History Literature / TheSecretOfChimneys

** There's the memoir of former Herzoslovakian prime minister Count Stylptitch. Herzoslovakian monarchists wish to stop its publication because they fear that the Count's book, and the secrets within it, may destabilize European politics and, more specifically, endanger the impending restoration of the House of Oblovitch. [[spoiler:It's dry as dust and contains no secrets; the greatest danger it could pose is boredom.]]

* OldFashionedRowboatDate: Anthony takes Bundle punting on the lake. Somewhat subverted in that Anthony the AmateurSleuth actually took Bundle out to pump her for information, but there's a lot of flirting and sexual tension as well.

* HarsherInHindsight: The background plot centers on the British government supporting the restoration of the Herzoslovakian monarchy, in order to gain access to that country's oil. Less than three decades later, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat they'd do it for real in Iran]]. In the long term, [[UsefulNotes/IranianRevolution that didn't work out very well.]]

It's a mix of spy thriller, murder mystery, and comedy. The complicated plot starts with Anthony Cade, a young wandering adventurer who's working as a tour guide in [[UsefulNotes/{{Zimbabwe}} Rhodesia]]. Anthony's friend Jimmy approaches him with an offer to earn some money. Jimmy has in his possession the memoir of the late prime minister of the fictional Balkan country of Herzoslovakia. Anthony is to deliver the memoir to publishers in London, who will pay £1000 for it. Jimmy also has in his possession some incriminating letters written by a society lady, Mrs. Virginia Revel, widow of the late British ambassador to Herzoslovakia. Anthony is to return the letters to Virginia so that they don't fall into the wrong hands.

Meanwhile, the attention of the British government is focused on Herzoslovakia, because oil has been found there. Herzoslovakia has been a republic since King Nicholas IV and his queen Varaga were murdered seven years before. The Brits, who want that oil, hope to restore the House of Oblovich and are in negotiations with Prince Michael, heir to the throne. Negotiations are underway at "Chimneys", the country house of Lord Caterham. Those negotiations are derailed by a murder...and there's another murder, and an international jewel thief named King Victor, and a missing diamond, and all sorts of complications.

* ContrivedCoincidence: It's pretty remarkable that of all the people Jimmy [=McGrath=] could have asked in Africa to take Count Stylptitch's memoir to London, he manages to ask Anthony, who is [[spoiler:eventually revealed to be Prince Nicholas Oblovich of Herzoslovakia, living under an assumed identity.]]

** There's the memoir of former Herzoslovakian prime minister Count Stylptitch. Herzoslovakian monarchists wish to stop its publication because they fear that the Count's book, and the secrets within it, may destabilize European politics and, more specifically, endanger the impending restoration of the House of Oblovitch.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Pretty cynical. The British government is conspiring to topple the republican government of Herzoslovakia and restore the monarchy, so that they (the Brits) can get their greedy hands on that country's oil. No one seems to be very concerned about what the people want. Near the end Anthony, when explaining [[spoiler:his KingIncognito years as a wandering adventurer],] says that in his idealistic youth he rejected aristocracy and monarchy and thought people should just be decent to each other. Experience has taught him, he says, that people simply will not be decent to each other, so he's willing to [[spoiler:take up the throne of Herzoslovakia to ''make'' his people behave better]]--in other words, to bring about progress by force.

It's a mix of spy thriller, murder mystery, and comedy. The complicated plot starts with Anthony Cade, a young wandering adventurer who's working as a tour guide in [[UsefulNotes/{{Zimbabwe}} Rhodesia]]. Anthony's friend Jimmy approaches him with an offer to earn some money. Jimmy has in his possession the memoir of the late prime minister of the fictional Balkan country of "Herzoslovakia". Anthony is to deliver the memoir to publishers in London, who will pay £1000 for it. Jimmy also has in his possession some incriminating letters written by a society lady, Mrs. Virginia Revel, widow of the late British ambassador to Herzoslovakia. Anthony is to return the letters to Virginia so that they don't fall into the wrong hands.

** Then there are the letters written by Virginia Revel, which are highly salacious and prime blackmail material...until it's revealed that [[spoiler:Virginia didn't write them and even if she had her husband is dead so there's no blackmail threat.]] The trope is thus averted, until it's again played straight with the reveal that [[spoiler:the letters actually contain a coded message.]]

* {{Ruritania}}: "Herzoslovakia", a Slavic country in the Balkans with a messy history of assassinations and instability. The name is a portmanteau of Czechoslovakia and the province of Herzegovina.

* SneezeOfDoom: The mysterious person ransacking the library gets away when Bill, who is trying to surprise them, can't suppress a sneeze.

** Another foreshadowing moment has Boris, Prince Michael's servant who follows him with dog-like devotion, suddenly kneel before Anthony and proclaim his eternal loyalty, apparently for no reason at all. This of course is because [[spoiler:Anthony is also a prince]], and apparently Boris knew this by instinct.

