The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries

This is a series, written by Gyles Brandreth, set against the exotic backdrop of London, Paris, America and the Vatican and evokes Oscar Wilde’s trademark wit and brilliance with huge flair, intertwining all the intrigue of the classic English murder mystery with a compelling portrait of one of the greatest characters of the Victorian age. I would call it historical faction as the diaries of Richard Sherard (Oscar Wilde’s biographer and grandson of William Wordsworth) have been shown to be a major source of information. “Lovers of historical mystery will relish this chilling Victorian tale based on real events and cloaked in authenticity” according to Gyles. 

I have read the first 4 of the 6 novels. (http://www.oscarwildemurdermysteries.com/b6_description.php provides shot synopsis of each book and also the alternative titles for the USA market for some of the books.)

1.      Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders

2.      Oscar Wilde and The Ring of Death

3.      Oscar Wilde and Dead Man’s Smile

4.      Oscar Wilde and the Nest of Vipers

5.      Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders

6.      Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol

The stories are well told and the element of mystery is extremely well handled. In fact for the 4 stories I have read the twist in the tale identifying the culprit at the end defiantly comes as a surprise. As the tale is told from the detailed information within the diaries all the facts have been laid out and still the plot is not easy to unravel. I have had such fun reading this and puzzling over the identity of the murderer and also the motive of murder. 

The other draw to the books is reading about personalities you have heard of, for example Sir Arthur Canon Doyle is a friend of Oscar and is around the time when he has just published his first Sherlock Homes book. He is a part of many of the tales and seems to pick ideas and events that he could later weave into this books. Indeed he is seen to be stating often that Oscar could be Sherlock and with Richard Sherard keeping a detailed written account of his daily life he was easily demonstrating the role of Watson. Arthur Canon Doyle is a practicing doctor and also a sculpture. There is a fascinating glimpse in this well-known personality. 

Bram Stoker is another name I recognised who is a friend, and well ‘into’ the existence of vampires while researching for his famous character Dracula. One of the stories runs around the theatre and gives us glimpses of the lives of Sarah Bernhardt and actor-manager Edmond La Grange. In another tale you see the lives of the Prince of Wales, his son, and other royalty such as Duke and Duchess of Albemarle. There is a look at the then understanding of and practice of psychiatry with hypnosis being the popular therapy for most mental illnesses and in particular hysteria of all kinds as well as medical research. There are other actors, painters, musicians that are dotted around the stories and most are, of course, familiar names. 

The final fascination of these stories is the description of life in those times which can be surprising considering the eventual straight-laced attitudes of the British people. The open use of drugs such as cocaine was normal and they were indeed sold over the counter and advised for healthier living. Having a wife did not stop men from having affairs. It seems that while this was happening in many of the marriages that it was a norm but not on display as such. All wink wink nudge nudge variety. While it was not legal to be a homosexual during these times, the stories tell of how clandestine groups and friendships existed all on the hush hush. There was also an accepted fact that ‘men will be men’ and so will form relationships with actresses, dancers, ‘ladies of disrepute’ and so on.  Thus the times, fashion and lives of people are described well in the stories. Gyles provides a good deal of detail with regards to the fashion of this period, which sometimes boggles the mind at the combinations of colours and fabrics. 

So besides a good mystery these books provide a look at the times, live of various well known figures and of course a lot about Oscar Wilde’s personality, his friends, his writings, his wife and sons. While there is no need to read them in any particular order as each one is a clear stand-alone story I am obsessed in reading according to the order of publication. I am on to my next book………Hope you enjoy them as well.

Batata Pauva

This one is an old and trusted snack that can be adapted with varied ingredients once you get the basic idea of making this recipe. My mother used to make it a long time back and while I really enjoyed it, I rarely made it when I started cooking. I am not sure why, maybe I mistakenly thought this was a time consuming recipe. The flaked rice / pauva, central to the recipe was sold in the local Asian food store so I cannot cite lack of ingredient as an excuse. No matter, I have finally got around to making it and finding it an easy and quick recipe that can be a snack or a full one dish meal.

