Death of a Fool

By: Ngaio Marsh

Narrated by: Nadia May

At the winter solstice, South Mardian's swordsmen weave their blades in an ancient ritual dance. But for one of them, the excitement proves too heady, and his decapitation turns the fertility rite into a pageant of death. Now Inspector Roderick Alleyn must penetrate not only the mysteries of folklore but also the secrets and sins of an eccentric group, including a surly blacksmith, a domineering dowager, and a not-so-simple village idiot.

Ngaio Marsh is a master of the mystery story. She says of herself: "I just slid into detective writing....I had no notion I should be wedded to it for the rest of my life." Marsh slid to the very top of her profession, however, and now stands with Agatha Christie, who first inspired Miss Marsh to try her hand at detective novels.

©1956 Ngaio Marsh (P)2001 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"May's narration soars as the granddaughter of the deceased practices vocal exercises and further complicates matters with her romantic entanglement and family history." (AudioFile)

Editing issue

There is no pregnant pause between previous chapter and new chapter announcement. It ruins the drama of chapter's end. Easy fix, too.

Interest in The Mysteries of the Folk Dances

Nadia May had a good audio voice. She also read as Wanda McCaddon and Donada Peters. One of my favorite narrators in English fiction.

The mystery is written first of an annoyed 94 year old dame in a partial ruin. Other characters include five sons of a blacksmith who have different natures, a publication daughter, and Scoland Yard police. Then when a murder occurs on the folk dance, Roderick Alleyn starts to examine the facts.

A Classic Whodunnit. . .

A perfect "listen" for December. Interesting characters and an intriguing plot. Ngaio Marsh is great, and so is Nadia May. Highly recommended!

Good mystery, bad editing

The chapters end suddenly and then the next one starts up right away. It's annoying. It is also the weakest of the Nadia May narrations I've listened to so far.

An interesting Marsh book with folklore traditions

The winter solstice is nearing, and South Mardian is preparing for its local mummery play that the community has held on Sword Wednesday for centuries, passing along the music and dance orally for the Dance of the Five Sons in Death of a Fool by Ngaio Marsh. Dame Alice Mardian is greatly displeased by the presence of an outsider, Mrs. Bunz, a folklore specialist, because the people of South Mardian want to keep things local. As Dr. Otterly plays the fiddle for the dance, William Andersen, the local blacksmith known locally as "the Guiser," plays the Fool, while his five sons (Dan, Andy, Nat, Chris, and Ernie, whose initials together spell "dance") play the five sons of the dance. Ernie, who is "not quite right in the head," has long wanted to play the Fool, and it seems he will get his wish when he produces a note from the Geiser, who has been sick, saying that he can't go on. They all do the routine, which ends with a mock decapitation of the Fool by the swords of all five sons. When it comes time for the Fool to rise, Ernie laughs hysterically, "Blood for the stone!" They discover that not only is the Geiser dead, but he has been decapitated!

This horror causes the local police to call in Scotland Yard and thus Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn, with his team. The local people seem to be holding back details of the truth, especially in protection of Ernie, who looks like the most likely suspect. But is he truly capable of killing his own father and by such a horrific method? Alleyn uses the assistance of Dr. Otterly to solve the case in a most ingenious way.

Despite the gruesome method of death, Death of a Fool keeps the violence to a minimum, allowing anyone to be able to read this book, and it has a lot of fascinating details related to the morris dancing and mummery play. The German Mrs. Bunz adds flavor with her passion for learning anything she can about the dance, even going so far as to spy on the rehearsals that the group has taken great care to keep secret. We also learn some about the history of such plays, with the doctor's own theory that the plays serve as the ur-text (prototype manuscript) of King Lear, with the Fool's going mad, being killed, and being resurrected.

The characters in this book, just as is common with Marsh's books, are drawn vividly. Their personae become crucial to the ultimate solution of the puzzle. We don't see the four oldest brothers very much, but we do see Mrs. Bunz, Ernie, Dr. Otterly, and the other villagers, as well as Lady Mardian and her strange niece, Dulce.

I really appreciate the performance of Nadia May in the audio edition of this book. She uses impeccable timing, inflections, and depictions of each of the characters. All of these factors come together to make her one of my favorite audiobook narrators.

To sum up, Death of a Fool is a different book than most Ngaio Marsh books, but I felt that I learned a lot about morris dancing and mummery plays. It has one of the most creative solutions of any Marsh book. I give this book four stars.

Great Book. Reader ruined it for me. Kept smacking

Would you be willing to try another one of Nadia May’s performances?

No

Any additional comments?

Love all Ngiao Marsh books. Just did not like this reader. The constant smacking noises quite ruined it for me.

Nice well researched book.

I enjoyed the peak at ancient British culture. If you like the author, this is a must!

much prefer Nadia May

I love Ngaio Marsh. I know these books almost by heart. to have them read to me is a gift. I much prefer Nadia May's reading to the other two men who read Narsh's work.

Deadly fun

Not my favorite Alleyn - perhaps I forgot how well author Marsh writes unpleasant characters.

Also, warning on the very dated view of epilepsy.

death during the Morris dance

Marsh is at her most whimsical in this tale of family animosity and folk traditions. well performed by May. recommended