When considering the pantheon of British cinema and literature, certain figures tend to dominate the collective consciousness, yet others remain comparatively underrated. Robert Hamer, an accomplished filmmaker whose oeuvre is perhaps crowned by Kind Hearts and Coronets, is seldom invoked outside aficionado circles. Similarly, Roy Horniman, the author of the novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal, which served as the basis for Hamer’s film, is largely overlooked in mainstream narratives. Yet, what unites these two creators is their contribution to a darkly satirical exploration of class, morality, and individual ambition.
Horniman’s novel, with its nuanced, witty and intelligent exploration of criminal psychology and societal critique, deserves recognition as foundational within the psychological crime tradition. Blue-blooded Murder extends this legacy, serving as a literary sequel that further interrogates the dark intersections of class, morality, and identity—an inspired homage to Horniman’s pioneering vision.
“I read Horniman’s Israel Rank (on which the film’s screenplay is based) but, after that, found only repeated viewings of that gem of a film could be at all satisfying,” says Stuart. “I wanted more and then, at a time (2017) that I was toying with the idea of writing a crime novel with a ‘perfect murder’, it struck me that I could kill two birds with one stone by picking up the unresolved ending of the film where the serial killer Louis Mazzini, now Duke of Chalfont, has a final murder in mind: that of either his new wife Edith, or his mistress, Sibella.”
Stuart describes Blue-blooded Murder as a homage to the film and, as such, the novel attempts to be true to those of the characters who reappear as well as echoing some of the incidents and scenes that like-minded fans will recognise. An exception is that of the eight characters played by the renowned English actor Alec Guinness. “Unfortunately, due to Mazzini’s successful culling of the d’Ascoyne family, there was no place for the masterful Guinness characterisation,” Stuart says. “But, as an alternative, other major characters do go in for a variety of colourful disguises.
“As far as possible I wanted to keep the tone of the book a match to that of the screenplay of the film: amusing and sophisticated on the surface while dark deeds are being prosecuted. I also wanted the ‘perfect murder’ aspect to be as credible as could be and the plot to be fast-paced to satisfy the demands of the reader of the genre in the 21st century. Above all, I aimed for entertainment.”
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