AN ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING
by Reginald Hill
Like the debut novel for Yorkshire cops Dalziel and Pascoe (A Clubbable Woman), this follow-up was originally published only in Britain (1971)—but now appears in a first US edition. And, to an even greater extent than A Clubbable Woman, the second Dalziel-Pascoe case is a worthy, witty candidate for resurrection. A skeleton has been found beneath a recently erected statue at Holm Coultram College. Could it somehow be the remains of college "principal" Alison Girling, who died a few years back in an accident abroad—her body never recovered It could indeed! So Dalziel (fat, boorish) and young Pascoe (a college grad) appear on the scene—to figure out how Miss Girling really died, to quiz the motley faculty (fuddy-duddies, lechers, aging radicals) and the rather creepy student body (which includes an orgiastic coven). And, while the investigation uncovers a tangle of nasty secrets (sexual and otherwise), Sergeant Pascoe finds himself falling in love again with acerbic old flame Ellie Soper (a faculty member)—who'll soon become, as series fans know, the sergeant's brusque yet fetching bride. The plot is unremarkable, with a somewhat clumsy clump of exposition at the close; the 1971-campus setting is a trifle dated. But, unlike the rather somber Clubbable Woman, this early Hill is steadily, edgily amusing—blending quiet academia satire with earthier strains of dark comedy and offbeat characterization.