Sweet Danger

This novel is not really a fantasy: there's nothing impossible in it. However, the whole story is so implausible that it may be best thought of as a fantasy, first published in 1933, but akin to one of Jasper Fforde's more modern stories.

Along with being fantastic, it's also an exciting, charming, and romantic adventure story, set mostly in darkest Suffolk, although it begins with an unlikely encounter on the Mediterranean coast of France: starting as it means to go on.

Although the story is obviously dated, the writing style is remarkably fresh; Allingham was still in her twenties at the time of writing, and this is a young person's book.

The plot revolves around the lost title to the tiny kingdom of Averna, located somewhere on the Adriatic coast; although the story never takes us there. Both goodies and baddies are engaged in a treasure hunt for the means to claim the title, and they are a motley assortment of characters. We also encounter a country doctor with a secret obsession and a cellarful of priceless vintage port, although he's almost incidental to the plot.

Of course everything works out well in the end, after a spectacular finale the goodies triumph and the baddies are completely defeated, cheers all round.

This was the fifth outing for Allingham's regular adventurer-detective, Albert Campion, but it was the first that I read, long ago. Campion makes an odd hero, like a sort of adult Tintin with a sense of humour. He hides his inner seriousness with a taste for humorous dialogue; he's highly intelligent but likes to appear stupid.

Probably the most memorable character from this book is the vivid 17-year-old Amanda, who makes an impression on Campion and is destined to marry him in a later book, although I feel she could have done better. There's something oddly sexless about Campion, who's attracted to various women in different books, but hardly seems to know what to do with them. An odd hero for a female writer to create, but I suppose she knew men like that, and wrote about what she knew.

Campion is an interesting, amusing, and knowledgeable fellow, who'd make a good friend for man or woman, but I have trouble seeing him as a husband, especially for a live wire like Amanda; though admittedly I don't have a woman's point of view. As far as I can tell, he's about 15 years older than she is.

A woman he might have married from a previous book went and married someone else, which was rather sensible of her.