Godfrey Jervis “Jan” (1882-1944) and Cora Josephine Turner (1879-1950) Gordon were artists and authors, painting in Paris before World War I and then traveling to Serbia to work with aid organizations there when war was declared. Jan was appointed a Lieutenant in the RNVR to work on camouflage for navy vessels, then he was commissioned as an official war artist and produced paintings on the treatment of the wounded on hospital ships and at the Royal Navy Hospital Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire. https://artuk.org/discover/curations/artists-and-wartime-places-jan-gordon-and-cora-josephine-gordon
After the war they traveled extensively and documented their adventures in a series of popular travel books. For more about the colorful duo, see https://www.janandcoragordonart.com/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_and_Cora_Gordon and http://www.janandcoragordon.co.uk/ The latter especially is a trove of information.
A bibliography of their works (http://www.janandcoragordon.co.uk/-8-books-by-jan-and-cora-gordon.html) offers insight into the mysteries:
At one of the Gordons famous cocktail parties in their flat Jan and Peter Cheney were arguing the difficulties of their respective genres of writing with the result that Jan was challenged to write within a certain period produce a crime Novel; Jan won the bet and the result was…
- There’s Death in the Churchyard. Harrap, UK, 1934.
- Death in the Wheelbarrow. Harrap, UK, 1935; Mystery House, US, 1940 as by Jan Gordon. [Insp. Ernest Penk]
- Murder Most Artistic. Harrap, UK, 1937; published in the US by Doubleday, 1938. [Insp. Ernest Penk]
Invariably Jan would put a lot of himself into each one, his own background, albeit disguised, bits and pieces of the art world leaving one guessing as to which notorious personality he was hinting at. Often he would amalgamate real life personalities into a character in his book
I often wonder if the culprit in Murder Most Artistic refers to Augustus John for example. Again, Jan often includes an ecclesiastic character in the narrative influenced no doubt by the numerous Parsons in his family tree.
They are a good read for their type, favourably reviewed by Dorothy L Sayers, a contemporary of Agatha Christie, and by Peter Cheney.
When found they are almost invariably in poor condition, yet they are priced at anything from £50-80 on the internet, Lucky is the person who has a charity shop find.
There’s Death in the Churchyard (Harrap, 1934; Black Heath, 2015; Oleander Press, 2023) is a lively tale replete with a villain who deserved killing and an intrepid South American explorer who brought several samples of rare native poisons with him when he settled in the English village of Sutton Eacham. Captain Richard Stoyner, the scientist and explorer, was big, strong, fearless, honest, all of the virtues but woefully inept with money, which he spent with abandon trying to perfect an invention. Enter Ponderby Jonson, a financial crook, who agreed to fund the invention in exchange for partial rights. When Jonson increased his demands, a loud argument ensued. He collapsed suddenly leaving church the next morning and his death was found to be caused by curare. Stoyner was the inevitable suspect. The village is agog at a real murder that took place in front of them and the dialogue among the locals is a high point of the story.
The supporting characters are a colorful lot; they include a hardworking vicar and his wife, the wife’s sister, the vicar’s impish daughter, and the family parrot whose vocabulary extends well beyond requests for a saltine. The captain’s devoted batman now servant and laboratory assistant plays an essential role, a roving painter of scenery takes a turn as suspect, and an appalling private investigator shows how not to do the job.
A book that dresses up classic mystery tropes until they look shiny and new is always a delight to read. In the end the killer and the motive were completely unexpected, a plus according to my standards. The fabulous dust jacket art for the first edition is by Jan Gordon.
The Times Literary Supplement enjoyed it.
The TImes Literary Supplement, June 7, 1934
Steve Lewis reprinted a review of the book by William F. Deeck that originally appeared in CADS 20, 1993: https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=36019 . See also https://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2013/11/jan-gordon-as-william-gore-theres-death.html