionlover。com/2022/04。。。 。。。more
Leah
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One for bibliophiles…Sergeant Jack Wigan is on his way home from work one night when he comes across a drunk man swaying about in the middle of the road。 He decides not to take him into custody， instead telling him to go home， and then accompanies him to make sure he gets there safely。 The drunk man is Mike Fisk， a “runner” in the book trade， who’s been celebrating finding a rare and valuable edition of Keats’ Endymion。 The two men hit it off and become friends， and Wigan is inspired by Fisk wit One for bibliophiles…Sergeant Jack Wigan is on his way home from work one night when he comes across a drunk man swaying about in the middle of the road。 He decides not to take him into custody， instead telling him to go home， and then accompanies him to make sure he gets there safely。 The drunk man is Mike Fisk， a “runner” in the book trade， who’s been celebrating finding a rare and valuable edition of Keats’ Endymion。 The two men hit it off and become friends， and Wigan is inspired by Fisk with an interest in rare books。 Then one evening when he goes to call on Fisk， he finds him dead， stabbed and lying in a pool of blood with the book he was reading on the table before him – a rare book on the occult…Martin Edwards tell us in his foreword that this book has had a kind of cult status for many years， and copies of it are hard to find and very expensive。 This is the first time it has been reprinted in decades。 The few initial ratings on Goodreads are not inspiring – they suggest the book may have been better left forgotten。But when did I ever agree with the majority on books？ It’s an oddity， certainly – not the greatest prose and the plot is rather loose and rambly， and there’s a weird thread running through it where sensible and rational people all seem to find the idea of raising the devil and demons not just possible， but quite likely。 But for all that， I found that once I got used to the rather plain writing style I enjoyed it， and as it progressed towards the end， I got fully caught up in the story and found the tension building nicely。Sergeant Wigan is a decent man with a strong sense of justice。 Because of the knowledge he has gained of the rare books business， he is seconded to work on the investigation into Fisk’s death。 The Inspector in charge of the case soon has a suspect in sight， and concentrates all his efforts on getting a conviction。 He succeeds， and the man is sentenced to hang。 But Wigan is unconvinced of his guilt， and sets out on his own time to find the true culprit before the sentence can be carried out。 So it’s a race against time， with the clock ticking louder and louder as the fateful day set for the hanging draws nearer…Apparently Farmer was himself a collector of rare first editions as well as being a former policeman， and he puts these experiences to good use in the novel。 We get an idea of the life of a uniformed sergeant， running his squad， understanding his patch， and using his knowledge of the local criminals to keep the public safe。 （It’s the 1950s， when these things were largely true。 In fact， if anyone out there is as ancient as me， Wigan reminded me very much of Sergeant Dixon of Dock Green， the first TV police procedural in Britain。） The rare book business is shown as home to all kinds of skulduggery and disreputable people， some truly loving the books but others simply seeing them as a way to make money from gullible collectors。 Farmer shows us all levels， from the man selling books from a barrow， to the large traders selling from shops and catalogues， to the American millionaire， willing to pay any price or break any law so that his library will be better than anyone else’s。 Farmer makes a few comments that suggest he may not have been pleased at so many rare British books making their way into American collections， and also hints a little sniffily that some collectors never read the books they display so proudly。 It all felt very authentic to me， written by a man who clearly knew what he was talking about。 And there’s lots of enjoyable references to specific rare first editions， and an indication of how authors rise and fall in the fashionable stakes of the collectibles market， sometimes on something as simple as a new film or TV adaptation of one of their books。The plot itself is fine， though with that weird occult thread that is a bit jarring at points。 Happily， however， the villain is human， as is the motive。 I don’t think it’s fair-play， but the race against time aspect makes it feel like a cross between a mystery and a thriller， so that didn’t bother me。 Overall， it’s not of the quality of the best mystery novels in either writing or plotting， but Wigan is an appealing character， the look at the book trade gives it an added interest and its very oddity gives it a kind of unique charm。 Well worthy of its place in the BL’s Crime Classics series， and recommended as something a little different from the usual run。 4½ stars for me， so rounded up。NB This book was provided for review by the publisher， the British Library。www。fictionfanblog。wordpress。com 。。。more
Zoe Radley
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This is a particularly good mystery。 It delves into the devious lives of booksellers and book selling。 How the acquiring of rare books can be as deadly and vindictive as any other collection。 And what with ruthless women and a man who appears to be the murderer could potentially be innocent… it’s a race against time and the noose to set home free。 It’s very good and paced really well。
Jeff Lewis
