55 pages • 1 hour read
Beth LincolnThe Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Series Context: The Swifts
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels is the first entry in Beth Lincoln’s The Swifts series of middle grade mysteries. The 2023 novel introduces readers to the series’ mischievous main character, Shenanigan Swift, and her older sisters, Felicity and Phenomena. The resolution of the first book identifies the culprit who attempted to murder the family’s matriarch, Aunt Schadenfreude, but some mysteries remain. Although Shenanigan learns that the family’s centuries-old treasure is hidden in the lake on Swift House’s grounds, she has yet to recover the fortune. Lincoln published the sequel, A Gallery of Rogues, in 2024. The second book continues the plot thread of Shenanigan’s search for Vile’s Hoard. However, her treasure hunt is put on hold when a group of art thieves called Ouvolpo steals a painting from Swift House. Uncle Maelstrom, a wise and caring figure from the first book, joins Shenanigan, Felicity, and Phenomena as they travel to Paris in pursuit of the thieves. The three Swift sisters have to work together to solve another murder mystery when a body turns up at one of Ouvolpo’s heists.
During her time in the City of Light, Shenanigan meets the Martinets, the French side of the family that the ill-fated Pamplemousse from the first book belonged to. Like the Swifts, the Martinets name their members using a family dictionary. This provides humor and continues the exploration of the themes of self-determination and tradition begun in the first book. While A Dictionary of Scoundrels plays with the country house murder subgenre of detective fiction popularized by Agatha Christie, A Gallery of Rogues takes inspiration from the French literary tradition of gentleman thieves like Maurice Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin. Ouvolpo’s members swipe ill-gotten artwork so that they can return the pieces to their original owners. This mission defies the status quo in a manner in keeping with the first novel’s critiques of tradition, classism, and privilege. Comedy and wordplay remain hallmarks of Lincoln’s writing style throughout the series. Her eccentric characters and spooky settings contribute to a playfully eerie tone that critics compare to Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events books, such as The Bad Beginning. Lincoln continues Shenanigan Swift’s adventures with A Gallery of Rogues, offering middle grade readers more mystery, mayhem, and mischief all infused with the author’s love of etymology.
Literary Context: English Country House Murder Detective Fiction
The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels is set in a grand, centuries-old family estate, which makes the middle grade mystery an example of the English country house murder. Agatha Christie’s first Hercule Poirot novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920), is often credited with popularizing this subgenre of detective fiction. By definition, a setting in a secluded mansion is one of the most important conventions of the English country house murder. Fittingly, Swift House is filled with secret passages and hidden treasures, and the estate is “totally isolated from the outside world” once Gumshoe cuts the phone line and seals the gates (125). Manors in country house murders often have gardens with elaborate features like hedge mazes or lakes, and Swift House boasts both. The murder victim is often discovered in the library, a trope that Lincoln lampshades by having the hapless detective found near a copy of Christie’s The Body in the Library. Familial tension is a common source of conflict in this subgenre. Likewise, Candour is driven by his greed for Vile’s Hoard, his ambition to become Schadenfreude’s successor, and his anger at the matriarch’s refusal to bless his engagement.
Lincoln subverts generic conventions with the characters who populate her detective story. For example, Aunt Schadenfreude fills the role of “the imperious family patriarch or matriarch,” but she gradually reveals a softer side under her dour exterior (Hilliard, M. E. “The Enduring Appeal of the Country House Murder.” Lit Hub, 13 Apr. 2022). In most country house murders, the staff are considered primary suspects. Lincoln uses this trope as an opportunity to critique classism. Swift House has no staff whatsoever, but this doesn’t stop the visiting relatives from insisting that Cook is an employee and using this misjudgment to justify accusing her of murder. The author’s choice of detective is also unconventional. Shenanigan is a child rather than a professional detective like the famed Hercule Poirot. Shenanigan also makes for a surprising sleuth because she is ordinarily more likely to be causing mischief than solving problems. In addition, the author plays with convention and lightens the middle grade novel’s tone through twists and turns that reduce the killer’s body count. Most of the people whom Candour attacks survive, and one of the two people who perish in the novel dies because he accidentally sets off a booby trap. Lincoln’s debut novel puts a comedic twist on a staple of the mystery genre.
