(first published 1934)
Christopher St John Sprigg (1907 – 1937)
Language: English
The scene of this classic ‘whodunit’ story from the ‘Golden Age of detective fiction’ is a 1930’s Aero Club, filled with small open-cockpit aircraft and a host of eccentric characters. Experienced flight instructor George Furnace dies in a plane crash near the airfield, in full view of witnesses. The verdict at the inquest is ‘death by misadventure’. But an Australian bishop, who had signed up for flying lessons just before the incident, starts to question this. Could it have been murder? Or suicide? It takes some persistent work by police detectives Creighton and Bray, that takes them all over the UK and to France, to unravel the whole story.
Author Christopher St John Sprigg, also known under his pseudonym Christopher Caudwell (1907-1937) had a passion for aviation; he had previously published two beginners textbooks on the art of flying, so presumably he got his details right. Famous crime fiction novelist Dorothy L. Sayers wrote a glowing review for this novel at the time. (Summary by Anna Simon)
The original text of this recording is in the Public Domain in countries where copyright expires 70 years or less after the author’s death, but is still protected by copyright in the USA and some other countries. Please check the copyright law of your country before downloading.
The recording is released under the Creative Commons license CC0.
Total running time: 7:47:21 – Read in English by Anna Simon
01 – Arrival of a Bishop – 23:54 min [download all sections]
02 – Creation of a Corpse – 11:03 min
03 – Inquest of an Airman – 12:50 min
04 – Perception of a Prelate – 23:57 min
05 – Discovery of a Doctor – 16:50 min
06 – Shortage of Suspects – 18:29 min
07 – Admission of an Analyst – 25:15 min
08 – Autorotation of an Ecclesiastic – 30:30 min
09 – Francophilia in Glasgow – 23:35 min
10 – Appointments of Royal Personages – 25:53 min
11 – Scotland Yard in Paris – 31:43 min
12 – Inevitability of Self-Murder – 07:21 min
13 – Interesting Contents of a Newspaper – 21:06 min
14 – End of an Engineer – 30:00 min
15 – Simulation of a Suicide – 13:45 min
16 – Troubles of a Transatlantic Flyer – 23:00 min
17 – Difficulties of Two Detectives – 22:09 min
18 – Awkwardness of an American – 29:14 min
19 – Method of a Murder – 53:17 min
20 – Kind Consideration of a Killer – 23:30 min
In addition to the reader, this audio book was produced by:
Dedicated Proof-Listener: Newgatenovelist, Meta-Coordinator/Cataloging: Hokuspokus
Catalogued 02. January 2017