With lots of time on my hands, I've taken to reading some books from yester-year. Inspector Frost was a favourite from decades ago and I discovered I had some stored in e-book format, so I settled back to re-live the stories. They are still a good read but I was gobsmacked after just a few pages to see how poorly they have survived the years.
I'm into book 4 at the moment and have just about managed to come to terms with the sexism and gratuitous abuse of young female officers but there's a sleazy element which has permeated each of the first 4 novels: the image of highly-sexualised young females, as young as 11, in relationships with older men, and the snide and lip-smacking way that Frost refers to them. Perhaps it might be an understandable device on a rare occasion but it's more like a recurring theme.
I don't know anything about RD Wingfield but I might have some suspicions about his morality after reading his books. Of course, the past is another country and there's danger in reading books through the lens of today's values. Nevertheless, I don't think that Frost's attitude reflects the time accurately.
I'm into book 4 at the moment and have just about managed to come to terms with the sexism and gratuitous abuse of young female officers but there's a sleazy element which has permeated each of the first 4 novels: the image of highly-sexualised young females, as young as 11, in relationships with older men, and the snide and lip-smacking way that Frost refers to them. Perhaps it might be an understandable device on a rare occasion but it's more like a recurring theme.
I don't know anything about RD Wingfield but I might have some suspicions about his morality after reading his books. Of course, the past is another country and there's danger in reading books through the lens of today's values. Nevertheless, I don't think that Frost's attitude reflects the time accurately.
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