Four Complete Lord Peter Wimsey Novels [Whose Body, Clouds of Witness, Murder Must Advertise, Gaudy Night]

by Dorothy L. Sayers

Hardcover, 1982

Status

Available

Call number

Fic Mystery Sayers

Publication

Random House Value Publishing (1982), Hardcover, 736 pages

Description

Whose body?: Lord Peter is intrigued by the sudden appearance of a naked dead body in the bath and investigates. A financier has also gone missing under strange circumstances and it becomes clear that the two events are linked in some way. A hired man has just found a corpse in the bath in his flat: a body wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez. In the meantime, the financier has apparently disappeared into thin air from his own bedroom. Ignoring the clumsy efforts of the official investigator, Lord Peter starts his own enquiry. Can he solve this mysterious disappearance and even more mysterious murder?Murder must advertise: Victor Dean falls to his death on the stairs of Pym's Advertising Agency, and no one is sorry. That is until Lord Peter Wimsey joins the firm and asks some awkward questions. Finding himself involved in a web of blackmail and drugs, more must die before the sinister plot can be unravelled.Gaudy night: Obscene graffiti, poison pen letters and a disgusting effigy greeted Harriet Vane on her return to Oxford. A graduate of ten years before and now a successful novelist, this should have been a pleasant, nostalgic visit for her. She asks her lover, Lord Peter Wimsey, for help.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey

Whose Body - first Lord Peter book. Very much playing silly-ass-about-town - babbling at several points. Being an amateur and expressing that - treating it as a sport. The last remains consistent pretty much throughout his career. Interesting combo of mysteries - odd chance that brings Peter in on

both. Clouds of Witness - immediate next book (first bit talks about Peter recovering from Whose Body). The crime is minor, but getsso mixed up with other stuff that it turns into a major event, in several senses of the phrase. Also itroduces Parker's interest in Lady Mary - and his opinion that Peter is over his own heartbreak. The information about all the Wimseys and their relationships and friends is rather more interesting than the mystery itself, though it's also very interesting to watch Peter detecting, with Parker's and Bunter's help. Very dramatic ending - which quite firmly dates the story. Flying across the Atlantic, even in poor weather, is hardly a death-defying event these days... Murder Must Advertise, possibly my favorite Lord Peter story. Don't know why - he deals with a lot of unpleasant people, irrelevant office politics and feuds, and a nasty crime (though what he starts out dealing with is a minor side-thread of a very minor sub-thread of that crime). Maybe it's just the impersonations and baldfaced trickery, maybe it's the interesting glimpse into advertising. I always remember Peter's advice about 'from, only'. This is a good deal later in the canon - makes me want to go find the story where Parker and Lady Mary marry, here they're well-established, with two kids. And a very passing reference to Harriet - if you didn't know what he was talking about, you wouldn't have a clue it related to her. Then finally Gaudy Night - another favorite. The crimes are nasty but minor; a great deal of the depth of the story is self-discovery, for Harriet and others. A lot of people make major mental and emotional changes through the events in this story - Cattermole, Pomfret, even St. George has a few illuminating moments. Harriet certainly does, learning about herself and her relationship with Peter. And finally they manage to overcome the barriers they've placed between them, and happily ever after starts...

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LibraryThing member MrsLee

Of course I've read these stories several times, which is why I wanted to buy them in hardcover format. I'll not review the individual stories here, Just know that they are all delightful enough to merit rereading, and, I tend to learn something new every time I read them, they are so full of bits

of information and detail. As for the edition, the type is easy on my eyes and the paper is a nice thickness. Sadly though, it is starting to change color, hopefully it will do for the rest of my life though.

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