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Clouds of Witness
by
Dorothy Sayers
amateur sleuth, vintage mystery in a Kindle edition that was published by Open Road Media on July 2012 and has 134 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Thrones Dominations, Whose Body?, Unnatural Death, Lord Peter Views the Body, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, Strong Poison, The Five Red Herrings, Book Review: Dorothy Sayers’ Hangman's Holiday, Murder Must Advertise, The Nine Tailors, Gaudy Night, Busman's Honeymoon
Second in the Lord Peter Wimsey vintage mystery series revolving around a noble amateur sleuth in 1920s London. The focus is on Gerald Wimsey, the Duke of Denver. It was originally published in 1926.
My Take
Too typically human, as Lord Peter wallows in the luxury of civilization after having spent months in the wilds of Corsica. He may be of the nobility, but he certainly does understand people. He cultivates bonhomie with every class, and I am so impressed with his smooth patter and ability to deliver “sweet nothings” to any jerk without snickering.
We know this from a third person global subjective point-of-view, mostly from Lord Peter’s perspective, but also from a number of other characters.
That Bunter is amazing! He anticipates pretty much anything Peter will want. Lady Mary is the perfect example of a woman who wants some freedom! And the back history Sayers provides on some of Mary’s escapades are fascinating. Who can blame her with Gerald as a brother!
Honor is extremely important in the duke’s set, and when he learns the truth, he blows up. Which does not help with that alibi Gerald refuses to explain. As the back history of events gets explained throughout the story, the story gets twistier and twistier. Sadly, neither Cathcart nor Simone have honor, especially NOT Simone.
The Dowager Duchess is a crack-up with her common wisdom — and quite accurate as well. That comment she makes about, ahem, the present generation saying what they think, does not connect with Lady Mary — even though she said exactly the same thing, lol.
“England, where it is so oddly improper to think.”
Mary is herself a crack-up in her unconscious hypocrisy. She doesn’t understand why the Government would fire her beloved George just because he’s anti-Government, lol. . . . why he should live off her when he doesn’t believe in inherited property, etc.
There is all sorts of foreshadowing going on with Peter noting Charles’ infatuation. There is also a lot of misinterpretation with red herrings galore! God forbid anyone actually tell the truth and get everything out in the open.
I dunno, but I think manners should apply to everyone. Education-wise . . . it is so bloody sad that people in this time were so well educated — even Parker speaks French! — and today’s kids can barely read or write in English, their mother tongue.
These socialists are so contradictory, and I couldn’t help but laugh at them all. Sure I can understand why this early exposure to Communism was so attractive, but it can never work.
“I didn’t mind thinking you were a murderer, . . . but I do mind your being such an ass.”
There’s plenty of action with Lord Peter going “undercover” and Bunter rescuing him from drowning in the bog. At the trial, the prosecution was too funny with their belligerence with witnesses, jumping all over them for not volunteering answers to questions not asked. There’s all the travel back and forth from country to town and country to country. A wide range of characters does give Peter some scope to demonstrate his ability to schmooze with anyone and his wide range of friends.
It’s amazing how easy Peter’s inclusion with a police investigation is compared with how private investigators and amateur sleuths are regarded by today’s police.
At the end, there is a biography of Lord Peter written by his uncle Paul, and way too much info too early in the series. I did appreciate Paul’s insight into Peter’s earlier years. Curiously, Lord Attenbury refers to the Attenbury Emeralds, which is, ahem, third in the Lord Peter Wimsey / Harriet Vane series. Yeahh, Sayers and/or her publishers are somewhat confused.
Ask the servants, they know all.
Part of what I enjoy is the humor throughout the series as well as Lord Peter’s straightforwardness about, well, everything. There’s practically a laugh on every page. Sir Impey and Murbles do contribute to that straightforwardness. Ya gotta love Sir Impey’s “I don’t care twopence about the truth.” Finally, I also love Peter’s more intellectual conversation. Such a treat!
The Story
Wallowing in the luxuries of civilization, Lord Peter Wimsey is suddenly thrust back into reality when he sees the headlines in the English papers — Gerald, his brother, has been charged with murder.
Gerald has confronted Captain Denis Cathcart with his unsavory secret.
It’s a night that turns and turns about for Cathcart, Gerald, and Lady Mary, Cathcart’s fiancée, as the lies and evasions mount up.
The Characters
Lord Peter Wimsey is a second son, free to indulge in his hobbies, which include knowledge of some five or six languages, a musician, a toxicology expert, a collector of rare editions, a worldly and entertaining man who had been a major with intelligence expertise during the war, who is fascinated by puzzles and the unknown. Bunter is his butler, valet, confidential man, and assistant sleuth. Bunter was one of seven and his mother lives near Maidstone in Kent. The Dowager Duchess of Denver is Peter’s, Gerald’s, and Mary’s mother. Lady Mary Wimsey “Polly” is itching to get away from Gerald “Jerry” Christian Wimsey, Viscount St George, the Duke of Denver. Helen is Gerald’s wife (and cousin). Paul Austin Delagardie is Lucasta’s brother.
Riddlesdale Lodge is . . .
. . . the Duke of Denver’s rented shooting box in the North Riding in Yorkshire. (Walter Montague actually owns the house.) Besides Cathcart, the other guests were Colonel and Mrs Marchbanks; the Honorable Frederick Arbuthnot, who is brilliant at finance, but nothing else; and, the pissy Mr and Mrs Pettigrew-Robinson. Captain Denis Cathcart is an idiot and Lady Mary’s fiancé. Vain, good-looking, worldly, but an idiot. Miss Cathcart is Denis’ older sister charged with his upbringing. Madame Leblanc keeps Cathcart’s Paris apartment clean. M Bourgois is the concierge at the apartment. M Briquet has a jewelry store in Paris. M François owns property near the Etoile.
James Fleming is Gerald’s manservant. John Hardraw is the gamekeeper. He has a wife and a small son. Ellen is the housemaid. Bert had been Ellen’s sweetheart, killed in the war. Dr Thorpe.
Grider’s Hole is . . .
. . . a sheep farm owned by the horrid, misogynistic William Grimethorpe. His wife is much-abused. His farmhands include Jabez and J ake.
Stapley is a market town that includes the popular Rose and Crown where the gossipy Tim Watchett is the landlord. Liz is his wife. James “Jem” Johnson is a potman and Elizabeth “Bet” Dobbin is a waitress at the Rose and Crown. The Bridge and Bottle is where the grim Greg Smith holds sway. Constable Z15. Zedekiah Bone appears to be one of Grimethorpe’s fellows. I don’t think Grimethorpe has friends. John Watson is a carrier. Gooch sells drills. Mark Dolby is a grocer. Hewitt is an optician. Groot lives in a hut up a sheep-path.
Scotland Yard
Chief Inspector Charles Parker of the CID is one of Peter’s best friends, in spite of his plebian upbringing and outlook. (He’d gone to school at Barrow-in-Furness Grammar School.) Parker has an older sister. Inspector Sugg encounters Wimsey, Parker, and Arbuthnot in a compromising position. Sir Andrew Mackenzie is the chief of Scotland Yard and a friend of Lord Peter’s. Dr Lubbock is an analytical scientist. Dr Spilsbury is a pathologist?
Yorkshire PD
Inspector Craikes is one of those who shoves facts to fit his theory. His insistence on the “only” reason for those hand- and fingerprints . . . Gosling is a police superintendent in Ripley.
The single Sir Impey Biggs is a King’s Counsel, who breeds canaries and enjoys music revues. Mr Murbles is the Denver family lawyer. Simpson appears to be Murbles’ manservant. Perkins. Mr Murphy is a noisy Irish barrister. Dowson seems to be the deaf judge. Other lawyers on Sir Impey’s team include Mr Glibbery, KC; Mr Brownrigg-Fortescue, KC, and others. Because Gerald is a peer, he can only be tried by his peers, all three hundred or so, lol, some of whom are Lord Attenbury (Attenbury Emeralds, 3), the Earl of Strathgilland and Begg, and the deaf Duke of Wiltshire. Those officials in charge of corralling the peers are Red Dragon, the Sergeant-at-Arms, and the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. Sir Wigmore Wrinching is the attorney-general.
Tommy Freeborn is an engineer and had been at Christ Church in Oxford with Gerald. The Reverend Nathaniel Foulis of St Simon’s experienced a theft. M Turgeot is the manager of the Cédit Lyonnais. Morrison is a porter at Marylebone Hospital. The avaricious Mr Featherstone held onto that port for way too long. Air Pilot Grant is flying Lord Peter back to England. Professor Hébert is an expert in international law. M Du Bois-Gobey Housin was the author of that bit of gossip with Freeborn. Mlle Simone Vonderaa went off with the wealthy Cornelius van Humperdinck. Adèle is mademoiselle’s blackmailing maid. Eliza Briggs, a.k.a. Madame Brigette of New Bond Street, runs a beauty salon. The Seddon Case was about poisoning. Barbara had been Lord Peter’s first love.
Miss Tarrant is a socialist friend of Lady Mary’s. Mr Coke is the Labour leader who will speak at the Soviet Club. Erica Heath-Warburton is a writer of steamily erotic novels. Robert Snoates is a poet. George Goyles is a leading speaker of whom the Government is afraid — and Lady Mary is in love with him.
The Thunderclap is a socialist weekly. Other papers include the Evening Banner and the Daily Trumpet. The Abbé Prévost wrote Manon Lescaut.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a pea green background with a thin border of red at top and bottom. Below the top border is the series info in black. The title is in white and is between the flying monocle and the plaid suit with its zigzag black and green vest with its black buttons, the white button-up shirt and the darker green tie. Immediately below the graphic is the author’s name in black. Below that is the publisher’s imprint.
The title is what Sir Impey refers to, the Clouds of Witness that obscures the truth.
