Forgotten Book - Charteris Royal

Long before there was Casino Royale, there was Charteris Royal. First published by Gollancz in 1941, this is an obscure book that I'd probably have remained unaware of if it hadn't been for Jamie Sturgeon, who drew my attention to the work of the author, Hubert Phillips. I hadn't heard of Phillips (though I'd come across one or two of his pseudonymous short stories) but the front cover of the dustjacket proclaims that he 'has been famous for many years as one of the most ingenious of men, as well as one of the most versatile'.

He was a renowned maker of puzzles, published in the News Chronicle, and also an expert in bridge, and a noted chess player. These gifts seemed to equip him splendidly to become a writer of detective fiction in the classic mould, but perhaps unexpectedly, Charteris Royal is a thriller, set in the run-up to the Second World War, rather than a cerebral whodunit. 

Jonquil Tatham, the attractive young secretary of writer Gerrard Davenall, is kidnapped. It soon becomes clear that she has fallen into the clutches of Nazis based in England and that they want to blackmail Davenall into giving away secrets. Davenall's response is to call on the services of Rusty Bendore, who runs a small organisation called Rho Beta, which aims to combat crime and Bad People, and is comprised of a variety of people who are skilled in different fields. This is, I think, a pleasing concept and has been used in modified forms plenty of times since.

The action develops over the course of twenty-four hours. The race-against-time is a good way of ratcheting up tension in a thriller. Unfortunately, Phillips' inexperience as a novelist is all too evident. There is far too much chit-chat between the different members of Rho Beta, and not enough variety in the action for my taste. As a result, the story seems drawn-out rather than tense and attention-grabbing. This is a pity, because Phillips had a good idea here (and he may have contemplated writing more books about Rho Beta), but I don't think he developed the story well enough. Perhaps significantly, he never published another novel, which may well indicate that he was disappointed by the outcome. I'd rate this an interesting curiosity.