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Murder Must Advertise
The elegant, intelligent amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is one of detective literature's most popular creations. Ian Carmichael is the personification of Dorothy L. Sayers' charming investigator in this BBC Radio full-cast dramatization by Alistair Beaton.
When copywriter Victor Dean falls to his death on the stairs of Pym's Advertising Agency, no one seems to mind. That is, until Lord Peter joins the firm incognito as Dean's replacement and starts asking questions which lead him into a network of blackmailers, drug pushers, and one of the most deadly plots of crime fiction. However, before the crimes can be solved and the truth revealed, five more people must die...
01/06 Death Comes To Pym's Publicity
The posh sleuth is undercover to probe an advertising copywriter's murder.
02/06 Singular Spotlessness Of A Lethal Weapon
As Lord Wimsey probes the death of a copywriter, someone gets a pasting meant for him.
03/06 Unsentimental Masquerade Of A Harlequin
Suspects abound in Lord Peter Wimsey's investigation into the death of an advertising copywriter.
04/06 Inexcusable Invasion Of A Ducal Entertainment
Yet another disguise for Lord Peter Wimsey in his undercover investigation. A new disguise for the posh sleuth as he probes an advertising copywriter's death.
05/06 Sudden Decease Of A Man In Dress Clothes
Another death mars Lord Peter Wimsey's investigation into the death of a copywriter.
06/06 Appropriate Exit Of An Unskilled Murderer
Lord Peter Wimsey's investigation into the death of a copywriter concludes.
When copywriter Victor Dean falls to his death on the stairs of Pym's Advertising Agency, no one seems to mind. That is, until Lord Peter joins the firm incognito as Dean's replacement and starts asking questions which lead him into a network of blackmailers, drug pushers, and one of the most deadly plots of crime fiction. However, before the crimes can be solved and the truth revealed, five more people must die...
01/06 Death Comes To Pym's Publicity
The posh sleuth is undercover to probe an advertising copywriter's murder.
02/06 Singular Spotlessness Of A Lethal Weapon
As Lord Wimsey probes the death of a copywriter, someone gets a pasting meant for him.
03/06 Unsentimental Masquerade Of A Harlequin
Suspects abound in Lord Peter Wimsey's investigation into the death of an advertising copywriter.
04/06 Inexcusable Invasion Of A Ducal Entertainment
Yet another disguise for Lord Peter Wimsey in his undercover investigation. A new disguise for the posh sleuth as he probes an advertising copywriter's death.
05/06 Sudden Decease Of A Man In Dress Clothes
Another death mars Lord Peter Wimsey's investigation into the death of a copywriter.
06/06 Appropriate Exit Of An Unskilled Murderer
Lord Peter Wimsey's investigation into the death of a copywriter concludes.
3 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 1933
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 13, 2022
I love the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Sayers. They are my comfort reads and I have gone back to them more times over the years than I can count. I've read various editions (as I keep adding different editions to my collection. I've listened to Ian Carmichael read the entire story. I've listened to (and don't recommend unless you're looking for a soporific) John Franklyn-Robbins doing so as well. And now I've listend to the BBC full-cast dramatisation. If you'd like a full review of the story, I've done that previously (see other edition). This is merely my reflections on the BBC production.
Ian Carmichael is, as ever, a delight. He was the first Wimsey I watched in the televised version and, though the BBC waited until he was a bit old for the early novels, he does the younger, more frivolous Wimsey very well and his is always the voice I hear in my head when I read the books myself. The rest of the cast is quite strong as well--though I do think that John Hallam who played Mr. Ingleby in the televised version caught the spirit of Sayers's character more accurately than did John Quentin in the radio dramatision. One other small disappointment was the condensation of Miss Meteyard's part with that of Miss Parton. In the book (and TV program) Miss Meteyard is a copy-writer on an equal footing with the men. Here she has been relegated to the typing pool. But beyond these small quibbles, this is an excellent production and a delight to listen to.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
Ian Carmichael is, as ever, a delight. He was the first Wimsey I watched in the televised version and, though the BBC waited until he was a bit old for the early novels, he does the younger, more frivolous Wimsey very well and his is always the voice I hear in my head when I read the books myself. The rest of the cast is quite strong as well--though I do think that John Hallam who played Mr. Ingleby in the televised version caught the spirit of Sayers's character more accurately than did John Quentin in the radio dramatision. One other small disappointment was the condensation of Miss Meteyard's part with that of Miss Parton. In the book (and TV program) Miss Meteyard is a copy-writer on an equal footing with the men. Here she has been relegated to the typing pool. But beyond these small quibbles, this is an excellent production and a delight to listen to.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
December 8, 2024
Enjoyable dramatisation featuring the great Ian Carmichael as Wimsey - the definitive! Lord Peter investigates a death at an advertising agency - which leads him to drug trafficking among the entitled louche population. Adapter Beaton skilfully meshes the seemingly offhand wit of Lord Peter (humourous, no?) with author Dorothy L. Sayers' veiled commentaries on the seamy underside of what on the surface is light and sunny. A very pragmatic conclusion.
