Margery Allingham: The China Governess (USA 2024)

From the Publisher:
"Margery Allingham stands out like a shining light. And she has another quality, not usually associated with crime stories, elegance." -- Agatha Christie

Timothy Kinnit is rich, handsome, and successful, but his past is a mystery to him. When he learns, on the eve of his elopement, that he is adopted, he must question everything he thought he knew.

In desperate search of answers, Kinnit calls on private detective Albert Campion to shed some light on his past, and how it connects him to the notorious Turk Street Mile slum. Meanwhile, his illustrious adopted family has a sinister secret of its own -- involving a murderous nineteenth-century governess -- that must also be brought to light by Campion's investigations.

"Allingham is very, very good and those who are not familiar with her have a discovery awaiting them." -- Los Angeles Times

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. Early Bird Books / Open Road Intergrated Media, ISBN: 9781504091756 (April, 2024), 290 p., $23.99.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (USA 2023)

From the Publisher:
"Margery Allingham stands out like a shining light. And she has another quality, not usually associated with crime stories, elegance." -- Agatha Christie

Timothy Kinnit is rich, handsome, and successful, but his past is a mystery to him. When he learns, on the eve of his elopement, that he is adopted, he must question everything he thought he knew.

In desperate search of answers, Kinnit calls on private detective Albert Campion to shed some light on his past, and how it connects him to the notorious Turk Street Mile slum. Meanwhile, his illustrious adopted family has a sinister secret of its own -- involving a murderous nineteenth-century governess -- that must also be brought to light by Campion's investigations.

"Allingham is very, very good and those who are not familiar with her have a discovery awaiting them." -- Los Angeles Times

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. Early Bird Books / Open Road Intergrated Media, ISBN: 9781504087247 (April, 2023), eBook, 3 MB (ca. 290 p.), $9.99.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (UK 2016)

From the Publisher:
A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERY
Agatha Christie called her 'a shining light'. Have you discovered Margery Allingham, the 'true queen' of the classic murder mystery?

Timothy Kinnit needs the help of private detective Albert Campion. Kinnit is rich, handsome and successful, but his past is a mystery to him and he needs Campion to find out how it connects him to the notorious Turk Street Mile slum. In addition, his own illustrious adopted family has a sinister secret of its own - involving a murderous nineteenth-century governess - that must also be brought to light by Campion's investigations.

As urbane as Lord Wimsey... as ingenious as Poirot... Meet one of crime fiction's Great Detectives, Mr Albert Campion.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. A Campion Mystery. Vintage, ISBN: 9780099506119 (August, 2026), 254 p., £8.99.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (USA 2010)

From the Publisher:
The golden sprig of a rich aristocratic family, Timothy Kinnit is about to marry the girl of his dreams. But when rumors start to circulate about his parentage, the young lady's father puts the kibosh on the wedding, and shortly thereafter, Timothy becomes the chief suspect in a housebreaking and a suspicious death. When Mr. Campion gets involved, he finds that somebody will go to very ugly lengths to keep Timothy from finding the answers he needs.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. The 13th Albert Campion Mystery. Felony & Mayhem, ISBN: 9781934609637 (November, 2010), 320 p., $14.95.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (UK 2007)

From the Publisher:
Appearance and reality are not always the same.
Timothy Kinnit is rich, handsome and well-bred. He seems to have everything. Then, on the eve of his elopement, he learns that he was adopted, and he is desperate to know who he really is. Someone seems no less keen to stop him finding out. Violence, deception and death bedevil the post-war housing estate that has grown from the ashes of the notorious Turk Street Mile, and the shadow of a long-forgotten murder hangs over it all - until Luke and Campion are finally able to dispel the darkness...

