The Fashion in Shrouds

By: Margery Allingham

Narrated by: Francis Matthews

Both the skeleton and the corpse have died with suspicious convenience for Georgia Wells, a monstrous but charming actress with a raffish entourage. Georgia's best friend just happens to be Valentine, a top couturière and Campion's sister. In order to protect Valentine, Campion must unravel a story of blackmail and ruthless murder....

©1938 Margery Allingham (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Great!

I’m generally partial to the David Thorpe-narrated narrated Campion novels, but this one is excellent.

The Fashion in Shrouds

Narration was spot on! Excellent. Francis Matthews is subtle, humorous and expertly expressive. So happy to have discovered him and look forward to listening to his other narrations.

Intriguing Mystery

A few years ago the fiancé of Georgia Wells, a famous actress and femme fatale, disappeared. She married another and continued with her career. Now, however, the missing man's body has turned up, bringing with it just a hint of sordid shadow. When another man in Georgia's life dies somewhat mysteriously, Georgia sees it as fate's helping hand, while others aren't so sure. Campion's sister Val, a brilliant and successful clothing designer, has her named linked to that death through an amusing anecdote shared by Georgia, making him decide that he must unearth the truth of Georgia's men to save Val's reputation.

The story is clever and interesting, with nicely fleshed characters and an intriguing mystery. Amanda Fitton, from Sweet Danger, makes a reappearance, and adds greatly to the charm of the novel. Campion's underemphasized courage and audacity feature nicely, and his success as a detective and adventurer are plain.

I need to note that modern readers will have to ignore the horrible outlook on rape, and some quite dated attitudes toward women. While not typical of all Golden Age mystery authors, these views do crop up in all artforms of that time occasionally, and have to be overlooked. The rest of the book is quite nearly a five-star read, and I certainly recommend it.

The narrator is excellent and perfectly voices Campion.

Hard to like

The plot wanders about going nowhere in particular. The central female characters are mostly so self involved and/or preoccupied with each other’s relationships that none are likable in the least. Albert doesn’t really shine at all. Amanda is in there for no good reason that I could see. Not much left to enjoy.

Entrance to a world.

A fashion house in mid century England. Entwined romances. Beautifully drawn characters. Don't expect narration as it is now usually done in fiction, with "voices" for different characters. It's more like having your Form IV English teacher read to you.