The House Opposite, J. Jefferson Farjeon
The House Opposite, J. Jefferson Farjeon
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

The House Opposite

Author: J. Jefferson Farjeon

Narrator: David John

Unabridged: 9 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 12/31/2015

Synopsis

From the Collins Crime Club archive, the first original novel to feature Ben the Cockney tramp, the unorthodox detective character created by J. Jefferson Farjeon, author of Mystery in White. Strange things are happening in the untenanted houses of Jowle Street. There are unaccountable creakings and weird knockings on the door of No.29, where a homeless ex-sailor has taken up residence. But even stranger things are happening in the House Opposite, from where a beautiful woman in an evening gown brings Ben a mysterious message; and worse—the offer of a job! Ben the ‘passing tramp’ was immortalised on film by Alfred Hitchcock in the film Number 17, based on a popular ’twenties stage play and novelisation by journalist-turned-author Joe Jefferson Farjeon. The House Opposite (1931) was the first full-length original novel to feature Ben, a reluctant down-at-heels Cockney sleuth, who went on to feature in six more successful detective thrillers from 1931 to 1952.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Fiona on January 20, 2018

I was so disappointed with this Crime Club selection. What annoyed me so much was that certain parts were extremely funny, to the extent that I was chuckling away (partly due to Ben, the tramp and his voracious range of cockney dialogue which I had to speak out loud to understand) but for the good p......more

Goodreads review by Hannah on April 16, 2016

"'Lord luvvaduck!' gasped Ben. The cheese had turned into a revolver." When I found myself desperately in need of a crime fix, the obvious choice was a Detective Story Club Classic. I chose this one because of the intriguing "tramp detective", and it did not disappoint. Well-written, engaging charac......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on April 09, 2015

The House Opposite The House, really, is an apartment building in New York City. This is a period story in which women and men all wear hats and gloves upon going out of their homes. For those who have seen a Jimmy Stewart film called, "Rear Window", you might be reminded of the intricacies of that s......more

Goodreads review by Anne on April 07, 2022

A sad disappointment after the wonderful Number 17. The earlier book had started out as a play, which was a big hit both on stage and on film. Farjeon was persuaded (or wanted) to cash in on their success, so he turned it into a novel. And it was first-rate. Some years later this second book was publ......more

Goodreads review by Amanda on September 02, 2018

Ugh. I got halfway through this and just gave up. The cockney finally beat me down for good. This was another from my increasingly more misguided foray through the library book sale. An appealing cover and a good plot were undone by terrible writing. Fully halfway through the book, you know there’s......more

Quotes

‘Jefferson Farjeon is quite unsurpassed for creepy skill in mysterious adventures.’ Dorothy L. Sayers ‘There may be contemporary story writers who are equals of Mr Farjeon in the ability to put the reader swiftly and wholly under the spell of the eerie and uncanny – but they have not come within our reading.’ New York World

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