Nigel Strangeways
{{Short description|Fictional private detective}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Nigel Strangeways
| series =
| image =
| caption =
| first = A Question of Proof
| last = The Morning after Death
| creator = Cecil Day-Lewis (writing as Nicholas Blake)
| portrayer = Ernesto Bianco
Nigel Stock
Glyn Houston
Bernard Horsfall
Richard Hurndall
Simon Cadell
Philip Franks
Billy Howle
| gender = Male
| occupation = Private detective
| nationality = British
| spouse = Georgia Cavendish (deceased)
}}
Nigel Strangeways is a fictional British private detective created by Cecil Day-Lewis, writing under the pen name of Nicholas Blake. He was one of the prominent detectives of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, appearing in sixteen novels between 1935 and 1966. He also features in a couple of short stories.Blackwell p.63
Character overview
A gentleman detective Strangeways is an Oxford-educated writer and nephew of an Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard. His surname is derived from the Strangeways Prison in Manchester. In the first novel A Question of Proof he is modelled on the poet W. H. Auden but this aspect became less marked as the series progressed.James p.192 As well as being a private investigator he also works as a literary scholar, producing a study of the Caroline poets amongst other works. Slightly arch, he is given to using literary quotations during his investigations, which often pass over the heads of the other characters. His style of detection has been compared to that of John Dickson Carr's Gideon Fell.Blackwell p.63
During the course of the novels, Strangeways becomes involved in a number of cases reflecting the changing periods of the time. A variety of locations are used for the murder investigations he undertakes including a public school (A Question of Proof, 1935), a brewery (There's Trouble Brewing, 1937), a holiday camp (Malice in Wonderland, 1940) a Whitehall ministry (Minute for Murder, 1947), a publishing house (End of Chapter, 1957) and a cruise ship (The Widow's Cruise, 1959). The Smiler with the Knife (1939) features a Fascist organisation plotting to overthrow British democracy, while The Sad Variety (1964) focuses on an attempt by British Communists and their Soviet backers to kidnap a professor.
Novels
- A Question of Proof (1935)
- Thou Shell of Death (1936)
- There's Trouble Brewing (1937)
- The Beast Must Die (1938)
- The Smiler with the Knife (1939)
- Malice in Wonderland (1940)
- The Case of the Abominable Snowman (1941)
- Minute for Murder (1947)
- Head of a Traveller (1949)
- The Dreadful Hollow (1953)
- The Whisper in the Gloom (1954)
- End of Chapter (1957)
- The Widow's Cruise (1959)
- The Worm of Death (1961)
- The Sad Variety (1964)
- The Morning after Death (1966)
Short stories
- "Mr Prendergast and the Orange" (1938), also published as "Conscience Money"
- "A Slice of Bad Luck" (1939), also published as "The Assassins' Club"
- "It Fell to Earth" (1944), also published as "Long Shot"
Radio plays
- "Calling James Braithwaite" (1940), James McKechnie starred as Strangeways.
Adaptations
=Film=
The fourth novel in the series The Beast Must Die has been adapted several times for film and television. The film versions include a 1952 Argentine adaptation, and the 1969 French film This Man Must Die.Goble p.931
=Television=
End of Chapter and The Beast Must Die were separately adapted for the 1960s BBC anthology series Detective. Strangeways was played by Glyn Houston and Bernard Horsfall, respectively.{{cite news |title=Detective: End of Chapter|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0558791/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_6 |access-date=December 18, 2021|work=IMDb}}{{cite news |title=Detective: The Beast Must Die|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0558799/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_6 |access-date=December 18, 2021|work=IMDb}}
In 2021, The Beast Must Die was yet again adapted as a television series for BritBox and AMC. Billy Howle starred as Strangeways, who was depicted as a police officer.
=BBC Radio=
In 1960, A Question of Proof was adapted for the Saturday Night Theatre, with Nigel Stock as Strangeways,{{cite web |title=Saturday-Night Theatre: A Question of Proof|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/69ddd5e71a2d4253b064ee158fbce072 |access-date=May 19, 2024|work=BBC Radio Programme Index|date=9 April 1960 }} whilst in 1966, Richard Hurndall starred in I Am Lucy Wragby, an adaptation of The Sad Variety.{{cite web |title=SATURDAY-NIGHT THEATRE|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/3c9d6145d69c4279bf1f3dd5b087d99b |access-date=October 24, 2023|work=BBC Radio Programme Index|date=2 July 1966 }} Simon Cadell played the detective in a 1991 adaptation of The Smiler with the Knife.{{cite web |title=The Smiler with the Knife|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/810f6c78743b48b0bbdbc1db91a9289f |access-date=October 24, 2023|work=BBC Radio Programme Index|date=25 March 1991 }}
A Question of Proof and The Beast Must Die were adapted by Michael Bakewell in 2004. Both dramas starred Philip Franks as Strangeways.{{cite news |title=The Saturday Play: A Question of Proof|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/646620db04c5471a8b4972c49f2aaee4 |access-date=December 18, 2021|work=BBC Genome}}{{cite news |title=Afternoon Play: The Beast Must Die|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/c7e27cb3723e4cfa8c4b1d9c5103bec2 |access-date=December 18, 2021|work=BBC Genome}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- Blackwell, Laird R. H.C. Bailey's Reggie Fortune and the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. McFarland, 2017.
- Goble, Alan. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.
- James, Russell. Great British Fictional Detectives. Remember When, 21 Apr 2009.
- Stanford, Peter. C Day-Lewis: A Life. A&C Black, 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strangeways, Nigel}}
Category:Characters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction
Category:Fictional private investigators
Category:Fictional British detectives