The Chianti Flask by Marie Belloc Lowndes

I absolutely loved The Chianti Flask by Marie Belloc Lowndes. This is one I borrowed from my local library, but by the end of the second chapter I had added it to my wishlist. And believe me, I would have bought it immediately if I had not already acquired quite a few books this month. This British Library Crime Classic, which was originally published in 1934, is a book that will keep you guessing, but I found there was also a certain inevitability that made it none the less both atmospheric and compelling.

Laura Dousland is on trial for murder. Accused of poisoning her husband, Fordish. It is assumed that the poison was in the wine Fordish had with his evening meal. The poison itself was thought to be something that a friend of Fordish, Dr. Mark Scrutton, had brought over to the house to help with a rodent issue. Fordish was careful to find out that the poison would painlessly kill rodents. But he also asked Dr. Scrutton if it would be effective on humans too, and the doctor confirmed that it would. 

The damning thing for Laura, and the reason Dr. Scrutton was called to testify for the prosecution, is that this conversation took place in Laura’s hearing. The couple’s servant insists that he put a flask of Chianti on Fordish’s supper tray, but the flask went missing the night Fordish died. That is, if it was ever there at all. The flask never did turn up. Everyone wants to solve what the press are calling, the Chianti Flask Mystery, but Laura would do anything to never hear it mentioned again.

This is not a courtroom drama. Laura is acquitted in the second chapter, but she does not seem as relieved as she should to be found not guilty. Laura is the kind of woman that everyone wants to look after. Men flock to her and women seem drawn to her too. Although, some do just seem to want the inside scoop about her trial and to discuss what she thinks happened to the missing Chianti flask. It isn’t surprising that she wants to get away from everyone she knows and leave the past behind. But at the same time, she is hesitant to cut ties as dramatically as her old employers suggest, by moving to one of the colonies. 

As the book goes on we see that Laura’s relationship with her friends, the Haywards, is complicated by the fact that she was governess to their daughters before marrying theHaywards’ friend, Fordish Dousland. Fordish was taken with Laura, but Laura declined his offer of marriage numerous times before finally accepting him. It was Mrs. Hayward who urged Laura to accept Fordish, because, as she pointed out to Laura, a single woman without family or money of her own may not get many offers. Mr. Hayward was less encouraging of the match. But Mrs. Hayward got her own way, as she generally does. After Laura is acquitted, Mrs. Hayward asks Laura to stay with them at Loverslea for a bit. While Laura does not seem eager to take up the invitation, she does it anyway. She certainly doesn’t want to stay in the house she shared with her husband.

Meanwhile there suddenly rose from the terrace below the half-moon window, sounds of laughing and talking, and to one of the two now in the King's Room, those sounds appeared oh! so strange and unreal. Laura Dousland had not heard people laughing and talking in that light, care-free fashion since she had stayed at Loverslea three years ago. It made her feel even more remote from ordinary human kind than she had felt that morning in her prison cell. (77)

It soon becomes apparent that Laura is not thriving in her new life. Dr. Scrutton sees her—at Mr. Hayward’s request, I might add—and suggests keep to her room for a few days, which is a blessing, because Mrs. Hayward has been expecting that Laura is just going to buck herself up and come down to join the guests that have been invited over for dinner. Honestly, this woman doesn’t have a clue. Laura was in prison that morning and Mrs. Hayward is worried that Laura is going to ruin her dinner party. If there was anyone in this book who I would have gladly seen get bumped off, it’s the controlling Mrs. Hayward. Our author is kinder to her than I.

Alice Hayward had not known she was being hideously cruel. Indeed she was, in actual fact, a truly kind woman. But she, Laura Dousland, in that unreasonable, as those who have been flayed alive are no doubt apt to be, felt that she would give years of the life she had long valued but lightly, never to see that kind woman again. (123)

I couldn’t agree more, Laura! But we do have Mrs. Hayward to thank for something. It is, in part, the mutual dislike of this woman that brings Dr. Scrutton and Laura together.

“You must stay on in bed till I give you leave to get up; and I hope you will see as few people as possible.”

He had come close up to her by now, and all at once a quick look of secret understanding flashed between them. Each was thinking, and each knew that the other was thinking, of Alice Hayward. (80)

He even offers to tell the Haywards that Laura has been forbidden to talk for the next three days. But Laura persuades him not to do that. She claims, “Mrs. Hayward has been wonderfully good to me” and being able to talk to them is “the only way I can prove how grateful I am to them” (80). Laura does have a point. These people have taken her into their home and tried to do right by her, but I found her constant willingness to be submissive to other people’s wishes, even to the detriment of herself, did start to annoy me.

Thank goodness, Dr. Scrutton—who we will refer to as Mark from now on, as he and Laura are soon on a first name basis—offers to lend her his cottage so she can have a proper rest. Mark proves himself to be a dependable doctor and friend to Laura, and continues to show up for her. You know he is going to fall in love with her too. I don’t think that spoils any of the plot, because you can see his feelings for her from early on. We should all be so lucky as to have a person like Mark in our corner.

The Chianti Flask starts in early summer, and ends in the early autumn. While it isn’t a particularly seasonal book, I did enjoy reading it this time of year when we are enjoying some warmer weather. As far as I am concerned, this one of the standouts in the British Library Crime Classics collection. I loved how this book was constructed with Laura’s acquittal at the beginning. It feels like it starts at the end, but it is really just the beginning for Laura. From the start, this book reminded me a lot of Frances Iles’ Before the Fact, not in content or premise, but in feeling. (You can read my review of Before the Fact here.) The Chianti Flask kept me wondering what the truth really was and if I was missing some vital clue that was yet to be revealed. The author creates this amazing tension with such a subtle and deft hand. I would love to read more by Marie Belloc Lowndes. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that the British Library republish a few more of her books before too long. 

(I just wanted to note that I have linked to the UK edition of The Chianti Flask, which is published by British Library Publishing, not the American edition by Poisoned Pen Press, which is the one that I borrowed from my library and is pictured in these photos. The editions are slightly different sizes and the covers have different textures, but the contents are the same.) 

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