Серия книг «Lord Francis Powerscourt» — 15 книг

England, 1892, and Victoria, Queen and Empress, is in the 54th year of her reign. The reign of Lily Langtry as mistress to the dissolute Prince of Wales is over, while that of Mrs Keppel is shortly to begin. The prince's unfortunate wife, the long-suffering Alexandra, is the most popular woman in Britain, feted and adored, yet sadly her son, Albert Victor - Eddy to his family and second in line to the throne - has taken after his father and is also renowned for his scandalous lifestyle. Then Prince Eddy is found slaughtered in his bed. Terrified of this new scandal, the Prince of Wales and his spindoctors decide on a cover-up. The murder is disguised as death by influenza. Lord Francis Powerscourt, an Irish investigator, is asked to find the killer. The Royal Family and even the Government are not above suspicion for Eddy would have been a singularly unsuitable monarch. Powerscourt's quest takes him through the Prince's unsavoury past, on a journey of discovery through the crumbling palazzos and misty waterways of Venice. And it takes him on a love affair that starts in front of Turner's Fighting Temeraire in London's National Gallery. Through a web of scandal and suicide, vice and revenge. Powerscourt unravels the mystery of the prince's last goodnight.

England, 1892, and Victoria, Queen and Empress, is in the 54th year of her reign. The reign of Lily Langtry as mistress to the dissolute Prince of Wales is over, while that of Mrs…

The second Lord Francis Powerscourt murder mystery opens in the England of 1897. The immensely important Diamond Jubilee, the celebration to mark Victoria’s sixtieth year as Queen and Empress, has attracted 50,000 of her troops from across her dominions and a million Britons to watch her ride in state from Buckingham Palace to St Paul’s Cathedral. Then a body arrives floating in the Thames by London Bridge. Having assisted the crown before in Goodnight Sweet Prince, Lord Francis Powerscourt, a private investigator trusted by the court, is called in. His researches lead him to a mysterious mansion in Oxfordshire, where a second corpse is found, burnt to death. As his investigation into these deaths by water and fire takes him from the trading houses of the City of London to the gloomy Wicklow Mountains of his native Ireland, Powerscourt realizes that more is at stake than solving two murders—upon his success or failure lies the success of the Imperial Jubilee.

The second Lord Francis Powerscourt murder mystery opens in the England of 1897. The immensely important Diamond Jubilee, the celebration to mark Victoria’s sixtieth year as Queen…

Ah, those gullible new American millionaires of the late 19th century. After first enriching themselves through railroad development, the shipping trade, or other robber-baron enterprises, many sought to manifest their sophistication by purchasing great European works of art. "I suspect we may be at the very beginning of the biggest buying spree in history," remarks one cultural connoisseur in David Dickinson's Death of an Old Master. "For the dealers, the opportunities are huge." And there were still greater profits to be made by purveyors of counterfeit masterpieces, as is made clear in this smartly plotted third mystery (after Goodnight, Sweet Prince and Death and the Jubilee) featuring Lord Francis Powerscourt, a former army intelligence officer who's now "one of the foremost investigators in Britain."

Powerscourt's interest in the 1899 slaying of leading art critic Christopher Montague--garroted in his London flat with a piano wire--is simple enough: the dead man was one of his wife Lucy's myriad relatives. But this is no simple homicide. For one thing, all of Montague's papers have disappeared. These include an article he was writing about forged or faked Renaissance paintings--some of which are hanging at the prestigious de Courcy and Piper Gallery. It's a neat little business that partners William Alaric Piper and Edmund de Courcy have been running: With the help of a talented--and captive--young artist named Orlando Blane, they duplicate existing Old Masters, or create new ones in identical style, for sale to foreigners. So was Montague killed to prevent his revealing this epidemic fraudulence? Or was the critic's demise the tragic outcome of his affair with a married woman, whose husband is now missing? Following the garroting of Montague's closest friend, and with a likely innocent man awaiting trial for these murders, Dickinson's aristocratic sleuth begins a chase after answers that will lead him from the Mediterranean island of Corsica to London's hallowed National Gallery and a disheveled dynastic mansion on the Norfolk seacoast.

Ah, those gullible new American millionaires of the late 19th century. After first enriching themselves through railroad development, the shipping trade, or other robber-baron…

England, 1901, and the cathedral in the town of Compton in the west of England is preparing to celebrate a very special anniversary, one thousand years of Christian worship. But a few weeks before the main ceremonies at Easter, the chancellor, a high official of the cathedral, dies in mysterious circumstances. No one, except the doctor and the undertaker, is allowed to view the corpse. It soon transpires that the Chancellor was one of the richest men in England and his sister suspects foul play - so that discreet and well bred investigator Lord Francis Powerscourt is asked to look into the case. As Powerscourt paces the ancient cloisters and listens to evensong from the choir stalls, he begins to suspect that a terrible secret lies hidden in the cathedral, and that it might have something to do with the anniversary. Then there is a truly dreadful incident - the dead body of one of the choristers is discovered, turning and turning on the great spit in the Vicars Hall kitchen. Both Powerscourt and his wife Lady Lucy are to be at risk of their lives before he uncovers the astonishing secret of Compton Minster and unmasks a brutal killer. With narrative skill and a real understanding of the period, David Dickinson takes us once again into a past that is in many ways more exciting and more dangerous than our own time.

