Alan Bradley, "Smoked herring without mustard"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Alan Bradley's books are written in an easy, entertaining, understandable way. Good solid novels in the style of a classic village detective introduce readers to the heroine Flavia de Luce, who manages to unravel the most mysterious crimes. One of the series of books about the young detective is Smoked Herring Without Mustard. It will be discussed in this article.

A little about the author

Canadian writer and screenwriter A. Bradley was born in 1938 in Toronto. Educated in the field of radio electronics. He worked for the television and radio stations of Ontario. For many years he taught courses in screenwriting and television production, lectured and wrote stories for children. Alan Bradley is one of the founders of the Saskatoon Journal Society, which researches the writings of Sherlock Holmes.

In 1994, Alan retired, actively engaged in writing and created an unforgettable character, the young detective Flavia, who became the heroine of a whole series of books, including the novel Smoked Herring Without Mustard, with a summary of which can be foundbelow.

Writer's work

The first in a series of novels about the young detective Flavia de Luce was published in 2007 - "Sweetness on the Crust of the Pie". The author was awarded several awards for the best debut novel, which attracted the attention of a wide range of readers to Bradley's work. The novel has been translated and published in 30 countries around the world. This was followed by new stories about the adventures of Flavia, and the heroine of the novels after the fourth book "Oh, I'm sick of ghosts" was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award in 2012. So who is Flavia de Luce?

Main characters

Events in Bradley's novels, including the book "Smoked Herring Without Mustard", unfold in the 50s, post-war years of the last century. The young 11-year-old detective Flavia is a representative of an ancient aristocratic family. Lives at Buckshaw Manor with his father, Colonel de Luce, and his sisters, Ophelia and Daphne. The de Luce family is in financial trouble and their family home could go under the hammer at any time.

For Flavia, this thought is simply unbearable, because she loves her old house with faded carpets and dry wallpaper.

Flavia lost her mother when she was very young. Harriet de Luce died in the Himalayas. The girl, both externally and internally, is a copy of her mother. Longing for her mother, sympathy for her father, indifference and harassment from the sisters make Flavia very vulnerable, and the unimaginable is happening in her head.

Flavia de Luce

The heroine of Bradley's novel Smoked Herring Without Mustardthe girl Flavia loves to investigate the murders that occur in their village with enviable regularity. Her best assistants are an inquisitive mind and the ability to analyze information. Flavia is fond of chemistry and is ready to spend hours in the laboratory that once belonged to her uncle.

The girl is especially interested in poisons, about which she has read a lot of literature, and names like ammonia, potassium cyanide and arsenic sound like music to her. As a result, Flavia solves the crimes much earlier than the local police inspector Hewitt. In total, the cycle about the little detective includes nine novels, including Smoked Herring Without Mustard, the third in a series about the adventures of Flavia de Luce.

What are readers saying?

It is impossible to break away from the Bradley detectives, as readers write in reviews of “Smoked Herring Without Mustard”. If in the books of other writers from the first pages it is more or less clear who the criminal is, everything is not so simple here. The plot is twisted so masterfully and masterfully that you are lost in conjectures until the last chapter.

Details of their life of the de Luce family are generously flavored with espionage, historical and slightly mystical facts.

After reading, the hands involuntarily reach for the next novel, the titles of which attract like a magnet: “I speak from the tomb”, “The weed wrapped around the executioner's bag”, “Ashes and pheasant sandwich”, “The judgment of rumor is not dangerous in the grave” or “Smoked herring without mustard.”

Meet a Gypsy

The novel "Smoked herring without mustard" begins with an acquaintance with the mainheroine Flavia. During a church holiday, she went into the tent to a gypsy, she prophesied to her that Flavia's mother was now in a cold place and was waiting for help. The girl jumped up in surprise and knocked over the candle. The fire instantly engulfed the gypsy tent.

The pastor asked the girl to take lemonade to the gypsy who was helped. And Flavia, feeling guilty before her, invited her to live in their estate. The gypsy said that she and her husband once stayed there, but they were chased away by a "tall, thin man." Her husband then could not stand the heart, and he died. And the gypsy remembered the lady from that estate well - the girl is very similar to her.

In a gypsy wagon they got to the de Luce estate. The old woman was ill, and Flavia picked some elderberries and lit a fire to make tea for her. But the gypsy, hearing about the elderberry, dropped the cup from her hands, and screamed in horror that now they were all dead.

De Luce Family

Flavia went home. She felt very hungry and went into the kitchen. Then they threw a bag over her and carried her somewhere. The girl understood that apart from her sisters, no one would joke like that. With the arrival of the father, everything calmed down. Their father told them that perhaps the house would be taken away soon, since it belongs to their mother, and she did not leave a will. So, thinking about their difficult financial situation, Flavia fell asleep.

Waking up at three in the morning, she remembered the gypsy and went to the Hedge. As she passed the kitchen, she smelled a strong smell of fish and met Brooky, a slacker who had broken into their house. Flavia sent him out and went to the Hedge. Enteringinto the wagon, she smelled an unbearable smell of fish and found a gypsy lying in a pool of blood. Flavia ran after the doctor. The gypsy was still alive, the doctor took her to the hospital and called the police.

Another death

Flavia started her own investigation. After the police left, she entered the gypsy's van and saw a sleeping girl there. Hearing the noise, she jumped up and almost finished off Flavia. The girl who attacked her turned out to be the granddaughter of a gypsy. Hearing from the police about the misfortune, she came from London. Flavia said that it was dangerous for Porslin to stay here and invited her to her home.

Soon Porslin visited her grandmother in the hospital and accused Flavia of having attacked the gypsy. But the troubles didn't end there. Flavia found Brook's corpse hanging from a statue by the fountain. Inspector Hewitt spoke to the young detective and advised her father to keep an eye on his daughter. This did not stop Flavia. Climbing into the seat of her faithful "Gladys", the girl went in search of Brooke's mother.

Meeting Harriet

Flavia thought of meeting a fading woman and did not expect that the mother of this slacker Brooke would be such a beautiful creature as Vannetha Harewood. The woman was not only heard about the de Luce family, but was also well acquainted with them. In her studio, the artist turned one of the canvases to the girl, and Flavia froze in place - Harriet was looking at her. She was sitting on the windowsill in their house, seven-year-old Ophelia played nearby, little Daphne drovefinger on the book. And Harriet gazed tenderly at the bundle in her arms, a child wrapped in rich lace. It was Flavia.

Vanneta said that Harriet paid for this painting and wanted to give her husband a present, but didn't have time. And for many years the canvas stood in her studio. In a fit of feelings, Flavia wanted to take the portrait, but stopped, remembering that her father had still not recovered from the death of his wife. The girl said goodbye to Vanneta and, going out into the corridor, did not fail to notice that the wicker, from which the maid Ursula weaves baskets, was treated with a substance with a strong smell of fish.

Young detective

The police were investigating and next to the gypsy van they found the corpse of a baby that had lain in the ground for several years. Flavia, no matter what the steelor, decided to unravel this series of terrible crimes, but her father decided to stop her investigations and strictly forbade Flavia to leave the house. The indefatigable detective climbed out the window while it was still dark and raced on her bicycle, “faithful Gladys”, in search of new witnesses.

As always, the curious Gladys managed to unravel these crimes before Inspector Hewitt. In addition to Smoked Herring Without Mustard, Alan Bradley has written eight more exciting stories about Flavia de Luce, a little detective who brilliantly manages to solve the most intricate crimes.