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. Vintage, ISBN: 0099506114 (December, 2007), 254 p., £7.99.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (UK 1993)

From the Publisher:
Timothy Kinnit had everything - wealth and good looks. Then it happened: he learned he was adopted. His search in London for the facts of his birth involves a tale of evacuation and a mentally deficient youth, drags up a murder and sets off another, before Albert Campion can reveal the truth.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. Penguin Crime Classic, ISBN: 014016619X (April, 1993), 272 p., £4.99 (?).

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (USA 1990)

From the Publisher:
THE TRUTH THAT KILLS
Adopted heir Timothy Kinnit refuses to marry his beloved Julia until he learns the truth about his parentage. But when Albert Campion traces the roots of young Timothy's family tree, he finds them buried in a century-old scandal involving a jilted nanny and a rather nasty murder. When another tragic death occurs, a sinister Victorian blood legacy suddenly threatens the lives of the two young lovers...and Campion's to boot!

MYSTERY AT ITS BRITISH BEST
Equally at home in the underworld and among the upper crust, super-sleuth Albert Campion rarely misses a clue or fails to find a motive. Behind his horn-rimmed glasses and mild-mannered facade is a brilliant mind that can penetrate to the villainous heart of the most heinous crime.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. An ancient mystery comes murderously back to life. An Albert Campion Mystery. Avon Books, ISBN: 0380705788 (April, 1990), 265 p., $3.50.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (USA 1974)

From the Publisher:
HERE'S WHAT THE CRITICS SAID:
"The plotting is sound and the people excellent." are -- THE NEW YORK TIMES
"A good story, well told a superior whodunit and an entertaining novel." -- CHARLESTON (S.C.) NEWS-COURIER
an exciting suspense story containing well-rounded, real people as characters." -- WORCESTER TELEGRAM
"A suspenseful story with a terrifying and exciting climax-one that mystery buffs will enjoy." -- PHOENIX REPUBLIC
"... definetly superior fare, head and shoul-ders above most mystery novels and, I am sure, the very best whodunit of the year." -- SAUK CITY CAPITAL TIMES
"The name of Margery Allingham is a guarantee of pleasure to mystery fans who like their detec-tive stories literate and well-plotted . if any-thing, her newest story is even better than her previous works." -- DENVER ROUNDUP
"An absorbing novel which the close to a million Allingham enthusiasts will cherish." -- NEW YORK MORNING TELEGRAPH

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. New York: Manor Books, 1974, ISBN: 0532153147, 224 p., $1.50.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (UK 1968)

From the Publisher:
Timothy Kinnit had been handed the world on a plate, but not even Albert Campion could stop him turning it upside down to discover who he was
Timothy Kinnit had everything -- wealth, breeding, good looks, a castle in Suffolk -- and he was on the point of eloping with the deb. of the year. Then it happened: he learned he was an adopted child.

His frenzied search in London's East End for the facts of his birth involves a tale of evacuation, a dynamic councillor, and a mentally deficient youth, drags up a long-forgotten murder and sets off another, before Albert Campion or anyone can bring out the truth.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. Harmondsworth; Middlesex: Penguin Books 1968, Penguin Books 2312, 266 p., 25 p, 5/-.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (UK 1967)

From the Publisher:
Timothy Kinnit had wealth, good looks, breeding, and a beautiful girl friend. Then - on the eve of his elopement - he discovered that he was adopted. Who was he, and what was the mystery behind his birth? His agonizing search into the past involves a long-forgotten murder, a prominent councillor, and a mentally deficient twenty-year old... but who will tell him the truth?

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. Harmondsworth; Middlesex: Penguin Books 1967, Penguin Books #C2312, 266 p., 4/-.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (USA 1964)

From the Publisher:
A NEW APARTMENT, SHOCKINGLY VANDALIZED-AN OLD MURDER, NEVER QUITE SOLVED
And the crime wave showed no signs of ending -- unless Campion could penetrate a twenty-year-old secret that brought death to anyone who revealed it.

