Verdict of Twelve

Raymond Postgate wrote very little crime fiction ,being primarily a social historian with leftish leanings .When he did turn his attention to the genre the results were invariably satisfying , none more so than this quite splendid and somewhat unusual book.There is enough detection to keep devotees of the classic detective novel interested and engaged by the book but the main concentration is on the jury ,and in particular with the factors that influence jurors and shape their verdicts..We are given detailed biographies of 6 of the 12 citizens who must decide on the outcome of a murder trial -that of a middle aged ,middle class woman accused of murdering her nephew.In the well written and sharply detailed studies of these people we learn of their personal values and their domestic situations and of how these constitute an insurmountable barrier to objectivity.Their response is emotional as distinct from rational ,and as we come to know the jurors we begin to anticipate their reactions.Cleverly,these are modified as the case proceeds and the role of class and personality types comes to result in the weaker siding with the majority .The concentration on the jury is not at the expense of other factors however and the portaits of the accused and the victim are sharp and penetrating.,.Add a twist ending that is a genuine suprise and some neat literary allusion and the result is a novel that should be an established widely read genre classic rather than the unknown materpiece it is today