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Book reviews for "Dudley_Edwards,_Ruth" sorted by average review score:
The English School of Murder
Published in Hardcover by St. Martin's Press (April, 1990)
Author: Ruth Dudley Edwards
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A Really Good Read
The writing is splendid, the story is intriguing (I was kept in the dark as to the miscreant - no small feat). The protagonist is human and likeable, and the cast of characters a motley crowd of eccentrics. I loved this book, laughed my way through it (while puzzling),and truly hated turning the last page.

Publish and Be Murdered
Published in Paperback by Poisoned Pen Press (March, 1999)
Author: Ruth Dudley Edwards
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Nothing amiss about this satirical amateur sleuth

His family has owned the journal for two centuries and Lord Papworth will do anything to keep it alive and well. Desperate for help, he turns to Robert Amiss, offering the civil servant an opportunity to take over as the business manager of the Wrangler before the highly regarded periodical leaves the aristocrat bankrupt. After seeing the pre-computer technology that is deeply entrenched as part of the culture, Robert wants to miss out on this opportunity. However, Baroness Jack Troutbeck pushes Robert into taking over the business side of the journal.

It is hard enough to prod dinosaurs forward four decades. However, Robert soon deals with a killer murdering the members of the Wrangler staff. An unknown assailant kills the political editor and the magazine's editor. Robert worries that he too could be on the hit list. Robert assists as Jack tries to uncover the identity of a murderer.

The seventh Amiss satirical amateur sleuth tale retains all the charm, wit, and skewing of society that readers expect from Ruth Dudley Edwards. The story line is typical of Robert, who finds employment to be a deadly occupation. Jack remains delightfully insolent as Ms. Edwards knocks out journalism and inflexible customs with one punch.

Harriet Klausner

The Pursuit of Reason: The Economist 1843-1993
Published in Hardcover by Harvard Business School Press (March, 1995)
Author: Ruth Dudley Edwards
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Quality magazines never die
"The pursuit of reason" is a detailled and excellent written history of the Economist.It's the answer to the question:HOW CAN A BUSINESS MAGAZINE SURVIVE FOR MORE THAN 150 YEARS? The answer of this book is: quality goes never out of style.A must for every economist who loves his job.

Faithful Tribe: The Loyal Institutions
Published in Hardcover by Harpercollins Pub Ltd (June, 1999)
Author: Ruth Dudley Edwards
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An important book
I was born and grew up in Protestant, working-class Belfast. I think that the Irish reviewer elsewhere is occasionally too harsh, but I think his (or her) basic premises are correct. Edwards appears to me to lean too much to the Orange side, making much of the basic decency of the average Orangeman (something which I can personally vouch for). As the Irish reviewer said, the Protestants see themselves as hard-working, clean and tidy, while the Catholics are "throughother" (lovely Northern word meaning untidy and dirty). My bitterly Orange grandmother certainly thought so. Edwards seems to accept this without actually saying so. Naughty!

The real value of this book is that it portrays the Northern Protestants as they see themselves. This is a viewpoint which the other parties, the British and Irish governments, the Nationalist/Republican parties and the IRA, ignore at their peril. These are the people whose battle cry, shouted from the walls of Derry in 1689, is "No surrender!" They will not collapse, they will not go away and if confronted, they will go down kicking and screaming all the way. They have the capacity to cause enormous damage to the whole island of Ireland. It should be compulsory reading for all concerned.

At last, the truth
This book is excellent and should be compulsory reading for all Americans interested in Ireland. It is a clear exposition of the traditions and religious beliefs of the Orangemen and demolishes much of the myths smeared at the LOI by anti-Protestant bigots. A very very good read and the authoress should be congratulated.

A look from a different view
As an American, I am constantly bombarded with pro-Irish, Catholic views when it comes to the state of Northern Ireland. Heck, most of us become Irish every March 17th, but finally I have found a book that talks about Northern Ireland from a view other than an Irish-Catholic one.
"A Fatihful Tribe" does very well at trying to explain a part of Protestant Northern Ireland without stomping all over the ideas of Catholics living there. Edwards did an excellent job at trying to explain the essence of the Orange Order and how it relates to many Protestants of Northern Ireland. I had the privilege of living in a small town outside of Belfast for a few months in a Protestant household, who has members of the Orange Order. Though I never went to any meetings, I did attend many events including some of the larger parades. Edwards does an amazing job of accurately describing the whole idea of the typical Orangeman and how the Protestant community as a whole is. I heard all the stories and especially the bias of "Irish" Ameicans about how Northern Ireland and how Catholics are treated. Both sides have their good and bad points and Edwards is great at showing that there is always a few people who give a whole organization, or maybe even a whole religion a bad name.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in Northern Ireland. I have not found many books that show the Protestant view. But more than that, she is a person who was raised Catholic in the Republic and has chosen to be as unbiased as she can.

