Richardson Books

- "He'll go for anything wearing a skirt."
- "Then he should avoid Scotland."

(Sorry, but I smiled at that one.)

From 1985 to 1992, Robert Richardson wrote a spate of British mysteries starring unflappable amateur sleuth and playwright Augustus (or Gus) Maltravers. This one, THE BOOK OF THE DEAD, which came out in 1989, is interesting in that it incorporates Sherlock Holmes into the plot. Being a fan of the Great Detective, I thought I'd give this one a try.

In a coincidental turn of events, when a partly vacationing Gus Maltravers' car breaks down in a heavy downpour, the manor house on which he knocks for help is owned by Charles Carrington, whom he would've visited the very next evening. When Carrington obligingly drops off Maltravers at his intended destination, he remarks off-handedly that Gus might be interested in an original, never published Sherlock Holmes story by Arthur Conan Doyle.

It seems that the Sherlock Holmes's creator had been fast friends with Carrington's grandfather and was in fact godfather to Charles' father. For a christening present Doyle wrote a brand new Sherlock Holmes adventure and made 10 privately bound copies. Doyle never published this story, and had no wish to, as it was intended as a private gift to the Carringtons, who in turn have honored that wish. But Charles Carrington is aware of Maltravers' passion for detective fiction and lends the playwright a photocopy of the story, titled "The Attwater Firewitch." Shortly after, Carrington is savagely murdered.

The identity of the murderer largely hinges on who have read the "The Attwater Firewitch." And there's no lacking in suspects: from the much adored, philandering young wife, to the unpalatable blighter with whom she was cheating, from the priest with the secret addiction, to the bitter woman who'd long been in love with Charles. An arrest is made, but the case against the suspect isn't concrete certain. Then there's the exasperating dilemma involving the plundered safe which had contained the original and very precious Sherlock Holmes copies. To get to the bottom of this one, Maltravers finds himself leaning on the Great Detective himself for inspiration.

THE BOOK OF THE DEAD, at a mere 192 pages, made for decent reading, but it didn't exactly bowl me over, and the mystery itself didn't dazzle. The protagonist Gus Maltravers is sophisticated and clever and proves to be a competent detective, even if he comes off as a bit smug in the end. This smugness almost costs him his life and that of his actress girlfriend. Maltravers does get the job done, but, really, he seems a boring chap. Interestingly, the person I liked best wasn't the featured sleuth, but his girlfriend Tess Davy, a gutsy character who doesn't make a physical appearance until the last quarter of the book. This mystery reads at a sedate pace. After the actual murder, things don't really heat up again until almost the closing pages. I'm not sure I'll remember this story a month from now. Even the Holmes pastiche, which is included here in its entirety, is surprisingly bland, considering its supernatural elements.

Not much is known about the English author Robert Richardson in my neck of the woods. As far as I know (and I'm probably wrong), his last published work was in 1997 (Victims), and he may even have stopped writing altogether. There are at least 5 other Augustus Maltravers mysteries (beginnning with Richardson's acclaimed debut novel The Latimer Mercy), although in the mid-1990s he began to focus on writing brooding pyschological thrillers (The Hand of Strange Children, Significant Others, VICTIMS). THE BOOK OF THE DEAD is the third in the Maltravers series and the only one I've read. And, to be honest, based on this one book, I'm leaning towards the lukewarm in checking out Richardson's other stuff, even as lauded as they may be.

Although it may be worthy of the accolade on the jacket cover ("...a minor masterwork."), I immediately shelved the book when I realized that it lacked photographs and illustrations.

In the Certain Ones, Vanessa Richardson says,
"Many are called, but few are chosen."
Richardson uses this verse and other Bible verses
to support her premise that we are chosen for a very special purpose.
Some of us may or may not know the reason for the calling.
In either case, we are unwilling or think we are unable to
accept the calling. Richardson knows this and she tries
to show us how to accept our calling and fulfill God's purpose.
She mentions that being chosen is difficult and some may face
challenges along the way. However difficult the calling may be,
we are to accept it, fulfill God's purpose, keep the faith and
remain committed to God.

Richardson uses her life to illustrate the point of being
the certain one. Her mom is a pastor and is certainly a
positive and supportive role model in her life. Her mom
accepted her call to the ministry and is fulfilling God's purpose.
Richardson was very reluctant to accept her calling.
She had personal goals she wanted to achieve. She had some
health issues that certainly impacted her life.
She had other challenges as well and faced them.
She regained her health and is using this example
to witness to others who are reluctant to accept their chosen role.

This is an interesting read. Each chapter begins with a
story about a woman who was about to be chosen. Richardson
then uses some part of the story that presented some challenge
the chosen one had to face. Richardson then cites Bible verses,
uses both Biblical and living characters to show how these
characters faced the challenge. At the end of each chapter
are some steps to follow to help the chosen ones face the challenge.
At the end of the book, the woman accepts her role. We do not
know this woman's identity, but it does not matter. The woman
could be any one of us who is reluctant to accept the calling.

