The Antient Arte of the Embalming of Corpfes by William Hurste

Thanks to the National Galleries of Scotland 

Title: The Antient Arte of the Embalming of Corpfes

Author: William Hurfte, Profeffor of Phyfic, London 

Publisher: Robert White for John Crampe at the Sign of the Three Bibles in St Paul’s Churchyard. 

Published: 1678

Source book: Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh (Inspector Alleyn #14)

This little book, The Ancient Art of Embalming of Corpses, lives in a table of curiosities in the big drawing room at Ancreton Manor. Sir Henry Ancred, the pompous and dictatorial patriarch of the Ancred acting dynasty has decided to be embalmed when he dies, and has determined that the method described in his antiquated book should be used. The undertaker he interviews tries to tell Sir Henry that his firm uses modern methods but Sir Henry doesn’t want to know so the family is vaguely under the impression that when the time comes, the process will involve arsenic.

Sir Henry is described as very elderly (he is about 75), and likely to die of acute indigestion at the drop of a hat. Ah! the good old days (which is to say, about 1947) when you could die of eating tinned crayfish and drinking an ill-advised glass of champagne. And a good temper tantrum would help you along your way.

When Sir Henry does die suddenly following a rich birthday dinner and a temper tantrum, his family is quick to point out that Sonia, an actress of dubious talent, has been seen reading the book. And when the death seems less than natural, the family seeks to blame Sonia by planting an ancient tin of arsenic in her luggage. However, Sonia was going to marry Sir Henry so why would she murder him?

When Chief Inspector Alleyn and Inspector Fox arrive from Scotland Yard to investigate their task is complicated by the fact that Alleyn’s wife Agatha Troy was recently a guest at Ancreton Manor to paint Sir Henry in the guise of Macbeth, and was still there when the murder was committed.

I had always taken this The Antient Art of the Embalming of Corpses at face value and thought it was real. But having looked quite hard online (I thought it might be found lurking in Pinterest) and failed to find anything like it, I think perhaps it is yet another of Ngaio Marsh’s fictional books.

Final Curtain was dramatised for TV in 1993. Unfortunately it was ruined for me by the way Cedric Ancred was pronounced See-drick instead of the usual Sed-rick. 

Thanks to Go Live It Blog