<< Previous bookNext book >>
book cover of 

Murder At School 

Murder At School (1931)
(Was It Murder?)
A novel by Glen Trevor (James Hilton)

 
Was-It Murder?-deals with the phenomenon of coincidence by posing the question of how likely it is that two brothers attending the same boarding school meet with two separate accidental deaths-and curious ones at that-within the same schoolyear. In the manner typical of the Golden Age whodunnit, the solution is only presented in the final pages of the novel. Throughout the book, an amateur sleuth and a Scotland Yard detective vie with each other to solve the riddle, with only one of them successful in the end.

It should be noted that Was It Murder? remained Hilton's only detective novel-a brief youthful foray into crime fiction he shares with writers such as C S Forester (Payment Deferred, 1926; Plain Murder, 1930) and C P Snow (Death Under Sail, 1932).

Plot summary:
Oakington is one of the lesser-known public schools in England, and Dr Roseveare, its headmaster, has been trying hard for seven years to improve its reputation. When, in the winter term of 1927-28, one of the pupils is killed in his sleep by an old gas fitting falling down from the ceiling he contacts Colin Revell, an Old Boy, to discreetly investigate the matter. Not entirely convinced that there was no foul play involved but unable to pin down a motive on anyone, Revell leaves again after a few weeks, and most of the evidence is destroyed by the installation of electricity in the whole building.

A few months later Revell is shocked to learn that the deceased boy's brother has also died under mysterious circumstances-he seems to have jumped into the school's indoor swimming pool late at night after the water had been drained-and travels to Oakington of his own accord. Now it turns out that the closest relative of the two brothers, who have been orphans for years, is actually a teacher at Oakington, and that he stands to inherit a small fortune. At the same time Revell falls in love with that teacher's beautiful young wife.

Genre: Mystery
 
Used availability for James Hilton's Murder At School


See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
 

 

Hardback Editions

May 1976 : Hardback
Title: Was it Murder? (Fifty classics of crime fiction, 1900-1950)
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: 0824023765 / 9780824023768 (USA edition)
Publisher: Dissertations-G
Availability: Amazon CA   Amazon UK   Amazon   

September 1972 : Hardback
Title: Murder at School (Fingerprint Books)
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: 0241022045 / 9780241022047 (UK edition)
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd
Availability: Amazon   Amazon CA   Amazon UK   

November 1911 : Hardback
Title: Murder at School
Author(s):: Glen Trevor
ISBN: 0884118290 / 9780884118299 (USA edition)
Publisher: Amereon Ltd
Availability: Amazon   Amazon CA   Amazon UK   

Paperback Editions

September 2009 : Paperback
Title: Was It Murder? (World Cultural Heritage Library)
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: 1438799667 / 9781438799667
Publisher: Intl Business Pubns USA
Availability: Amazon   Amazon UK   

December 2002 : Paperback
Title: Murder at School (Dales Mystery)
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: 1842622005 / 9781842622001 (UK edition)
Publisher: Dales Large Print
Availability: Amazon UK   Amazon   Amazon CA   

May 2000 : Paperback
Title: Murder at School
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: 1903400023 / 9781903400029 (UK edition)
Publisher: Swallowtail Books
Availability: Amazon   Amazon CA   Amazon UK   

December 1989 : Paperback
Title: Was it Murder? (Oxford paperbacks)
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: 0192826719 / 9780192826718 (UK edition)
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
Availability: Amazon   Amazon CA   Amazon UK   

June 1979 : Paperback
Title: Was It Murder?
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: 0486237745 / 9780486237749 (USA edition)
Publisher: Dover Pubns
Availability: Amazon UK   Amazon   Amazon CA   

January 1980 : Paperback
Title: Was it Murder?
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: 0060805013 / 9780060805012 (USA edition)
Publisher: Perennial Library
Availability: Amazon   Amazon UK   

Kindle Editions

April 2013 : Kindle edition
Title: Murder at School
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: B00CK5MPQ0
Publisher:
Availability: Amazon   

January 2013 : Kindle edition
Title: Murder at School
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: B00AW0V070
Publisher:
Availability: Amazon   

October 2012 : Kindle edition
Title: Murder at School
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: B009KV2GOI
Publisher:
Availability: Amazon   

September 2012 : Kindle edition
Title: Was It Murder?
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: B00985QH3W
Publisher:
Availability: Amazon   

February 2012 : Kindle edition
Title: Was It Murder?
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: B007EVYDC4
Publisher:
Availability: Amazon   

February 2012 : Kindle edition
Title: Was it Murder?
Author(s):: James Hilton
ISBN: B0078GSZAG
Publisher:
Availability: Amazon   

 


Search for    

© 2013 Fantastic Fiction
Questions? Comments? Corrections? Please email webmaster@fantasticfiction.co.uk