""If I had to vote for the single best detective story, this would be it."" A.S. Byatt
Celebrated amateur detective Albert Campion awakes in hospital, accused of attacking a police officer and suffering from acute amnesia. All he can remember is that he was on a mission of vital importance to His Majesty's government before his accident. On the run from the police and unable to recognize even his faithful servant or his beloved fianc?®e, Campion struggles desperately to put the pieces togetherwhile World War II rages and the very fate of England is at stake.
Published in 1941, Traitor's Purse is ""a wartime masterpiece"" ( The Guardian).
""Uncommonly exciting stuff, replete with Allingham's skill in story-building and the plausible characters that make her as much a fine novelist as a mystery writer."" The New Republic
""Margery Allingham stands out like a shining light. And she has another quality, not usually associated with crime stories, elegance."" Agatha Christie