Albert Campion

Infobox character
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name = Albert Campion
series = Albert Campion mysteries


caption =
first = "The Crime at Black Dudley"
last =
cause =
creator = Margery Allingham
portrayer = Peter Davison
episode =
nickname =
alias = the Honourable Tootles Ash, Mornington Dodd, Orlando, Christopher Twelvetrees
species =
gender = male
age =
born = 1900
death =
specialty =
occupation = adventurer, detective
title =
callsign =
family =
spouse = Lady Amanda Fitton
children = Rupert (son)
relatives = Valentine Ferris (sister)
residence = number 17, Bottle Street in Piccadilly, London
religion =
nationality = British
imdb_id =

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" (1929), an adventure story involving a ring of criminals, and would go on to feature in another 17 novels and over 20 short stories. Supposedly created as a parody of Dorothy L. Sayers' detective Lord Peter Wimsey, [ [http://www.strandmag.com/campion.htm "The Great Detectives: Albert Campion" by Mike Ripley, Strand Magazine] ] Campion established his own identity, and matured and developed as the series progressed.

Fictional biography

Albert Campion is a pseudonym used by a man who was born in 1900 into a prominent British aristocratic family. He was educated at Totham School and the (fictitious) St. Ignatius' College, Cambridge (according to a mini-biography included in "Sweet Danger"). Ingenious, resourceful and well-educated, in his 20s he assumed the name Campion and began a life as an adventurer and detective.

Characteristics

Campion is thin, blond, wears glasses, and is often described as affable, inoffensive and bland, with a deceptively blank and unintelligent expression. He is, nonetheless, a man of authority and action, and considers himself to be a helpful and comforting "Uncle Albert" to friends and those in need. In some stories, he lives in a flat above a police station at Number 17, Bottle Street in Piccadilly, London. In the early stories he has a pet jackdaw called Autolycus.

Names

The choice of the name "Campion" may have its origin in the Old French word for "champion". [Martin, Richard.(1988) "Ink in her Blood (The Life and Crime Fiction of Margery Allingham)," Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press. p64 ] Another source says the name, which nods at the Jesuit martyr St Edmund Campion, was suggested by Allingham's husband Philip Youngman Carter. Both Edmund Campion and Youngman Carter were old boys of Christ's Hospital school in London. [Morpurgo, J. E. (1988) introduction to "The Return of Mr Campion" London: Hodder and Stoughton. pxiii] 'Albert Campion' is revealed early on to be a pseudonym. In "Mystery Mile", his true first name is said to be Rudolph, while his surname begins with a K. In "The Fashion in Shrouds" he also mentions his first name being Rudolph but confides he changed it asking people to call him Albert as he didn't like the name Rudolph. Campion also uses many other names in the course of his work, including "Mornington Dodd" and "The Honourable Tootles Ash" (both from "The Crime at Black Dudley") and "Christopher Twelvetrees" and "Orlando" (both mentioned in "Look to the Lady").

Family and background

Allingham makes various references to Campion's aristocratic background, and hints at a connection to royalty in several asides. A study of the books suggests his father was a Viscount, and was already dead at the start of the series. [ [http://www.margeryallingham.fsnet.co.uk/rogerjohnson.html "Thoughts on Mr Campion and his family" by Roger Johnson] ] Campion's mother is mentioned several times and writes a letter in "The Fashion in Shrouds", and Campion borrows a car from his older brother in "Mystery Mile", but neither of them appear in person. His sister Valentine Ferris plays a central part in "The Fashion in Shrouds"; in that book, it is revealed that they are both estranged from most of their family. In "Police at the Funeral", the venerable Caroline Faraday is aware of his true identity, and knows his grandmother Emily - she states at one point that the rest of his family blame Emily for encouraging Campion in his adventurous ways.

Associates

From "Mystery Mile" onwards, Campion is normally aided by his manservant, Magersfontein Lugg, an uncouth, rough-and-tumble fellow who used to be a burglar. He is good friends with Inspector (later Superintendent) Stanislaus Oates of Scotland Yard, who is as by-the-book as Campion is unorthodox, and in later books with Inspector Charles Luke.

In wartime, Campion is involved in intelligence work and after the war he continues to have a connection to the secret services.

