The China Governess is a crime novel

Crime fiction

Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...

 by Margery Allingham

Margery Allingham

Margery Louise Allingham was an English crime writer, best remembered for her detective stories featuring gentleman sleuth Albert Campion.- Childhood and schooling :...

, first published in 1963

1963 in literature

The year 1963 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*First United States printing of John Cleland's 1749 novel, Fanny Hill . The book is banned for obscenity, triggering a court case by its publisher.*Leslie Charteris publishes his final collection of stories...

, in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 by Chatto & Windus, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. It is the seventeenth novel in the Albert Campion

Albert Campion

Albert Campion is a fictional character in a series of detective novels and short stories by Margery Allingham. He first appeared as a supporting character in The Crime at Black Dudley , an adventure story involving a ring of criminals, and would go on to feature in another 17 novels and over 20...

series.

Plot introduction

Timothy Kinnit is trying to elope with Julia, but the question of his origins as a wartime refugee baby stand between them and their future. What does the "Turk Sreet Mile", once the wickedest street in London but now redeveloped after wartime bombing, have to do with the mystery ? Can Albert Campion and the recently-widowed Chief Inspector Charles Luke find the answer and discover who wants it kept a secret ?

External links

• An Allingham bibliography, with dates and publishers, from the UK Margery Allingham Society
• A page about the book from the Margery Allingham Archive