Some years ago I had the idea of writing a murder mystery set in Stratford-upon-Avon. I wasn’t sure which period to use: perhaps the 1960s, with the creation of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RSC), or maybe  earlier, in the late 19th century, when the town was full of colourful theatrical characters – and some dubious hangers on – who all wanted to be seen at the recently completed Shakespeare Memorial Theatre?

Eventually I decided to set the mystery novel in 1882, just three years after the completion of the Memorial Theatre.

I then needed a bunch of ‘actors’ led by a charismatic actor/manager, who, turns into something of a villain. He is Sir Augustus Littleton.

What was then required was a police duo. Enter Inspector Herbert Merriman Swann, and Sergeant John Parker.

Swann is a middle-aged man who fought in the Crimean War and witnessed the Indian Mutiny. And a man who has suffered much personal tragedy. He is not a conventional copper. Loves to drink and smoke Turkish tobacco in his pipe

Parker is a young man, recently married, who tries to use all the new scientific methods of policing. He’s keen and wants results.

But Swann and Parker are more than just a couple of provincial cops, much more.

And when a theatrical star is murdered on the stage of the Memorial Theatre all is not what it seems.

Well, I’ve written over forty chapters so far, with nine of them available to read online over at my Wordpress site.

Let me know what you think.

Murder Most Theatrical