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Another great find by British Library Classics "Death of a Bookseller" shines a murky world of the buying and selling first edition novels。 Dealer Fred Hampton is sentenced to death for murder after he is found with first edition Keats novel taken from the victim。 Sergeant Wigan is unconvinced and sets about finding the real killer。 The murder is an interesting twist with author Bernard J。 Farmer giving an eye opening account of book collecting。 Another great find by British Library Classics "Death of a Bookseller" shines a murky world of the buying and selling first edition novels。 Dealer Fred Hampton is sentenced to death for murder after he is found with first edition Keats novel taken from the victim。 Sergeant Wigan is unconvinced and sets about finding the real killer。 The murder is an interesting twist with author Bernard J。 Farmer giving an eye opening account of book collecting。 。。。more
Eric
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Am I missing something here？According to Martin Edwards in the Introduction to this reprint， original copies of the novel are much sought after and the story has cult status among book lovers。 Surely that can only be because of the huge amounts of information on book collecting， bookselling and arcane books which it contains， since it could hardly be said to have appeal for lovers of stylish writing， tight plotting and solid detective investigation。The writing style is odd and simplistic， but no Am I missing something here？According to Martin Edwards in the Introduction to this reprint， original copies of the novel are much sought after and the story has cult status among book lovers。 Surely that can only be because of the huge amounts of information on book collecting， bookselling and arcane books which it contains， since it could hardly be said to have appeal for lovers of stylish writing， tight plotting and solid detective investigation。The writing style is odd and simplistic， but not calculatedly so。 It reminded me of the narration of Edgar Lustgarten's Scotland Yard true crime series shown on British TV years ago， a sort of flat pseudojournalese 。 The plot， concerning the murder of a bookman， also manages to drag in witchcraft， spiritualism and psychology， all very unconvincing and dull。Almost everyone comes under suspicion and almost anyone could have committed the crime。 By the time I reached the end， I really did not much care who the murderer was。Plodding， dreary， and for me， one of the least interesting reads among the BLCC reprints。Three stars for rarity value。 。。。more
Laura Hannaway
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3 1/2 starsA nicely written and enjoyable mystery。 I preferred the whodunnit to the occult aspects， but overall thought it was good。
Ellen
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G*d - this was awful。
Philip Tucker
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A quaint little book。 Awful writing， really， but a wonderful glimpse of 1950's police-work and an interesting insight into the world of used books。 I enjoyed the nostalgia of it - like watching an ancient black and white film on the telly one wet afternoon， one of those where everyone speaks Received Pronunciation。 Interestingly， my charity shop hardback first edition copy would have been worth $200 if it had had a decent dust jacket - motive enough for murder according to the author！ A quaint little book。 Awful writing， really， but a wonderful glimpse of 1950's police-work and an interesting insight into the world of used books。 I enjoyed the nostalgia of it - like watching an ancient black and white film on the telly one wet afternoon， one of those where everyone speaks Received Pronunciation。 Interestingly， my charity shop hardback first edition copy would have been worth $200 if it had had a decent dust jacket - motive enough for murder according to the author！ 。。。more
Ann
，
This is a strange tale， something in between a police procedural and a gothic story。 It starts with a humble police sergeant developing an interest in rare books after striking up an unlikely friendship with a book dealer。 When Sergeant Wigan's friend is found murdered， he is asked to help with the investigation。 He meets several strange characters from the fringes of the rare book dealing world and begins to appreciate how ruthless book collectors can be。 When the police arrest a suspect， St Wi This is a strange tale， something in between a police procedural and a gothic story。 It starts with a humble police sergeant developing an interest in rare books after striking up an unlikely friendship with a book dealer。 When Sergeant Wigan's friend is found murdered， he is asked to help with the investigation。 He meets several strange characters from the fringes of the rare book dealing world and begins to appreciate how ruthless book collectors can be。 When the police arrest a suspect， St Wigan feels that they caught the wrong man。 So he continues his own investigation among the bookdealers of London。That is the police procedural aspect of the story。 The Gothic aspect comes from the strange fascination with books about witchcraft， lurid stories about "raising Satan" and a couple of bizarre secondary characters， such as an unbalanced spinster who seems to have come straight out of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights。 And of course， as this takes place in the England of about 1954， there is always the specter of the death penalty in the background， lending urgency to Sergeant Wigan's quest for justice。 An unusual read！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Death of a Bookseller
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Death of a Bookseller&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Death of a Bookseller&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0