That Affair Next Door and Lost Man's Lane

Amelia Butterworth #1-2 omnibus

by Anna Katharine Green

Anna Katharine Green was the most famous and prolific writer of detective fiction in the United States prior to Dashiell Hammett. Her first novel, The Leavenworth Case, was the bestseller of 1878. Green is credited with a number of “firsts” within the mystery genre, including the gentleman murdered as he makes out his will and the icicle as murder weapon. She created the first female detectives in American fiction. Her amateur spinster sleuth, Amelia Butterworth, became the prototype for numerous women detectives to follow, including Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. Nosy, opinionated, and tenacious, Amelia Butterworth engages in a sustained rivalry with Ebenezer Gryce, a police detective. In the interaction between these characters, Green developed two more conventions adopted by future generations of mystery the investigation as battle between the sexes and between the professional and the unexpectedly sharp, observant amateur. This volume presents two of Green’s Amelia Butterworth That Affair Next Door (1897) and Lost Man’s Lane (1898).

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Classics

456 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Anna Katharine Green (1846-1935) was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories. Born in Brooklyn, New York, her early ambition was to write romantic verse, and she corresponded with Ralph Waldo Emerson. When her poetry failed to gain recognition, she produced her first and best known novel, The Leavenworth Case (1878). She became a bestselling author, eventually publishing about 40 books. She was in some ways a progressive woman for her time-succeeding in a genre dominated by male writers-but she did not approve of many of her feminist contemporaries, and she was opposed to women's suffrage. Her other works include A Strange Disappearance (1880), The Affair Next Door (1897), The Circular Study (1902), The Filigree Ball (1903), The Millionaire Baby (1905), The House in the Mist (1905), The Woman in the Alcove (1906), The House of the Whispering Pines (1910), Initials Only (1912), and The Mystery of the Hasty Arrow (1917).

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really well-written pair of mysteries with interesting characters and believable plot twists. Even more enjoyable when you stop to realize that Green was one of the early mystery writers, because her style of plot and character development is very similar to many contemporary best-selling authors. There is a definite period feel to it, but even that is not out of the ordinary these days. If I can find more by this author, I will happily read them.

[Becky Loader · Rating 3 out of 5]

These two detective stories were written by a woman in the late 1890's. She writes in the cadences of the times and uses an elderly spinster lady to show the male detective where he has gone astray from the proper path to resolution. First rate!

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. But I think it's too big for something like this.

[Kerrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1897, That Affair Next Door is another fascinating study in human motivations intertwined with bits and pieces of circumstantial evidence that at first make very little sense. True to Green’s style, she calls up and explains each motivation, each piece of evidence with mathematical precision until the mystery unravels and the perpetrator is punished in a most fitting fashion.

The dead body of a woman was found under a large cabinet. But she had been dead four hours before the cabinet fell upon her. The owners of the house had been on vacation and the place empty. Who was she and why was she in the empty house all alone?

Amelia Butterworth lives next door and had noticed a man and a young woman entering the house close on midnight. Then the man came out some ten minutes later by himself. The next morning Amelia insists that a policeman gain access to the house and he and a cleaning lady discover the young woman's body.

My Take

I found this an exasperating novel. It is quite long and largely consists of theories regarding the murder posed by Amelia Butterworth and the 77 year old police detective Inspector Gryce.

Some reviews I have read of the Amelia Butterworth novels, of which this is the first, talk about Butterworth as being the forerunner of Miss Marple. Certainly, there are similarities: a quite elderly spinster, a bit of a sticky beak, rather self opiniated, and rather unlikeable. She softens as the novel progresses.

At times Miss Butterworth works in collaboration with the police, but after they make their first arrest, she decides that they have the wrong man, and strikes out investigating on her own, accompanied by her lady's maid. But each time she or the police come up with a scenario which doesn't quite fit the facts and in the long run Amelia Butterworth produces a rabbit from the hat, something the police did not know. But even then there is a twist to the tale, something Butterworth did not know.

