‘The Crime of a Christmas Toy’ by Henry Herman

Published by Oreon,
The Oleander Press, 2022.
ISBN: 978-1-91547516-9 (PB)

The Crime of a Christmas Toy is a welcome oddity. Published originally in 1893, it is billed as ‘a Victorian Detective Story’. Henry Herman (1832-1894) led an apparently fascinating life. He was born Henry Heydrac D’Arco in Alsace; after military college he emigrated to America and fought in the Confederate Army in the American Civil War during which he lost an eye. After that he settled in London where he wrote a number of successful plays co-wrote novels with David Christie Murray and produced the libretto of an opera as well as novels under his own name.

The Crime of a Christmas Toy begins with the death of Lord Senfrey on the eve of his wedding to a much younger woman. He is killed by a booby-trapped present. The wealthy Lord Senfrey had been accused, with little or no evidence, of carrying on with a young Italian actress, and some think his murder was revenge for her recent death by poisoning. But there are other possibilities. The new Lord Senfrey has severe financial problems caused mostly by his wife, the profligate and unappealing new Lady Senfrey. There is also the mysterious Count Gyffra Brodie who keeps turning up everywhere.

Although the police are involved, the novel mainly follows a private investigator, the impressively named George Patrick Edward Victor Sandon Molyneux Grey, known to his friends as G. G., ‘because, they say, I am as strong as a horse, and can go as fast.’ Grey’s strength is certainly vital at one point in the action. Even before Lord Senfrey is murdered, Grey has been asked to investigate Count Brodie by General Massinger, a member of a club at which Brodie has made himself unpopular.

For much of the novel, it seems, it is apparent who the villain is, so as far as we are concerned the investigation deals more with how the murder was committed. Revelations about the history of the relationships between some of the characters keep us interested. But the twist comes right at the end, a hint of which had been given early in the tale.

As I suppose one might expect from 1893, the tone of the novel is essentially sober, but there are characters such as Mrs Rooney, the proprietor of a boarding house, who keep us amused. At 150 pages it is not a long novel, but it is a very enjoyable period piece. A word of warning, though: if you’re thinking well ahead, you may be forgiven for assuming – given its title - that this would make a good Christmas present. I have to tell you that it really has nothing to do with that time of year in any meaningful sense. But it would still make a good stocking-filler!
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Reviewer: David Whittle

Henry Herman was an English dramatist and novelist. He was born in Alsace and educated at a military college. He emigrated to the United States and served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, losing an eye as a result of a wound received in action. Afterwards, he moved to London, and began to write for the stage.

David Whittle is firstly a musician (he is an organist and was Director of Music at Leicester Grammar School for over 30 years) but has always enjoyed crime fiction. This led him to write a biography of the composer Bruce Montgomery who is better known to lovers of crime fiction as Edmund Crispin, about whom he gives talks now and then. He is currently convenor of the Midlands Chapter of the Crime Writers’ Association.