Synopsis – Aspiring journalist Gregory Spring-Benson sees two benefits to rekindling his relationship with his estranged Uncle James: for one, he stands a good chance of receiving at least part of the eccentric relative’s inheritance; and for another, his uncle’s current residence, Amberhurst Place, carries a rumor of ghost sightings that might prove good copy. Upon his arrival, Gregory finds a full house: in addition to cantankerous Uncle James, quarrelsome cousin Henry Malcolm and the quieter Emily Warrenton are also present, with fussy lawyer Arthur Vaughan and his brother, poet Christopher, living nearby with Gregory’s stoic Aunt Julia. Feuding gets well underway between all parties, and Arthur recruits the Reverend Cyprian to re-enact the specter of a murderous twin pushing his brother off the manor house’s high tower. While Arthur’s dubious motive is to test his uncle’s beliefs in spiritualism and stir up dissension between the would-be heirs, his second effort proves deadly when an unknown assailant pushes the lawyer over the parapet.
Acrimony and paranoia lead to Uncle James first disinheriting, and then locking up, each of his relations. With a storm rising and everyone imprisoned in his or her bedroom, James is lured to the top of the tower. From afar, Emily witnesses her uncle attacked by a “floating dagger.” Inspector Fenby, already in the neighborhood under the guise of a devout spiritualist, takes charge of the investigation. With some historical help from the Victoria and Albert Museum, Fenby separates the supernatural from the criminal and reveals the ghost of Amberhurst Place.
Acrimony and paranoia lead to Uncle James first disinheriting, and then locking up, each of his relations. With a storm rising and everyone imprisoned in his or her bedroom, James is lured to the top of the tower. From afar, Emily witnesses her uncle attacked by a “floating dagger.” Inspector Fenby, already in the neighborhood under the guise of a devout spiritualist, takes charge of the investigation. With some historical help from the Victoria and Albert Museum, Fenby separates the supernatural from the criminal and reveals the ghost of Amberhurst Place.
Review – As usual, there is much to recommend in this Richard Hull mystery. The Ghost It Was features some wonderfully comic characterization, an intriguing premise, and a plot that moves smoothly from one complication to the next. It delivers the satisfaction of the best Golden Age Detection prose: the writing is cosy and entertaining while the mystery puzzle is agreeably contrived to match the tone of the tale. In other words, while this M.R. James-by-way-of-Wodehouse approach has been replaced over the decades with a sober true-crime verité tone, it remains a great pleasure to escape to this lively corner of mystery fiction.
Hull provides some of his characters with highly entertaining description and personality. Gregory Spring-Benson, who begins the tale, is an engaging mix of well-bred underachiever and schemer. (More on him in a minute.) And James Warrenton, the dyspeptic uncle plagued with too many nephews, is a marvel of gullibility, acidity, and stubborn unsentimentality. Regarding the death of one of his relations, Hull captures Uncle James’s perspective with this colorfully blunt rationale:
Hull provides some of his characters with highly entertaining description and personality. Gregory Spring-Benson, who begins the tale, is an engaging mix of well-bred underachiever and schemer. (More on him in a minute.) And James Warrenton, the dyspeptic uncle plagued with too many nephews, is a marvel of gullibility, acidity, and stubborn unsentimentality. Regarding the death of one of his relations, Hull captures Uncle James’s perspective with this colorfully blunt rationale:
He objected to there being an inquest held on the death of Arthur Vaughan ostensibly because (a) there was no such thing as death – his nephew had merely passed over to a slightly different form of existence; (b) it was quite obvious what happened; (c) Inspector Perceval of Periton was an ass who did not even know it until he had been told so – by James, needless to say; and (d) that it was his own nephew and his own house and his own ghost, and he ought to be able to do what he liked. It was, of course, all of no avail, and he had to content himself with being as obstructive as possible.
The introduction of “Mr. Fenby,” first appearing incognito as a member of the ghost-friendly Departed Spirits Association, is described as a memorably forgettable soul:
[He] was so small and insignificant, and so very anxious not to put any one to the smallest particle of trouble, that it was impossible to do anything else than just accept the fact that he was there and, if possible, avoid tripping over him. Indeed, he really did rather resemble a footstool.
As mentioned, the plot moves along agreeably, although the first murder – and therefore the first opportunity to start investigating a crime – does not occur until 100 pages in. Hull gives the opening chapters to the story’s outsider, the estranged Gregory, and this (and Gregory's goal of sniffing out a story and/or an inheritance) proves a wonderful way to engage the reader and introduce the strained and strident lives residing at Amberhurst Place. Perhaps it works too well; when Gregory and his objectives slip largely into the background as other arguments and events take over, I registered the drop of a lost narrative thread. And while he does play a role by mystery’s end, Hull continues to keep Gregory largely offstage. Fenby and Inspector Perceval deliver the denouement in an after-the-facts dialogue. Were this presented as a family ensemble piece from the start, with Gregory and the household introduced equally, the structural switch might not have been as disorienting.
All elements considered, The Ghost It Was remains an enjoyable read. Richard Hull is clearly drawn to unlikable, comically confident characters, and watching these figures scheme and argue with everyone in their orbits is a great pleasure. Inspector Fenby returns (and creates an equally unremarkable impression on the reader) in the following year’s The Murderers of Monty.
All elements considered, The Ghost It Was remains an enjoyable read. Richard Hull is clearly drawn to unlikable, comically confident characters, and watching these figures scheme and argue with everyone in their orbits is a great pleasure. Inspector Fenby returns (and creates an equally unremarkable impression on the reader) in the following year’s The Murderers of Monty.
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