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Busman's Honeymoon
by
Dorothy Sayers
vintage mystery in a Kindle edition that was published by Open Road Media on July 31, 2012 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, 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
Eleventh and last in the Lord Peter Wimsey vintage mystery series (but not last in Lord Peter’s new married life) and revolving around a noble amateur sleuth. The couple focus is on the newlywed couple on their homegrown honeymoon.
My Take
It is so sweet how much the duchess adores Harriet, lol. Such a contrast with the hideous Helen.
”Peter had only said it was the first time his features had ever been prized above rubies.”
Considering how nasty Helen is, you will LYAO as you read of Helen’s plans for Peter and Harriet’s wedding and then the reality of it. Tu m’envires (you get me drunk)? That’s different, *grin*. You have got to read the letters at the very beginning to get the background on how Peter’s mother and various society ladies view Peter’s marriage.
Sayers is using third person global subjective point-of-view, as we hear the thoughts of a number of characters. Naturally Peter, Harriet, and Bunter have the primary perspectives, but we also hear from Mrs Ruddle, the crowd in the pub, and the police.
Hmm, Peter is full of manly wisdom, such as always to remember in the morning who you took to bed. I wonder if that’s a tip from Uncle Paul?
It’s an interesting revelation for Harriet when she realizes she’s “married England”. That Peter not only fits in, in London, but also in the village. Then again, “feelings are a privilege of the upper classes”? Poor Peter. It provides Kirk the opportunity to bemoan the passing away of a squire who understood how things worked in the country.
I’ve always loved how people can remember lines, quotes, from a book and apply them to a situation, and Peter and Harriet are aces at this game. And they pull Superintendent Kirk into the play.
I do feel for Foster, not understanding why he’s always passed over for promotion — he always does everything absolutely correct.
Lord Peter is in a unique situation: for the first time it matters what his relationship with his lover will be. It is funny how Harriet is suddenly the confident one with Peter unsure of himself, and Bunter playing his own guessing games. Ohh, more sweetness. Peter has been collecting cuttings about Harriet for the past six years.
Poor Aggie Twitterton. So many hopes and dreams that’ll bring everything down. Bunter has his own problems not least of which is Mrs Ruddle’s interfering dusting — the port!! — along with little furniture, no foodstuffs other than the Fortnum and Mason hamper, and nothing set up for the house.
That Frank. Oy. What a user!!
There are a number of revelations about Lord Peter, not least of which is the duchess noting that he doesn’t like responsibility. Not after what he went through during World War I. The duchess also provides back history on Bunter! He’d been a footman at Sir John Sanderton’s before the war.
Busman’s Honeymoon is a lot of cooing and introspection as Peter, Harriet, and Bunter struggle to adjust to their new reality as the three of them work to solve this new mystery.
“I love you — I am rest with you — I have come home.”
The Story
Society’s eligible women are in mourning. Lord Peter Wimsey has married at last, having finally succeeded in his ardent pursuit of the lovely mystery novelist Harriet Vane. The two depart for a tranquil honeymoon in a country farmhouse but find, instead of a well-prepared love nest, the place left in a shambles by the previous owner.
His sudden, deadly appearance, only prompts more questions. Why would anyone have wanted to kill old Mr Noakes? What dark secrets had he to hide?
It’s a busman’s honeymoon as Lord Peter and Harriet Vane start their investigations. Suspicion is rife and everyone seems to have something to hide, from the local constable to the housekeeper. Wimsey and his wife can think of plenty of theories, but it’s not until they discover a vital fact that the identity of the murderer becomes clear.
The Characters
Lady Peter, a.k.a. Harriet Vane that was, is happy. Miss Bracey is Harriet’s secretary from whom Harriet had to borrow 10 bob. Lord Peter Wimsey has been a carefree bachelor for many years, let alone the years he spent hoping for Harriet’s yes. Well, and ignoring the PTSD he still suffers. Bunter is Lord Peter’s personal man of all things.
Honoria Lucasta, the Dowager Duchess of Denver, is Peter’s mother looking like a “small eighteenth century marquise”. Franklin is the duchess’ maid. Ahasuerus is the duchess’ cat. Gerald is Peter’s older brother and the duke. Jerry is Gerald’s son and heir. Uncle Pandarus “can cram more cynical indelicacy into a letter of good advice”. Jenkins is the lodgekeeper. Bill is Jenkins’ son who got his sergeant’s stripes. Morton and Bates are footmen. Mrs Sweetapple is the housekeeper. Mr Leggatt seems to be a family lawyer. Cousin Matthew, a third cousin, tends to the library. Mr Liddell. Willy Bodgett is one of the children attending the service in the church.
Duke’s Denver was built after Queen Elizabeth I and the Dower House is Inigo Jones. Old Gregory, Uncle Roger, and Lady Susan are family ghosts. In the portrait gallery, Lord Roger is one of the presentable Wimseys. Lady Stavesacre is a sister whose portrait they bought in. Thomas was the duke who died about 1775 whose son made a bad marriage. Mortimer was their mad younger son. Dr Gervase Wimsey was a martyr under Queen Mary. His brother Harry raised a standard for Queen Mary. The elusive Simon is said to have turned pirate. Lady Sarah Wimsey had painted dishes.
