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  • Traitor's Purse

  • An Albert Campion Mystery
  • By: Margery Allingham
  • Narrated by: David Thorpe
  • Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (156 ratings)
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Traitor's Purse cover art

Traitor's Purse

By: Margery Allingham
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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Summary

Campion investigates once more, but this time he is on the run from the police - classic British crime writing at its best. Celebrated amateur detective Albert Campion awakes in hospital accused of attacking a police officer and suffering from acute amnesia. All he can remember is that he was on a mission of vital importance to His Majesty's government before his accident. On the run from the police and unable to recognise even his faithful servant Lugg or his own fiancée, Campion struggles desperately to put the pieces together while the very fate of England is at stake.

Margery Allingham was born in London in 1904. Her first novel was published when she was seventeen. In 1929 she published The Crime at Black Dudley and introduced the character who was to become the hallmark of her writing - Albert Campion.

©2013 Margery Allingham (P)2013 Audible Ltd

Critic reviews

"Spending an evening with Campion is one of life's pure pleasures" ( Saturday Review)

What listeners say about Traitor's Purse

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Terrible voice

What would have made Traitor's Purse better?

I have loved this story and all the Albert Campion tales. Really pleased to see it unabridged as I had the Francis Matthews version on cassette and the Philip Franks on CD/audio. Both of these were excellent. This starts fine until David Thorpe speaks as Campion - what a terrible voice. Campion is meant to look an idiot but is actually sharp as a knife but he is well educated (scion of royalty) and not sound one even if he babbles at times. This has really ruined this to the extent that I can't listen to it and will go back to the Philip Franks version until hopefully the Francis Matthews is reissued on Audio CD . Please make that soon!
I won't buy any of the other David Thorpe recordings and its such a pity.

What other book might you compare Traitor's Purse to, and why?

This is more like an spy story than Allingham's usual detectives but still quite gentle.

How could the performance have been better?

Used the FRancis Matthews recording or get David Thorpe to reinterpret Campion

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Yes, anger at David Thorpe and whoever let him get away with such rubbish, sad that one of my favourite stories has been spoilt and very very disappointed that I'd wasted the money.

Any additional comments?

No

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible

I remember reading some of Allingham's books as a teenager and enjoying them. Not this one though as it has to be the worst, I can't conceive even as a teenager I would have had a high opinion of this. It's a mish mash of unbelievable plot and long rambling, introspective, maudlin, indulgent thoughts. The contrived events are absurd, just as I decided they couldn't get any worse they sadly did.
However, worst of all was the narration. Why was Campion given a high pitched dowager duchess squeaky voice? He spoke in an even higher tone than his fiancée ! The police should have arrested him for falsetto crimes against eardrums.
This book will be returned.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good but not the best narrative

Love Allingham's Campion stories but having seen the Peter Davison TV adaptation and Philip Frank's narration of the novels I'm afraid that this narrator did not sit well with me. The tone that he employed for Campion irritated me no end!!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent narrator

One of her very best plots . The narrator is excellent and I fail to see why others complain. Pathetic moaning idiots

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Audio Book for Traitors Purse

A fantastic story and plot. It is one of my favourite Champion novels. However, the reader's choice of voice for Campion is horrendous. It is high pitched and in contrast to his true character. Other characters have normal
and believable intonation and accents. Such a shame this one fault brings down the overall calibre of this audiobook.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A thoroughly enjoyable listen

I felt I had to write a review to counteract some of the very poor reviews that this reading of Traitor's Purse has received. I am a huge fan of Margery Allingham's Campion novels and have them all on Audible. I think David Thorpe is a wonderful narrator and infinitely prefer him to Francis Matthews who does not, in my opinion, adequately distinguish between different speakers, especially women. Initially, I didn't like David Thorpe's reading of Albert, but, the more I listened, the more I realised that he really does capture him as I think Allingham intended him to sound. The variety of accents and the pitch of the different voices, is for me, just right. The story is far fetched but I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the development of the romantic relationship between Albert and Amanda.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another brilliant , and totally addictive story,

Margery Allingham at her best. Narration always worth listening to., and totally believable. A superb mix, making it impossible to turn off.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • JR
  • 14-05-23

back to normal, excellent

disappointed with the previous book, glad David Thorpe is back as narrator and the story back to intriguing with full Campion participation, rather than previous book which was oddly out of character

intriguing all the way through

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Love campion but not this

What went wrong. Very tedious and I only got to chapter 8. I couldn’t even remember what I had listened to the day before

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ingenious.

Having your sleuth meander around in a nightmare of severe concussion and amnesia is a balancing act that only Margery Allingham could bring off, and she does it in style.

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