The Rasp

The Rasp

Infobox Book |
name = The Rasp
image_caption = No image available.
author = Philip MacDonald
country = England
language = English
series = Anthony Gethryn mysteries
genre = Mystery novel / Whodunnit
publisher = Collins (1st edition, UK, 1924); Dial (1st edition, USA, 1925)
release_date = 1924 (1st edition)
media_type = Print; first edition hardcover, later editions in paperback
isbn = 0-394-72435-6 (1984 Vintage paperback edition)
preceded_by =
followed_by = The White Crow (1928, the next Gethryn novel)

"The Rasp" is a whodunit mystery novel that was published in 1924 by Philip MacDonald that introduces his series character, detective Colonel Anthony Gethryn. It is set in a country house in rural England.

Plot summary

Anthony Gethryn, ex-secret service agent, is an occasional "special correspondent" for a literary paper and is assigned to cover the story when a cabinet minister, John Hoode, is found murdered in the library at his country house, battered to death with a wood-rasp. Gethryn recalls his acquaintance with a member of the household and is thus invited to investigate the crime as a kind of "friend of the family". It soon seems as though everyone concerned has a cast-iron alibi for the time of the crime, but Gethryn comes up with an imaginative way for the murderer to have accomplished the deed and established an alibi, and reveals the murderer.

Literary significance & criticism

Anthony Gethryn is an early example of the amateur detective, the idea of which was soon to become popular in detective fiction. The focus on the breaking of an elaborate alibi is similar to the work of Freeman Wills Crofts, MacDonald's contemporary. "The story is the conventional body-in-the-study, with a fair amount of obvious detection. ... The killer's fakery is plain from the start. Despite all this, it has several times been declared "a classic" and "epochmaking" by students of the genre." [Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. "A Catalogue of Crime". New York: Harper and Row, 1971, revised edition 1989. ISBN 0-06-015796-8]

Film

The story was made into a film with a screenplay by Philip MacDonald which was directed by Michael Powell in 1932. It starred Claude Horton as Gethryn but is now missing, believed lost.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rasp — For the RASP computing model, see Random access stored program machine. Wood rasp …   Wikipedia

  • rasp — [[t]rɑ͟ːsp, ræ̱sp[/t]] rasps, rasping, rasped 1) VERB If someone rasps, their voice or breathing is harsh and unpleasant to listen to. [V with quote] Where ve you put it? he rasped... He fell back into the water, his breath rasping in his heaving …   English dictionary

  • rasp — 1 verb 1 (I, T) to make a rough unpleasant sound, like that of two surfaces rubbing together: metal rasping against stone | They could hear Peter s rasping breath as he fell to the ground. 2 (T) to rub a surface with something rough raspingly… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • Rasp — Rasp, n. [OE. raspe, OF. raspe, F. r[^a]pe. See {Rasp}, v.] [1913 Webster] 1. A coarse file, on which the cutting prominences are distinct points raised by the oblique stroke of a sharp punch, instead of lines raised by a chisel, as on the true… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Rasp palm — Rasp Rasp, n. [OE. raspe, OF. raspe, F. r[^a]pe. See {Rasp}, v.] [1913 Webster] 1. A coarse file, on which the cutting prominences are distinct points raised by the oblique stroke of a sharp punch, instead of lines raised by a chisel, as on the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Rasp — (r[.a]sp), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Rasped} (r[.a]spt); p. pr. & vb. n. {Rasping}.] [OF. rasper, F. r[^a]per, to scrape, grate, rasp, fr. OHG. rasp[=o]n to scrape together, to collect, probably akin to E. rap. Cf. {Rap} to snatch.] [1913 Webster] 1.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Rasp — /rasp/ (say rahsp) noun Charles, 1846–1907, Australian miner, born in Germany; discoverer of silver at Broken Hill, NSW, in 1883 and one of the original shareholders in BHP. Charles Rasp came to Melbourne from Germany in 1869 owing to ill health …  

  • Rasp (Dino-riders) — Rasp is the second in command of the Rulon empire in the TV cartoon Dino riders . Rasp is a viper like alien. He s vicious and always willing to stab Krulos, the Rulon emperor, in the back. In battle, he normally flies a pterodactyl. He was… …   Wikipedia

  • rasp — /rasp / (say rahsp), /ræsp / (say rasp) verb (t) 1. to scrape or abrade with a rough instrument. 2. to scrape or rub roughly. 3. to grate upon or irritate (the nerves, feelings, etc.). 4. to utter with a grating sound. –verb (i) 5. to scrape or… …  

  • rasp|ber|ry — «RAZ BEHR ee, buhr ; RAHZ », noun, plural ries, adjective. –n. 1. a small fruit that grows on bushes. It is hollow and shaped like a cone. Raspberries are usually red or black, but some kinds are purple white, or yellow. Each berry is composed of …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”