Talboys is . . .
. . . a house in Paggleham that Harriet remembers from her childhood. William Noakes is the owner. The twittery Aggie Twitterton, an old maid, is Noakes’ niece who keeps hens. (Aggie’s dad, Dick Twitterton, was Ted Baker’s cowman who married Noakes’ schoomistress sister.) Mrs Warner had had such terrible rheumatism in her hands. Mrs Ruddle cleans the house for Noakes. Bert, her husband, had once worked for Mr Vickey at Five Elms. Another Bert is her son. Mrs Hodges is a friend of Mrs Ruddle; Susan is Mrs Hodges’ daughter — whose first had been a wunnerful ‘airy man, her second was young Tyler. Mr Hodges delivers logs to Talboys. Puffett is a builder who can clean chimneys. Jinny is Puffett’s wife, and George is their son. George Willis appears to own the local grocery; Jimmy is one of his employees. The Home and Colonial is supposedly cheaper. Frank Crutchley mostly drives hire cars for Mr Hancock but also does the gardening at Talboys. He sleeps above Hancock’s garage along with their other chap, Williams. Polly Mason is Frank’s flighty girlfriend. The Reverend Simon Goodacre is the untidy vicar with a love for plants — he’d gone to Magdalen at Oxford. Miss Moody. Carter Paterson has delivered the heavy luggage. Willy Abbot is the milkman. Elsie is the stationmaster’s daughter. The Batesons had been a dear old couple. Mrs Sweeting had kept pigs. Joe Sellon is the local police constable. George Withers. Old Blunt.
The Pig and Whistle is in Pagford. Mr Roberts keeps the Crown. And so does Mr Gudgeon it seems. Katie, Polly, and Ted Puddock are both patrons. Tom Dudden had an auction on furniture. Bill Skipton seems to be a poacher. Mr Raikes is complaining about his birds. Datchett has a farm. Mr Trevor is the local squire who knows nothing about country life. Mr Moffatt has a tractor with a barn. Mr Giddy has a field that’s useful for parking. Mr and Mrs Sowerton, the Jenkinses, and Miss Grant were some of the funeral attendees.
Law enforcement in and around Paggleham
Joe Sellon is a police constable (PC) with a terrible secret. And his wife is pregnant again. Arthur is one of the Sellons’ children. The book-loving Superintendent Sam Kirk (Mrs Kirk likes a good Edgar Wallace). Sergeant Foster, a strict Plymouth Brethren, may not be the best supervisor for Sellon. More sergeants include Blades, Jakes, and Hart. PCs Jordan and Norman. Inspector Goudy. Davidson.
Dr James Craven. George Lugg is the undertaker. I think Harry is Lugg’s assistant. John Perkins is a lawyer and one of His Majesty’s coroners.
MacBride is with Macdonald & Abrahams and has come to deliver a writ. Levy, Levy & Levy. Mr “Solly” Solomons of Moss & Isaacs has a bill of sale on furniture. Bill, Jack, and George are the movers.
In Lopsley, Bill Muggins notes a beautiful base for a sundial while Jim Hawtrey knows a man selling chimney pots. Joe Dudden and Harry Gates constructed the sundial.
The Dowager Duchess’ friends include Mirabelle, Countess of Severn and Thames. Other society ladies include Mrs Chipperly James; the Honorable Mrs Trumpe-Harte, who had had plans for her daughter Monica; Mrs Dalilah Snype; Miss Amaranth Sylvester-Quicke, who had tried hard for Peter; and, Marjorie, Lady Grummidge, all have something to say. Lord Wellwater from the Foreign Office gave an unexpected speech. The Belchesters’ home in Audley Square will be taken. Murbles is the Wimsey family lawyer. Abrahams is the jeweler Peter saw. Worth is/was a famous fashion house. Merryweather was an old poacher on the Denver estate. Philip Boyes had been Harriet’s nauseating writer boyfriend (Strong Poison, 5). George Joseph Smith was a serial killer. Salcombe “Sally” Hardy is a journalist and sometimes friend to Lord Peter. Hector Puncheon is with the Morning Star. Harriet has a married friend who had confided in her about her own honeymoon. Mr Robert Templeton is the hero of Harriet’s detective books. Impey Biggs is a King’s Counsel and a friend of Peter’s. Thipps is an architect with real feeling for period stuff (Whose Body?, 1). Miss Climpson runs a typing bureau for Lord Peter. Simcox is the real estate agent.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a soft gray background with the partial torso dressed in a button-down shirt of navy blue vertical stripes against a cream background. Between the stripes are vertical rows of burgundy dots. The round-pointed collar is white. The blue tweed vest uses a herringbone pattern with black buttons. At the very top is the series info in black. The title is in white and is framed on the left by Lord Peter’s monocle swinging up in an arc. The author’s name is below the torso in black.
The title is true enough for Lord Peter is having a Busman’s Honeymoon.
