A Bullet in the Ballet by Caryl Brahms & S.J. Simon, for the #1937Club

Title: A Bullet in the Ballet
Author: Caryl Brahms & S.J. Simon
Publication: Library of Crime Classics, paperback, originally published in 1937
Genre: Mystery/series

Description: It is opening night of the London season for the Stroganoff Ballet, a less than first-rate company that is putting on Petroushka, when the male lead, Anton Palook, collapses with a bullet in his head, just as he should be taking his curtain calls. Vladimir Stroganoff, owner/manager, hustles the corpse off the stage so the next scene can proceed without disturbing the audience. When Detective-Inspector Adam Quill reaches the Collodium to begin his investigation, he is overwhelmed by the cast of characters affiliated with the ballet company, from dancers, management, musicians, and family members. Their concern is not for the dead man but for his successor, as the show must go on! They welcome Quill, although they are not very interested in finding Palook’s killer or being truthful about their whereabouts that night, but see it as their mission to educate the detective in ballet. Quill goes behind the scenes and determinedly continues to sift through the evidence, despite many distractions and is about to make an arrest – when his suspect is also murdered! His career may be ruined if he allows another dancer to be killed on his watch, yet Stroganoff insists on staging Petroushka again!

My Impression: I don’t remember who recommended this humorous writing duo but I bought this book and No Bed for Bacon more than 20 years ago, so clearly have just been waiting for the right opportunity to read them. According to the introduction to my edition, Brahms was a ballet critic for the Daily Telegraph who was friendly with a journalist at her boarding house, S.J. Simon. They plotted out a mystery with a ballet setting as a distraction one morning when Brahms thought she was about to lose her job. It was a false alarm, but by then they were so enjoying each other’s jokes and coming up with absurd characters, backstage rivalries and romances, and a convincing theatrical setting, due to Brahms’ knowledge, that they kept going and completed the book.

The character of Stroganoff and his mannerisms (which Quill starts picking up) are what makes the book appealing, along with the behind the scenes glimpses of the ballet company. He will do anything to keep his ballet company afloat – move a corpse, lie to the police, mislead his dancers, showcase those without talent – but he is very friendly and develops a fondness for Detective-Inspector Quill, even if he prevaricates on every occasion, instead of assisting with the investigation:

“Yesterday,” he said, “she came to me before the performance and ask to borrow my revolver. She always ask for something, so I lent it her and think nothing of it.”

This was altogether incredible. Quill said as much. Stroganoff persisted weakly, but eventually gave way.

“Oh, all right,” he admitted cheerfully. “That I invent. But now I tell you the truth.”

“And mind it is the truth,” said Quill. With another man he would have delivered a severe censure on the enormity of attempting to mislead Scotland Yard, but with this particular witness it would clearly be a waste of time.

At one point, Quill sends his sergeant to do some interviews with the ballet company, but Banner does not have the same rapport with the artistes:

Back to the theatre to find a purple-faced Sergeant Banner clamouring for the arrest of a young exquisite who had amiably mistaken the Sergeant’s shy approach for a suggestion of quite a different character. To the pub, to repair the Sergeant’s self-esteem and send him back to an enquiry he threatened to abandon. Back to Earl’s Court, to evade Miss Treackle and find a boiled shirt, a tepid meal, and the theatre again. Straight into Stroganoff’s arms.

“You have never seen Lac de Cygnes – no?” beamed the latter, grasped him by the arm, planted him inescapably in his box, and told him to keep quiet.

The curtain was going up.

A Bullet in the Ballet was a publishing success and the authors followed up with several more books about the Stroganoff Ballet Company.  A television movie was made in 1947. There is a breeziness in Brahms and Simon’s writing that is reminiscent of Wodehouse, but sometimes their humor is harder to follow, with more inside jokes and elusive vocabulary.  Anyone brought up on Ballet Shoes will enjoy the ballet setting but overall it only gets a 3/5 from me, as I did not find the authors more than mildly amusing. My edition does contain some funny blurbs (which I guess are legitimate but I had to think about it) from John Gielgud, Alec Guinness, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Alicia Markova, and the best one from Moira Shearer: “My frustration is as great as ever. Why didn’t I dance with the Ballets Stroganoff?”

The 1937 Club is hosted by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings to share reviews of books published in that year. This is also my second book for Lory’s Reading the Theatre Month and my eighth book for Carol’s Cloak and Dagger Challenge.

Source: Personal copy