Lentorama 2024: Clerical Crime Solvers

Day 20: Sidney Chambers

Sidney Chambers is the vicar of the church of St. Andrew and St. Mary in Grantchester, a village near Cambridge. Chambers was reading theology at Cambridge prior to World War II, becoming ordained after the war. He is a bachelor, a fan of whiskey and jazz, and is friendly with a local police detective. That last bit comes in handy when a parishoner tells Chambers that they believe a recent death by suicide was actually foul play. Thus starts a series which not only sees Chambers solve crimes, but also deal with personal issues related to the war, his romantic life, and changes to British society.

Chambers was created by James Runcie, who was inspired by his father, former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie.  He said he envisioned the stories winding up on the screen, which came to pass with the ITV series Grantchester (aired on PBS in the US).  The show became quite popular, and elevated its star, James Norton, to leave in order to puruse new opportunities. Out went Sidney Chambers, in came Will Davenport, another young vicar with a penchant for crime solving (who will himself be replaced for the upcoming ninth season).

The books, of course, do not see these changes, and detail how Sidney grows into his role as vicar and how he handles the various personal challenges that made his early years at Grantchester so difficult. I keep saying I'll read these, having watched Grantchester for a while, but still haven't gotten around to doing so.