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Constable Guard Thyself

1934 novel

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 18, 2026
Entity authorityQ108919258
Source-derived summary

Constable Guard Thyself is a 1934 mystery detective novel by the British writer Henry Wade. It was the third in a series of seven novels featuring the character of Chief Inspector Poole, although it was preceded by the 1933 short story collection Policeman's Lot in which seven of the twelve stories had featured Poole. After his more experimental novel Mist on the Saltings Wade returned to the traditional detective model.

Synopsis

When the Chief Constable of the rural county of Brodshire is found shot to death in his office, his acting replacement reluctantly calls in the assistance of Scotland Yard. Inspector Poole arrives to head the investigation in the face of hostility from the local police, a number of whom figure as prime suspects for the killing.

References

Bibliography

Herbert, Rosemary. Whodunit?: A Who's Who in Crime & Mystery Writing. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Magill, Frank Northen . Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction: Authors, Volume 4.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Constable Guard Thyself” as 1934 novel. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Constable, Guard and Thyself.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1934, 1933, 2003—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Constable, Guard and Thyself providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Constable Guard Thyself”, the useful work is to connect “1934 novel” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q108919258. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1934, 1933 and 2003.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Constable Guard Thyself”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Constable Guard Thyself primary sources, Constable Guard Thyself archive and Constable research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Constable Guard Thyself”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Constable Guard Thyself” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.