A Murder of Quality, published in 1962, is a murder mystery novel by John le Carré.
The book is Le Carré's second novel and a direct sequel to his first, Call for the Dead, with retired spy George Smiley returning as its protagonist.
Ailsa Brimley, a wartime colleague of Smiley's, receives a letter from Stella Rode, the wife of a school master at the prestigious Carne public school. Stella claims that her husband plans to murder her, and Ailsa asks for Smiley's assistance... but by that point, Stella's already dead, bludgeoned by an unknown assailant.
Smiley finds himself en route to Carne, helping the local police to unravel the truth about the killing. Carne, it seems, conceals a lot of secrets.
- Absence of Evidence: Smiley's theory is that Perkins looked inside Rode's case when he cheated on the exam paper, but didn't see the weapon and clothing used for the murder. That would discredit Fielding's attempt to frame Rode, so when Fielding realised Perkins had cheated, he had to kill him.
- Blackmail: Stella Rode was blackmailing D'Arcy, Fielding and others. It becomes a Blackmail Backfire when Fielding kills her.
- Blackmail Backfire: Stella Rode's murdered by Fielding, who's being blackmailed over his conviction for same-sex activity during the war. The final straw was when it became clear that she wouldn't let him leave Carne (and escape Rode) to work at a different school, and threatened to tell his new employers.
- Confess to a Lesser Crime: As part of his back-up plan to frame Rode for his own wife's death, Fielding claims an "inordinate affection" to Perkins, although he's quick to add that "it wasn't that kind of affection", and says he opened Rode's case to tamper with Perkins' exam paper and improve the boy's grade, seeing the incriminating evidence when he did so. As Perkins is now dead, he can confess all of this to Smiley. In truth, Perkins opened the case and cheated on his own exam - and would have seen that it didn't contain any such evidence. Which is why Fielding killed him.
- Continuity Nod: Smiley suggests that if Brimley needs any help and can't get hold of him, she should contact a retired policeman named Mendel. Mendel assisted Smiley in Le Carré's first book, Call for the Dead, although this book doesn't provide that context.
- Crazy Homeless People: Mad Janie, who's a suspect but turns out to be a witness to the murder. The killer throws her Stella's coat and necklace to get rid of her, rather than bump off a madwoman that no-one's going to believe anyway.
- Frame-Up: Fielding's back-up plan is to frame Rode for his own wife's murder, claiming that the killer's clothes and weapon had been hidden in his case. Unfortunately, this also necessitated Perkins' death, as he'd opened Rode's case himself, to cheat on his exam paper, and would have been able to contradict the claims.
- The Ghost: As with Call for the Dead, Ben Sparrow of Special Branch ("He was with us in the war") makes arrangements with the local police force but stays firmly offstage. This time his first name is revealed and he does get a line of dialogue (a description of Smiley) remembered by Inspector Rigby.
- Happy Ending Override: Smiley's previous appearance in Call for the Dead ends on an optimistic note, with Smiley flying to Zurich to reconcile with his estranged wife Anne, who asked him to take her back after an affair. Whatever happened in Zurich, they're still separated at the start of A Murder of Quality.
- Inconveniently Vanishing Exonerating Evidence: Subverted with the murder weapon used to bludgeon Stella Rode, which Fielding dropped in a ditch four miles away. Not knowing that the police had discovered it, Fielding's back-up plan attempts to frame Stanley Rode for his wife's murder. But Stanley was constantly supervised for the next forty-eight hours, and couldn't possibly have dropped it there.
- Last-Second Chance: Smiley gathers Ailsa and Fielding for dinner in London, delivering The Summation after the meal. Smiley tells Fielding this is his last chance and, for his brother's sake, he should flee. He doesn't seem to register the warning, and is still sitting there when the police arrive at the door.George Smiley: Go now, in God's name go now. There's very little time, for Adrian's sake go now.
- Retcon: The first Smiley novel, Call for the Dead, suggested that Fielding (whose first name is never confirmed in that book) survived the war, but had left the service and was now "wedded to a new thesis on Roland". This book instead states that Adrian Fielding "had vanished during the war while specially employed by the War Office".
- Screaming Woman
- The police ask Mad Janice if she heard anything on the night of the murder. She responds by mimicking Stella's dying screams and pleading as she's beaten to death.
- Averted when the charity worker opens a sack of donations to be sent to Hungary and finds herself clutching a bloodstained plastic cape. As she's about to go into hysterics, Ailsa Brimley grabs her hand."You're not to scream, you're not to be sick. This is a police matter; you're not to say anything to anybody. Do you understand, dear? (she nods) When I'm gone you're to sit in a chair, count to one hundred and then make yourself a cup of hot, sweet tea."
- Spoiler Cover: A downplayed example. Matt Taylor's cover for a 21st century Penguin edition shows a woman at the centre of a spider's web, hands grasping the threads. This hints at the revelation that Stella Rode was a blackmailer and deeply unpleasant person, not the upstanding woman she presented herself as in public.
- The Unreveal: It's mentioned that Stella Rode had some very strong blackmail material to use against D'Arcy, but it's not directly relevant to the murder and the details are never revealed.
- In the 1991 television adaptation he was having an affair with the kennelmaid at the vet, who happened to casually mention it to Stella, not knowing she was an avid collector of dirty secrets.
- Would Hurt a Child: Smiley tells Fielding that the court might have looked sympathetically on a murderer who killed their blackmailer, but he'll definitely hang for killing Perkins.
