Death at the Sign of the Rook: A Jackson Brodie Book

Atkinson’s treatment of social class in Death at the Sign of the Rook reflects subtle yet profound changes in British society over the 20th and 21st centuries. The novel focuses particularly on the decline of the aristocracy’s power and the challenges facing grand historical estates.

The diminishing power of the British aristocracy is illustrated through the Milton family. Lady Milton’s narrative describes the slow, inevitable decline of Burton Makepeace. She recounts how her husband was forced to sell off much of their art collection and portions of the estate to pay inheritance taxes when his father died. Furthermore, the substantial funds needed to maintain a vast historic property require the Miltons to monetize their home. The initial small-scale opening of the house to the public soon escalates into the stately home becoming a major tourist attraction and hotel, as represented in the murder mystery weekend around which the novel’s plot revolves. The aristocracy’s inherited sense of superiority and entitlement is also humorously highlighted by Lady Milton’s automatic expectation that Ben will fulfill the role of butler. However, the downside of her assumptions is highlighted by Beatrice’s ability to return to the scene of her crime, posing as a waitress, Tilda, illustrates how “The Miltons never look at their staff […] Or at least they might look, but they never see” (281). Throughout the narrative, Atkinson highlights the inequities of power built into Britain’s traditionally hierarchal class structure to illustrate both how they are changing and how remnants of the past class system remain.

Atkinson also delves into the changes in British society through the novel’s characters. Lady Milton illustrates the consequences of societal change on personal identity. She grapples with feelings of dislocation and nostalgia for the days when the Miltons “were England, its heart and soul” (31). However, the narrative also satirizes the outmoded nature of the Miltons’ lifestyle. Frequent allusions to 19th-century novels highlight how the English aristocracy lives by principles anomalous to modern society. For example, Sophie points out that the Miltons’ lack of further male heirs to inherit the estate reminds her of the plot of Pride and Prejudice. The author also challenges Lady Milton’s nostalgic view of the “family’s glory days” through the perspective of characters with more egalitarian opinions (43). Both Jackson and Reggie, raised in working-class families, struggle to empathize with the aristocratic family. Meanwhile, Sophie Greenway and Reverend Cate suggest that land ownership (on which the Miltons’ historical privilege is based) is a meaningless social construct. Through Reverend Cate’s character, Atkinson also depicts a parallel decline in the financial and political power of the Church of England. To Simon, an atheist vicar, his dwindling elderly congregations signal the “final death throes of Christianity” in Britain (53). With each of these characters, the shifting social structures are explored through the juxtaposition of their modern existence with the remnants of previous social structures.

By examining the decline of power faced by the aristocracy, Atkinson’s novel acknowledges the loss of Britain’s historical and social traditions. At the same time, the author reminds readers that nostalgia draws a veil over less desirable aspects of the past, such as the exploitation of the many for the benefit of the few. Ultimately, Death at the Sign of the Rook depicts modernization as an opportunity for positive change. For example, while Lady Milton grieves the loss of portions of the estate, Fran Jennings transforms the Miltons’ Dairy Cottage into a sanctuary for animals and humans in need. The book conveys the hope that social change can usher in a more equitable and compassionate society.

Throughout Death at the Sign of the Rook, Atkinson invites readers to reflect on the interplay between fiction and reality. She emphasizes the fluid boundaries between art and life through nested narratives, intertextuality, and cases of mistaken identity. The novel’s fictional world is both real and heightened, demonstrating how the boundaries between objective and constructed realities can become blurred, with “Art imitating life. Or was it the other way round?” (251). By structuring the narrative this way, Atkinson points out the theatrical and constructed elements of everyday life.

One of the most notable ways the line between reality and fiction is blurred in the novel is through its metafictional quality. The narrative draws attention to its constructed nature through frequent allusions to detective fiction, a genre it simultaneously embraces and critiques. Depicting the performance of a murder mystery (Death Comes to Rook Hall) within her own similarly titled detective novel, Atkinson deliberately creates confusion between the two. The location of Burton Makepeace House resembles a chaotic theatrical set combining a real killer with actors playing murderers and genuine guns with prop weapons. In the surreal, farcical atmosphere, the narrative deliberately creates confusion about what is real and what is staged, demonstrating the theatricality of the absurdities of life. 

The novel’s focus on acting and performance also expands to examining the theatrical nature of everyday life through a series of characters who take on roles to deceive others. Beatrice is the most extreme example, as she seamlessly transforms from Sophie Greenway to Melanie Hope and Tilda. By contrast, Hazel and Ian Padgett are presented as “wooden” actors as they attempt to convince Jackson that their interest in Woman with a Weasel is purely sentimental. During his investigation, Jackson also takes on fake identities, posing as Dorothy Padgett’s nephew and introducing himself as Reggie’s father. The first alias is a ruse to gain access to Dorothy’s body, but the second deception highlights the more profound truth that Reggie falls “under the umbrella of ‘family’ for Jackson” (144). With the difference between these two ruses, Atkinson highlights how the motivation behind Jackson’s actions shifts, becoming more personal and even reflecting the reality of his close connection to Reggie. 

The novel also illustrates how individuals often feel the need to play a part in order to fulfill expectations. Despite losing his Christian faith, Reverend Cate continues in his professional role, donning his “cassock in much the same way he had put on his Hugo Boss suit. It was a costume, a disguise, covering the invisible man inside it” (63). Meanwhile, although Lady Milton is a genuine aristocrat, she feels she is expected to conform to public expectations of behavior derived from the costume drama Downton Abbey. Each of these characters performs a role in their personal lives, doing what is expected of them at the expense of authenticity.

The fragile nature of identity is also highlighted in the narrative through similarities between the main characters and the dramatis personae of Death Comes to Rook Hall. Reverend Cate’s already tenuous sense of self, due to his loss of faith, intensifies when the audience at Burton Makepeace House mistakes him for the Reverend Smallbones. Similarly, Reggie is greeted with “murmurs of disbelief” when she announces that she is a police officer (278). This repeated questioning of characters’ true identities emphasizes the tenuous nature of identity and the difficulty in maintaining it when that identity is challenged.

By intertwining fiction and reality, the novel creates a rich tapestry of meaning and ambiguity. Atkinson highlights how fiction and reality inform each other in everyday life, using the novel’s complex intertextuality to underscore how fiction can mirror, distort, and ultimately deepen our understanding of the real world.