1942 After a university President's party Chief Cataloguer Gilda Gorham discovers a body in the library Later another body is discovered in a locked room Is there a connection what could be the motives and who is the guilty party Gilda seems determined to find the answerOverall an enjoyable tongue in cheek murder mystery with its likeable characters and a cast of suspectsARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review The Widening Stain A well written tongue in cheek mystery I really enjoyed this being set at a stodgy ivy league college Well worth the time as the language is very enjoyable The Widening Stain It's a mystery novel set at Cornell University what's not to love? The first few chapters are brilliant I was laughing constantly at the commentary on libraries and academia in general I do believe the rest of the book is well written but I just can't get into mystery novels so I found myself rather annoyed by all the excessive mental wanderings through most of the book just not my genre Any Cornellians out there should definitely give it a go though it's a uick read The Widening Stain While the ending to the mystery was a bit clunky the book was a wonderfully amusing look at life in a university library interspersed by the author's limericks Too bad the author was busy doing serious work to continue his mystery authorship The Widening Stain A slight lighthearted academic mystery written in 1942 I didn't find it as comical as the blurbs indicated but it was certainly diverting The Widening Stain
W. Bolingbroke Johnson Ø 6 characters
This comic mystery set in the library of a university that bears a remarkable resemblance to Cornell was a big hit in 1942 going into three printings within a month of publication The author was Morris Bishop professor of French literature and provost at Cornell who hid his identity behind the pseudonym W Bolingbroke Johnson There is much bibliographic lore as well as a sufficient amount of genteel gore as a professor with a fondness for limericks looks into a murder in the library stacks The Widening Stain
This edition of The Widening Stain has just been reprinted by Otto Penzler Presents American Mystery Classics The picture above is not correct for this reprint Anyway not being used to reading early twentieth century mysteries this book was a bit of a puzzle to me As I became used to this type of prose I enjoyed it Overall a good read about a fictional university library and the librarians and management who worked there The main story concerns two murders and solving them by the amateur detectives who were also librarians The Widening Stain That W Bolingbroke Johnson wrote only this one work of fiction is a shame I loved the glimpse into the dynamic of professorial relationships and how they influenced friendships and competition This book is not sensational in the over the top meaning of the word but it is a uiet cerebral mystery that I enjoyed reading I definitely recommend this to fans of classic mystery and fans of bookish related reading Very glad I got the opportunity to read this book that uite frankly wouldn't be on my radar were it not being republished The Widening Stain Filled with limericks and academic innuendo The Widening Stain is an American classic that still gives readers a chuckle and decent mystery to solve Mr Bishop should have written fiction He was talented and knew how to entertain His academic writings are fascinating his professionalism and knowledge come through expeditiouslyAlthough this story is dated the view into an academic’s life in the late ’30s and early ‘40s gives us a new perspective on how difficult and close minded many of the universities were in America and still are in many aspects Much of the story is very relatable for those who work and live in these types of surroundings Yet there is proof of a sense of humor and a bit of naughtinessThe character of Gilda is not the typical library worker not even in 1042 She has a curious nature and a brian that is methodical and built for problem solving Yet she is a wonderful study in what makes a woman in a man’s world unforgettable Academics are as much her life as it is the professors at the university but she has a way of dealing with situations in a manner that is enjoyable and filled with intrigueThe Widening Stain is a true classic and although it does not fit in with the world of today it still holds a place in the heart of mystery readers and writers around the globe The wit and intellect are abundant the precision is indisputable and the humor is boundless For true mystery lovers this is a must read Whether you are a mystery fan or an academic the murder will have you uestioning the suspects right alongside Gilda to the end The Widening Stain What a shame that this is the authors only novel as he mainly published in the non fiction genreA really good book although a bit dated since it originally was published in the Interwar years and some of the stuff is downright silly but the plot is great the cast of characters is good and from page 1 it really kept my attention We end up with not one but two murders at a college library along with missing valuable books and we have a good cast of characters to choose from College professors librarians night watchmen etc Very good effort and a good read If you get a chance this one is a really enjoyable way to spend your evenings The Widening Stain When The Widening Stain was released in 1942 the author was identified as one W Bolingbroke Johnson described as a middlebrow from Rabbit Hash Kentucky and a graduate of the Okmulgee Agricultural and Mechanical Institute Now Rabbit Hash Kentucky is a real place and Okmulgee AM is now part of Oklahoma State but there was no W Bolingbroke Johnson The author was actually a Cornell University Romance language and classics professor and scholar named Morris Bishop who never admitted that he penned this novel Sadly this was Bishop’s only mystery although he did grace the world with many many scholarly books journal articles comic poetry — and limericks many in The New Yorker Saturday Evening Post and Life magazines In The Widening Stain 30 something librarian Gilda Gorham finds herself drawn into unobtrusively investigating what the police deemed an accidental death; however Miss Gorham has her doubts Clever and insightful Miss Gorham realizes the murderer before the police — and what a thrilling ending Whether or not Bishop based these characters on real Cornell fixtures you can judge; they seemed pretty true to life to me having worked at the University of Miami And the description of the university library is based on Cornell’s Perhaps that’s why Bishop couldn’t admit to writing it Too many angry colleagues Or perhaps he thought it would lower his standing in academia Either way it’s a pity he didn’t give us adventures with the intrepid Miss Gorham I am grateful to Penzler Publishers and American Mysteries Classics for reissuing this fine mystery even if it will be the only one by Bishop In the interest of full disclosure I received this book from NetGalley Penzler Publishers and American Mysteries Classics in exchange for an honest review The Widening Stain