An interesting collection of short stories for the Allingham fan. Despite the title, only about half the stories include Mr. Campion, however these are my favourite and I particularly enjoyed the first person description of how the author met Mr. Campion. Definitely a worthy addition to the collection of any Allingham or short story fan.

I was disappointed that not all the stories involved Mr. Campion. However, all the stories were very well done and I totally enjoyed them. I received a copy through netgalley. Opinions are my own.

Another wonderful book by Margery Allingham! This is a collection of stories, some of which feature Albert Campion, that shows the virtuoso talents of one of my favorite writers. Fun to dip into and read one or two stories, then return later to savor another!

I am a fan of Mr. Campion. Although he is found in a few of these stories, he is more absent than present. However, the collection of stories and essays does give an insight into Marjory Allingham's development as a writer and some enjoyable background. I would shelve it with my English Lit books rather than classic mysteries.

This is the second Margery Allingham Inspector Campion book I have read; the other being a very small collection of Christmas stories. At least this one is considerably longer and gave me something to get my teeth into. Having said that, this book is again a collection of short stories, the majority of which are very short and not necessarily about the eponymous Mr Campion! Also, I always feel that short stories are best read by readers already fans of a particular character. It is in these shorter stories that a little more detail can be developed and a greater understanding of what makes the character tick. But it is rare that short stories will provide enough of the character that a new reader will feel fulfilled. The Return of Mr Campion is unfortunately not an exception to this rule.

The stories are fine and indeed many are clever in their construction and execution and one or two are really quite touching but as in introduction to the author or the protagonist this is not great (and in this case the clue may be in the title). So dip in every now and then, when you have a few minutes to enjoy a quick and very well written story but maybe don’t start your Allingham collection with this one.

My copy provided by Crime Classics Advance Readers and NetGalley.

Thanks to Agora Books for a review copy.

The Return of Mr Campion is a short story anthology by Margery Allingham originally published 23 years after the author's death. This new edition begins with an essay describing how she came to be a writer and why she turned to the mystery stories for which she is best remembered. This is a fascinating read and reveals a good deal about the author's life and her approach to her work.

The stories themselves are a mixed bag not all of which feature Mr Campion. I enjoyed those stories in which he did appear much more than those in which he was not present and often found myself wishing that he would return a bit more often.

The Campion stories are entertaining and we see our hero solving cases of espionage and blackmail alongside a slightly more whimsical encounter with his creator. The character of Campion seems to suit longer novels better than short stories but these tales are enjoyable and the affable intelligence and humanity of the hero shine through.

The other stories are much more varied and seemed, to me anyway, to be much less comprehensible and more suited to an anthology dedicated to the writer's non Campion work rather than one which could reasonably be expected to be of interest to aficionados of crime fiction. We have the story of one man's quest to develop a hair tonic which could make any woman beautiful and another where a girl who has turned down a proposal of marriage finds herself and her family haunted by a cursed wind chime. These stories were interesting but not really to my taste and not what I was expecting from the book. That said they were interesting and would, I am sure, be enjoyed by dedicated Allingham completists.

Overall the book was enjoyable and provided a very varied set of stories but the selection seemed to me to be unsure of its target audience. Campion lovers could always skip the other tales but that would make the book very short. That being said, the introductory essay is excellent and well worth reading and that, coupled with a few outings for Mr Campion and some assorted other tales make an interesting and memorable, if not perhaps stunning, read.

This is an enjoyable collection of Margery Allingham short stories; displaying the range of her skills as a writer. Several of the stories feature Albert Campion, her most famous detective creation. As a long time fan of Allingham, and Albert Campiion, it is great to see these stories back in print after many years of them only being available on the 2nd hand market. Some of the stories have appeared in other anthologies over the years - so anyone who has bought other short story editions might wish to check the contents before purchase.

The stories feature a range of scenarios but all display the undoubted talent that Margery Allingham had for characterisation, humour and the building of dramatic tension. She was a skilled short story author as well as a novelist and this collection is the perfect introduction to her work for anyone new to her writing.

The short stories are nice. They do not all feature Mr. Campion but even the ones that do not are very enjoyable. The stories also have humor (some more than others). There are a few that will appear to those who like romance but none are sappy (I dislike sappy stories). I have never read anything by Margery Allingham before and I truly enjoyed reading this book.

