Art Fiasco

Veitch Smith Fiona

Description

'Poppy Denby's back doing what she does best, and this time in Newcastle! Cleverly plotted as always, with an exceptional eye for detail and a fabulous amateur sleuth, Veitch Smith carries us back once more to the Golden Age for this delicious murder mystery.' Jacky Collins (Dr Noir)Its 1924 and Poppy Denby is heading up to Northumberland to celebrate her fathers sixtieth birthday. She stops off in Newcastle en route to visit her Aunt Dot, who has temporarily relocated from London to renovate a house shes inherited.One of Aunt Dots guests is the world-renowned artist, Agnes Robson, who is staging an exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery. Reluctantly, Poppy is roped in to help when the artists press liaison man falls ill.She soon discovers that the local press has dug up some dirt on Agnes relating to the tragic death of a young art teacher in Ashington Colliery, twenty-seven years earlier. As she tries to suppress the story, Poppy begins to suspect that the teacher might have been murdered and that the killer may still be on the loose'Poppy Denby s latest investigation combines an intriguing cold case mystery with a murder puzzle set in Newcastle in 1924. Complete with map and cast of characters, this is great fun for fans of mysteries set during detection s Golden Age.' Martin Edwards, author of Mortmain Hall, Gallows Court, and The Golden Age of Murder'This latest in the Poppy Denby series continues Fiona Veitch Smith s compelling grip over historical story and murder mystery. She throws a spell as she brings together her cast of characters that instills in the reader empathy with them and forms a vivid sense of place (in this case north-east England) and period. Smith s choice of a 1920s setting is inspired, with its deep social and cultural changes which are so vividly captured you could wonder if the author had time-travelled.' Colin Duriez, author of Dorothy L. Sayers: A Biography

Informations

• Publié par: Lion Hudson
• Date de parution: 23 octobre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781782643203
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Poppy Denby s back doing what she does best, and this time in Newcastle! Cleverly plotted as always, with an exceptional eye for detail and a fabulous amateur sleuth, Veitch Smith carries us back once more to the Golden Age for this delicious murder mystery.
Jacky Collins (Dr Noir)
This latest in the Poppy Denby series continues Fiona Veitch Smith s compelling grip over historical story and murder mystery. She throws a spell as she brings together her cast of characters that instills in the reader empathy with them and forms a vivid sense of place (in this case north-east England) and period. Smith s choice of a 1920s setting is inspired, with its deep social and cultural changes which are so vividly captured you could wonder if the author had time-travelled.
Colin Duriez, author of Dorothy L. Sayers: A Biography: Death, Dante and Lord Peter Wimsey
Poppy Denby s latest investigation combines an intriguing cold case mystery with a murder puzzle set in Newcastle in 1924. Complete with map and cast of characters, this is great fun for fans of mysteries set during detection s Golden Age.
Martin Edwards, author of Mortmain Hall, Gallows Court and The Golden Age of Murder

