Explore "Death of a Viewer" by Herbert Adams on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Roger Bennion became involved in what was to be known as the Television Murder in rather a curious manner. His father, old Sir Christopher, before and after the First World War had added to his considerable wealth by judicious speculations in house property. The ground leases of houses in fashionable Belgravia were getting very short. Built nearly a hundred years before, many of them were still in their primeval state. Noble families had houses without bathrooms, or at most with one. They lacked electric light and the servants' quarters were dark and dismal.
Sir Christopher was able to buy them for a few pounds--in some cases they paid substantial sums to be relieved of the liability to redecorate and put them in repair. On undertaking to bring them up to modern standards he secured new and longer leases. Then three or four bathrooms, central heating, up-to-date sanitation, dinner lifts, parquet floors, tasteful decorations and, where necessary, bigger windows were installed. He had a genius for such things and only asked a reasonable profit on his outlay. He found a ready market.