Ingredients:

•  A medium onion (brown or white) or large shallot
• 2 small chillies
• An inch of ginger
• 1 -2 cloves of garlic (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of oil (I used olive oil but you can use any cooking oil)
• 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds.
• 1 dry chilli and 3 cloves and a small piece of cinnamon stick (optional)
• A medium sized potato
• 1 cup of flaked rice (my cup is 225ml in size)
•  Half teaspoon of chilli powder
•   Half teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 and half teaspoon of coriander powder
• Half teaspoon of cumin powder
•  Half teaspoon of sugar
•  Salt to taste
•  Juice of a quarter lime
• 1 table spoon of chopped fresh coriander

Method:

Place the flaked rice in a colander and wash them under flowing water. Make sure all the flaked rice has been soaked. Let the water drain out and leave to one side for the flakes to get soft. This can be done half hour prior to adding them to the cooking potatoes. I tend to do this before I start chopping up the ingredients.

Chop the onions, ginger and chillies finely.  If adding garlic that too has to be finely chopped.

Chop potato in small cubes for the speed of cooking and leave in a bowl with water.

In a medium sized pan (I use non-stick ones to avoid sticking of the ingredients for alternatively I would have to use more oil) add the oil and mustard seeds (you can add 1 dry chilli and 3 cloves and a small piece of cinnamon stick in the tempering for added spice).

When the mustard seeds start popping add the onions and chillies cook for a few minutes till the onions are soft and translucent. Stir as necessary to avoid burning the onions. Then add the chopped ginger (and garlic) and stir for another minute.

The drain the chopped potato and add to the pan. Add salt, chilli, cumin, coriander and turmeric powder along with the sugar. Stir and leave to cook. You can close the lid to create steam to speed up the cooking.

Once the potato is cooked add the flaked rice that has been softening to the pan. Reduce the heat and stir the mix together.  It does not take long for the flaked rice to warm up and since it is softened it cooks within those few minutes.

Add the lime juice and stir.

Serve in a plate and sprinkle some chopped fresh coriander on it to garnish.

This recipe makes a couple of decent platefuls.

Tips -

• You can add a cup of frozen peas when the potatoes are half cooked and increase the veg content. I tend to do that almost always.
•  You can add some walnuts or cashew nuts when the onion is softening to add a crunch and different flavour.  
• The dish can be had by itself or else with some plain yogurt.
• I have also served it occasionally with raita - plain yogurt with grated cucumber and / or finely chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt and black pepper.

I hope now you can enjoy this dish as much as I do and try variations by adding vegetables or playing with the spices.

“Death in” series by JD Robb

JD Robb is the pseudonym for Nora Roberts. This is a detective / murder mystery series set in the late 2050s – early 2060s. I found it by chance in the local library. I was browsing for authors and books in the same genre. I had not heard of this series and the synopsis looked good so I borrowed the book. It was a while back and so I cannot remember that first one I read. I started buying the books as I saw them in the book shops. More recently I found the whole series as e-books and so I have actually read then right from the first one all over again in the correct sequence. You will wonder why I say that but this is a series which shows a progression in the lives of the characters of the book. I also chose to review the series; there are 44 books now; instead of book at a time for this reason.

First aspect that is worth looking at is the futuristic view of the world. There are fancy cars that fly. There is a mention and often referred to something called the Urban Wars which seems some kind of revolution to overthrow the oppressing inequality in the society. Most of the early books have some reference to it and some information about it with how it affected the lives of various characters. There seems to be a fairly divided society with the haves and the have-nots. There seems a lot of emphasis on body beautiful and many ways to ensure it and live longer with more ways to entertain and please self. There is the usual balance of the good and bad seen in any society.

The lead figure of this story is LT. Eve Dallas who leads the team of detectives investigating murders in New York City. We start the series with the murder of the granddaughter of a prominent figure in politics. This appears to be her first lead in a major crime investigation where she must be diplomatic with all the highly placed persons. The investigation brings her in contact with Roarke who is her chief suspect. He is an extremely rich business man who ‘owns half the known universe’. And so starts a romance and love story that sees their relationship developing throughout the series. Both characters are a foil for each other, with tragic pasts and reaching their present status through hard work and ingenuity, with parts being revealed and personalities explored as we read through the series.

Then, of course, we have the detective’s side kick / partner Delia Peabody, who she finds as a uniform at the crime scene, sees her potential and gets her transferred to her division. She hero worships Dallas and again her character develops both as a person and as a police detective. She is a mixture of her Free- Age upbringing and a city dweller with law enforcement. Now this being the future the technology is much more sophisticated and so of course there is an electronic division to help with the forensics. The head of it, Captain Feeney, is the old partner, mentor and father figure, of Dallas. As the life of the character gets woven Peabody’s love life brings in the smart and expert IT guy Detective Ian MacNab.

