Murder in a Cathedral - Softcover

Dudley Edwards, Ruth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006498647 ISBN 13: 9780006498643

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1998

Synopsis

Ruth Dudley Edwards’s wickedly funny series taking an irreverent look at the British Establishment continues with this burlesque in a bishopric.

For many years Westonbury Cathedral has been dominated by a clique of High Church gays, so when Norm Cooper, an austere, intolerant, happy-clappy evangelist, is appointed dean, the announcement is met with shock, outrage and fear.

David Elworthy, the gentle and politically innocent new bishop, is distraught at the prospect of warfare between the factions; contentious issues include the camp lady chapel and the gay memorial under construction in the deanery garden. Desperate for help, Elworthy cries on the shoulder of his old friend the redoubtable Baroness Troutbeck, who forces her unofficial troubleshooter, Robert Amiss, to move into the bishop’s palace.

Amiss, Troutbeck and the cat Plutarch address themselves in their various ways to the bishop’s problems, which very soon include a clerical corpse in the cathedral. Is it suicide? Or is it murder? And who is likely to be next?

About this title

About the Author

Ruth Dudley Edwards was born in Dublin and now lives in London. A historian and prize-winning biographer, her most recent non-fiction includes the authorized history of The Economist, a portrait of the British Foreign Office, written with its co-operation, and ‘The Faithful Tribe’, a portrait of the Orange Order. Three of her satirical crime novels featuring Baroness Troutbeck have been short-listed for awards from the Crime Writers’ Association.

From the Back Cover

For many years Westonbury Cathedral has been dominated by a clique of High-Church gays, so when Norm Cooper, an austere, intolerant, happy-clappy evangelist, is appointed dean, there is shock, outrage and fear.

David Elworthy, the gentle and politically innocent new bishop, is distraught at the prospect of warfare between the factions; contentious issues include the camp lady chapel and the gay memorial under construction in the deanery garden. Desperate for help, Elworthy cries on the shoulder of his old friend, the redoubtable Baroness Troutbeck, who forces her unofficial troubleshooter, Robert Amiss, to move into the bishop's palace.

Amiss, Troutbeck and the cat Plutarch address themselves in their various ways to the bishop's problems, which very soon include a clerical corpse in the cathedral. Is it suicide? Or is it murder? And who is likely to be next?

The latest in Ruth Dudley Edwards's wickedly funny series taking an irreverent look at the British Establishment.

"This blithe series puts itself on the side of the angels by merrily, and staunchly, subverting every tenet of political correctness"
PATRICIA CRAIG, 'Independent'

"No one is writing wittier mystery fiction in Britain today that Ruth Dudley Edwards"
VAL MCDERMID, 'Manchester Evening News'

"A wise and witty read"
MICHAEL PAINTER, 'Irish Times'

"Lovely stuff"
MIKE RIPLEY, 'Daily Telegraph'

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0006498647
• ISBN 13: 9780006498643
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224