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in Four Complete Lord Peter Novels, Random House Value Publishing (1982)
Description
The ad men at Pym's can sell anything, even murder. The iron staircase at Pym's Publicity is a deathtrap, and no one in the advertising agency is surprised when Victor Dean tumbles down it, cracking his skull along the way. Dean's replacement arrives just a few days later: a green copywriter named Death Bredon. Though he displays a surprising talent for the business of selling margarine, alarm clocks, and nerve tonics, Bredon is not really there to write copy. In fact, he is really Lord Peter Wimsey, and he has come to Pym's in search of the man who pushed Dean. As he tries to navigate the cutthroat world of London advertising, Lord Peter uncovers a mystery that touches on catapults, cocaine, and cricket. But how does one uncover a murderer in a business where it pays to have no soul? Murder Must Advertise is the 10th book in the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, but you may enjoy the series by reading the books in any order. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dorothy L. Sayers including rare images from the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Kasthu
When a young advertising copywriter tumbles down a steep flight of stairs, the coroner deems his death an unfortunate accident. Mr. Pym, of Pym’s Publicity, suspects otherwise, and calls in Lord Peter Wimsey to investigate the case undercover as his badly-behaved “cousin,” Mr. Death Bredon.
Dorothy Sayers worked as a copywriter at an advertising agency from 1921-1933, helped create the Guinness ads that are sometime seen today, and is credited with inventing the slogan, “it pays to advertise.” So Sayers knew her stuff, and it shows (she even goes into detail about what copy is acceptable and unacceptable in terms of legal repercussions).
There are quite a few characters to keep track of, and it’s nearly impossible for the reader to figure out who’s behind it all. There’s a lot more to this book than advertising and cocaine, though—there’s also a few wanton women and some blackmail to spice things up a bit. The characters are witty, varied, and memorable, and the plot doesn’t overwhelm. Definitely a great place to start reading Sayers’s work if you haven’t read her work before.
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It turns out that the death of the copywriter is only a small part of the mystery, as Wimsey finds himself embroiled in the complicated machinations of a cocaine smuggling ring. What does Pym’s Publicity have to do with it all?Dorothy Sayers worked as a copywriter at an advertising agency from 1921-1933, helped create the Guinness ads that are sometime seen today, and is credited with inventing the slogan, “it pays to advertise.” So Sayers knew her stuff, and it shows (she even goes into detail about what copy is acceptable and unacceptable in terms of legal repercussions).
There are quite a few characters to keep track of, and it’s nearly impossible for the reader to figure out who’s behind it all. There’s a lot more to this book than advertising and cocaine, though—there’s also a few wanton women and some blackmail to spice things up a bit. The characters are witty, varied, and memorable, and the plot doesn’t overwhelm. Definitely a great place to start reading Sayers’s work if you haven’t read her work before.
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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
Reading this novel I get why people praise Dorothy Sayers not just as some clever puzzle-maker, creator of a classic detective or a mere mystery writer, but as a fine novelist who wrote works that can be called literature.
In this story, after a half-finished letter implying corruption is found
"Of course there is some truth in advertising. There's yeast in bread, but you can't make bread with yeast alone. Truth in advertising," announced Lord Peter sententiously, "is like leaven, which a woman hid in three measures of meal. It provides a suitable quantity of gas, with which to blow out a mass of crude misrepresentation into a form that the public can swallow."
There are also the running themes of class distinctions based on education and the futility of the drug war. The book seems quite relevant still today. There's also a sophisticated style apparent at times--even some passages that use the stream-of-consciousness technique. For all that I don't want you to think this makes for dry reading. As with all of Sayers' books, there's plenty of wit and humor to be found. Particularly striking in that regard is the boy Ginger Joe, who aspires to be a detective and the incident with Mr Copley, where his view of himself as savior of the firm is punctured the next day.
Sayers paints a deliciously comic yet insightful picture of office politics among a murder investigation. Unfortunately, as is often the case with the Sayers books I've read, not everything comes across as credible (the identical cousins subplot made me raise my eyebrows almost to my hairline), but this one did have a clever resolution. Not so much as to who--Sayers tips her hat to that fairly early--as to how. A clever, enjoyable, and thoughtful novel.
In this story, after a half-finished letter implying corruption is found
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among the effects of a seeming accident victim, Lord Peter Wimsey goes undercover in an advertising agency to investigate. Dorothy Sayers herself worked as a copy-writer in an advertising agency, and it shows in the details of the workings of the agency and the theme throughout of the ethical complexities, nay, more like the ethical shortcomings, of the business: "Of course there is some truth in advertising. There's yeast in bread, but you can't make bread with yeast alone. Truth in advertising," announced Lord Peter sententiously, "is like leaven, which a woman hid in three measures of meal. It provides a suitable quantity of gas, with which to blow out a mass of crude misrepresentation into a form that the public can swallow."