There are a team of good detectives we get to know well over the series, Commander Jack Whitney her immediate superior, a police psychologist and profiler Dr Mira (we also know her family eventually), the Medical Examiner Morris, APA Reo are the characters regularly seen.

The other players of the story are Lawrence Summerset who manages Roarke’s home, Mavis a friend of Dallas who she has stopped from carrying on a life of crime and who has a talent for singing which eventually gets to shine and she becomes a big star, and families of the main characters come and go as the story demands. It is not easy to try and encapsulate a series but I am attempting to do so in the hope that I can express the essence of continuity of the lives of people involved. The central theme is usually the murder, uncovering of conspiracy, serial killers in varying scenarios and yes it can get to feel well known after a while but the continuity of characters and their lives and the social structure formed by all these lives interweaving is fascinating. The quick reminder of past aspects maybe even from way back in the earlier books is vital in helping the reader to see it all as one big story and each book more or less chapter of that mega story. 

Some things can be seen as clichés for example many of the stories are woven around one or other of the ‘good’  guys being under suspicion of the murder and Dallas has to work hard and by the book to ensure that the real criminal is found and her ‘friends’ kept safe. Again this does not detract from the pleasure of reading as when there is such a focus on one of the characters the author takes the time to explore this character and his / her relationships with others in the story. The basis of any good story - the triumph of good over evil and the victory of justice to keep the public safe is the same cliché that works well in this genre. Yes the individual stories can be read a stand-alone and one-off reads but as I found the pleasure was in reading the series and in the order of the publications as this is what keeps me reading and waiting for the next book. The characters become familiar like friends with their predictable quirks, shortcomings and passions. So anyone wanting the familiar murder mystery in a police detective variety will find the reading of this series with that little twist an enjoyable expericne.

Conundrum of Life

How preoccupied we are with the good and bad

That we forgot to live with what we had

Can we have some fun and live a full life

Or should we be busy in just avoiding strife

When is coffee in and when is alcohol out?

Is the dessert too sweet and we must do without?

Which tea should be a matter of taste

Rather than what latest ‘guru’ dictates

Have we lost our teeth so young

That praises of juices must be sung?

Which is a better juice, green or red?

Me! I rather be properly fed

In the latest news, fat is in and sugar is out

Blamed for obesity and soon to be taxed out

Eating fads come and go

According to which business is slow

People make money hand over fist

By picking our insecurities out of the mist

There is a pill for everything

And it is better for it packs more of everything!

Specialists come out of the woodwork

Telling me this, that and the other will work

Make you healthy, make you young

Make you pretty and less high strung

They tell you what to think and how to feel

Only you have to follow them is the deal

This herd mentality and mob behaviour

Being taught from childhood is not our saviour

We are divided by so much, caste, creed and religion

Not to mention the status, race and nation

Everyone is on social media hoping to get closer

But becoming more schadenfreude with every life’s loser

These is a loss of privacy at our own hands

When all our selfies and vids instantaneously hit the stands

The perspective of life has changed

Values and purposes have also changed

While progress is a must to evolve mankind

But when change is for sake of change, the word thoughtless comes to mind

Should technology rule our progress?

Will we evolve to higher beings through this progress?

Or are we losing the very qualities and skills that make us human?

And the eventual lack of these, making us subhuman

A worrying end if life is about survival of the fittest

Not many of us will pass the test

So let us reclaim out thoughts, values and individuality

Embrace our differences and love each other’s vitality

To live and let live should be our aim

So love laughter and joy all can claim

Sunday Morning

A lazy Sunday morning

A nice warm sunny morning

Reading bits of the Guardian when a title catches my eye

Even one on vibrators does not make me shy

Between thoughts of authors like Clive James and Joyce Carol Oats

Experiences and asking for help notes

Of people who live and think so differently from me

Trying to understand what makes then different from me

A joke or cartoon catches the eye now and then

Making me smile or even laugh again

A cup of tea to sip at hand

Crossword puzzle that I am attempting to understand

Pencil hovers over the puzzle while I frown in concentration

Then I think do I really enjoy this sensation

Of frustration and drop back to random thoughts

Flitting from one to another akin to unguided bots

Why is it that I forgive grievances of past?

Have I grown mellow at last?

Is it that life has thrown up alternate perspectives?

So why new hurts are not avoided by these changed perspectives?

As I grow older and maybe wiser

Just because my past experience is my advisor

I care a little less for conventions

Aiming only for joyous interactions

Occasional Sunday reflection is good

Stopping to smell the roses does my soul good