* ThePlace: "Chimneys", one of those country estates of the English nobility fancy enough to have a name. Belonging to the Brent family, lords of Caterham, it has for some time been an unofficial meeting place where the Foreign Office conducts sensitive diplomatic negotiations in secret, much to the irritation of Clement Brent, the current Lord Caterham. The whole second half of the novel takes place there.

* BigFancyHouse: Chimneys, the estate home of the lords of Caterham, which has secret passages and a priest's hole.

* SpotOfTea: Weaponized by Mr. Fish the American, who avoids an unpleasant confrontation with Anthony by saying "It's about time for your British institution of afternoon tea" and walking away.

* BlowingSmokeRings: As Lemoine the French detective heatedly accuses Anthony of being King Victor the jewel thief, Anthony dismisses the accusation by casually blowing smoke rings. He's at his ease because 1) he knows that actually, Lemoine is King Victor, and 2) Anthony has the real Lemoine there, hidden in the wings. Anthony produces him soon after and the jig is up.

* ContrivedCoincidence: It's pretty remarkable that of all the people Jimmy [=McGrath=] could have asked in Africa to take Count Stylptitch's memoir to London, he manages to ask Anthony, who is eventually revealed to be Prince Nicholas Oblovich of Herzoslovakia, living under an assumed identity.
* DetectiveMole: M. Lemoine of the French police turns out to be King Victor, the international jewel thief, who has kidnapped the real Lemoine and is impersonating him.
* DoggedNiceGuy: Bill Eversleigh is a sweet, eager-to-please young man who is hopelessly in love with Virginia Revel, and proposes to her at every opportunity. Virginia thinks of him as nothing but a friend, and laughs off his proposals. She marries the dashing Anthony Cade by the end of the book.

** When Jimmy brings it up, Anthony shows a surprisingly deep knowledge of Herzoslovakia, being familiar with Prime Minister Count Stylptitch as well as knowing the details of the murder of King Nicholas IV and Queen Varaga. He also has a "curious ring" to his voice when discussing it with Jimmy. The ending reveals that Anthony is actually a Herzoslovakian prince.
** Another foreshadowing moment has Boris, Prince Michael's servant who follows him with dog-like devotion, suddenly kneel before Anthony and proclaim his eternal loyalty, apparently for no reason at all. This of course is because Anthony is also a prince, and apparently Boris knew this by instinct.
** This gets quite obvious towards the end when Battle gets a note saying that Anthony "isn't wot he seems". Anthony blows it off by saying "I'm really a king in disguise, you know." He is!

* GirlsWithMustaches: Anthony thinks Mademoiselle Brun the governess may be a FemmeFatale agent of some sort, but is startled when he meets her and sees she has graying hair and a wispy mustache. It turns out to be a disguise.

* GunStruggle: How Mademoiselle Brun meets her end, shot with her own gun when Boris grabs her after she's caught ransacking the library looking for the diamond.

** One of the murderers is in fact the former Queen of Herzoslovakia, who had faked her death during the revolution, and lived as Miss Brun, governess to Bundle Brent's younger sisters while biding for her time to strike back.
** There's also Prince Nicholas, Michael's missing cousin who is rumoured to have died before the events of the stories. In the book's climax, he reveals that he had spread rumours of his own death in order to relinquish his royal duties so that he could live a normal life as Anthony Cade, adventurer.

** Then there are the letters written by Virginia Revel, which are highly salacious and prime blackmail material...until it's revealed that Viriginia didn't write them and even if she had her husband is dead so there's no blackmail threat. The trope is thus averted, until it's again played straight with the reveal that the letters actually contain a coded message.
** Finally there's the Koh-i-noor diamond, one of the largest in the world, supposedly among the British crown jewels. Turns out that the one in the possession of the British government is a fake; Queen Varaga stole the real one back in the day and hid it somewhere on the grounds of Chimneys.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Lady Eileen Brent, oldest daughter of Lord Caterham the master of Chimneys, is only ever called "Bundle".
* PinkertonDetective: The real reason why Hiram Fish is at Chimneys. He's a Pinkerton detective tracking King Victor the jewel thief.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Pretty cynical. The British government is conspiring to topple the republican government of Herzoslovakia and restore the monarchy, so that they (the Brits) can get their greedy hands on that country's oil. No one seems to be very concerned about what the people want. Near the end Anthony, when explaining his KingIncognito years as a wandering adventurer, says that in his idealistic youth he rejected aristocracy and monarchy and thought people should just be decent to each other. Experience has taught him, he says, that people simply will not be decent to each other, so he's willing to take up the throne of Herzoslovakia to ''make'' his people behave better--in other words, to bring about progress by force.

* StoppedClock: Prince Michael was killed at 11:45, which the good guys know because his watch was smashed when he fell. Surprisingly, it's not part of a clever scheme to deceive the police; that actually was when he was killed.