There are also the running themes of class distinctions based on education and the futility of the drug war. The book seems quite relevant still today. There's also a sophisticated style apparent at times--even some passages that use the stream-of-consciousness technique. For all that I don't want you to think this makes for dry reading. As with all of Sayers' books, there's plenty of wit and humor to be found. Particularly striking in that regard is the boy Ginger Joe, who aspires to be a detective and the incident with Mr Copley, where his view of himself as savior of the firm is punctured the next day.
Sayers paints a deliciously comic yet insightful picture of office politics among a murder investigation. Unfortunately, as is often the case with the Sayers books I've read, not everything comes across as credible (the identical cousins subplot made me raise my eyebrows almost to my hairline), but this one did have a clever resolution. Not so much as to who--Sayers tips her hat to that fairly early--as to how. A clever, enjoyable, and thoughtful novel.
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LibraryThing member JaneSteen
Where I got the book: purchased from The Book Depository. I'm absolutely sure I had the 70s NEL edition once upon a time, but you know how it is with really good books. They grow legs and walk away.
Quickie story roundup: Lord Peter Wimsey, for the first time in his life, is pulling in a salary (of
Dorothy L. Sayers worked in an advertising firm for seven years, and engineering Lord Peter into a job in the environment she knew so well was a gold-plated stroke of genius. By the time she wrote Murder Must Advertise, her copywriting days were three or four years behind her but clearly still burned into her memory and affections. During those years she had been through heartbreak and the carefully concealed birth of an illegitimate child, and there is an edge to her descriptions of Pym's despite the resolutely jolly tone of many of the scenes, although she is careful to direct her cynicism at the practice of advertising in general. It is my theory that the lanky, clever, university-educated Miss Meteyard--cool and sardonic yet knowing--is a self-portrait, DLS in her earlier days, even as Harriet Vane is the embittered post-heartbreak self.
I have said before that every Wimsey novel has a tone quite unlike the others. What strikes me about this one is that the chorus of London voices almost makes Lord Peter take second place. From society cocktail parties to cricket to Covent Garden, this is a loving portrait of Sayers' real world wrapped around an ingeniously plotted mystery with plenty of twists and reveals. It paves the way for the realism Sayers achieves in Gaudy Night whereas The Nine Tailors, her next novel, is a throwback to an earlier style (but none the worse for that).
I've heard many people say that Murder Must Advertise is their favorite Sayers novel, and I can see why. The drawbacks for me were the cricket match (I never did learn the game, despite having grown up in England) and Lady Mary Parker's dreary domesticity when she'd been such a promising character. And I believe I stumbled across a terrific mistake in chapter 18 (see my updates). But hey, DLS almost certainly spotted it too at some point in her life, and no doubt laughed it off. She was one of the most human of writers, and her fans love her for it.
Quickie story roundup: Lord Peter Wimsey, for the first time in his life, is pulling in a salary (of
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£4 a week). Adopting the persona of Mr. Death Bredon, he becomes a copywriter in the advertising firm Pym's Publicity to investigate the mysterious death of one Victor Dean, and discovers that Dean's death is the tip of an iceberg which affects thousands of lives all over London.Dorothy L. Sayers worked in an advertising firm for seven years, and engineering Lord Peter into a job in the environment she knew so well was a gold-plated stroke of genius. By the time she wrote Murder Must Advertise, her copywriting days were three or four years behind her but clearly still burned into her memory and affections. During those years she had been through heartbreak and the carefully concealed birth of an illegitimate child, and there is an edge to her descriptions of Pym's despite the resolutely jolly tone of many of the scenes, although she is careful to direct her cynicism at the practice of advertising in general. It is my theory that the lanky, clever, university-educated Miss Meteyard--cool and sardonic yet knowing--is a self-portrait, DLS in her earlier days, even as Harriet Vane is the embittered post-heartbreak self.
I have said before that every Wimsey novel has a tone quite unlike the others. What strikes me about this one is that the chorus of London voices almost makes Lord Peter take second place. From society cocktail parties to cricket to Covent Garden, this is a loving portrait of Sayers' real world wrapped around an ingeniously plotted mystery with plenty of twists and reveals. It paves the way for the realism Sayers achieves in Gaudy Night whereas The Nine Tailors, her next novel, is a throwback to an earlier style (but none the worse for that).
