''Holy Disorders'' is a 1945

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a re ...

by the English writer

Edmund Crispin Edmund Crispin was the pseudonym of Robert Bruce Montgomery (usually credited as Bruce Montgomery) (2 October 1921 – 15 September 1978), an English crime writer and composer known for his Gervase Fen novels and for his musical scores for ...

, the second in his series featuring the

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

and

amateur detective Fictional detectives are characters in detective fiction. These individuals have long been a staple of detective mystery crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories. Much of early detective fiction was written during the "G ...

Gervase Fen Gervase Fen is a fictional amateur detective and Oxford Professor of English Language and Literature created by Edmund Crispin. Fen appears in nine novels and two books of short stories published between 1944 and 1979. Fen is an unconventional de ...

. The novel is set during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The title is a reference to

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He ...

.Ellis p.194

Plot

After a violent attack on Denis Brooks,

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

in the small

cathedral city City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the the Crown, monarch of the United Kingdom to specific centres of population, which might or might not meet the generally accepted definition of city, cities. , there are List of cities in the Un ...

of Tolnbridge in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

sends a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

to his composer acquaintance, Geoffrey Vintner, urging him to hurry down to take over his duties. Before he has even left London, Vintner is attacked by an unknown assailant in a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

and has another narrow escape while travelling down on the train from

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

. In Tolnbridge, Vintner is put up in the cathedral’s clergy-house, and is introduced to a large group of variously eccentric ‘cathedral people’. Brooks has been in hospital ever since the attack, and that evening his medication is tampered with and he dies from

atropine Atropine is a tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic medication used to treat certain types of nerve agent and pesticide poisonings as well as some types of slow heart rate, and to decrease saliva production during surgery. It is typically give ...

poisoning. It seems that he may have been silenced after seeing something in the cathedral. The police suspect that an enemy

spy ring Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or Confidentiality, confidential information (Intelligence (information), intelligence). A person who commits espionage on ...

has been transmitting from the cathedral at night, using a portable wireless transmitter. Later that night, while Fen and Vintner are outside the cathedral, they hear a mighty crash. Dr Butler, inside, has been killed by a falling stone slab that marks the entrance to an ancient tomb. Sir John Dallow, the cathedral’s

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

, tells Fen and Vintner of 17th century local

witch trials A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the Middle East. ...

. Vintner has fallen in love with Dr Butler’s daughter, Frances, and impetuously asks her to marry him. Few of the potential suspects have alibis for the murders, and Fen eventually closes in on the culprits by a close consideration of the group’s movements and timings. Fen and Vintner attend a

black mass A Black Mass is a ceremony celebrated by various Satanic groups. It has allegedly existed for centuries in different forms, and the modern form is intentionally a sacrilegious and blasphemous parody of a Catholic Mass. In the 19th century the ...

, and are attacked by the masked celebrant. The gang is eventually revealed to include the young curate July Savernake and the landlord of the local pub, Harry James. Their ringleader is Frances Butler, unexpectedly revealed as a

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

sympathiser and Devil-worshipper. Her motives are not easy to understand, and Sir John Dallow speculates that it may have been in her blood: as a member of a very old local family, the evil of witchcraft may have been passed down to her through the centuries.

Principal characters

, amateur investigator * Geoffrey Vintner, composer and organist * Henry Fielding, former shop assistant and aspiring investigator * Denis Brooks, cathedral organist * Dr Butler,

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

* Frances Butler, elder daughter of Dr Butler * Josephine Butler, younger daughter of Dr Butler * Dr Garbin, cathedral

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

* Dr Spitshuker, cathedral Canon * Dutton, deputy organist * Sir John Dallow,

and expert in witchcraft * July Savernake, young curate * Justinian Peace, psycho-analyst, Dr Butler’s brother in law * Harry James, landlord of local pub * Police Inspector Garratt

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

* Ellis, Steve. ''Chaucer at Large: The Poet in the Modern Imagination''. University of Minnesota Press, 2000. * Hubin, Allen J. ''Crime Fiction, 1749-1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography''. Garland Publishing, 1984. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. 1945 British novels British mystery novels British crime novels Novels by Edmund Crispin Novels set in Devon Novels set in London British detective novels Victor Gollancz Ltd books

Plot

Principal characters

See also

References

Bibliography