Strong Poison
JN spite of arsenic mingled with the "salt, "Dinner with a Novelist" fell rather far short of expectation. After all, one does expect a novelist to provide something rarely subtle in the way of crime, in the flesh as well as on paper. Probably the most obvious flaw in this BBC play by L. A. G. Strong was the attempt to crowd most of the ingredients of an average length detective story into the space of. a half-hour performance. The result was to make what was probably a perfectly good motive stand out cs hideously inadequate, and what must have been an ordinarily arduous piece of detection appear child’s play. One finds it hard to believe that even the most hardened novelist, when driven to exterminate an enemy, would resort to such a dastardly trick as filling a restaurant salt-cellar with arsenic. Bol-
stered up with a few chapters of soulsearching introspection beforehand and bitter remorse afterwards, the whole thing might have been made just credible. As it is one can only labour the point and remark that this play needs to be taken with a very large grain of salt indeed.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19480305.2.24.8
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
New Zealand Listener, Volume 18, Issue 454, 5 March 1948, Page 14
Word count
Tapeke kupu
194Strong Poison New Zealand Listener, Volume 18, Issue 454, 5 March 1948, Page 14
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Material in this publication is protected by copyright.
Are Media Limited has granted permission to the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa to develop and maintain this content online. You can search, browse, print and download for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Are Media Limited for any other use.
Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
Copyright in the Denis Glover serial Hot Water Sailor published in 1959 is owned by Pia Glover. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this serial and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the Listener. You can search, browse, and print this serial for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Pia Glover for any other use.
Log in