The Travelling Matchmaker

Being a fan of M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin and Edwardian Murder Mysteries series, I thought that the attractively reissued novels from the Travelling Matchmaker series might be fun.  These were originally issued under the pseudonym of Marion Chesney in the 1990s but have recently been reissued by Constable Robinson this year.  I started with the first in the series of 6 novels.

These novels follow the matchmaking (or meddling) adventures of Miss Hannah Pym, a housekeeper of the 1800s, who inherits a substantial sum of money after her employer passes away.  Miss Pym has always dreamt of travelling on the Flying Machine - the stagecoach - and realises her fantasy once she finds herself a gentlewomen of independent means.

Each book appears to deal with a different heroine that Miss Pym encounters on her travels and your usual dashing male hero.  The first novel is fairly light with a few touches of humour and the prose is superior to some of Beaton's current Agatha Raisin offerings but I found it a little predictable.  I was also disappointed not to actually read much about Exeter as most of the novel is set in an inn en route to that town.

On the whole, not a bad novel and probably a decent low-key historical romance but without much substance and certainly without the whimsy that I anticipated.  There were nuggetts of historical information about travelling in England in the 19th century as well as inteteresting descriptions of dress and household concerns.  It was a quick, undemanding read that helped pass the time whilst waiting to been seen to in hospital (just a routine appointment for my Mom).  I'm not sure if I'll follow the series through as I read this more for the ambience of the titular towns but I doubt that much of the books actually deliver in this regard.  I was particularly looking forward to getting to the second book, Belinda goes to Bath, but alas that also appears to be thin on the Bath front.  I read this on my Sony Reader after purchasing it from Amazon at a discounted price... a nice way to try out an unfamiliar series.

Agatha Raisin on CD

I have been a fan of the Agatha Raisin mystery series for a few years now, ever since I snuggled down with The Quiche of Death during a bout of flu.  It was comforting to melt into the village of Carsley and follow Agatha bulldozing her way through a murder investigation in the calm of the Cotswolds.

The book first caught my interest after I heard a couple of episodes of the series on Radio 4.  It was a dramatisation of the books adapted by David Semple and featured Penelope Keith in the title role.  I have a fondness for Radio 4 plays and dramatisations and this snippet stuck in my head when I later came across the book series in my library.

The Agatha portrayed by Penelope Keith differs from the Agatha in the books (she's not so man-mad for a start!) and the dramatisation changes quite a few characters and plots but it is never-the-less an entertaining who-dunnit.

The radio series concluded in November 2006 and was described as being the last of the radio series.  This spanned three series over a period of three years and the BBC have slowly been releasing the episodes on 5 audio CDs.  The final CD was recently released this month and I think that it is the best of the lot.  Even though the location in the final story is moved from Norfolk (in the book) to Cornwall (in the radio series), and characters are changed etc., it is still an enjoyable listen and the version of Agatha in these CDs has a happier ending than our Aggie does in the books.

The books currently stand at 20 with There Goes the Bride released in October 2009.  I devoured most of them in succession and am now doomed to wait patiently each year for the latest offering, which is usually released each September/October.  I think that these will continue for a little longer and I hope they do.  The quality of writing throughout the book series varies, with the earlier books being stronger in writing, characterisation and plot, but I feel obliged to keep following Aggie in her quest for self-fullfilment.

I highly recommend the radio series and the books to all lovers of English cosy fiction.  The stories are light and humourous and the cantankerous character of Agatha Raisin makes a refreshing heroine.  Recurring characters and interesting backdrops make it a smooth and entertaining read, along with some original crimes.  Fans of Penelope Keith may also like to know that she is the reader in the audio versions of the books.