I’ve been a fan of Jonathan Gash’s mystery series featuring a roguish antique dealer named Lovejoy. These off-beat mysteries led to a BBC series starring the likable Ian McShane. This box set collects all six seasons and includes a Christmas special as a bonus. Special guest stars include: John Gielgud (Arthur), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton), Michael Kitchen (Foyle’s War), Martin Clunes (Doc Martin), Richard Griffiths (Harry Potter films), Pete Postlethwaite (Inception), Julian Glover (Game of Thrones), James Nesbitt (The Hobbit trilogy), and Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting). If you’re looking for some entertaining, humorous, and intelligent mysteries I recommend you sample Lovejoy. The books are good, too, especially the early volumes in the series.
Lovejoy Mystery Series:
The Judas Pair (1977)
Gold from Gemini (1978), U.S. edition: Gold by Gemini (1979)
The Grail Tree (1979)
Spend Game (1981)
The Vatican Rip (1981)
Firefly Gadroon (1982)
The Sleepers of Erin (1984)
The Gondola Scam (1984)
Pearlhanger (1985)
The Tartan Ringers (1986), U.S. edition: The Tartan Sell (1986)
Moonspender (1988)
Jade Woman (1988)
The Very Last Gambado (1989)
The Great California Game (1991)
The Lies of Fair Ladies (1992)
Paid and Loving Eyes (1993)
The Sin within Her Smile (1993)
The Grace in Older Women (1995)
The Possessions of a Lady (1996)
The Rich and the Profane (1998)
A Rag, a Bone and a Hank of Hair (1999)
Every Last Cent (2000)
Ten Word Game (2003)
Faces in the Pool (2008)
Loved this series…and him especially.
Patti, I liked Ian McShane, too. Excellent casting!
I love to watch various English mysteries–especially the Midsommer Murders (or, as we call it in our house, “Midders”), just to see which guest stars will pop up. I used to watch “Lovejoy” back in the day–loved the pre-“Sexy Beast”/pre-“Deadwood” Ian McShane (remember him as Raquel Welch’s husband in “The Last of Sheila”?). But I only read a couple of the books, couldn’t get into them.
Deb, I’m a fan of English TV mysteries, too. Loved Ian McShane in all his various roles. What a versatile actor! Jonathan Gash’s books are an acquired taste.
I tried one of the books, but like Deb I couldn’t get into it.
McShane’s high point for me remains the great (and awful) Al Swearengen in DEADWOOD.
Jeff, McShane created some compelling characters especially Al Swearengen.
Even my parents loved Lovejoy!
I learned everything I know about antiques from Jonathan Gash’s Lovejoy novels.
Beth, same here! I knew nothing about antiques or antique collecting until I read the Lovejoy mysteries. Just like I knew nothing about horse racing until I read Dick Francis.
This is driving me insane.
There was a short-lived series, three books as I remember it, probably in the early 1980s. It was a British setting, possibly East Anglia. In the first book the wife hits her (philandering?) husband over the head and kills him, but is never discovered. Her mother comes to help out, and the series features the mother and a retired policeman and involves antiques. The author quit writing after three books to open his own shop.
Does any of this ring a bell at all? We need Ellen Nehr here.
Got it! Believe it or not, Jackie actually remembered the name: Anthony Oliver.
THE PEW GROUP (1980) was the first book. There were four, not three. He died some time in the 1990s.
Jeff, I’m glad Jackie had the answer because I had no clue.
If you put enough SC in a room, one of them will always come up with the answer. Although sometimes that number is awfully high.
Patti, that is so true.
George
Is this a DVD set that was just released? Does it have subtitles in English for those of us who sometimes have trouble understanding various British and Scottish accents?
I bought a complete set of Lovejoy DVDs several years ago, and I had such a hard time understanding the dialogue I never watched more than one. I had to keep stopping to go back, and listen as hard as I could in order to follow the story.
Steve, this set was released on June 16, 2015. Yes, it has English subtitles. It’s well worth the money. You get 4000 minutes of great entertainment!
I’ve answered my own question. There was an earlier set of the Complete LOVEJOY that was put out by the BBC. I bought that back in 2012. This new set is from Acorn. What puzzles me is that Amazon says that both sets have subtitles in English. Why didn’t I know to use them? I have no idea.
Steve, sometimes the setup for English subtitles and closed captioning can be tricky.
Been ages since I saw this – I also remember the books being somewhat less cosy, right?
Sergio, the early Lovejoys weren’t very cozy at all. The later volumes lost their edge in my opinion.