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"Final Witness" is the best Old Bailey murder trial mystery I've ever read. The pace is brisk, the charecters and sense of place are fully developed and the author is just subtle enough to manipulate the reader into feeling sorry for, as well as suspicious of, each of the major players in the story.But then the author, Simon Tolkien, is a barrister "down the Ol' Bailey" - the popular name of London's Central Criminal Court.
He's also the grandson of J.R.R.Tolkien and currently estranged from his father, Christopher, because Simon gave his blessing to the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. Christopher Tolkien opposed filming of the books because he considered his father's work "unsuitable for transformation into visual dramatic form".
Sixteen-year-old Thomas Robinson is the final witness of this title, also estranged from his father, Peter, because he believes his stepmother is responsible for the murder of his mother, Anna Sackville Robinson, famous for her rose garde at her ancestral seaside estate, Four Winds. Thomas relies on his noble Sackville ancestry to sustain him through the ordeal of finding justice for his slain mother
Now here's where things begin to get really interesting. J.R.R.Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is a continuation of "The Hobbit", whose main character, Bilbo Baggins, is heir to the title and estate of Otho and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins. Their fortune came from tobacco, which Lobelia is rumoured to have introduced to the Shire (Hobbit-Land). Vita Sackville-West has long been considered the source for the character Lobelia Sackville-Baggins. Besides being q popular writer, she was one of England's greatest gardeners, and her rose garden is the highlight of the tour at her former home.
Now here's the question. Is the grandson continuing the grandfather's style of combining reality and mythology with personal history to produce private jokes, such as the fact that Lobelia is the name for Indian tobacco, which only a handful of scholars will understand? Or are there really Sackville ancestors in the Tolkien line?
Simon Tolkien is married to an American, and an early press release described this book as "a psycholgical mystery aimed at the American mass market". As I said at the beginning, I enjoyed reading this book - with one exception. I found offensive the "gimmick" of translating British court terminology, such as Queen's Counselor - QC for short - into prosecution barrister, presumably to make this an easier read for the "American mass market". Without QCs, wigs, robes and all, the Ol Bailey loses some of its charm.
He's also the grandson of J.R.R.Tolkien and currently estranged from his father, Christopher, because Simon gave his blessing to the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. Christopher Tolkien opposed filming of the books because he considered his father's work "unsuitable for transformation into visual dramatic form".
Sixteen-year-old Thomas Robinson is the final witness of this title, also estranged from his father, Peter, because he believes his stepmother is responsible for the murder of his mother, Anna Sackville Robinson, famous for her rose garde at her ancestral seaside estate, Four Winds. Thomas relies on his noble Sackville ancestry to sustain him through the ordeal of finding justice for his slain mother
Now here's where things begin to get really interesting. J.R.R.Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is a continuation of "The Hobbit", whose main character, Bilbo Baggins, is heir to the title and estate of Otho and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins. Their fortune came from tobacco, which Lobelia is rumoured to have introduced to the Shire (Hobbit-Land). Vita Sackville-West has long been considered the source for the character Lobelia Sackville-Baggins. Besides being q popular writer, she was one of England's greatest gardeners, and her rose garden is the highlight of the tour at her former home.
Now here's the question. Is the grandson continuing the grandfather's style of combining reality and mythology with personal history to produce private jokes, such as the fact that Lobelia is the name for Indian tobacco, which only a handful of scholars will understand? Or are there really Sackville ancestors in the Tolkien line?
Simon Tolkien is married to an American, and an early press release described this book as "a psycholgical mystery aimed at the American mass market". As I said at the beginning, I enjoyed reading this book - with one exception. I found offensive the "gimmick" of translating British court terminology, such as Queen's Counselor - QC for short - into prosecution barrister, presumably to make this an easier read for the "American mass market". Without QCs, wigs, robes and all, the Ol Bailey loses some of its charm.