"...with her usual competence and her unusual flair for dialogue and descrip-tion, Margery Allingham has put together a complicated and intriguing plot that is a delight from beginning to end." -- Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. New York: MacFadden-Bartell, 1964, MB Books #75-413, 224 p., ¢75.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (UK 1963)

From the Publisher:
'In Margery Allingham's hands the detective novel is transformed from craft to art. She can conjure evil, not merely crime. The China Governess, for which she has kept her public waiting for over four years, is pointedly contemporary in its social comment. It is also a brilliantly effective thriller' - Howard Mason in the Sunday Telegraph

An adopted son of a rich family, a murder of the last century, and an ultra-modern council estate all feature in what one reviewer called 'a gorgeous display of sheer craftsmanship'.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. Harmondsworth; Middlesex: Penguin Books 1963, Penguin Books #C2312, 266 p., 4/-.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess (USA 1962)

From the Publisher:
MARGERY ALLINGHAM'S beautifully written, intricately shaped and polished stories of suspense, sophistication, and subtlety are widely known both in the United States and in England. She and her husband, Philip Youngman-Carter, live in Essex, England.

She writes of her childhood: "I was the eldest child in a family who regarded writing as the only reasonable way of passing the time, let alone earning a living. My early recollec-tions... are of long quiet days in which the only sound seemed to be the murmur of bees and the scratching of pens... My father wrote, my mother wrote, all the weekend visitors wrote, and, as soon as I could master the appallingly difficult business of making the initial marks, so did I.

"... the picture has a certain absurdity not at all noticeable at the time, and I can sympathize with the exasperated new housemaid who once snatched a ragged note book from my hand, exclaiming, 'Master, Missus, and three strangers all sitting in different rooms writin' down lies and now you startin"."

"I went when I was seven to the Misses Dobsons' Academy for Young Ladies, in Colchester. I learned... how to enter a drawing room and sit down at a pianoforte. I could perform this... feat today, but since no one ever got around to teach-ing me to play, I doubt if the routine would be of any great interest..."

And of her writing habits: "I write every paragraph four times once to get my meaning down, once to put in any thing I have left out, once to take out anything that seems unnecessary and once to make the whole thing sound as if I have only just thought of it."

"It was the wickedest street in London, and the entrance was just here... The Turk Street Mile has gone now any-way. A serious trouble spot for three hundred years, wiped out utterly and forever in a single night by four land mines and a sprinkling of incendiaries in the first raid on London, twenty years ago." That was the introduction Superintendent Charles Luke was given to a strange case which spread outward in geography and backward in time.

One of the flats in the sleek new public housing project that had risen on the Turk Street site had been care-fully and purposefully vandalized. The crime seemed senseless until Luke saw the message scrawled across the mirror: "Let the dead past bury its own dead. Go home, Dick." Someone had dis-covered that the lodger who rented a room in the flat was a detective, and Luke interpreted the message as a command to the lodger to get out of the neighborhood. But who could have hired him, and what could he have been investigating? Whatever it was, it must have happened twenty years before, and Luke hadn't a clue.

It seemed that a number of people were suddenly interested in events that had taken place twenty years before, either in the squalor of Turk Street or in the elegance of a country house in Suffolk belonging to the wealthy Kinnit family. Mr. Albert Campion had offered to help young Timothy Kinnit's fiancée untangle the twenty-year-old mystery of Tim's birth, and found, to his surprise, that his in-vestigation was crossing that of his good friend, Superintendent Luke.

They found their answers not in Turk Street, nor in Suffolk, but in an ancient house in the heart of London, where a dark family secret had been kept for more than a century, and where someone was using a modern, almost undetectable murder technique to silence the indiscreet.

Miss Allingham demonstrates her wonderful ear for dialogue and her amazing knowledge of the minutiae of London history in this suspenseful story of thwarted young love, van-dalism, arson, murder, and mistaken identity.

Margery Allingham: The China Governess. A Novel of Suspense. New York: Doubleday, 1962, 282 p., $4.50.