Clemence Dane (1887-1965) was the pseudonym of London native Winifred Ashton, who was a playwright, sculptor, screenwriter, and novelist. She wrote more than 30 plays, including A Bill of Divorcement, which was made into a film starring Katherine Hepburn in 1932. She won the Oscar for Best Story in 1946 for Vacation from Marriage featuring Deborah Kerr. She only wrote three mystery novels with Helen Simpson, spending most of her creative energies on the stage and screen, similar to Ngaio Marsh. For more biographical detail see http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7930298/Dane%2C%20Clemence.
Helen DeGuerry Simpson (1897-1940) was an Australian novelist and musician. She and Dane won a place in the Detection Club with the success of their first collaboration. While Dane moved back to the performing arts, Simpson remained an active member of the mystery community, making friends of Dorothy L. Sayers and Gladys Mitchell. She contributed to The Detection Club’s round-robin works The Floating Admiral (1931), Ask a Policeman (1933), and The Anatomy of Murder (1937). For more on her interesting life, see http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7931528/Simpson%2C%20Helen
Enter Sir John is the first of the three mysteries written by Dane and Simpson. Published first in the US by Cosmopolitan in 1928 and then Hodder & Stoughton in the UK in 1929, which I found curious. Spitfire Publishers reprinted it earlier in 2024 with an informative introduction. Sir John Samaurez is a successful actor and theatrical producer who appears in all three of their joint works. This first story describes a struggling theater troupe with an assortment of completely credible and dissimilar personalities trying to make a living from acting, an uncertain undertaking at the best of times. The newest member of the troupe is a cut above the rest and becomes a target for the jealous among the cast. No one has any trouble believing she is guilty of battering her worst tormentor to death with a poker. She was found with the bloody poker at her feet and no one else was seen in the vicinity.
Sir John had met the accused a year or two previously and had some acquaintance with her family. He was appalled at the arrest and felt that the murder had not been thoroughly investigated, which omission he decided to correct. He had little time, as the jury swiftly rendered a guilty verdict and an execution date had been set.
Like Marsh’s mysteries set in a playhouse, the narrative leaves no question that the writer knew the thespian world thoroughly. The descriptions of actors looking for work and trying to keep up appearances between jobs are wrenchingly authentic. Hints as to the true motive for the killing were dropped here and there; I noticed them but they didn’t coalesce for me until the last chapters. Spitfire thoughtfully mentions in the copyright statement that the book describes “actions and attitudes reflective of the era in which it was written” and that includes the motive.
Readers of Dorothy L. Sayers will note the plot similarities between this book and Strong Poison, which was published two years after this one. The friendship between Sayers and Simpson makes me suspect Sayers saw the possibilities of the story line and decided to adapt it for her own series.
The writing style is surprisingly lively and not as dated as one might expect of a book nearly 100 years old. Fans of theatrical mysteries will want to read this one, as will students of Golden Age detective fiction. Recommended!