The multitalented Raymond W. Postgate achieved distinction as classical scholar, economist, social historian, food and wine connoisseur, and journalist while, almost as a sideline, drawing upon his expertise in these areas to secure a limited yet clearly defined and probably lasting place among the detective- fiction novelists of his generation. Postgate was not a uniformly successful literary artist. Except for Verdict of Twelve (1940), his plots are not exceptional; and, even in his best novels, only a few of the main characters are fully alive. What distinguishes Postgate is his ability to give life to his characters' social and historical milieu and a talent for showing readers the effects these external factors have on human action.

The eldest son of renowned Latin scholar Professor John Percival Postgate and his wife, Edith (née Allen) Postgate, Raymond William Postgate at first seemed destined for an academic career, winning a...