Trumpets Sound No More...

“Trumpets Sound No more” by John Redfern is a novel set in the 1840’s and takes place in London, England. The protagonist of this story is Inspector Owen Endersby who is part of the London detective police force. The inspector was chosen along with others to solve a mystery murder that happened on Saturday the 19th of December on 46 Doughty Street. The person who was murdered was the owner of the semi-successful Coburg Theatre. The young man’s name is Samuel Cake, the autopsy stated that he had been beaten over the back of the head. The case would go on over a five day period where the inspector would investigate different parts of London trying to catch the murderer, submit him to superintendent Bourne, and solve the mystery that plagued the London Theater District.

I feel as though JohnRedfern’s description of London, England during the Victorian area was well portrayed and accurate. One of the most evident points in the book is described here, “…They have their mighty towers and their hovels, their heroes and villains. In all men's hearts, regardless of station or purse, one thing remains immutable: the desire for merriment, On his way there in the hansom, as streets pulsed with voices and laughing children, he reflected on the grand theatre…”

In John Redfern’s “Trumpets Sound No More” there are three characters in the novel that seem to match up well with certain characters used in “Great Expectations”. An example of this would be Pineapple Pol and Mrs. Joe. They both have very short tempered and are tough. Both of them are also in lower class by financial standards. Some differences between them are Mrs. Joe doesn’t have her own child to raise where as Pineapple Pol does. Another set of characters that match up is Mr. Jaggers and Inspector Owen Endersby. They are similar in the fact that Mr. Jaggers and inspector Owen Endersby both deal with the law and criminals. They are different in the sense that Jaggers is a more boring and plain character where as Endersby is more lively and likes to feel the thrill of it all. One last set of characters that stands out is Pip and Betty Loxton. They are both similar because when Pip is younger and is still lower class he has dreams to become a gentleman and is content on making it happen. Betty dreams in the same way to be successful and be in upper class. The difference between the two is Betty never gets to see her dreams fully unfold because she gets into an accident. In Pip’s case he does get to see his dream in front of him.

Three themes that seem to be predominant in the novel is crime, ambition, and guilt. All of these themes played a key roll in “Great Expectations”

What surprised me most about Redfern’s depiction of the Theatre world in London England was the fact that the image he depicted in my mind was so vivid and well thought of. He made the novel more enjoyable by using his skills of portraying the Theatre world to a great extent and it paid off.

One symbol that comes up in the book is the wooden puzzle that is used by Inspector Owen Endersby to help him and his co-detectives find their next clue making them closer to success. The second symbol would be the glove dropped outside of Cake’s residence and would be a very important clue to the preservation of the criminal.