The title refers to a nursery rhyme ("There Was a Crooked Man"), a common theme of the author. Narrator Charles's fiancée Sophia says it refers not to dishonesty, but rather "we hadn't been able to grow up independent... See more

Three generations of the Leonides family live together under wealthy patriarch Aristide. His first wife Marcia died; her sister Edith has cared for the household since then. His second wife is the indolent Brenda, decades his junior, suspected of having a … See more

Maurice Richardson, in the 29 May 1949 issue of The Observer, gave a positive review in comparison to his opinion of Taken at the Flood the previous year: "Her forty-ninth book … See more

• 1949, Dodd Mead and Company (New York), March 1949, Hardback, 211 pp
• 1949, Collins Crime Club (London), 23 May 1949, Hardback, … See more

Towards the end of the Second World War, Charles Hayward is in Cairo and falls in love with Sophia Leonides, a smart, successful Englishwoman who works for the See more

• Charles Hayward, fiancé to Sophia Leonides, narrator
• Sophia Leonides, daughter of Magda and Philip Leonides, … See more

The novel was adapted for BBC Radio 4 in four weekly 30-minute episodes which began broadcasting on 29 February 2008. It starred See more