The Nebuly Coat, by John Meade Falkner

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Many books of the period up to 1922 were originally published in serial form, usually in weekly instalments. Such books might be put into book form for the first time several years after the author's death.

This extraordinary book was acclaimed on its publication in 1903 as one of the very best books ever written in the English language. We have worked for this transcription from the first edition, which was given two impressions, of which we used the second.

There are not so many actors in the story that the reader is baffled, and each of them is beautifully drawn, so that their characters stand out clearly and consistently. It appears that the action of the story was set in the 1860s.

There is a sudden death. Was it a murder? It was recorded as an accidental death in the inquest. If it was a murder then who did it? There is one possibility, but it is unthinkable.

Through a very minor accident the whole situation becomes clear: the mystery is unravelled; the reasons for various earlier actions become known to us.

From the very beginning of the book there is sustained tension, and our interest is kept with ever increasing intensity until we reach the extraordinary climax in the last words of the book.

The author, John Meade Falkner (1858-1932) was the son of a curate in the south of England, who provided him with a good education. After coming down from Oxford he took a short-term job as tutor to a schoolboy, John Noble, who needed help with his University entrance requirements (1883). Falkner also taught the younger children, and when that was no longer needed their father took him on as his personal secretary (1885), shortly after that (1888) making him Company Secretary of his own armaments and munitions company (Armstrong Mitchell and Co). Falkner was an excellent linguist, and travelled widely on behalf of the company in the successful search of contracts. He became a director of the Armstrong Whitworth Co in 1901, and on the death of his patron in 1915 he became Chairman, in which post he remained until 1920, and was a main board member until his retirement in 1927. He was widely read, collected rare and mediaeval literature that he came across on his travels, and finally held an honorary position as librarian to the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral. He was particularly pleased to become an honorary fellow of his Oxford College, Hertford (1927).

He wrote two other novels, having left the manuscript of a third on a train. These were "The Lost Stradivarius" (1895) and "Moonfleet" (1896). He also wrote guides to Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and some notable poetry.