The Dorrington Deed-Box

Rating:
Summary: Quick, Get This Book Before It Disappears Forever!
Review: Arthur Morrison's THE DORRINGTON DEED-BOX has been near the top of my want list for over twenty years -- ever since Hugh Greene selected two of the six stories in it for his RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES series. When a highly random check revealed that the book was in print and available for well under the four digits used booksellers were charging, I pounced immediately.

One of the most underrated British novelists of the last 150 years, Morrison has given us such literary classics as HOLE IN THE WALL, TALES OF MEAN STREETS (well before Raymond Chandler popularized the phrase), and CHILD OF THE JAGO. In addition, his several volumes of Martin Hewitt detective stories are almost on a par with Conan Doyle's.

What sets this volume apart is that its protagonist, Horace Dorrington, is a far bigger scoundrel than Frazier's Flashman. He attempts to have one client drowned in a tank and scruples not to commit extortion and highway robbery at the slightest opportunity. At one or two points, he is almost on the side of good, but vitiates his status by cutting side-deals with the villains. Why Morrison never published any more collections in this series is beyond me.

At a time when anti-heroes are more generally accepted, the DEED-BOX furnishes a pleasant combination of rampant immorality and genteel Victorian language.

Indeed, it is well worth scouring used bookshelves for the "other" detectives, such as Ernest Bramah's blind detective, Max Carrados; R. Austin Freeman's Dr. Thorndyke; and Baroness Orczy's delicious and never named Old Man in the Corner. Happy hunting!