Dornford Yates
Description
> Dornford Yates was the pseudonym of the English novelist, Cecil William Mercer, whose novels and short stories, some humorous (the Berry books), some thrillers (the Chandos books), were best-sellers in the 21-year interwar period between the First and Second world wars. The pen name, Dornford Yates, first in print in 1910, resulted from combining the surnames of his grandmothers – the paternal Eliza Mary Dornford, and the maternal Harriet Yates. [Wikipedia]
Books
Red in the morning
The seventh novel in the Chandos thriller series, set in France after the war, amongst the beautiful landscapes of Biarritz, Pau and the Pyrenees
Perishable Goods
The three heroes of "Blind Corner" (Chandos, Hanbury & Mansel) battle their old foe, "Rose Noble" who has kidnapped a relative of Mansel (Adele Pleydell) in an attempt to recover the treasure (now converted into money) that he failed to win in their earlier encounter. Noble ultimately fails and is killed and Mansel nearly loses his life also.
Ne'er-do-well
The death of Lord St Amant, formerly the Hon. Joris Eyot, was discovered in Wainscott Hall, a nursing home run by a convent. The investigation is undertaken by Superintendent Falcon, with the help of his friends Richard Chandos and Jonathan Mansel, and dealing as it does with nursing nuns and their patients, has to be carried out with extreme delicacy.
Jonah and Co.
One of Yates's Berry books, short stories of humour and light romance in an English setting.
Adèle and Co.
The first full-length novel featuring Yates’ finest comic creation, Bertram "Berry" Pleydell. The central character Adele is based on the author’s first wife, Bettine, a gregarious American dancer and actress. After being robbed, Berry and his friends chase a bunch of criminals round the French countryside.
Fire below
Richard Chandos, has recently married Leonie, the Grand Duchess of Riechtenburg and, together with their friend George Hanbury, they decide to return to Austria for a summer holiday. After two careless weeks relaxing at their hunting lodge, they receive a cryptic message warning them of danger. Never a pair to be thwarted by threats, Chandos and Hanbury set off to find out just what is going on in Leonie's homeland. As soon as they reach the border they find themselves entangled in a battle with royalty as well as with a particularly vicious thug - then Leonie disappears ...
The Stolen March
Some travellers stumble on a hidden country bordering Spain and France and discover that this is where the people of fairy tale and nursery rhyme live.