* SummationGathering: In typical Christie fashion, Anthony has all the characters gathered together so he can explain how everything went down. He then has them all follow him to the library, where they all collectively catch Mademoiselle Brun in the act of searching the place for the diamond.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Lady Eileen Brent, oldest daughter of Lord Carterham the master of Chimneys, is only ever called "Bundle".

* ThePlace: "Chimneys", one of those country estates of the English nobility fancy enough to have a name. Belonging to the Brent family, lords of Carterham, it has for some time been an unofficial meeting place where the Foreign Office conducts sensitive diplomatic negotiations in secret, much to the irritation of Clement Brent, the current Lord Carterham. The whole second half of the novel takes place there.

* WackyAmericansHaveWackyNames: The oddball American who is at Chimneys, supposedly to see Lord Carterham's collection of first editions but who obviously has some sort of ulterior motive, is named "Hiram P. Fish".

* GreedyJew: Anthony makes a nasty comment about "Hebraic people," the "yellow-faced financiers" presumably behind the effort to acquire Herzoslovakian oil.

* DoggedNiceGuy: Bill Eversleigh fis a sweet, eager-to-please young man who is hopelessly in love with Virginia Revel, and proposes to her at every opportunity. Virginia thinks of him as nothing but a friend, and laughs off his proposals. She marries the dashing Anthony Cade by the end of the book.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Lady Eileen Brent, only daughter of Lord Carterham the master of Chimneys, is only ever called "Bundle".

* SinisterSchnoz: Not content to rest with the GreedyJew stereotype of Herman Isaacstein, the man who is trying to make the deal for Britain to acquire the oil rights, Christie describes "a generous curve to the big nose) on Isaacstein's face. (He's a RedHerring character and not the ultimate villain, but the anti-Semitic tropes are all clearly meant to draw Isaacstein as an unpleasant person.)
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Pretty cynical. The British government is conspiring to topple the republican government of Herzoslovakia and restore the monarchy, so that they (the Brits) can get their greedy hands on that country's oil. No one seems to be very concerned about what the people want. Near the end Anthony, when explaining his KingIncognito years as wandering adveturer, says that in his idealistic youth he rejected aristocracy and monarchy and thought people should just be decent to each other. Experience has taught him, he says, that people simply will not be decent to each other, so he's willing to take up the throne of Herzoslovakia to ''make'' his people behave better--in other words, to bring about progress by force.

It's a mix of spy thriller, murder mystery, and comedy. The complicated plot starts with Anthony Cade, a young wandering adventurer who's working as a tour guide in [[UsefulNotes/{{Zimbabwe}} Rhodesia]]. Anthony's friend Jimmy approaches him with an offer to earn some money. Jimmy has in his possession the memoir of the late prime minister of the fictional Balkan country of "Herzoslovakia". Anthony is to deliver the memoir to publishers in London, who will pay £1000 for it. Jimmy also has in his possession some incriminating letters written by a society lady, Mrs. Virginia Revel, widow of a diplomat. Anthony is to return the letters to Virginia so that they don't fall into the wrong hands.

* ASpotOfTea: Weaponized by Mr. Fish the American, who avoids an unpleasant confrontation with Anthony by saying "It's about time for your British institution of afternoon tea" and walking away.

* WackyAmericansHaveWackyNames: The oddball American who is at Chimneys, supposedly to see Lord Carterham's collection of first editions but who obviously has some sort of ulterior motive, is named "Hiram P. Fish".

Meanwhile, the attention of the British government is focused on Herzoslovakia, because oil has been found there. Herzoslovakia has been a republic since King Nicholas IV and his queen Varaga were murdered seven years before. The Brits, who want that oil, hope to restore the House of Oblovich and are in negotiations with Prince Michael, heir to the throne. Negotiations are underway at "Chimneys", the country house of Lord Caterham. Those negotiations are derailed by a murder...and there's another murder, and an international jewel thief, and a missing diamond, and all sorts of complications.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Jimmy brings it up, Anthony shows a surprisingly deep knowledge of Herzoslovakia, being familiar with Prime Minister Count Stylptitch as well as knowing the details of the murder of King Nicholas IV and Queen Varaga. He also has a "curious ring" to his voice when discussing it with Jimmy. The ending reveals that Anthony is actually a Herzoslovakian prince.

* TheUnpronounceable: The hotel clerk simply hands Anthony a note because he doesn't want to try and pronounce "Baron Lolopretjzyl", the Herzoslovakian nobleman who is waiting to call on Anthony. Anthony boggles at all those consonants and decides to call his visitor "Baron Lollipop." (Of course the ending reveals that Anthony can actually pronounce Baron Lollipop's name just fine.)

* KingIncognito: ''The Secret of the Chimneys'', which heavily features a European monarchy provides numerous examples of this.

* {{Ruritania}}: "Herzoslovakia", a Slavic country in the Balkans with a messy history of assassinations and instability. The name is a portmanteau of Czechoslovakia and the province of Herzegovina.