Corridors of Death
Published in Audio Cassette by Chivers Audio Books (September, 2000)
Authors: Ruth Dudley Edwards and Bill Wallis
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An intelligent mystery with a whiff of better things to come
This is the first of RDE's series of mysteries set in modern-day British institutions, introducing Robert Amiss, the unlikely and likeable hero of the series, and his policeman friend Jim Milton. It demonstrates RDE's trade-mark clear-sighted understanding of her settings, in this case the intricacies and absurdities of the British government and civil service. At the same time she does not lecture. She hits the plot straight away (we don't even get to meet the murder victim alive) and does not let up the pace. Amiss is the junior-but-fast-tracked (graduate entrant), intelligent and basically decent Private Secretary to the murdered Permanent Secretary who is recruited by Milton to be his mole and his guide to the complex hierarchy, conventions and personalities involved. Amiss' explanations get a wee bit laboured - I can't believe that a senior British policeman needs to have explained to him what the various "Secretaries" in the civil service really connote - but I guess explanation in some form or another is unavoidable if she is not to lose her non-British readers entirely. As it is, this is a painless and indeed enjoyable introduction to the British civil service by an insider (as RDE has been a civil servant herself).

Another RDE trademark is that believable and distinct (and recognisably British) characters come to life with remarkable economy of words. As usual with RDE the plot is not over-clever, but nonetheless tight and can't be faulted. Her strength really is making everything so true-to-life. Policemen engage in real hard thinking and thorough dog-work, coping at the same time with political pressures. People act true to nature and yet don't always conform to steorotype. Milton and Amiss display real intelligence and understanding of human nature (no glaring oversight of an obvious angle which proves to be the key to the mystery). RDE mixes realism and entertainment to a commendable degree. Needless to say, she writes well; well-paced, articulate and snappy prose.

This books take the point of view of Jim Milton more than Robert Amiss, which is interesting for devotees of the series because Amiss quickly becomes central whereas Milton fades away gradually. For the reader interested in character development, this first book provides an important piece in the jigsaw. Here Milton is portrayed more vividly than in any other book in the series, and we learn to respect his patience and professionalism, and understand a little more of his personal life. Amiss is a bit flat here compared to the following and later books where he becomes more lively. One gets the feeling that perhaps at this stage RDE meant Milton to be her central character rather than Amiss. But this is the only book where he is in real and appropriate employment so for Amiss fans it is a chance to see him on his homeground.

I give this four rather then five stars because some later books in this series (Matricide, Ten Lords, Publish) are more deserving of full honours. She hasn't quite gotten into her satirical stride in this first book, though that's not to say that she's not irreverent. But it is only in later books that her satire gets truly and howlingly wicked, and her comic talent blossoms. I recommend any book in the series; not one of them is a dud.

James Connolly
Published in Hardcover by Gill & MacMillan, Ltd. (Ireland) (January, 1981)
Author: Ruth Dudley Edwards
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Clear, concise study of a labor leader and a patriot
Ruth Dudley Edwards does an effective job of presenting the character of James Connolly, hero of the 1916 Easter Rising, in all his contradictions--socialist and nationalist, intellectual and day laborer, practical labor leader and socialist theoretician. She does a particularly good job of 1) selecting from Connolly's writings to show how he resolved, at least to his own satisfaction, the contradictions between socialism and nationalism, and 2) how the frustrations of his life as a radical newspaperman and labor organizer eventually led him to an alliance with romantic fatalist Pearse and the rest of the doomed nationalists of the Rising. The book is very short, and well worth the effort.

