The Perfect Butler

The fourth volume of the works of Margery Ellingham includes the ninth and tenth novels, as well as a collection of stories titled «Mr. Campion and Others». The image of Albert Campion, the mysterious and unconventional gentleman detective, was conceived as a parody of Lord Peter Wimsey from Dorothy Sayers' novels, but soon Campion «grew» into a completely independent character, part detective, part adventurer. Margery Ellingham is the acknowledged queen of English detective fiction, standing out among other authors of the genre, in the words of Agatha Christie, «like a burning lamp». The famous actress Georgia has no equal in stage art or in the art of winning men's hearts. And although she is now married to Raymond, who adores her and is terribly jealous, this does not prevent her from seducing the aircraft designer Alan. A classic love triangle? No, the geometry here is much more complex: Alan is secretly in love with Georgia's couturier Val, and besides, a corpse of Richard, Georgia's former fiancé who disappeared three years ago, has just been found in the woods. There is no doubt that the cause of death was suicide—and jealousy cannot be ruled out... Most of the works are published in a new translation.