I've heard many people say that Murder Must Advertise is their favorite Sayers novel, and I can see why. The drawbacks for me were the cricket match (I never did learn the game, despite having grown up in England) and Lady Mary Parker's dreary domesticity when she'd been such a promising character. And I believe I stumbled across a terrific mistake in chapter 18 (see my updates). But hey, DLS almost certainly spotted it too at some point in her life, and no doubt laughed it off. She was one of the most human of writers, and her fans love her for it.
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LibraryThing member Crowyhead
This is my all-time favorite Lord Peter Wimsey mystery so far. It's incredibly funny, and satisfyingly twisty, with so many red herrings that I'd considered and discarded the villain because he seemed to simple... It's set at an advertising agency, where a young copywriter has met his untimely
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demise in an (apparent) accident. But the head of the agency is suspicious of foul play, and thus Lord Peter is brought in to investigate. The dialogue sparkles and the whole thing, especially all of the goings-on at the ad agency, is as endlessly amusing as a good gossip session. I've learned from other reviews that this was not considered by Sayers, or by her critics, to be her most literary achievement, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it rather welcome after the more serious Nine Tailors. Show Less
LibraryThing member pgchuis
Lord Peter Wimsey, using his middle names (Death Bredon), takes a job at an advertising agency after one of the copy-writers (Victor Dean) is killed in a suspicious fall down an iron staircase at work. The dead man's sister finds a letter to the owner of the agency (Mr Pym), written by her brother,
As ever, some bits were better than others. The work of an advertising agency was throughly explained and generally interesting, as were the various musings on the nature of advertising generally (e.g. the rich just buy whatever they want when they want - advertising is aimed at those who strive). I loved the chapter where Wimsey gets carried away at the firm cricket match and hits the ball all over the place and more or less blows his cover. On the other hand, the sections with Dian de Momerie were unpleasant (and Wimsey was very unpleasant to her) and there were rather too many staff members at Pym's to keep on top of. I'm not a big fan of the "offering the baddie a way out that doesn't involve the publicity of a trial" conclusion either. Also, (next to) no Harriet, although Lady Mary's scenes were a nice touch and she was instrumental in resolving matters.
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suggesting that something criminal is going on there and Mr Pym asks Wimsey to investigate. Naturally Wimsey turns out to have a flair for copy-writing and fits right in. His investigations link up with a cocaine supply ring and the murder of Victor Dean become a bit of a side issue.As ever, some bits were better than others. The work of an advertising agency was throughly explained and generally interesting, as were the various musings on the nature of advertising generally (e.g. the rich just buy whatever they want when they want - advertising is aimed at those who strive). I loved the chapter where Wimsey gets carried away at the firm cricket match and hits the ball all over the place and more or less blows his cover. On the other hand, the sections with Dian de Momerie were unpleasant (and Wimsey was very unpleasant to her) and there were rather too many staff members at Pym's to keep on top of. I'm not a big fan of the "offering the baddie a way out that doesn't involve the publicity of a trial" conclusion either. Also, (next to) no Harriet, although Lady Mary's scenes were a nice touch and she was instrumental in resolving matters.
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LibraryThing member ChrisRiesbeck
Classic Sayers. The mystery is nothing exciting, the backbone is a disappointingly standard hunt to discover the workings of a drug smuggling ring, and, for us Americans, the cricket game goes on for way too long near the end. But the witty dialog is there, things move at a fine pace, and the take
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on advertising and its role in society is as relevant as ever, even though the media have changed. Show Less
LibraryThing member riverwillow
One of the best of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories, as Lord Peter goes undercover at an ad agency to investigate the mystery of why one of the copywriters fell to his death on a spiral iron staircase. Dorothy L. Sayers has a lot of fun with her subject and her setting, one she would have known well
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from her own career in advertising, as she contrasts this with the empty world of the bright young things. Superb. Show Less
LibraryThing member worrellw
I really like the main character, Lord Peter Wimsey. I got lost in the description of the cricket match although I was able to follow what was a good thing and what was bad. And who could not be entertained by a line like "What-ho! That absolutely whangs the nail over the crumpet."?
LibraryThing member sodarne
One of PD James' favorite mysteries; bit slow, bogged down with lots of characters at advertising agency; comes together satisfingly at the end
LibraryThing member majorbabs
My alltime favorite British mystery. What Sayers (who worked in an ad agency) had to say about this form of communication is still right on target today. Witty and fun.
LibraryThing member ragwaine
Whimsy is great, not just a murder, probably better on tape because of accents.