England, 1901, and the cathedral in the town of Compton in the west of England is preparing to celebrate a very special anniversary, one thousand years of Christian worship. But a…

In February 1902, a feast is held at the Inns of Court, during which senior barrister Alexander Dauntsey collapses and dies. When a second barrister is shot dead shortly after, Lord Francis Powerscourt is summoned to conduct a discreet investigation. His inquiries take him to the heart of legal London, where the wills of the dead can reveal the crimes of the living, and he discovers a troubled marriage, seemingly broken by the lack of children. The trail leads on, first to a grand country house, mysteriously boarded up, its past sealed within, then to a growing list of suspects including a jealous wife, a mistress fearful of being jilted, and a cuckolded husband who writes books about poisons. Powerscourt eventually finds that he too is now standing in the path of danger.

In February 1902, a feast is held at the Inns of Court, during which senior barrister Alexander Dauntsey collapses and dies. When a second barrister is shot dead shortly after,…

Powerscourt, coaxed out of retirement one last time, heads for St Petersburg where a British diplomat has been discovered, his throat cut, on a bridge spanning Nevsky Prospekt. It would seem the man knew a secret — and it proved fatal. As Powerscourt paces the Winter Palace and ponders the mystery, other matters press in on him. With Russia edging towards revolution, he must make his escape — before time runs out on him too.

Powerscourt, coaxed out of retirement one last time, heads for St Petersburg where a British diplomat has been discovered, his throat cut, on a bridge spanning Nevsky Prospekt. It…

The year is 1905 and Powerscourt is sent to Ireland to investigate a series of art thefts from stately houses. Motive troubles Powerscourt; were these robberies merely for gain? A number of Old Masters had been left untouched and the ones taken were all ancient family portraits of the aristocratic Protestant gentry. Are these thefts political?
Then, astonishingly, some of the portraits begin to return -- but with altered faces; the aristocrats' being replaced by those from the estates and towns beyond the gates. Truly an elaborate joke, but then real people begin to disappear -- and not long after the first body is found in the chapel at the top of Croagh Patrick, Ireland's Holy Mountain on the very day 10,000 people make the great pilgrimage to the summit.
More follow, and as Powerscourt makes his way towards the killer his own life comes under threat, while his patriotism, and his devotion to Ireland is called into question on his journey towards the truth.

The year is 1905 and Powerscourt is sent to Ireland to investigate a series of art thefts from stately houses. Motive troubles Powerscourt; were these robberies merely for gain? A…

1905. A young man called James Delaney is dying in a New York hospital. The doctors and the nuns cannot save him. When his life is spared his tycoon father takes it as a miracle and organizes a family pilgrimage to the resting place of the boy's name saint, Saint James the Greater in Santiago de Compostela in Spain, the greatest pilgrimage site of the Middle Ages.
The first modern-day pilgrim is killed in Le Puy en Velay in Southern France and Powerscourt is summoned to investigate. The pilgrims' progress across the holy sites is punctuated by further bizarre deaths. After his own life is put in terrible danger Powerscourt finally solves the murders on the day of the Bull Run at Pamplona in Southern Spain where young men race down the cobbled streets pursued by the bulls. The careless are gored to death, but it is up to Powerscourt to beware of the horns and other hidden dangers to finally resolve the Deaths of the Pilgrims.

1905. A young man called James Delaney is dying in a New York hospital. The doctors and the nuns cannot save him. When his life is spared his tycoon father takes it as a miracle…

The scion of the Colvilles, who are wealthy wine merchants, is about to marry the daughter of the even grander Nash family. Immediately after the nuptials, the bridegroom’s uncle Cosmo is found clutching a gun, having apparently killed his own brother. He refuses to give any explanation, even to his solicitor, who retains Lord Francis Powerscourt to investigate.

The scion of the Colvilles, who are wealthy wine merchants, is about to marry the daughter of the even grander Nash family. Immediately after the nuptials, the bridegroom’s uncle…

Master of the Hunt, the fifteenth Earl of Candlesby, has come to lead his riders once again. But this time he comes as a corpse, wrapped in blankets across his horse, a corner of his scarlet coat visible in the morning mist. Only three people see the body. One dies. Another vanishes. Now only one man knows how he was killed. Powerscourt is summoned to investigate murder in a crumbling house where the paper is peeling off the walls and the stuffed owls each only have one leg. The estate is virtually bankrupt as Powerscourt uncovers a world of jealousy, revenge and hatred, where the sons are as dissolute and dangerous as the father. The fifteenth earl had left a trail of duels, theft and adultery across the flatlands of Lincolnshire. It takes another death and a deadly chase under the crumbling estate before Powerscourt unlocks the secret of death in a scarlet coat.

