Beware of Johnny Washington

- Blurb -

Republished for the first time since 1951, Beware of Johnny Washington is Francis Durbridge' s clever reworking of the very first Paul Temple radio serial using his new characters, the amiable Johnny Washington and newspaper columnist Verity Glyn. Includes as a bonus the first Paul Temple short story, ' A Present for Paul' . When a gang of desperate criminals begins leaving calling cards inscribed ' With the Compliments of Johnny Washington' , the real Johnny Washington is encouraged by an attractive newspaper columnist to throw in his lot with the police. Johnny, an American ' gentleman of leisure' who has settled at a quiet country house in Kent to enjoy the shing, soon finds himself involved with the mysterious Horatio Quince, a retired schoolmaster who is on the trail of the gang' s unscrupulous leader, the elusive ' Grey Moose' . Best known for creating Paul Temple for BBC radio in 1938, Francis Durbridge' s prolific output of crime and mystery stories, encompassing plays, radio, television, films and books, made him a household name for more than 50 years. A new radio character, ' Johnny Washington, Esquire' , hit the airwaves in 1949, leading to the publication of this one-off novel in 1951. This Detective Club classic is introduced by writer and bibliographer Melvyn Barnes, author of Francis Durbridge: A Centenary Appreciation, who reveals how Johnny Washington' s only literary outing was actually a reworking of Durbridge' s own Send for Paul Temple.