TV News - Trailer for Death Comes to Pemberley

P D James's Death Comes to Pemberley, set six years after Pride and Prejudice begins on BBC One on 26 December at 8:15pm.

From the Radio Times:

PD James's story picks up six years after Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice concluded, at the scene of a Pemberley ball which is dramatically interrupted by a murder, with Wickham (Matthew Goode) identified as the main suspect. If he's found guilty, he'll hang - much to the evident distress of his outspoken wife, Lydia, played by Jenna Coleman. Meanwhile, the Darcy household are embroiled in the scandalous murder investigation which threatens to shatter everything they hold dear.

Here's the trailer, released today:

Whitechapel III - Start Date

The third series of ITV's excellent Whitechapel begins next Monday at 9pm. There are six episodes comprising three two-part investigations which are inspired by three real-life crimes/criminals: The Ratcliffe Highway Murders, The Whitehall Mystery and The Zodiac Killer.

As far as I know, the Ratcliffe Highway Murders, unlike Jack the Ripper, haven't featured in much crime fiction. There is of course the non-fiction account, The Maul and The Pear Tree by P D James and T A Critchley which was reissued in 2010 and there will be Lloyd Shepherd's debut novel, The English Murder which is to be published 1 March.

Blurb: London, 1811. The twisting streets of riverside Wapping hold many an untold sin. Bounded by the Ratcliffe Highway to the north and the modern wonders of the Dock to the south, shameful secrets are largely hidden by the noise and glory of Trade. But two families have fallen victim to foul murder, and a terrified populace calls for justice. John Harriott, magistrate of the new Thames River Police Office, must deliver revenge up to them and his only hope of doing so is Charles Horton, Harriot's senior officer. Harriott only recently came up with a word to describe what it is that Horton does. It is detection.

Plymouth, 1564. Young Billy Ablass arrives from Oxford armed only with a Letter of Introduction to Captain John Hawkyns, and the burning desire of all young men; the getting and keeping of money. For Hawkyns is about to set sail in a ship owned by Queen Elizabeth herself, and Billy sees the promise of a better life with a crew intent on gain and glory. The kidnap and sale of hundreds of human beings is not the only cursed event to occur on England's first officially-sanctioned slaving voyage. On a sun-blasted islet in the Florida Cays, Billy too is to be enslaved for the rest of his accursed days.

Based on the real-life story of the gruesome Ratcliffe Highway murders, The English Monster takes us on a voyage across centuries, through the Age of Discovery, and throws us up, part of the human jetsam, onto the streets of Regency Wapping, policed only by Officer Horton.

PD James follows on from Pride & Prejudice (with a murder)

I've written about Jane Austen related/inspired crime fiction before but this one comes as a surprise! A press release from Faber:

Faber is delighted to announce the publication of a new P. D. James novel. Death Comes to Pemberley masterfully recreates the world of Pride and Prejudice, and sets a murder at its heart. It will be published on 3 November.

The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the Pemberley nursery, Elizabeth’s beloved sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live within seventeen miles, the ordered and secure life of Pemberley seems unassailable, and Elizabeth’s happiness in her marriage is complete. But their peace is threatened and old sins and misunderstandings are rekindled on the eve of the annual autumn ball. The Darcys and their guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley’s wild woodland, and as it pulls up, Lydia Wickham, an uninvited guest, tumbles out, screaming that her husband has been murdered.

In a pitch-perfect recreation of the world of Pride and Prejudice, P. D. James elegantly fuses her lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen with her talent for writing detective fiction. She weaves a compelling story, combining a sensitive insight into the happy but threatened marriage of the Darcys and the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted detective story. Death Comes to Pemberley enshrines the qualities her readers have come to expect: psychological and emotional richness of characterisation, vivid evocation of place, and a credible and superbly structured plot, in a powerful and distinguished work of fiction.

Stephen Page, CEO and Publisher at Faber said:

‘It is always a moment of great excitement when P. D. James delivers a new novel but the brilliance of both the idea and the execution on this occasion is simply breathtaking. It’s such an elegant, intelligent and moving book that is certain to delight an enormous readership.’

P. D. James said:

‘It has been a joy to revisit Pride and Prejudice and to discover, as one always does, new delights and fresh insights. I have to apologise to Jane Austen for involving her beloved Elizabeth in a murder investigation but this fusion of my two enthusiasms – for the novels of Jane Austen and for writing detective stories – has given me great pleasure which I hope will be shared by my readers.’

Well! Will you be reading it because a) you like P D James, b) you like Jane Austen c) both or d) I won't be reading it at all?

P D James - The Private Patient - on audio

I had to remark on this. This is an unabridged recording of P D James's The Private Patient - 12 CDs - and is only £7.49 at play.com. With The Preacher by Camilla Lackberg recently being released on audio at the same time as the print version, and at an affordable price, it seems that audio versions are being taken more seriously by publishers.

Synopsis: When notorious investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn booked into an exclusive clinic in Dorset for the removal of a disfiguring facial scar, she had every prospect of a successful operation by a distinguished surgeon, followed by a week's peaceful convalescence in one of Dorset's most beautiful manor houses and the beginning of a new life. She was never to leave Cheverell Manor alive.
Dalgliesh and his team are swiftly called in to investigate, but when a second death occurs, the situation raises an even more complicated problem than the question of innocence or guilt...

Read the Euro Crime review of The Private Patient, here.

New Reviews: Becker, Chattam, Hudson, James, Montalban, Wilson

This is my 1000th post on the blog, hard to believe!

Here are this week's new reviews and details of the current competition:

Latest Reviews:

Amanda Gillies is very taken with James Becker's The First Apostle calling it an "utterly spellbinding book" and one you should seek out;

I was very disappointed with The Cairo Diary by Maxim Chattam which has both logistical and linguistical faults;

Guest reviewer Rik Shepherd takes a look at Death Comes by Amphora by Roger Hudson which is set in Ancient Athens; he finds the background information can swamp the plot at times;

In the first of a two part look at the latest from Baronesses James and Rendell, Fiona Walker reviews The Private Patient by P D James; check back next week for her review of The Birthday Present by Barbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell);

Mike Ripley reviews Tattoo by Manuel Vazquez Montalban the second in the Pepe Carvalho series which has just been published in English for the first time

and Maxine Clarke reviews Laura Wilson's Stratton's War which she calls "an excellent book: a fully rounded novel of London in the Blitz in the summer of 1940".

Current Competition:

Win a copy of Our Lady of Pain by Elena Forbes*

* restrictions apply (ends 31 August)

New offering from P D James

Hat tip to Philip on the yahoo group, British Mysteries, as he's just posted that P D James will have a new Dalgleish book out in September, called The Private Patient.

Update

Draft blurb:
"When the notorious investigative journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, booked into Mr Chandler-Powell's private clinic in Dorset for the removal of a disfiguring and long-standing facial scar, she had every prospect of a successful operation by a distinguished surgeon, a week's peaceful convalescence in one of Dorset's most beautiful manor houses and the beginning of a new life. She was never to leave Cheverell Manor alive. Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate the murder, and later a second death, which are to raise even more complicated problems than the question of innocence or guilt.

A new detective novel by P D James is always keenly awaited and The Private Patient will undoubtedly equal the success of her world-wide best-seller, The Lighthouse. It displays the qualities which P D James's readers have come to expect: a masterly psychological and emotional richness of characterisation, a vivid evocation of place and a credible and exciting mystery. The Private Patient is a powerful work of contemporary fiction."

Update 2: The Private Patient will be out in the US in November.

Update 3: Read the Euro Crime review of The Private Patient.