My rating: 3.8

I have also reviewed: X.Y.Z. A Detective Story, a novella published in 1883

About the author

Anna Katharine Green (1846-1935) was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories (no doubt assisted by her lawyer father). Born in Brooklyn, New York, her early ambition was to write romantic verse, and she corresponded with Ralph Waldo Emerson. When her poetry failed to gain recognition, she produced her first and best known novel, The Leavenworth Case (1878). She became a bestselling author, eventually publishing about 40 books. She was in some ways a progressive woman for her time-succeeding in a genre dominated by male writers-but she did not approve of many of her feminist contemporaries, and she was opposed to women's suffrage. Her other works include A Strange Disappearance (1880), The Affair Next Door (1897), The Circular Study (1902), The Filigree Ball (1903), The Millionaire Baby (1905), The House in the Mist (1905), The Woman in the Alcove (1906), The House of the Whispering Pines (1910), Initials Only (1912), and The Mystery of the Hasty Arrow (1917).

[Cleo · Rating 5 out of 5]

That Affair Next Door: I read The Leavenworth Case not too long ago, and loved it. Anna Katharine Green was the forerunner of Agatha Christie, and her less-known mysteries are brilliant. Also in the book that I read is Lost Man's Lane.

That Affair Next Door is the first mystery starring Amelia Butterworth, an amateur spinster sleuth (much like Christie's Miss Marple). She gets involved in a complicated murder at the house of her rich next door neighbors. Nothing is what it seems in this one, and Butterworth enters into a rivalry with Ebenezer Gryce (the detective in The Leavenworth Case too). I think this one was even more ingenious than The Leavenworth Case, with so many more twists and turns, though both mysteries have them. I like Amelia Butterworth a lot; she's not afraid to voice her opinions, but always knows when to keep quiet.

This mystery is full of intrigues and- always the best- mistaken identity. Is the murdered women really Mrs. Van Burnam, or is she someone else? And who was the other woman? These are the key questions that Butterworth and Gryce must unravel in their own ways. The ending was very surprising, and I only had premonitions at the very end, when it started to be revealed.

That Affair Next Door is set in 1890s New York City (just like The Leavenworth Case), and is overall a much better book (and I gave The Leavenworth Case 5 stars). The writing is way better, and there's a lot less descriptions which makes the book flow better. I loved this mystery.

Lost Man's Lane: This is another excellent mystery by Anna Katharine Green. Though the mystery itself is less interesting, the writing was just as good. In Lost Man's Lane, Amelia Butterworth must go to a mysterious village upstate where four or five people have vanished, on the "lost man's lane". It just so happens that the children of Butterworth's old schoolfriend happen to live on the lane too, and their house is one of several that is shrouded in suspicion. Butterworth and Gryce (who are now more friendly) must unravel what's really going on.

Much like That Affair Next Door, Lost Man's Lane is full of twists and turns. Butterworth and Gryce come to one conclusion, which proven false after a new discovery. This one deals more with the perceived supernatural; there's a "phantom coach" (which isn't really phantom at all), and the villagers are always talking of ghosts.

There are quite a few interesting characters. Lucetta and Loreen, the two daughters of Althea Knollys, Butterworth's friend, now dead (or so it seems), are well done. They both seem very suspicious, but not as much as William, the son, who has a taste for vivisection and is boorish and rude. But could Mother Jane, the deaf old woman who also lives on the lane, really be behind the disappearances? Or Deacon Spear?

I read That Affair Next Door and Lost Man's Lane in one delightful volume from Duke University press. Both mysteries are intriguing and well worth the time of reading.

www.novareviews.blogspot.com

[Cynthia Maddox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second of Ms Green's novels I've read and I loved it. The story is very good and I was totally surprised by the ending. The novel was written at the turn of the century and has the early 20th flavor. The story is skillfully plotted and the main characters, a detective Gryce and self-styled sleuth, Ms Butterworth are brilliant and amusing. Ms Green clearly reveals the attitudes of the day in regards to women and how they were treated so differently.


I'd suggest you read the bio of Ms Green on Wiki. She's an interesting woman in her own right.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another book I read in my quest to find an author I like as much as Agatha Christie. It was actually 2 books published into 1. I thoroughly enjoyed "That Affair Next Door." The writing style was a bit antiquated and had WAY too many commas. But I really enjoyed the characters and the story. I didn't like "Lost Man's Lane" nearly as well. It was more of a suspense type novel, not really a murder mystery. Unfortunately, our library doesn't have any other books by Anna Katherine Green!

[Vickie Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read lost mans Lane on an audiobook fromLibrivox I did not read the affair next door. The only way I could review of this book was to enter the above category. No deception was intended. This was a good read, but I found it rather heavy. Of course, it was written in the late 1890s.The sentences were rather long. The reader Mary barred did a great job.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for fans of gothic and mysteries.