Francis Durbridge - Dead to the World - Based on Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery

Looking back, one wonders if Durbridge’s occasional penchant for replacing the Temples, while retaining the typical elements of his radio plots, was considered an affront to his loyal audience? I doubt it, as the books still delivered a generous helping of what they had always expected of him – complications, twists and cliff-hangers galore, and the obligatory sting in the tail. Dead to the World again proved to be as popular as ever throughout Europe, in such translations as Der Siegelring in Germany, Sous le signe du dollar in France, Morto per il mondo in Italy, De zegelring in the Netherlands and Umarly dla s´wiata in Poland.

Following Dead to the World , Durbridge produced fifteen more books. Apart from his non-series title The Pig-Tail Murder (1969), they were either novelisations of his iconic television serials or Paul Temple mysteries: eight of his TV serials were novelised between 1967 and 1982, and there were six more Paul Temple titles up to 1988, of which two were original novels and four were based on radio serials. (Although some bibliographies list an additional novelisation, Paul Temple and the Conrad Case (1989), this appears to be a mistaken reference to the first BBC Radio Collection release on cassette tape of the 1959 radio episodes and not a book after all.)

Whereas Durbridge’s books featuring the Temples have been reprinted over the years, Beware of Johnny Washington, Design for Murder, Another Woman’s Shoes and Dead to the World have all been out of print for more than fifty years. Perhaps a less ignominious fate would have befallen them had they been published as bona fide Paul Temple novelisations rather than with new characters! Their republication by Collins Crime Club, along with Durbridge’s first standalone novel Back Room Girl (1950), finally allows new fans to enjoy these thrilling stories in book form. Of similar vintage is the bonus Paul Temple short story ‘The Ventriloquist’s Doll’, which originally appeared in 1952 in the Daily Mail Annual for Boys and Girls and shows Durbridge’s more playful side when using his central character to appeal to a younger audience.

MELVYN BARNES

September 2017

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