LibraryThing member Jthierer
Good British mystery. The main character was likable without being preternaturally smart. My only complaint was the drawn out cricket match that I just couldn't follow.
LibraryThing member Figgles
One of my favourite Wimsey's. Love the colour of the advertising agency and the bright young things. And the human sympathy to the murderer - Sayers is no snob.
LibraryThing member Smiley
Lord Peter does impersonations. One of Sayers' best Lord Peter Wimsey books. Clever murder plot that holds together until about 50 pages to go. Sly and witty commentary on advertising. Enjoyable.
LibraryThing member TadAD
One of my favorites of the pre-Harriet novels. I think The Nine Tailors has better writing, but this is tight and fast-paced and really shows us Peter.
LibraryThing member lenoreva
“You’ll soon find that the biggest obstacle to good advertising is the client.” A lot has changed about advertising since this book was published in 1933, but considering this quote, obviously a lot has remained the same as well.
I read Murder Must Advertise as the first of ten books for the
Plus points for me: Set in an advertising agency, fun facts about advertising in the 1930s (most ads were in newspapers, smoking was a big ad money maker), main characters were copywriters (or pretending to be copywriters), crime was actually pretty ingenious.
Minus points for me: Too many characters to keep track of or care about, pacing is very slow and some scenes are too long and drawn out (especially a scene near the end where the agency plays cricket for an entire chapter) and none of it seems terribly urgent.
I’d only really recommend this to patient readers who work in advertising or who just love old school mysteries.
I read Murder Must Advertise as the first of ten books for the
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1% challenge – it’s one of the 1001 Books to Read before you Die. I’ll be totally honest though – I didn’t have that much fun reading it. Plus points for me: Set in an advertising agency, fun facts about advertising in the 1930s (most ads were in newspapers, smoking was a big ad money maker), main characters were copywriters (or pretending to be copywriters), crime was actually pretty ingenious.
Minus points for me: Too many characters to keep track of or care about, pacing is very slow and some scenes are too long and drawn out (especially a scene near the end where the agency plays cricket for an entire chapter) and none of it seems terribly urgent.
I’d only really recommend this to patient readers who work in advertising or who just love old school mysteries.
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LibraryThing member MrsLee
One of my favorite Lord Peter novels without Harriet. Peter is almost a superhero. A provacative statement about the world of advertising and its uses and abuses. A new worker by the name of Bredon is hired soon after the death of an employee and he seems uncommonly nosey. Not content to leave well
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enough alone, he keeps bringing up the death and probing into other's affairs. He may be a shady character as well. He seems to hang out with the wrong sort of people in the evenings and bears an uncanny likeness to a notorious peer of the realm. Show Less
LibraryThing member LaurieRKing
Beautiful language, gloriously ridiculous plots, and the first to bring the emotional life of her characters into the fore of the mystery. (Even though she did insist on apologizing for it.)
LibraryThing member wendyrey
Well crafted detective novel.
Set mainly in a 1930's advertising agency where some of the staff are heavily involved in cocaine smuggling and dealing. (and you thought that was a modern thing)
Excellent read.
Set mainly in a 1930's advertising agency where some of the staff are heavily involved in cocaine smuggling and dealing. (and you thought that was a modern thing)
Excellent read.
LibraryThing member cameling
This was a delightful romp with Lord Peter Wimsey, a detective who goes undercover into Pym's Publicity to find out what, if anything underhand is going on in that most upstanding and reputable advertising agency that could have caused the death of not just one but 5 individuals.
It's as delightful
It's as delightful
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and cosy a read as others in the series, and this doesn't fail to entertain. Show Less
LibraryThing member phoebesmum
One of my favourite Wimseys, in which Lord Peter goes undercover at an advertising agency. Fascinating for its glimpse into 1930’s office life, in which everyone dresses formally and addresses their colleagues by their last names.
LibraryThing member veracite
No Harriet, but quite sensible and not so ludicrously adored Peter Wimsey.
LibraryThing member thesmellofbooks
I understand that Sayers herself worked in an advertising agency. It isn't surprising, given the detail and feeling for the place shown here. What is wonderful is that this takes place in the '30's, and the workings of a then-modern ad agency are fascinating from this distance. A touch of
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tightening might have benefitted the book but it is wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed it--language, wit, situation, whimsey, Wimsey, and all. Show Less
LibraryThing member Intemerata
My second-favourite Wimsey story (after Gaudy Night), mostly because both Sayers and Lord Peter seem to be having so much fun in the advertising agency.
LibraryThing member ffortsa
Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, and a sweet skewering of the advertising world as well.
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1933-02-06
Local notes
Lord Peter, 10
DDC/MDS
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