Master of the Hunt, the fifteenth Earl of Candlesby, has come to lead his riders once again. But this time he comes as a corpse, wrapped in blankets across his horse, a corner of…

The first man murdered was a resident at the Jesus Hospital Almshouse. The second victim was burser at the Allison's school in Norfolk. Victim number three was slain in his own hall by the Thames. All had their throats cut and all had strange markings on their chests. Lord Francis Powerscourt is brought in to solve the triple murder.

The first man murdered was a resident at the Jesus Hospital Almshouse. The second victim was burser at the Allison's school in Norfolk. Victim number three was slain in his own…

The British Museum in Bloomsbury is home to one of the Caryatids, a statue of a maiden that acted as one of the six columns in a temple which stood on the Acropolis in ancient Athens. Lord Elgin had brought her to London in the nineteenth century, and even though now she was over 2,300 years old, she was still rather beautiful - and desirable.

Which is why Lord Francis Powerscourt finds himself summoned by the British Museum to attend a most urgent matter. The Caryatid has been stolen and an inferior copy left in her place. Powerscourt agrees to handle the case discreetly - but then comes the first death: an employee of the British Museum is pushed under a rush hour train before he and the police can question him.

What had he known about the statue's disappearance? And who would want such a priceless object? Powerscourt and his friend Johnny Fitzgerald undertake a mission that takes them deep into the heart of London's Greek community and the upper echelons of English society to uncover the bizarre truth of the vanishing lady...

The British Museum in Bloomsbury is home to one of the Caryatids, a statue of a maiden that acted as one of the six columns in a temple which stood on the Acropolis in ancient…

London, 1912, and the famed Ballet Russes have come to London to perform. Anticipation is high, for Diaghilev?s troupe is renowned throughout Europe.

At the end of their famed performance of Thamar at the Royal Opera House, the Georgian queen stabs her prince to death and throws him into the river. But life mirrors art when the prince is found truly dead, stabbed through the heart in the orchestra pit below stage. But the corpse is not the dancer in the programme. It is his understudy. Powerscourt is summoned to investigate. But who was the intended victim ? the understudy, or the star of the Ballets Russes?

And the Ballet Russes are not the only Russian visitors in London this season. Lenin, Europe?s most dangerous revolutionary, has sent some bank robbery money to be changed into pounds. There are stolen jewels from St Petersburg to be sold. And there are other darker forces abroad too and Powerscourt has to look death in the face before he can solve the mystery of Death at the Ballet Russes.

London, 1912, and the famed Ballet Russes have come to London to perform. Anticipation is high, for Diaghilev?s troupe is renowned throughout Europe.

At the end of their famed…

Lord Francis Powerscourt is visited at home in London by the Bishop of Lynchester who wants his advice about the suspect for the death of an aged parishioner. Powerscourt advises that discretion rather than accusation is the best way forward, but this is just the start of his association with the diocese of Lynchester.
The death of the parishioner has left available a property in the cathedral close which traditionally the church rents out to a suitable tenant. Four worthy candidates are nominated . . . and then one of them, the retail king of the south of England, is found dead in the house, poisoned by strychnine. So once again Powerscourt is summoned by the bishop as this time there is no doubt of foul play.
But there are many suspects from which to choose - there are the other candidates who want to live in that very desirable property . . . or could it be more complex than that? Very soon Powerscourt uncovers a trail of greed, deception and death which goes straight to the heart of the cathedral itself.

Lord Francis Powerscourt is visited at home in London by the Bishop of Lynchester who wants his advice about the suspect for the death of an aged parishioner. Powerscourt advises…

A night of dancing that ends with the mysterious disappearance of a stable-boy - and Lord Francis Powerscourt is summoned to investigate.

Spring 1914, and Jack Harper, current owner of Melrose Hall, has thrown a party for his eldest, Andrew, who is turning twenty-one. But the following morning there is no sign of Richard O'Connor. More than just a stable-boy, Richard acts as the legs of the paralyzed Jack Harper, pushing him around the estate in his wheelchair and sharing with him an affinity with the family's stable of thoroughbreds.

The police aren't interested in the disappearance of a servant so Powerscourt is summoned. And then a body is discovered in the tackroom of one of the farms on the estate. Richard O'Connor has been shot through the head - but why would anyone want to shoot him? And what of Richard's unique ability - he can tell which horse is going to win the race. Did that lead to his death? Or was it the arrival of gangs at the local races, keen to enlist Richard into their crime syndicates?

A night of dancing that ends with the mysterious disappearance of a stable-boy - and Lord Francis Powerscourt is summoned to investigate.

Spring 1914, and Jack Harper, current…