The Clue of the Crimson Star

Thanks to Labroots

Title: The Clue of the Crimson Star

Author: Not known 

Publisher: Not known 

Source book: Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L Sayers 

Ginger, one of the office boys at Pym’s Advertising Agency, becomes a good source for Mr Death Bredon as he investigates an unfortunate death in the office. Ginger is a very good witness and a careful collector of evidence. He is a great fan of the fictional detective Sexton Blake, and is reading The Clue of the Crimson Star. 

Sexton Blake stories seem to have been written by an ever changing cast of writers. There is also an ever changing cast of associates and assistants, starting with Tinker (probably the best known), but including Derek ‘Splash’ Page, and Mrs Bardell the housekeeper. And, of course, an array of villains and enemies. 

The Clue of the Crimson Star does not appear to be a genuine Sexton Blake story. Unfortunately there is not a lot of information as to the plot but Ginger thinks it’s a top hole yarn. Peter Wimsey (aka Death Bredon) tells his friend Chief Inspector Parker that the great detective is stunned with a piece of lead-piping and trussed up with ropes for 6 hours and then taken by boat on a stormy night to a remote house on the coast and then flung down a flight of steps into a cellar. After a mere three hours cutting at his bonds with a shard of broken wine bottle he is about to escape but the villain floods the cellar with gas. Obviously our hero is rescued at the very last moment and, only pausing for some coffee and a ham sandwich or two, he pursues the villain and has to grapple with a man on the wing of a plane to prevent him throwing a hand-grenade into the cockpit. Probably all in a day’s work for such a great detective.

Much more information on Sexton Blake can be found here.

Many years ago when I was a classroom assistant in a kindergarten, one of our little boys was a great fan of a TV dramatisation of Sexton Blake. Jonathan, a charming little boy with a gruff voice like a teddy bear, always referred to his hero as Sexton Bloke. What a sweetheart he was. All grown up with a family of his own now I expect.

Thanks to Irene W Pennington Planetarium