Murder in a Cathedral
Published in Hardcover by St. Martin's Press (June, 1997)
Author: Ruth Dudley Edwards
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Enjoyable, especially for followers of the series
Robert Amiss only lives up to his surname when he heeds the advice of his friend Baroness Jack Troutbeck. After all the misadventures that Jack gets him into he wonders why he still listens to her. This time around, she persuades (perhaps bullies is a more apt description) a near broke Robert to accept a job accompanying her when she visits Westonbury Cathedral. He should have known that the easiest job in the world would turn int o the job from hell if Jack is involved. ..... It seems that the locale, the Westonbury Cathedral, is imbued with a massive controversy that threatens to rip the Church of England in half with its worst feud since Henry's days. The new dean is an American fundamentalist who wants to end all the new age gurus that have entered the church. His ideas split the church into two factions who turn violent and deadly, including killing the new dean. Robert and Jack find themselves flooded with numerous suspects as they try to uncover the identity of the killer. However, in Robert's mind, it is Jack's friendship with everyone in the universe and her opinion on everything under the universe that is driving him away from the church. ..... The Robert Amiss tales are superb satires that laugh at every potential politically correct thing imaginable. However, it must be understood that MURDER IN A CATHEDRAL is not for everyone. Some readers will laugh at the antics of Jack, while others will feel that she is an abrasive SOB. The who-done-it is fun, but whether the reader enjoys Jack's pontificating on everything right and wrong with the C O E (the Church of England not the Corps of Engineers) depends on whether they love a British satire that overwhelms the mystery. ......Harriet Klausner

The Anglo-Irish Murders
Published in Audio CD by Chivers Audio Books (September, 2001)
Authors: Ruth Dudley Edwards and Bill Wallis
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Murder from a Bigot's Standpoint
The thought of assembling a cast of farcical characters in a secluded castle representing all different viewpoints in the Anglo-Irish struggle had a great deal of promise in the beginning. In fact, when I read the first chapter or so, I had high hopes for a brilliant lampoon of all aspects of Irish and English society. But then the very one-sided political views of the author began to intrude on the novel. She is obviously very pro-British and pro-Unionist in her views, and anyone on the Irish nationalist side or any who are too close to them are either fools or villains in her view. In fact, the only criticism lobbed at any of the British characters is that they are too wimpy and give in to the "ridiculous demands" of the Irish nationalists (or "killers and mass murderers" as Ms. Edwards puts it.) The Unionists and Orangemen are all shown to be noble, upstanding characters (though somewhat eccentric), except for one who gets too close to the nationalists and gets murdered for his trouble. Outlandish characters like an Indian and a Japanese are shown to be wise men, even though vilified by racial epithets by the British baroness in charge of the conference in the castle. But of the four Irish nationalists or sympathizers in the plot, all are evil hypocrites or utter fools. Three are killed off in the plot and one later on, to show that "the only good Nationalist is a dead one" apparently. Various conference events provoke arguments amongst the attendees, and of course the views of the Irish are ridiculed. The author goes so far as to claim that the Irish Potato Famine was not an example of British inhumanity, but just "a spot of bad management". Sorry, but an event that left over 1 million people starving to death while the ample foodstuffs in the island were exported to England for sale does not qualify as "bad management". The word "genocide" comes to mind instead. She also blithely claims that the Protestant population in the Republic of Ireland was mostly wiped out through massacre, which is patently absurd. And her defense of British colonialism as a "beneficent policy" makes her look foolish. Perhaps she should have had her Indian character explain why, if British rule in India was so beneficial, the Indian population couldn't wait to kick the British out.
While I appreciated the farcical elements (like naming many of the lesser characters after famous Irish patriots) and enjoyed a few of the characters' foibles, the author's polemics against the entire Irish race and against the Catholic Church in particular ruined the book for me. Even the Irish characters who were not villains were maligned in some way, as with one who is shown to be an absolute alcoholic. Sorry, Ms. Edwards, but a good political lampoon coupled with a mystery (and the mystery part of the story is barely developed at all) requires the author satirizing characters on all sides on a fairly equal basis, not just savaging the ones whose political views you disagree with. (By the way, when you refer to the Northern Ireland nationalists as mass murderers and criminals, I might point out that twice as many Catholics were murdered in the Troubles by the British Army, the highly-prejudiced Protestant police force and the Protestant paramilitary groups as Protestants were killed by the IRA and their supporters. So it would seem the government and their supporters were mass murderers and criminals too.)

It could have been an excellent book, but the one-sided nature of the presentation made it seem in the end like something the Rev. Ian Paisley might have produced had he over-indulged at the pub one Saturday night.

MOPES and DUPES
This book, as with Edwards' other books, is a great spoof on political correctness and sterotypes. The mystery is not exciting - but the book is worth reading just for her discussion of the MOPES (Most Oppressed People on Earth). That seems to be the title most people vie for these days. This book is really funny.

An atlas of Irish history
Published in Unknown Binding by Methuen ()
Author: Ruth Dudley Edwards
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Matricide at st Martha's
Published in Hardcover by St. Martin's Press (May, 1995)
Author: Ruth Dudley Edwards
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