This is a collection of short stories, first published together in 1989 and now reissued by Agora Books, thanks to whom I read it. The title is strange, since Mr Campion appears only briefly; most of the book consists of standalone short stories, one of which I’d read previously in Campion at Christmas. There’s an essay by Allingham about the way critics treat detective fiction differently from other novels; she defends her craft vigorously. There are two whimsical pieces in which she writes as herself. In one, My Friend Mr Campion, she explains how Campion began as a minor character but insinuated himself into the books until he was the hero. In the other, she has a fantasy meeting with Lugg in which she asks how he can possibly still be alive? It’s nice to meet Luke again in a couple of stories but the lack of Campion is disappointing, as is the repetition of a story already in another collection.

This book is a collection of Margery Allingham's stories which had previously been uncollected, now reprinted by Agora. A few of these, like "The Case is Altered," have been seen fairly often in Christmas collections, but most are fairly miscellaneous and only a few involve Albert Campion. One, "The Black Tent" is the original version of a story that previously appeared in "Mr. Campion and Others". The only really essential story is "The Case Is Altered," but the only one I'd really describe as a clunker is "The Wind Glass," in which Allingham dips into period racism. (Her story "The Same To Us," from another collection, featured a Chinese character who was much less offensive and was also quite funny.)

Overall this is a solid collection, although more than a little miscellaneous. There are more non-mystery stories than mysteries, so it's primarily a book for those who enjoy Allingham's writing for its own sake. Since I'm one of those, I'm happy to own it.

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The Return of Mr. Campion is a fascinating anthology of fourteen short stories by Margery Allingham that should resonate with most mystery enthusiasts. The very first “story” is actually a treatise on the art of writing in Allingham’s own words and images. It’s rare to see such a direct address to the reader on how the author both feels about her writing and how she approaches it. Next come the tales. Pay close attention to the second one - “My Friend Mr. Campion” - as Allingham relates how she met Mr. Campion and how little she actually knows about him. The other stories are clever (“The Kernel of Truth”), romantic (“The Beauty King” and “Sweet and Low”), supernatural (“The Wind Glass”) and seasonal (“Happy Christmas”). I especially enjoyed “What To Do With an Ageing Detective” for its frankness about characters who are beloved to many but need a proper ending. All fourteen stories were ones I could read many times over.

Any opportunity to read more stories of Albert Campion is a welcome one. The stories of him contained in “The Return of Mr Campion” are good, but all too brief. The subtlety with which he goes about unraveling mysteries requires more space, I believe, than a short story allows. However, my adoration of the character makes me grateful for even that little bit.

Unfortunately, not all of the stories feature Campion. I do appreciate that Allingham was gifted writer and I enjoyed most of the other stories, with the notable exception of The Beauty King. My reaction as it came to a close was, “Hunh, well...okay.” But I especially enjoyed Allingham’s reflection upon her creations. She shares her frustration that she limited herself by setting such a specific date of birth for our dear Albert and includes a wonderful conversation with another creation. It was a delight to get that special glimpse.

I would highly recommend this to Allingham fans especially, but also to anyone who has never read her before. I believe it will give them a desire to seek out more stories of Campion.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to read and review this most enjoyable book.

This collection of thirteen short stories by Margery Allingham was originally published in 1989 and has been reissued by Agora Books this month. The title is maybe slightly misleading as Allingham’s famous detective Albert Campion only appears in half of the stories, but I actually found that some of the non-Campion stories were amongst my favourites from the collection.

Of the stories featuring Campion, I thought the best were The Black Tent, in which Albert catches a girl stealing a package from a desk during a party and The Case is Altered, where he stumbles upon a case of espionage while spending Christmas with friends. I was less impressed with the other Campion stories in the book, but I thought these two were just the right length, were well plotted and had satisfying conclusions. There’s also an essay, My Friend Mr Campion, where Allingham describes how she created the character of Albert Campion (or rather, how he created himself) and later in the book, in What to Do with an Ageing Detective, she imagines herself coming face to face with an elderly Campion and his servant Magersfontein Lugg. I found the first of these pieces interesting, but I think the second is really just for true Campion fans – which I can’t say that I am yet, having so far only read one full-length novel (Mystery Mile) and a few short stories.

The rest of the stories – the ones which don’t involve Campion and are not necessarily mysteries either – cover a mixture of subjects and genres. I loved Sweet and Low, in which two women who have nothing in common apart from a love of horse riding compete for the attentions of the same man. The horse called ‘Sweet and Low’ has a personality of his own and is the real star of the show in this one! The Wind Glass, about a young girl who rejects a marriage proposal from a Japanese man and receives a rather sinister gift in return, is another one that stood out due to the genuinely eerie atmosphere Allingham creates, although it was difficult to ignore the overt racism which did unfortunately spoil that particular story for me. On a more light-hearted note, I think The Kernel of Truth also deserves a mention. A man prepares a recipe for punch and adds one very special ingredient – but his wife won’t be very pleased if she finds out what it is. This is an entertaining little story that you won’t fully appreciate until you read the final paragraph!