Text copyright 2020 Fiona Veitch Smith
This edition copyright 2020 Lion Hudson IP Limited
The right of Fiona Veitch Smith to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
All the characters in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Published by
Lion Hudson Limited
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Business Park,
Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, England
www.lionhudson.com
ISBN 978 1 78264 319 7
e-ISBN 978 1 78264 320 3
First edition 2020
Cover image: Laurence Whiteley
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
For my granddad Fred Veitch: Your art lives on .
From: The Dunlop Book: A Motorist’s Counsellor and Friend Ed. J. Burrow Co. Ltd., London, 1920
C ONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Character List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 32
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
T he Art Fiasco starts nearly three years after the end of Poppy s last adventure in The Cairo Brief . In the real world it s been two years, and I apologize to all Poppy s many fans left in limbo at the end of the last book, desperate to find out what happens next. Well, wait no more!
I always love writing Poppy Denby books, but this one has been particularly enjoyable. When you read the historical notes at the end (don t do so now as there are some spoilers) you will discover that the idea for the story is rooted in my own family s experience in the 1920s. In addition, it is set in my home town of Newcastle upon Tyne. There has been something really special about walking the streets of Grainger Town or browsing the Laing Art Gallery and seeing it all through Poppy s eyes. Some of the book is also set on the same street as the church I attend, Heaton Baptist, and I have been able to plot as I drive or walk past the various locations. I have also visited Morpeth and Ashington - places I have known since I was a child - but seen them through different eyes.
As always, there are many people to thank. Firstly, Dave, Robyn, and James Giles at the Laing Art Gallery, who showed around the eccentric woman who wanted to set a murder in their place of work. James, particularly, was helpful in guiding me around the backstage area of the gallery and pointing out the staircase to the roof that became so important in the plotting of the book.
Thanks too to Rajan Nair, who let the eccentric woman in to look around his town house on Jesmond Vale Terrace. It really helped to envisage where my characters would be living for the duration of the story. Thanks too to Lorrie at Morpeth Methodist, who not only showed me around the church but also pointed out the exact house that Poppy s parents would have lived in if they were really ministers there in 1924. I am also grateful to the archivists at Woodhorn Colliery Museum and the very helpful folk of the Heaton History Group.
As always, I am indebted to the professional and supportive team at Lion Hudson, including Julie Frederick, Louise Titley, Lyn Roberts, and the fabulously talented cover designer Laurence Whiteley. However, the team is far poorer for the loss of my indefatigable editor and partner in literary crime Jessica Gladwell, who has accompanied Poppy and me on so many adventures. We will both miss her hugely. Jess, may the next chapter of your life be just as flapulous as the last.
Finally, to my wonderful husband and daughter: thank you for believing in me. I could not be a crazy author lady without you.
So now, dear reader, without further ado it s over to you.
C HARACTER L IST
1897
Agnes Robson (14) - daughter of a coal miner from Ashington Colliery. Art student.
Jeremy Robson (11) - brother of Agnes.
Mrs Sadie Robson - their mother.
Mrs Alice Denby - mother of our heroine, Poppy Denby (b.1898). Wife of a Methodist minister.
Revd Malcolm Denby - father of Poppy. Methodist minister.
Christopher Denby (2) - brother of Poppy.
Michael Brownley - art teacher.
1900
Claude Moulton - a Parisian artist and Agnes lover.
1924
Poppy Denby - arts and entertainment editor for The Daily Globe . Amateur detective.
Dot Denby - Poppy s aunt. Former suffragette and leading lady on the West End stage.
Grace Wilson - Dot s companion. Former suffragette and bookkeeper to the Women s Suffrage and Political Union (WSPU).
Delilah Marconi - actress, flapper, and socialite. Poppy s best friend.
Rollo Rolandson - senior editor and owner of The Daily Globe . Poppy s boss.
Yasmin Rolandson (n e Reece-Lansdale), KC - barrister. Rollo s wife.
Daniel Rokeby - press photographer. Poppy s former beau.
Agnes Robson (41) - world-famous artist.
Gerald Farmer - Agnes business manager and publicist.
Gus North - Agnes studio assistant.
DI Sandy Hawkes - police detective inspector with Newcastle CID.
Peter MacMahon - journalist with the Newcastle Daily Journal .
Walter Foster - journalist with the Morpeth Herald .
Dante Sherman - curator at the Laing Art Gallery.
Maddie Sherman - Dante s mother and Aunt Dot s neighbour in Newcastle.
Mr Helsdon - caretaker at the Laing Art Gallery.
Jimmy Jackson - stable boy at the Laing Art Gallery.
Professor Reid - head of Newcastle Art School, Armstrong College.
Edna Storey (12) - art student in Ashington.
Mrs Storey - Edna s mother. Owns a sweet shop in Ashington.
Betty - Aunt Dot s char.
Sister Henrietta - runs St Hilda s home for unwed mothers and women in distress.
Mrs Northanger - patron of St Hilda s.
C HAPTER 1
30 S EPTEMBER 1897, A SHINGTON C OLLIERY , N ORTHUMBERLAND
A gnes Robson hurried into the church hall, smiling an apology at the gentleman in charge, and took her usual place at the easel nearest the window. The other young artists - half a dozen of them, ranging from eight to fourteen - were already busy with their paints and brushes. Agnes lifted the sack off her canvas to reveal a half-finished study in oils. She inhaled the fumes, allowing the familiar smell to settle her quickened breath, picked up a brush, and chewed the end while she contemplated the composition.
She had been attending the art class - which was held every Saturday afternoon for the children of pitmen - for four months. Since graduating from watercolour to oils, she had discovered that the paint did not dry completely between each class, and she could still work and manipulate last week s efforts if she needed to. Mr Brownley, the art teacher who came up on the train from Newcastle, had suggested she take the painting home to work on it during the week, but she had declined. Her mam did not like her coming to the classes. She had to leave her job at the laundry an hour early to get here, and Mrs Madsen always paid her a penny less on Saturdays because of it. So, each week she bought a bag of boiled sweets from Mr Storey s shop and bribed her fellow artists so they wouldn t tell on her. As for Mrs Madsen, well, she had come up with a plan to keep her quiet, too.
That s coming along very nicely, Agnes. What do you think you need to do to improve it?
Agnes looked up coyly through her dark lashes to see the tall figure of Michael Brownley at her right shoulder. He wore a paint-splattered smock over his smart tweed suit, but splodges of paint daubed his leather shoes. He never bothered to clean them. Obviously he didn t get into trouble like Agnes did. The girl always took her clogs off to paint, and her darned stockings, braving the cold of the wooden floor. As the classes had run through the summer this had not been a problem up until now, but as autumn was approaching, she might have to reconsider her attire.
She curled her toes, then lowered her eyes from the kind, handsome face of her tutor, to contemplate her painting. It was a view from the railway bridge that separated the twin pit villages of Hirst and Ashington. The track sloped gently to the right, leading the eye to the edge of the canvas where it continued in the viewer s imagination. To the left of the track was the blackened brickwork of Mr Storey s general goods shop on Station Road; then, in the distance, silhouetted against a sp