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Search - List of Books by colin watson

Colin Watson (1920-1983) was a British writer of detective fiction and the creator of characters such as Inspector Purbright and Lucilla Teatime. He is most famous for the twelve Flaxborough novels, typified by their comic and dry wit and set in a fictional small town in England which is closely based on Boston, Lincolnshire. He worked as a journalist in Lincolnshire and the characters in his books are said to be highly recognisable caricatures of people he encountered in his work.

The central character, Inspector Walter Purbright, is perhaps not the most intellectually dazzling detective in fiction. He does, though, provide an unusually solid core of decency and civilisation around which more fanciful and sometimes whimsical events can be strung. His understanding of the case in hand emerges from a process of polite, measured enquiry. Purbright's decency is at the heart of Watson's thesis: that civilised life depends on basic tolerance, decency and the honesty of its guardians. His commitment to total impartiality, his refusal to be deflected by special interests and social position and his scrupulous refusal to cut procedural corners all go to make up a quintessentially English hero.

Four of the Flaxborough novels were adapted for television by the BBC under the series title Murder Most English. The adaptation successfully reflected key elements of the books: the gentle behind-the-times feel of a small English market town, the merciless targeting of the pretensions of the town's bourgeoisie, and his determination that whatever exotic trappings are used to decorate the plot, the central crime is always motivated by money. Anton Rodgers starred as Purbright with Christopher Timothy as Detective Sergeant Love. Colin Watson produced the ninth Flaxborough novel, One Man's Meat, to coincide with the series.

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This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "colin watson", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Total Books: 92
Bump in the Night
2020 - Bump in the Night [Flaxborough, Bk 2 - Audio MP3-CD - Unabridged] (Audio CD)
ISBN-13: 9781713502074
ISBN-10: 1713502070
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
  • Currently 2.5/5 Stars.
 1

Hopjoy Was Here
2018 - Hopjoy Was Here [A Flaxborough Mystery - Volume 3] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781788420181
ISBN-10: 1788420187
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
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Coffin Scarcely Used
2018 - Coffin Scarcely Used [A Flaxborough Mystery - Volume 1] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781788420150
ISBN-10: 1788420152
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
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Whatever's Been Going on at Mumblesby'
2011 - Whatever's Been Going on at Mumblesby' [The Flaxborough Novels] (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780571259090
ISBN-10: 057125909X
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Broomsticks Over Flaxborough
2011 - Broomsticks Over Flaxborough [The Flaxborough Novels] (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780571254149
ISBN-10: 0571254144
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Blue Murder
2011 - Blue Murder [The Flaxborough Novels] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780571255863
ISBN-10: 0571255868
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One Man's Meat
2011 - One Man's Meat [The Flaxborough Novels] (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780571255856
ISBN-10: 057125585X
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Plaster Sinners
2011 - Plaster Sinners [The Flaxborough Novels] (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780571256181
ISBN-10: 057125618X
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Doubly In Crown Service The Life Story Of Colin Watson Introducer Of Steam On The River Mersey
The Naked Nuns
2009 - The Naked Nuns [Flaxborough Novels] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780571255030
ISBN-10: 0571255035
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
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Lonelyheart 4122
2009 - Lonelyheart 4122 [Flaxborough, Bk 4] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780571252015
ISBN-10: 057125201X
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1

As it happened 1803  2003 Colin Watson friend of the century for conservation and bushwalking
Whatever's Been Going on at Mumblesby
1991 - Whatever's Been Going on at Mumblesby [The Flaxborough Novels] (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780749310387
ISBN-10: 0749310383
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 1

Naked Nuns
1991 - Naked Nuns [The Flaxborough novels] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780749306670
ISBN-10: 074930667X
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Charity Ends at Home
1991 - Charity Ends at Home [The Flaxborough novels] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780749306625
ISBN-10: 0749306629
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1

Snobbery With Violence English Crime Stories and Their Audience
Snobbery With Violence Crime Stories and Their Audiences
1988 - Snobbery with VIolence Crime Stories and Their Audiences (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780892969340
ISBN-10: 0892969342
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Reference
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The Flaxborough Crab
1987 - The Flaxborough Crab [New Portway Large Print Books] (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780745170473
ISBN-10: 0745170471
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
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One Mans Meat
1983 - One Mans Meat (Other)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780413516909
ISBN-10: 0413516903
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Six Nuns and a Shotgun
1983 - Six Nuns and a Shotgun [aka The Naked Nuns - Flaxborough, Bk 8] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780440178712
ISBN-10: 0440178711
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 2

Just What the Doctor Ordered
1982 - Just What the Doctor Ordered (Paperback)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780440142423
ISBN-10: 0440142423
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 3

Hop Joy Was Here [an inspector purbright mystery] (Paperback)
Lonely Heart [Scarlet Dagger Large Print Books] (Audio Cassette)