Considering that I’m not usually a lover of the short story format, I enjoyed almost all of the tales in this collection, with only one or two exceptions. I’ll have to try more of the full-length Albert Campion mysteries soon!

This is a collection of short stories rather than a novel. The title is somewhat misleading, as only a few of them feature Albert Campion. The rest are a rather eclectic mix of stories, some touching a bit on the supernatural.

This collection also features an essay on Allingham’s view of the mystery format, which I found quite interesting, and I also enjoyed her piece about her relationship with her characters.

In general, these short stories were readable, but, apart from the Campion stories, they were not something I would re-read.

The Return of Mr Campion
This is a thoroughly enjoyable collection of short stories by Margery Allingham. To manage your expectations, though, I must tell you that several do not feature Campion at all. The book contains:
Four Campion stories, seven non-Campion stories and three other pieces:
Mystery Writer in the Box – Allingham writes about how she started writing and about Mystery stories.
My Friend Mr Campion – how Campion insinuated his way into her stories.
What to do with an Aging Detective - a little fantasy where Allingham talks to Campion and Lugg.

None of the stories is very long but they are all interesting. I didn’t want the book to end and I wholeheartedly recommend it..

#TheReturnOfMrCampion #NetGalley

As a frequent reader of Margery Allingham, I enjoy discovering uncollected short stories of Albert Campion. "The Return of Mr. Campion" is a mix bag of Campion short stories and other short stories, which Margery Allingham would write periodically write and submit to various magazines.

There are five Campion short stories, plus two short summations of Campion by Margery Allingham. The Campion stories range from good to great, with my favorites, being "The Black Tent" & "The Case is Altered". The book does include a Campion short story from "The Allingham Casebook" short story collection, "Tall Boy", which I find enjoyable, as well.

The seven short stories, which are not about and may not be appealing to Campion readers, I found them to be better than I anticipated. I think it show the creativity and versatility of writer, whom can transcend to different mediums of writing. The true essence of Allingham is apparent in these short stories and the dates range from as early as 1924 to the mid 60's.

The short stories offer a wide range of characters and plots, along with the Campion stories and Margery Allingham has added an essay at the beginning of the book, "Mystery Writer in the Box", which describes the elements of writing and constructing a mystery story. If you enjoy reading Margery Allingham short stories, even those not including Campion, I would highly recommend this book.

For me none of these short stories, and some were really short, stood out as a wonderful story. Considering the title of the book I did expect all the stories to be about Campion and his investigations but this was not the case. Two stars because I did read all the stories but I was left with the feeling of disappointment.

This book has 13 short stories (6 of which include Mr. Campion) preceded by an essay called "Mystery writer in the box", which is a description by Allingham about how Mr. Campion came into being.

The stories are very clever, and not quite as complicated as some of the longer books. They are quite varied in subject, and not all mysteries. There is one Christmas story, where a couple who like everything Victorian invite an elderly neighbor to share Christmas. Both the couple and the woman have a better Christmas. There is also a ghost story and a love story. Among my favorites are "The case is altered" and "The Black Tent", both of which are based on blackmail and include Mr. Campion.

I would rate this book 3.5 stars, partly because I am not as fond of short stories as book length mysteries.

I felt the old familiar tingle at the beginning of this book _ the characters are introduced to the reader as they travel to a country house party _ here we go I thought into what will obviously be a really good story. Ms. Allingham never disappoints; ingenious plots, wonderful characters and of course Mr. Champion quietly solving enigmatic puzzles _ what a treat. Some tales were too enigmatic as I couldn't understand them _ but a sharper mind than mine probably can. The title is misleading as they are not all Champion stories but the collection was a lively and eclectic mix.

The Return of Mr. Campion is a collection of short mystery stories starring gentleman detective Mr. Albert Campion through various adventures in mid-20th-century Britain. This edition, published by Agora Books and released on April 11, 2019, includes The Tall Man, which was not in the original Return of Mr. Campion, as well as an excellent forward by Margery Allingham titled Mystery Writer in the Box that I found extremely interesting about both her work and the genre of mystery fiction in general. Born in 1904, Ms. Allingham wrote British mystery stories, many of which included Mr. Campion, for many many years. And her mysteries are very involved and the solution well hidden.

I am pleased to see these novels being re-issued. They are timeless, and an excellent way to calm the world around you if only for a few hours. I look forward to many more, Agora. Thank you.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Margery Allingham, and Agora Books.
I have read and reviewed this book on my own volition. This is my honest opinion of this work.