The House of the Arrow
by A. E. W. Mason
SNT 1984-02-04
128K
When Boris Waberski, brother-in-law of the wealthy widow Jeanne-Marie Harlowe, who lives in Dijon, France, attempted to talk her
English solicitors into advancing him money on his expectations as her heir, he is ignored. Unknown to Waberski, he has been
disinherited in favour of Betty Harlowe, the niece and adopted daughter of Mrs. Harlowe's late English husband, Simon. But when Mrs.
Harlowe, who had a bad heart, died suddenly but peacefully at her home on the 27th of April 1924, it only took a week after the reading
of the will that Waberski decides to go to the local Prefecture accusing Betty of poisoning Mrs. Harlowe.
On hearing this, Ann Upcott, Betty's companion, sends a letter off to Hapgood & Frobisher (London firm of solicitors in charge of the
Harlowe Estate), for help in defending Betty. They send out Jim Frobisher, the junior partner, down to Dijon to find out what's really
going on. Frobisher's first stop is to see Inspector Hanaud, the great detective of the Surete in Paris, who has been called in by the
Prefect of Police in Dijon to take charge of the case...
Adapted by Alan Downer from A. E. W. Mason's 1924 novel, "The House of the Arrow", the 2nd book in the Inspector Hanaud series.
With Richard Pasco [Inspector Hanaud], Benedick Blythe [Jim Frobisher, Junior Partner of Hapgood & Frobisher], Moir Leslie [Betty
Harlowe], Deborah Makepeace [Ann Upcott, Betty's Companion], Carol Boyd [Francine Rollard, Betty's Maid], Alfredo Michelson
[Boris Waberski, Jeanne-Marie Harlowe's Brother-in-law / Police Commissaire Giradot], Clive Panto [Carlos Espinosa, an Old
Acquaintance of Betty's / Gaston, the Butler], and Mark Jones [Maurice Thevenet, Assistant to Police Commissaire Giradot].
Music composed and directed by Terence Allbright
Directed by Christopher Venning
Note:Fair sound quality, poor at times. Also, there is interference that lasts for a couple of seconds beginning 3 minutes 42 seconds into this recording. There also appears to be a quality increase as the story progresses.
Size: 82 mb. kbps: 128 kHz: 44 Time: 1 hr. 26 min. 37 sec. (Mono)
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Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (7th May 1865 Dulwich, London - 22nd November 1948, London)
A. E. W. Mason was a British author and politician. He is best remembered for his 1902 novel "The Four Feathers".
He studied at Dulwich College and graduated from Trinity College, Oxford in 1888. He was a contemporary of fellow Liberal Anthony
Hope, who went on to write the adventure novel "The Prisoner of Zenda".
His first novel, "A Romance of Wastdale", was published in 1895. He is the author of more than twenty books, including "At The Villa
Rose" (1910), where he introduced his French detective, Hanaud. His best known book is the "The Four Feathers", which had been
made into several films. Many consider it his masterpiece. Other books are "The House of the Arrow" (1924), "No Other Tiger" (1927),
"The Prisoner in the Opal" (1929) and "Fire Over England" (1937). He contributed a short story, "The Conjurer", to "The Queen's Book of
the Red Cross".
Mason was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Coventry in the 1906 general election. He served only a single term in
Parliament, retiring at the next general election in January 1910.
Mason served with the Manchester Regiment in the First World War, being promoted Captain in December 1914. He transferred to the
General List in 1915 and the Royal Marine Light Infantry in 1917 with the rank of Major. His military career included work in naval
intelligence, serving in Spain and Mexico, where he set up counter-espionage networks on behalf of the British government.
He died in 1948 while working on a non-fiction book about Admiral Robert Blake. Mason had been offered a knighthood but declined it
declaring that honours meant nothing to a childless man.
Novels featuring Inspector Hanaud
* At the Villa Rose (1910)
* The House of the Arrow (1924)
* The Prisoner in the Opal (1928)
* They Wouldn't Be Chessmen (1934)
* The House in Lordship Lane (1946)
For those that might like it there is a detailed description of the Character of Inspector Hanaud below.
Replies
Ooooohhhhh
A new "Inspector" - thanks!
Bob,
I hope you are still as happy after you hear the quality, but being a completist as you are I was also thrilled and still am. If you want it the original was an overblown 256K and I reduced it to 128 and it did stabilize the sound a bit. I hope you enjoy it.
I just signed on to Usenet and there is an ongoing discussion on this file. There appears to be problem with the parts of it. If another appreciably better encode emerges from this I will replace the file and let you know via PM. oh, and I almost forgot. You do have a PM from me now on a different matter. --- Rick
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