Campion also has many friends and allies, seemingly scattered all across London and the English countryside, often including professional criminals. In the short story "The Meaning of the Act" Campion explains to Oates that the secret of his success is to "take a drink with anyone, and pick your pals where you find 'em". [Allingham, Margery. (1950) "Mr Campion and Others", London: Penguin. "The Meaning of the Act", p240 ]

In "Mystery Mile" Campion is subtly shown to be in love with Biddy Paget, around whose home most of the story revolves; Campion is distraught when, at the end of the adventure, she marries an American, and his sadness at losing her is mentioned again in subsequent stories.

After a doomed love affair with a married woman in "Dancers in Mourning" Campion eventually marries Amanda Fitton, who first appears in "Sweet Danger" as a seventeen-year old and later become an aircraft engineer; they have a son, called Rupert.

See also: Recurring characters in the Albert Campion series.

Bibliography

The Campion stories are generally adventures rather than true mysteries, as they rarely feature puzzles that the reader has a chance of solving; it is the characters and situations which carry the story. Most of the novels are short by modern standards - about 200 pages long.

Novels

*"The Crime at Black Dudley" (1929) (U.S. title: "The Black Dudley Murder")
*"Mystery Mile" (1930)
*"Look to the Lady" (1931) (U.S. title: "The Gyrth Chalice Mystery")
*"Police at the Funeral" (1931)
*"Sweet Danger" (1933) (U.S. title: "Kingdom of Death" or "The Fear Sign")
*"Death of a Ghost" (1934)
*"Flowers for the Judge" (1936) (U.S. title: "Legacy in Blood")
*"The Case of the Late Pig" (1937)
*"Dancers in Mourning" (1937) (U.S. title: "Who Killed Chloe?")
*"The Fashion in Shrouds" (1938)
*"Traitor's Purse" (1941) (U.S. title: "The Sabotage Murder Mystery")
*"Coroner's Pidgin" (1945) (U.S. title: "Pearls Before Swine")
*"More Work for the Undertaker" (1948)
*"The Tiger in the Smoke" (1952)
*"The Beckoning Lady" (1955) (U.S. title: "The Estate of the Beckoning Lady")
*"Hide My Eyes" (1958) (U.S. title: "Tether's End" or "Ten Were Missing")
*"The China Governess" (1962)
*"The Mind Readers" (1965)
*"Cargo of Eagles" (1968) (completed posthumously by Philip Youngman Carter)
*"Mr. Campion's Farthing" (1969) (by Philip Youngman Carter)
*"Mr. Campion's Falcon" (1970) (U.S. title: "Mr. Campion's Quarry") (by Philip Youngman Carter)

hort story collections

*"Mr. Campion and Others" (1939, 1950)
*"The Allingham Case-Book" (1969)
*"The Allingham Minibus" (U.S. title: "Mr. Campion's Lucky Day and Other Stories") (1973)
*"The Return of Mr. Campion" (1989)

Adaptations

The Campion stories have twice been the subject of television adaptations.

Two stories were adapted by the BBC in 1959 and 1960, with Bernard Horsfall as Campion and Wally Patch as Lugg. Each story was shown in 6 30-minute episodes. The 1959 adaptation of "Dancers in Mourning" also featured John Ruddock as Oates, Denis Quilley as Jimmy Sutane, Michael Gough as Squire Mercer and Noel Howlett as "Uncle" William Faraday. The 1960 adaptation, "Death of a Ghost", featured Arthur Brough as Oates.

In 1989 and 1990, eight of the novels were adapted over two seasons, with each story shown in two hour-long episodes. Peter Davison played Campion, Brian Glover was Lugg and Andrew Burt was Oates. For more details, see the main article.

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.strandmag.com/campion.htm An article about Campion] from the Strand Magazine
* [http://www.margeryallingham.org.uk/bibliography.htm An Allingham bibliography] , with dates and publishers, from the UK Margery Allingham Society
* [http://www.margeryallingham.org.uk/plotsummaries.htm A series of Allingham plot summaries] , including many Campion books, from the UK Margery Allingham Society
* [http://www.idir.net/~nedblake/allingham_03.html Another Allingham bibliography] , with more alternative titles and links to summaries
*imdb title|id=94430|title=Campion
*imdb title|id=457234|title=Dancers in Mourning (1959)
*imdb title|id=457235|title=Death of a Ghost (1960)
* [http://www.margeryallingham.fsnet.co.uk/rogerjohnson.html "Thoughts on Mr Campion and his family" by Roger Johnson] , a piecing together of Campion's biography