The Return of Mr Campion

Whilst I enjoy all Margery Allingham books, I prefer to read the ones that feature Mr Campion, these short stories are a bit of a mixed bag. There are a few Campion ones, some classic Allingham stories, which I suspect she enjoyed writing the best. There are some self-speak conversation with the characters and insights into the process and difficulties of writing the Campion book.

I really enjoyed this book by Margery Allingham although I didn't realise it was short stories and not a novel and not all had Albert Campion in them. I also found that some of the stories I had previously read in other Margery Allingham books, not sure if this was a genuine error by the publishers or not. However I would still recommend this novel.

Wonderful escapism. A collection of stories from the Golden Age of detective fiction. Not all of these stories feature the enigmatic Mr Campion, but those that do are the best in the book. There is also a revealing essay from the author about the why and how she started writing crime fiction and how Campion started to intrude on her stories. Delightful.

This is a collection of stories, about half of which focus on Albert Campion, including a first-person account detailing Allingham's creation of his character. The stories are entertaining, but it would have been nice if more were about Campion given the book's title. Also, be aware that Allingham, writing many decades ago, sadly used racial epithets characteristic of her era. Fans of classic British mysteries and crime should enjoy this book.

Shorts stories from the golden age of mysteries.This was such an entertaining read for me each story kept me turning the pages.While Mr. Campion stories were my favorites each story in the collection is fun to read.
#netgalley # agorabooks.

I'm always somewhat dubious about collections of short stories. They're tricky to get right and novelists don't always pull it off. Having said that, this was a thoroughly enjoyable collection. I was interested to see that not all the stories are about Campion and in fact, the ones I enjoyed most did not feature him. There were no bad stories though, each was enjoyable in its own right. I particularly loved the ones with a more supernatural element to them.

A wonderful collection of short stories by Allingham. Although only a couple of stories feature Mr. Campion, I loved the stories. My favorites include The Black Tent, The Wind Glass, The Kernel of Truth, The Wisdom of Esdras and Once in a Lifetime.
If you are a Margery Allingham fan then do not miss to check out this book!

A delightful collection from Margery Allingham, first published some thirty years ago - short tales in mixed genres, some featuring the enigmatic Campion, some not but all well written and make good, entertaining and enjoyable reading.

Especially enjoyed the stories in which Campion participates, not so much the other stories. Particularly good were the points at which Allingham speaks directly to Campion.

I enjoyed this book that is engaging and entertaining.
I loved the Campion's stories and was happy to discover other side of Ms Allingham.
I also loved the part where she tells how Campion was born and the description of her work as a writer.
I look forward to reading other books by this writer.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Agora Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is a really interesting compilation which includes a biographical essay by Margery Allingham about her upbringing and reasons for writing crime fiction, which I found fascinating. There is also a story which is a dialogue between her and her detective Albert Campion, which was very interesting and shed new light on his character. I really liked the fact that supernatural and character stories were also included, showing Allingham's range outside the detective fiction genre. I received a review copy of this book.

“The Return of Mr. Campion” is a collection of essays and short stories. The best of the short stories involve Margery Allingham’s long-running character Albert Campion. There are a several non-Campion stories included in the collection as well.

Allingham’s opening essay tells the story of her writing career. I’m a long-time Allingham fan, and have read most of the full length Campion stories. Although I’m not always sure I want to see the puppet master behind the scenes, the essay fleshed out parts of Allingham’s history, and her philosophy of the mystery that I found interesting. Her opinions about the mystery genre are revealing about the golden age of crime novels in which she wrote. I wonder what she would make of the unreliable narrator mystery so popular these days.

My favorite piece is a short essay in which Allingham introduces her "friend Mr. Campion.” Her fondness for her character and his eccentricities is charming, and very like my own.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.