Richardson's writing style is interesting, too. At times,
Richardson is very engaging with her biblical examples and
analysis. It is as if Richardson is talking to you face to face.
Other times, she becomes redundant. Some of Richardson's Biblical
examples are fully developed and analyzed. Others could use
more development. The typographical errors were distracting to me.
Other than that, this is an average read for someone who wants to
know about accepting God's calling and overcoming the challenges
of being the chosen one.

Karen Lemmons
APOOO BookClub

This book was written nearly 30 years previous to the Hickman book, and is completely different in style and readability. It focuses on 12 courtesans and the treatment of each is much more concise than in the Hickman book. Oddly, given the title, I did not get much of a feel for the world in which these women existed. It focuses very tightly on their lives, and did not venture far to provide a setting for those lives. It did give an excellent idea of what these women were like, the fire and spark that made them independent in a way few people today can really understand. Read together with the Hickman book, you get an excellent idea of what the time period was like.

I must admit that Daemonifuge: The Lord of Damnation, was a disappointment. The story is good (although a bit fast forward, with some holes), but the art was far from what I expected. When I purchased this graphic novel, I expected it to be illustrated by Kevin Walker, but it appears he has taken a back seat to the art and concentrated on the story for book II of the Ephrael Stern saga. Walkers movie like graphics were brilliant in the first book, but book II appears as a mere copycat attempt at the style from book I. I found the new art to be "sketchy" and lacking. Towards the end of Book II, the art changes style towards a more pencil drawing look. Although the art of this part is very well done, it becomes an unwanted change. I can only hope that book III takes a turn for the better and that Kevin Walker himself sits at the artistic helm.

Richardson takes as his starting point a guy, Josh, he knew who hung out in Soho in the 50s and met all the famous painters, writers, deadbeats and drunks. The book is partly the author's search for Josh, meeting his old friends, visiting his old haunts and being haunted by old visitors, and partly a novelisation of Josh's life. The novelised bits are surprisingly good, and the "real" bits are excellent but a bit weird. We're told that old friends made revelations which we'll come back to later - this never happens. The author's life begins to follow the Soho model - or is it all made up? Was he ever a property journalist with a mouse-infested country cottage and a crush on a girl called Louise? Is there really anyone called "Nigel Richardson"? It's a funny and well-written take on the "look at me I'm a writer writing" genre.

I bought this book when i found it in a very old library by chance. I found it charming in its own way. It is very old, its only black and white, but its contents are still very useful if you are interested into calligraphy and how any lettering is made. This book for sure is for dedicated people in this subject, for it is very simple instruction wise and in layout. It doesnt tire you down with huge texts you are never going to read, for it is precise in its helpfull hints and what codes you should be in the look out of any style of font. Appart from the calligraphy, you find some exhibitions of poster layouts very basic, almost retro like and tips into how you can enlarge and resize a font you have handmade. This is the kind of book a mature designer would give meaning, specially if they were part of the era were every design was handmade.

I picked up this book because I thought it would be an amazing tale of a young girl who helps with the underground railroad. Instead I got a book about a girl named Sarah who spends the entire story running away from Gods plan for her life. Well until the last 7 pages when she finely decides that she 1 loves the man that is bearly mentioned in the story, and 2 that she has found it in her heart to trust God. I found this book dull and sad. There was no true romance between Sarah and David. Sarahs father never became a christian. And Sarahs silly sister never really grows up. I was very sad with the ending and I felt like I had been cheated out of a really good story.

This book is a compilation of various tales we all heard growing up. It is a great book for bedtime reading. My two sons enjoy picking out which stories to read, and then listening intently. The stories are fun to read, and the boys have committed many of the "key" parts of each story to memory.

I guess I did not read the information on this book thouroughly enough before purchasing it. The back cover says, "a valuable resource for any Christian." Throughout the book, the author refers to "our beliefs" and "our religion." The primary purpose of this book is to explain how holiday traditions have become part of Christian celebrations.

If that's what you're looking for, then this book is for you. If, however, you are wanting to know about the pre-Christian origins of holidays, you will get only a little bit of info from this book. Christmas for example - although the author admits that many other religions celebrated holidays on December 25, there is no discussion of any of those celebrations. The tradition of lights and candles at Christmas time is explained only in reference to "Jesus the Light of the World" and whether or not a candle helped guide Joseph and Mary. No mention of the earlier traditions of driving back darkness on the longest night of the year, the winter solstice. Easter is dealt with specifically as a Christian holiday - only a few passing nods at the eons of spring equinox celebrations that preceded it.

In the author's defense, there is no preaching here. She does a good job of presenting the results of her research, not pushing her faith. And she does address Jewish holy days and all of the holidays normally thought of as non-religious (i.e. Memorial Day, Labor Day).

Basically, there is some interesting info here, but it is very "Christian-centric" - if you want info that isn't the "party line," better look elsewhere.