An Advancement Of Learning (1985) - Plot & Excerpts
First Sentence: There had been a great deal of snow that December, followed by a hard frost.Coultram College is expanding. To do so, the bronze statue of the former principal, Alison Girling, must be moved. Ms. Girling was killed five years ago on a winter trip in Austria. So why is her skeleton found beneath the memorial? Dalziel and Pascoe are office to college to find a killer.Hill is such a delight to read. In this, the second book of the series, his characteristic humor begins to make itself known. I love when Dalziel compares schools to inbred communities and the names of his characters—i.e., Girling, Halfdane, Fallowfield, Cockshut, and Disney, known as “Walt” of course—are delightful. The book is very much character driven. The contrast between Dalziel and Pascoe is wonderful. It’s not a case of one being smarter or dumber. The two men are very different, yet each beings a viewpoint and methodology to solving the case. The plot is rather weak; I identified one killer fairly early. I am also not a fan of the protagonist laying out the facts behind the case at the end of the story. And I hate the use of portents (authors who use them will always lose points from me). Still, Hill writes a delightful, intelligent book and I shall read on through the series.AN ADVENCEMENT OF LEARNING (Pol Proc-Dalziel & Pascoe-England-Cont) – G+Hill, Reginald – 2nd in seriesFelony & Mayhem, 2008, US Trade Paperback- ISBN: 9781934609088
I read one of Hill's more recent Dalziel and Pascoe outings and really liked it. The enjoyment in this one was more, er, academic interest than actual enjoyment. That is, it was interesting to see the growth of his characters from this early (second?) outing. The best thing in the book was of course the odd-ball pairing of the uncouth superintendent and his better-edumacated sergeant. Maybe I was missing something, perhaps it was a homage to Agatha Christie but I found that sort of stuff dull and tedious. A massive cast of characters, all of whom (those who were still alive) are assembled in the headmaster's study for the detective to reveal the killer on the last page? Well, OK, if we have to do it that way. It was well done, but even in the early 70s when the book came out, that had already been done and done and done again, hadn't it? Note to self: don't write whodunits in the omnipotent third person (think that's what it's called). Since the author knows all, why not just tell us directly whodunit and save us poor readers the rigamarole?
What do You think about An Advancement Of Learning (1985)?
In this book our author introduces Franny Roote who will appear in other novels in various capacities of deviousness and mischief.The Super is called to the college to investigate the appearance of a body long dead. The atmosphere of learning is all that Fat Andy denounces and derides. Pascoe will do little to abuse Andy's feelings in that area and cannot seem to say ahead of the Super no matter what degree he holds. He does re-connect with Eleanor Soper and she will be in most, if not all, of the remaining Dalziel/Pascoe mysteries.
—Sherie
An Advancement of Learning is school of Agatha Christie which will be sufficient recommendation for those who like a large cast of "characters" plus a couple of eccentric coppers, convenient coincidences and multiple red herrings. The pace is slow to the point of of almost stalling.Take a simple test. How often do you see people roll their eyes? In this book they do so frequently. If that doesn't bother you, maybe you will be able to swallow the extraordinary gouges on at a co-educational college for oddballs, both students and staff. There are deaths that need to be investigated and, of course, eventually solved.The plot is convoluted in the extreme; when the time for explanation arrives, it takes twenty pages. Christie almighty!
—Gerald Sinstadt
this is the second dalziel and pascoe book. one thing i'm enjoying about this series (having read a whole three of them now ;-) ) is that each seems to have it's own setting. it's quite an old fashioned device to make a book so closed from the outside world but hill manages to write modern books within the constraints. the first in the series was 'the rugby club book' and this one was 'the college book'. this book hooks you in with the intriguing conundrum of 'how did her bones come to be buried beneath her memorial?' and the story flows well but the ending is a bit of a disappointment, as it was with the first book. (this is book 2 in the dalziel and pascoe series)
—Kirsty Darbyshire
