The Curse of the Burdens by John B. Harris (better known as "John Wyndham") (first published as an Aldine Mystery Novel [no. 17]), 1927; the novel is included in the Wyndham collection Technical Slip: Collected Stories, 2024 -- which is actually just a reprinting of the 1954 UK collection Jizzle, with this novel added)
His full name was John Wynham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris (1907-1969), and although his most recognizable writing was under the name "John Wyndham," he also published under variants of his name -- including John Benyon, John B(enyon) Harris, Johnson Harris, Lucas Parkes, and Wyndham Parkes. He started writing professionally in 1925, but his first acknowledged short story, "Worlds to Barter," was published in May 1931. (One source says that he started writing short stories in 1925, while another said only that he "turned to writing for money" in 1925.) One noble Wikipedia editor has cast doubt on Wyndham's authorship of this short novel, saying it "is sometimes attributed to Wyndham, but beyond a vague similarity of names, there is no evidence that he wrote it." The Modern Library edition of Technical Slip: Collected Stories leaves no doubt that this is the work of John Wyndham.
The Curse of the Burdens was published in 1927, and is the first known published work by the author. (A piece of juvenilia, written when the author was about 12, was discovered and printed in a journal of The Science Fiction Foundation in 2000; other than that, I know of no other early writing from the author.) It reads like the work of an unsure but talented hand somewhat under the influence of the Wilkie Collins school. It's a melodrama and it reads veddy, veddy British.
The curse, such as it is, was put on the Burden family four hundred years before, when Henry III dissolved the monasteries and Shotlander Priory was either sold of given to Sir James Burden. The prior at that time, called down the curse of Heaven upon those who were to take over the church property -- "By fire and water your line shall perish." The curse "had seemed the foolish words of an old and dying man." Four hundred years passed and the descendants of Sir James Burden still occupied Shotlander Priory, although the property had never been passed down from father to son.
despite this, the curse proved to be pretty ineffective; it was not noted how many Burdens died by fire or water over those four centuries, but now the curse seems to be on everyone's tongue. Robert Burden, holder of the title had drowned and the property passed on to his cousin, James Burden. James was the older brother of Richard Burden; neither James nor Richard had married and both were childless. It appeared the Burden line would end with them.
Both James and Richard had an inherited income from their father of 250 pounds a year. James, being the owner of the priory, had other income; Richard did not, but was able to meet his expense, just barely. Richard wanted to marry young Letty Kingsbury, the daughter of Sir Julius Kingsbury. Richard asked his brother for a loan of another 250 pounds to allow the marriage to get off to a decent start, by James refused. Sir Julius, meanwhile, was opposed to the marriage, citing the curse of the Burdens, telling Letty that any child she had with Richard would be doomed by the curse. What Richard did not know was that James was also in love with Letty and had asked her to marry him. She refused because she loved Richard. James also went secretly to sir Julius and help dissuade him against Letty marrying her brother.
Richard and Letty meet by the pier, where they are observed by a strange and ugly character whose name is Robinson, who would be appearing mysteriously off and on throughout the novel.
The James is found, drowned. Robinson tells James in secret that he had seen Sir Julius push James in to the water. Then Robinson leaves town.
Now Detective-inspector Linkingborne is called into the case, with his assistant Mr. Ivory. He doesn't appear to do much.
Richard leaves Letty, promising to take her for a ride later in thee day. He heads off to Shotlander Priory, never to been again. The priory burns down, an obvious case of arson. A man with a scarred face, known to be a chauffeur for Robinson is found dead in a snow drift, Linkingborne enlists the aid of Ivory's daughter, Rose, to spy on Sir Julius and Letty because Rose had her own theory about the curse of the Burdens. Rose surreptitiously views Sir Julius physically fighting with a person who is not there and begins to doubt his sanity, especially after he admits to seeing a dead man in the doorway.
Oh. and there's secret passages and hidden rooms, a mysterious crime in India, a rumored treasure trove of gold, a loyal butler who had served four master in as many years, someone stealing a car that had already been stolen, and explanations that seem to come from nowhere. It's a jumbled mess.
But it's an interesting mess, in part because of the echoes of Wilkie Collins I mentioned above. clearly it's a book of its time. While not an accomplished novel, one keeps reading just see what bizarre plot point will be thrown at you next.
Wyndham would go on to do much more significant writing, becoming perhaps the most influential British science fiction writer since H. G. Wells, only to be deposed by J, G. Ballard and England's "new wave." But this book is, alas, for completists and for people, like me, who are just a bit quirky.
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