Present Tense Book Review – Bulldog Drummond: Part 4

(Part Three of this Present Tense Book Review.)

I’ve now finished the book, and I’d recommend it to anyone who likes a well-written, undemanding thriller. Some aspects of the book seem a little sadistic for my bleeding-heart, liberal tastes, and some of the attitudes of the lead character (and, presumably, author) are xenophobic and right-wing. But it was written 90 years ago, and although I’d not be comfortable with such views in a modern novel, I think one of the pleasures of reading older novels is that you get an insight into some of the attitudes at that time. And if aspects of it now seem objectionable, that’s not necessarily a bad thing – sometimes it’s good to be challenged by a book which you (in part, perhaps) disagree with.

The edition I read has some ‘Case Notes’ at the back, which give a bit of history about the book (and author), and explain its context. I’ve not read them yet, as I wanted to make sure the comments here reflected my own thoughts. But the other books in this Crime Classics series have had very good notes.