The Long Farewell
The head of Scotland Yard probes the suspicious death of a Shakespearean scholar with a collection of secrets in this classic British mystery.
Lewis Packford, an Elizabethan scholar, is found shot in his library. It was rumored Packford recently acquired a book annotated by the Bard, but the book is nowhere to be seen. What is beside him, however, is a note that—as Packford was wont to do—quotes William Shakespeare: “Farewell, a long farewell.”
Police believe Packford died from suicide, but Sir John Appleby, head of Scotland Yard and Packford’s friend, disagrees. When Appleby arrives at the scholar’s country house in Dorset, he meets an array of academics and bibliophiles who were all present the night of the murder. Suspects include Packford’s brother, who stands to inherit the house, and Packford’s two secret wives, who recently learned of each other’s existence. As the secrets pile up, the erudite Appleby must get to the bottom of things before the killer forces anyone else to say goodbye for good.
“A model of the deft, classic detective story, told in the most wittily diverting prose.” —The New York Times
Michael Innes (1906–1994) was the pseudonym of John Innes MacKintosh “J.I.M.” Stewart. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotlandeducated at Oxford, and taught English at universities in the UK and Australia. Writing as J.I.M. Stewart he published a number of scholarly works, mainly critical studies of authors, including Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling, as well as more than twenty works of fiction and a memoir. As Michael Innes, he published numerous mystery novels and short story collections, most featuring the Scotland Yard detective Inspector John Appleby.
