The Case of the Late Pig

The Case of the Late Pig

First edition
Author Margery Allingham
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Series Albert Campion
Genre Crime novel
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date
 1937
Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Preceded by Dancers in Mourning
Followed by The Fashion in Shrouds

The Case of the Late Pig is a crime novel by Margery Allingham, first published 1937, by Hodder & Stoughton. It is the ninth novel featuring the mysterious Albert Campion and his butler/valet/bodyguard Magersfontein Lugg.

Plot summary

As Lugg is reading aloud the obituaries one morning, he comes across one for an old school nemesis of Campion. Remarkably, an anonymous letter inviting Campion to the funeral has also appeared in the morning post. R.I. “Pig” Peters is dead. So says the doctor that treated him.

Five months later, Campion receives a panicked call from a friend, something about a murder. Campion drives down to the friend’s home where her father reveals the most assuredly dead body of R.I. “Pig” Peters, his head caved in no more than 12 hours earlier.

Amazingly enough, some of the visitors from Peters' first funeral also appear, along with some not-so-grieving acquaintances of the late Pig. The little village is becoming very crowded.

Now begins Campion’s search, which leads to a missing body, a grisly scarecrow and one too many beers for Lugg before he discovers the madman that planned more than a few murders.

This is the only story told from Campion's point of view.

Television

In two series of BBC adaptations of Allingham's stories entitled Campion (shown in the United States by PBS), Campion was played by Peter Davison, Lugg by Brian Glover and Oates by Andrew Burt. In the first series, Peter Davison sang the title music himself.

Campion adapted a total of eight novels, each of which was originally broadcast as two separate hour-long episodes.

Series 1 (1989)

The Case of the Late Pig, Season 1, Episode 3,

References

External links