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Victor Lorenzo Whitechurch (12 March 1868 – 26 May 1933) was a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
and
author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
. He wrote many novels on different themes. He is probably best known for his
detective stories A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...
featuring
Thorpe Hazell Thorpe Hazell is a fictional detective created by the British author Victor Lorenzo Whitechurch. Hazell was a railway expert and a vegetarian, whom the author intended to be as far from Sherlock Holmes as possible. Short stories about Thorpe H ...
, which featured in the ''
Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...
'', ''Railway Magazine'', ''Pearson's'' and ''Harmsworth's'' Magazines. Hazell was a vegetarian railway detective, whom the author intended to be as far from
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
as possible. Another character was the spy Captain Ivan Koravitch. He also wrote religious books, novels set in the church and his autobiography – ''Concerning Himself, The story of an ordinary man'' (1909). Whitechurch's stories were admired by
Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1928 by the American detective fiction writers Frederic Dannay (1905–1982) and Manfred Bennington Lee (1905–1971). It is also the name of their main fictional detective, a mystery writer in New York City ...
and
Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( ; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic. Born in Oxford, Sayers was brought up in rural East Anglia and educated at Godolphin School in Salisbury and Somerv ...
for their "immaculate plotting and factual accuracy: he was one of the first writers to submit his manuscripts to Scotland Yard for vetting as to police procedure." The
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
produced a series of five adaptations of short stories from ''Thrilling Stories of the Railway'' which were read by
Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...
.


Career

Whitechurch was educated at Chichester Grammar School and
Chichester Theological College Chichester Theological College (1838–1994) was an Anglican theological college for the Diocese of Chichester in West Sussex, Sussex, England. Its churchmanship was high church and Anglo-Catholic. History Chichester Theological College was ...
. After various positions as curate he became vicar of St. Michael's,
Blewbury Blewbury is a village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs section of the North Wessex Downs about south of Didcot, south of Oxford and west of London. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it t ...
in 1904. In 1913 he became
Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
to the
Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...
, and an honorary
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 ...
of Christ Church. In 1918 he became
Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...
of
Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...
.


Works

* ''The Chronicle of St George'' (1891, editor) * ''The Course of Justice: A Novel'' (1903) * ''The Canon in Residence'' (1904) – see summary below * ''The Locum Tenens: A Novel'' (1906) * ''The Canon's Dilemma'' (1909) * ''Concerning Himself: The Story of an Ordinary Man'' (1909) * ''Off the Main Road: A Village Comedy'' (1911) * '' Thrilling Stories of the Railway'' (1912) * ''Left in Charge'' (1912) * ''A Downland Corner'' (1912) * ''Three Summers: A Romance'' (1915) * ''Parochial Processions: Their Value and Organisation'' (1917) * ''The Templeton Case'' (1924) * ''A Bishop Out of Residence'' (1924) * ''Downland Echoes'' (1924) * ''The Adventures of Captain Ivan Koravitch'' (1925) * ''Concerning Right and Wrong: A Plain Man's Creed'' (1925) * ''If Riches Increase'' (1923) * ''The Dean and Jecinora'' (1926) * ''The Truth in Christ Jesus'' (1927) * ''The Crime at Diana's Pool'' (1927) * ''Shot on the Downs'' (1927) * ''Mixed Relations'' (1928) * ''First and Last'' (1929) * ''Murder at the Pageant'' (1930) * ''Murder at the College'' (1932) * ''Mute Witnesses: Being Certain Annals of a Downland Village'' (1933)


Short stories

* "Peter Crane's Cigars" (Thorpe Hazell) * "The Tragedy on the London and Mid-Northern" (Thorpe Hazell) * "The Affair of the Corridor Express" (Thorpe Hazell) * "Sir Gilbert Murrell's Picture" (Thorpe Hazell) * "How the Bank Was Saved" (Thorpe Hazell) * "The Affair of the German Dispatch-Box" (Thorpe Hazell) * "How the Bishop Kept His Appointment" (Thorpe Hazell) * "The Adventure of the Pilot Engine'" (Thorpe Hazell) * "The Stolen Necklace" (Thorpe Hazell) * "The Mystery of the Boat Express" * "How the Express Was Saved" * "A Case of Signaling" * '"Winning the Race" * "The Strikers" * "The Ruse That Succeeded" * "A Perilous Ride" (Captain Ivan Koravitch) * "The Slip Coach Mystery" (Captain Ivan Koravitch) * "In the Rockhurst Tunnel" * "The Convict's Revenge" * "A Warning in Red" * "A Jump for Freedom" * "Special Working Instructions" * "Pierre Cournet's Last Run" * "Between Two Fires" * "The Triumph of Seth P. Tucker" * "A Policy of Silence" * "In a Tight Fix" * "The Romance of the 'Southern Queen"


''The Canon in Residence'' (1904)

The Reverend John Smith is a conventional cleric, who learns on holiday he has been promoted to be Canon in Residence of Frattenbury Cathedral. While staying at a hotel he meets a fellow Englishman, who tells him the clergy are too divorced from reality. This stranger drugs Mr Smith and takes his clerical clothing, leaving in return his garish clothing, which Mr Smith is forced to wear for the rest of his holiday in St Moritz. However, because of this, he learns a great deal that the dog collar would have prevented. Meanwhile, the stranger adopts Smith's name and goes off gambling and quaffing vast quantities of champagne in Monte Carlo, to the horror of an Englishwoman there who writes to her friends in Frattenbury about him. On returning to Frattenbury, Canon Smith champions the cause of reform, in particular improvements to slum housing to the anger of his church colleagues and the city magnates, who spread rumours of his supposed time in Monte Carlo. He sends a £20 note he found in the stranger's jacket to someone threatened with bankruptcy. Unfortunately this turned out to be stolen in a bank robbery, and Canon Smith is embarrassed by having to admit in court how he came by the note to clear the accused. All comes right when his friend Jane Rutland receives another letter about the "clergyman" and she is able to tip off the police to get him arrested. Canon Smith goes to the bank robber in the cells to thank him for opening his eyes to others' points of view, and shows his forgiveness. The novel ends with his engagement to Jane Rutland. The book has been adapted for both the stage and radio.Times: Radio 4 listings 10 March 1982, page 31


References

;Citations ;Bibliography *
Hugh Greene Sir Hugh Carleton Greene (15 November 1910 – 19 February 1987) was a British television executive and journalist. He was director-general of the BBC from 1960 to 1969. After working for newspapers in the 1930s, Greene spent most of his lat ...
, ed. ''Further Rivals of Sherlock Holmes'',
Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
, 1973, : Introduction. * ''Stories of the Railway'',
Routledge & Kegan Paul Routledge ( ) is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, a ...
, London, 1977, : Introduction by Bryan Morgan


External links

* * *
GA Detection Wiki page:Victor L Whitechurch

'Sir Gilbert Murrell's Picture' by Victor L. Whitechurch free audiobook 32 minutes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitechurch, Victor 1868 births 1933 deaths Alumni of Chichester Theological College 20th-century English Anglican priests English mystery writers Members of the Detection Club 19th-century English writers 20th-century English novelists English male novelists 19th-century English male writers 20th-century English male writers Writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction