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Lord Peter Views the Body
by
Dorothy Sayers
amateur sleuth, vintage mystery in a Kindle edition that was published by Open Road Media on July 31, 2012 and has 544 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Thrones Dominations, Whose Body?, Clouds of Witness, Unnatural Death, 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
An omnibus of twelve short stories in the Lord Peter Wimsey vintage mystery series and revolving around a noble amateur sleuth. These stories take place mostly during the 1920s. It was originally published in 1928.
The Series
“The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers”
“The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question”
“The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager’s Will”
“The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag”
“The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker”
“The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention”
“The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran” (LPW, 1921)
“The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste”
“The Learned Adventure of the Dragon’s Head”
”The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach”
“The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face”
“The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba”
The Primary Characters
Lord Peter Wimsey is the second son of a duke and has a penchant for asking silly questions in his “career” as an amateur sleuth. He has a preference for the finer things in life, including old books. Mary is his younger sister. His older brother, Gerald “Jerry”, is the Duke of Denver married to the awful Helen. Honoria is the most amazing dowager duchess and Peter, Mary, and Gerald’s mother. Mervyn Bunter is Wimsey’s butler, valet, and aide in all things. Detective-Inspector Charles Parker is with Scotland Yard and Lord Peter’s partner is many cases.
The Stories
”The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers”
It begins with a night of creepy storytelling, which leads into Varden’s strange tale of a creepy artist and the man who interfered.
Very nicely done with a highly descriptive story that will creep. You. Out.
Characters
Lord Peter and Bunter.
The Egotists’ Club is a quirky men’s club where coarseness if acceptable but cruelty is not. The Honorable Freddy Arbuthnot is a financial genius. Sir Roger Bunt, a coster millionaire, is quite acceptable. Armstrong is a dabbler. Smith-Hartington is with the Morning Yell. Masterman is a cubist poet. Varden, a professional athlete and now a famous actor, is Masterman’s guest and is one of several with strange stories, including Bayes, Judson, and Dr Pettifer.
Eric P Loder is a fine sculptor with too much money who did a lot of one-man shows. Maria Morano, a cabaret dancer, had been his mistress with dreams of running a restaurant.
“The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question”
It starts as a short synopsis of some of Lord Peter’s cases and segues into a wedding where a slip of the tongue betrays the thief.
I do love the relationship between Lord Peter and Bunter. Peter values Bunter highly and vice versa, but Bunter isn’t averse to putting Peter to work on tedious tasks, lol.
Characters
Lord Peter, Bunter, and Detective-Inspector Parker.
The Who’s Who of Peter’s is not the Debrett’s you’d expect. William Girdlestone Chitty was a poisoner. Célestine Berger is a thief. The French Jacques Lerouge, a.k.a. Sans-culotte, is the youngest, cleverest, thief, safe-breaker, and female impersonator.
The Dowager Duchess of Medway employed a new maid. Her daughter, Lady Sylvia, is getting married to Abcock, the stupid son of Attenbury’s. Dizzy was Disraeli. Mr Whitehead has something to do with diamonds.
”The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager’s Will”
One would think Hannah was a hypocrite, but the terms of Uncle Meleager’s will has her incensed and she MUST find his latest will let his old will come into force.
Sayers creates the awful atmosphere of the Soviet Club — I could smell the smoke and taste the nasty food. I found Uncle Meleager a crack-up with his annoyance at Hannah’s seriousness and intention to force her to exercise some sustained frivolity, lol.
Characters
Lord Peter, Bunter, and Freddy Arbuthnot, who is going riding with Mary.
The Soviet Club is for those interested in Socialism. Goyles is a member as is Hannah Marryat, a friend of Mary’s, who embraces the theory of socialism and hasn’t much money. Her curmudgeony uncle Meleager Finch is very wealthy with a love for acrostics and crosswords.
The Primrose League is anathema to Hannah. Hannah’s mother and Mr Sands, uncle’s solicitor are the executors for the old will. At Uncle Meleager’s house in Dorking, Mrs Meakers is his housekeeper. Bresil’s is a quality hairdressing salon.
”The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag”
It’s a pair of speeding motorcycles that forces a halt and the key to a murder.
Characters
Lord Peter Wimsey is chasing along in his car.
Mr Madgett is an A.A. man who also seems to be a vicar. Constable Briggs at Eaton Socon hails down two speeding motorcyclists. Walters is riding the Scott motorcycle. J Simpkins, in transport service, is riding the Norton. The Finsbury Park murder is missing a body part. Babs is the companion of the gentleman with the motorcycle with the sidecar. Thomas Owen has a jewelry business in Birmingham. Dahlia Dallmeyers is an actress and Philip Story is her husband.
”The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker”
It’s a theft with personal issues involved. A stolen necklace and portrait. The threat of scandal. And a cheat at cards.
Hmm, and I thought the Attenbury case was about emeralds . . .
Characters
Lord Peter Wimsey and Bunter. Colonel Marchbanks is friend of Wimsey’s as is the Honorable Frederick Arbuthnot. Sir Impey Biggs is a criminal defense lawyer.
The despairing Mrs Ruyslaender is the wife of Henry Ruyslaender, a diamond merchant formerly based in Africa. He gave her a necklace called the Light of Africa, which has been stolen. Captain Paul Melville, the ampelopsis, is military and a distant relation of Henry’s. The Zambesi is the ship Henry has taken.
”The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention”
That bad-tempered blackguard, Burdock, had to leave the country. Now he’s returning in a coffin with a missing will. And a missing body.
Characters
Lord Peter Wimsey.
Agatha and her husband, the local magistrate, Tom Frobisher-Pym, are friends of Wimsey’s. Plunkett is the kennelman; Sarah is his wife, and they have two children: Alf and Elsie. Merridew helps care for the dogs for the Frobisher-Pyms at their country house. Polly Flinders is one of Pym’s horses.
The unrespected Squire Simon Burdock’s body is being returned from New York to Little Doddering where Mrs Lovall had been put in as caretaker. He only has two sons left since Aldine was killed: Martin, who got a working girl, Diana, in trouble (he’d been practically engaged to the Delaprime girl) and the younger, Haviland, the director of a company. Winnie is his wife.
Joliffe is the funeral director. Hubbard is from the Red Cow; Rawlinson, who’s Mr Graham’s clerk from Herriotting — Graham has been the Burdock solicitor for years; and, the Duggins’ boy are praying over Burdock. Simpson is the people’s warden. Mrs Giddens has a white donkey. Hancock is the know-it-all priest who replaced Canon Weeks. Joe Grinch is the sexton. Mr Topham rents his field to Mortimer, a sporting gentleman.
Major Dan Lumsden and his wife are neighbors with the major an old army buddy of Wimsey’s. Fellow soldiers had been Piper, Bunthorne, Philpotts, and Popham. Trivett is their local constable. Pogson’s farm had had a ghost.
”The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran”
It’s 1921 and profiling is alive and well in this tale of jealousy and murder when a beautiful woman is murdered.
Characters
Lord Peter Wimsey and Bunter.
Dr Hartman, a struggling general practitioner, has a passion for vitamin experimentation. Brotherton is one of Hartman’s neighbors; his wife is the gorgeous Maddalena. Marincetti is an Italian waiter with a knife.
”The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste”
It’s a mystery for sure of a young man on the run who makes mysterious remarks about people on his trail, including Lord Peter! It’s all quite secret until the masquerade falls apart.
How can you not love a sentence like “the sleeping Beauty of the vine grows ever more ravishing in sleep”.
Characters
Two Lord Peter Wimseys are visitors to the castle as is Death Bredon, a journalist. Mr Frederick Arbuthnot is a member of the Egotists’ Club.
The Comte de Rueil’s seat is Mon Souci, a decaying castle. The count is a scientist. Pierre is his butler.
”The Learned Adventure of the Dragon’s Head”
With the duke and duchess on the Continent and an outbreak of measles at school, young Jerry is foisted upon Uncle Peter. It’s a visit to a bookseller that starts this adventure that ends with a treasure hunt.
Yep, gender profiling as well with women unable to remember dates, faces, and other technicalities.
Characters
Lord Peter Wimsey and Bunter. Ten-year-old “Gherkins”, Viscount St George, a.k.a. Young Jerry, Jerrykins, and Pickled Gherkins, is the son and heir of the Duke of Denver as well as Peter’s nephew. Detective Inspector Charles Parker.
Mr Bultridge runs a preparatory school with an unexpected outbreak of measles. Mr Porter is a history teacher. Mr Ffolliott is a bookseller to whom Dr Conyers, a cancer man, of Yelsall Manor sold a Cosmographia Universalis. Dr Forbes is Conyers’ assistant. Wilberforce Pope wants to buy his uncle’s book from Young Jerry. Cuthbert “Old Cut-throat” Conyers was an ancestor who settled. He was said to be a pirate!
”The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach”
A reclusive great-uncle has died, and Thomas received his share of the inheritance, a stomach ligatured on both ends. Only someone steals it in the night.
Characters
Lord Peter Wimsey.
The Scottish Thomas Mcpherson, who is studying medicine at Aberdeen, had a reclusive great-uncle Joseph Ferguson who had good digestion. Maggie is Thomas’ housekeeper in Kirkcudbrightshire; Jock is her husband. Jimmy McTaggart may loan Jock a gun. Dr Strachan is the local doctor. Cousin Robert Ferguson is the residuary legatee who works at Crosbie & Plumb, a solicitor’s office in London. Nathan Abrahams is a nice Jew who is in the jewelry business. Moses is Abrahams’ son who is getting married to Rachel Goldstein. Mr Wallace was a good customer of Abrahams’. Skrymes is a book dealer who greatly dislikes Lord Peter.
”The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face”
A man in a bathing suit is found dead on the beach in East Felpham with his face all cut up and is the prime discussion of a group of passengers on the train. It’s a first-class passenger who describes the scene — without knowing the area or details of the murder scene.
There’s a good bit of regret about the young men who went to war and came home in pieces. Another tale with bigotry about them furriners.
Characters
Lord Peter Wimsey.
Lizzie’s girls. Kitty is a young wife. Detective-Inspector Winterbottom of the Westshire police is one of the passengers. The mean Correggio Plant, a studio manager of Messrs Crichton Ltd, publicity experts of Holborn, always takes credit for the work of others. Thomas Crowder, another Crichton employee, painted Plant’s portrait. Mr Ormerod is the copy-chief. Mr Birkett is also rude but everyone still liked him. Mr Cowley, who likes to ride in motorcycle races, thought Plant was a liar. Mr Spiller runs a garage. Francesco, is an Italian professional partner (dancer) at the Palaise de Dance in Cricklewood.
Salcombe “Sally” Hardy is a journalist and friend of Wimsey’s. Warren, a photographer, and Drummer also work for the paper. Gladys Twitterton is a typist in the copy department.
”The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba”
Lord Peter Wimsey was killed last December while shooting big game in Tanzania.
There’s a brief introduction to the ways of the gang and the crimes they’ve committed. The gang does seem to take care of its members and their families. Not always in the nicest way.
Characters
Lord Peter Wimsey. Detective Inspector Parker, Mary, the dowager duchess, and Bunter are threatened. Inspector Sugg of Scotland Yard is part of the plot.
Theodore Winthrop is a millionaire who was exposed as a blackmailer. Mr Jukes is a rude customer at a bar. Joseph Rogers, a.k.a. Twenty-one, is a former footman, who has decided to come in with his gang. Number One is the leader of the Society, a gang of criminals known only by their number who share and share alike. Number Two is a woman!
The Cover and Title
The cover is an orangish yellow with a narrow red band at the top. Immediately beneath the band is the series information in black. The “bust” of a white button-down shirt with a rust and yellow striped tie beneath a brown and yellow houndstooth wool vest with contrasting pockets is in the lower half of the cover with a monocle on a chain swinging up to surround the title — in white — on the left. Beneath the shirt and vest is the author’s name in a deep red.
The title is generic, as Lord Peter Views the Body every time.
