Trumpets Sound No More

Trumpets Sound No More, by Jon Redfern is a mystery novel set in Victorian England. This novel is the story of the detective Owen Endersby, who is investigating the murder of Mr. Samuel Cake, a well-known and successful man in the theatre. Endersby solves the murder by interrogating suspects and looking for clues, all without the help of modern technology.

Jon Redfern describes London as a very dark, grimy, and gloomy place. I think that although this was effective for setting the mood for the novel, it seemed to be darker than the descriptions of London in Great Expectations. Although the descriptions were not accurate, they were very successful at creating a gloomy atmosphere. “Inspector Endersby looked out mournfully at the misery beyond the cab window. Beggars huddled in corners, barefoot children with blackened hands cried out for ha’pennies to buy food. Thick mud and slush and smoky brown air had become the three elements of London’s streets.” pg. 35.

In this novel, there are many characters that are similar to characters from Great Expectations. For example, I found Inspector Endersby is very similar to Wemmick. Both are very serious about their work, and try to do their best, but are very kind and friendly in their private lives, for example Wemmick has his home in Walworth, and Inspector Endersby has his wife Harriet. Another pair of characters are Pip and Betty. Both of these characters are of lower class, and strive to improve their surroundings. Although Betty works to achieve this, and Pip is given money from an unknown benefactor, they are still very similar. Jaggers and Superintendent Borne are another pair of characters with a lot in common. They both take their work very seriously, and spend much of their time working.

Three of the major themes in this novel are love, social class, and crime. Love can be seen between Inspector Endersby and Harriet. This is also a theme in Great Expectations, and can be seen between Pip and Estella, Joe and Biddy, and Herbert and Clara. One of the other themes in this novel is social class. Betty strives too improve her social standing, just as Pip did in Great Expectations. This is a major theme in both novels. The third theme, crime, is very evident in both novels. Trumpets Sound No More is a novel about crime, and in Great Expectations, Magwitch and Compeyson are involved with crimes.

One thing that I noticed about Redfern’s descriptions of the theatre is the contrast from the rest of London. There is lots of intrigue in the theatre, and even the building, The Old Drury, is described as spectacular. I thought that this was interesting, as Redfern describes the rest of London very differently.

One of the main symbols of this novel is Inspector Endersby's gout. It represents the difficulties he has to go through in his daily life. Another symbol is Mr. Cake's cane. This represents that he is of upper class.