To celebrate Christmas this year, I thought I’d put out a whole load of small cipher mystery news stories I’ve collected, as a kind of online mystery advent calendar. Here’s Day One for you… enjoy! 🙂
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Melbourne novelist Kerry Greenwood has (she says) been fascinated by the Tamam Shud mystery for her whole life: and so it was perhaps inevitable that she would eventually write a book on the subject. And here it is: “Tamam Shud: The Somerton Man Mystery”, released today by NewSouth Books, and available in eBook form from Amazon at a (rather daunting) £14.24. To which price, my first reaction was “I never knew that eBooks came in hardback“.
Anyway, you can read most of Chapter One here, or you can read the full Introduction and Chapter One on Amazon’s site itself.
I’ll buy myself a copy to review over the next few days: but what is immediately clear is (a) that Kerry writes well, (b) that her book is obviously well-researched, but (c) that it’s a very different kettle of prawns to Gerry Feltus’ book. More to come…
Prices are due to previous governments extraordinary decision to tax literacy.
Present government was intending to repeal that tax, but it seems to have slipped their collective mind.
Nick, do you have the means to alert TomS that “That Which…” discussion can be found in the page 2 square box at bottom of this current topic page)? His daughter has given us some very interesting “takes” on medieval artwork — which I, at least, would like to read more. Please forgive my interruption of your latest ebook review. Thanx!
bd
bdid1dr: Tom’s email’s listed there, I think, should you wish to email him and ask. 🙂
Thanx, Nick! Just had a “duh” moment there.
In re this discussion of Kerry Greenwood’s ebook (excerpt): Boy, she (and her father’s) investigations are fascinating reading. From my USAmerican perspective, I see the dead person as probably having been part of a US government team of scientists who were co-operating with Australian scientists in designing nuclear weapons (ultra top-secret, and several “casualties” along the way). I’m speaking from the perspective of my first marriage to the son of an American man who married an Australian woman. The man and his family eventually ended up at the White Sands New Mexico facility. I won’t go any further with this story which ended pretty badly.
I’m heading back to my medieval studies now. I might even be able to catch up with TomS; I don’t remember his posting a link. (?)
Bdid 1 dr
If you’d like a small book on medieval art, and don’t know Veronika Sekules’, I thought I’d mention it.
Not everyone agrees with her approach, which is one that interacts with the period’s cultural and intellectual history more than with the ‘patrons and painters’ type of art history we are used to.
(hence reviews use words like ‘refreshing’ and comments may whine)
Chapter 7, I think, is particularly enlightening in regard to the Vms.
A link in case:
books.google.com.au/books/about/Medieval_Art.html?id=uL7HCz_MtKAC&redir_esc=y
PS My comment on the Aus tax on books is a general one. I don’t believe that I’ve met the esteemed novelist.
Diane: lots of nice things in Sekules’ Chapter 7 – particularly the puzzle jug, which I hadn’t seen before.
Nick, Diane,
Thanks for the Sekules reference. I going there as soon as I sign off from here. Cy’all later!
😉 Bdid l dr Still squinting.
somerton was just a courier
Pete: don’t shoot the messenger! Errrm…. oops!
I will have to read Greenwoo’s book to see what she makes of the pointy-toed shoes. They strike me as peculiar for a man who is supposed to have spent most of his life on board ship or in a lowly branch of the military. Cavalry I could understand. But I expect many people have puzzled over the same thing.
This is Mr. Watson’s class.
Every boy had ruled up his piece of paper into four lines and now Mr. Watson commenced his lesson in Capitals, and with the measured tread of an actor on the boards, he trod out his unblessed path amongst the small desks in a synchrony with his litany of words.
‘ Warwick: Roger: Geoff: Oscar: Antony: Bill: Arthur: Barry: Dennis. ‘
Here he would stop, and ask the boys – these small boys who must learn from him today otherwise his pay is earned in vain – if they had all the CAPITALS written on their first line, on their four-squared of ruled paper.
‘ Let us see who has them all, ‘ he invited the class of eleven, ‘ are you ready? ‘
One or two of them might have said, yes sir.
‘ W R G O A B A B D, there: and who has them all? ‘
Only a smiling visitant here to share the love (:, btw outstanding design. “Treat the other man’s faith gently it is all he has to believe with.” by Athenus.