October 5, 2018
A neat murder mystery and once you do read the book, you'd understand the pointed reference in the title. Ohh and did I say that Wimsey goes undercover in this one. And with Ian Carmichael's excellent rendition of Wimsey, this book's a charm.
My Rating - 4/5
My Rating - 4/5
February 9, 2012
This wasn't my favourite of the series when I was reading it in print, I think. It has a decent ratio of Peter Wimsey and Parker, but argh, I hate that Parker has a different voice actor to the earlier episodes. That guy was perfect. Anyway, the problem is the total lack of either Harriet or references to her, and I don't think Bunter shows up, either. Peter's going it alone, undercover, so it makes sense, but...
The plot itself is reasonably interest, and the part with Tallboy at the end was well acted out. Having just reread Whose Body?, the way Peter lets people take a different way out to avoid justice. It's still justice in the sense of the criminal being punished -- as long as they view death as a punishment! -- but it avoids publically serving justice. I'm not sure what I think of that, but it's an interesting factor of Wimsey's character.
The plot itself is reasonably interest, and the part with Tallboy at the end was well acted out. Having just reread Whose Body?, the way Peter lets people take a different way out to avoid justice. It's still justice in the sense of the criminal being punished -- as long as they view death as a punishment! -- but it avoids publically serving justice. I'm not sure what I think of that, but it's an interesting factor of Wimsey's character.
July 3, 2021
This is perhaps among the most complex and best written book by this author. It also has the highest number of murders in any Lord Peter story, so it must pay to advertise, no?
I enjoyed this adaptation immensely. The female cast was especially excellent, whether it is the twittering ladies in the ad agency, Pamela Dean or the somewhat shady, somewhat spoilt, somewhat seductive character that Lord Peter dallies with to gather evidence.
The detection and the mystery was good as always.
I enjoyed this adaptation immensely. The female cast was especially excellent, whether it is the twittering ladies in the ad agency, Pamela Dean or the somewhat shady, somewhat spoilt, somewhat seductive character that Lord Peter dallies with to gather evidence.
The detection and the mystery was good as always.
December 31, 2019
Not one of my favourites, if only in comparison to the better (Vane-ier?) Wimsey books.
September 16, 2025
In my opinion, one of Sayers's best Lord Peter stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2012
Es ist ja bekannt, dass in der Werbebranche mit harten Bandagen gekämpft wird, dass jemand aber so weit geht, einen Werbetexter an seinem Arbeitsplatz zu ermorden, das ist durchaus neu. Natürlich möchte die angesehene Werbeagentur Pym's Publicity, Ltd. keine negativen Schlagzeilen wegen eines Mordes riskieren, und engagiert daher Lord Peter, diesen Fall zu untersuchen. Unter dem Namen Death Bredon nimmt Wimsey den Job als Nachfolger des ermordeten Victor Dean an, der die eiserne Wendeltreppe herunterfiel und dabei zu Tode kam. Schon bald hat er den Ruf eines Sonderlings.
Dies ist Lord Peters zehnter Fall und erneut spricht Ian Carmichael Lord Peter. Je später die Fälle, desto affektierter scheint mir Lord Peter zu werden, und desto mehr erinnert er mich an eine kompetente, intelligente Version von Bertie Wooster. In diesem Hörspiel wird er sogar gleich in der ersten Episode mit P.G. Woodhouses Bertie Wooster verglichen. Der Fall ist, wie auch die andere Lord Peter Fälle, sehr sauber ermittelt. Lord Peter beginnt mit einem Mord ohne Motiv und ohne Verdächtigen und kommt schon bald einem sehr ausgeklügelten Verbrechen auf die Spur. In Conan Doyle Manier wird nichts verschwiegen, alle Hinweise sind von Anfang an da, jeder hat die Chance mitzuraten und selber auf die Lösung zu kommen und der Verdächtige stand für mich zumindest recht bald fest, dennoch bleibt es bis zum Ende spannend, denn es bleibt immer noch herauszufinden, warum der Mörder es getan hat.
Ein durch und durch sehr gut konstruierter Fall in ausgezeichneter Besetzung vertont. Obwohl das Hörspiel aus dem Jahr 1983 stammt, merkt man ihm sein Alter nicht an. Wie üblich bei BBC Hörspielen gibt es keinen bis kaum Soundtrack, dafür jedoch eine authentische Geräuschkulisse, die eine perfekte Illusion erschafft. Die Sprecher sind typgerecht Besetzt und von den Stimmen so unterschiedlich, dass man sie gut voneinander unterscheiden kann. Auch wird diesmal mehr oder minder Oxford Englisch gesprochen gewürzt mit einigen in den 20er Jahren typischen affektierten Begriffen, die heute so nicht mehr gebräuchlich sind, die man aber bereits aus früheren Episoden kennt.
Dies ist Lord Peters zehnter Fall und erneut spricht Ian Carmichael Lord Peter. Je später die Fälle, desto affektierter scheint mir Lord Peter zu werden, und desto mehr erinnert er mich an eine kompetente, intelligente Version von Bertie Wooster. In diesem Hörspiel wird er sogar gleich in der ersten Episode mit P.G. Woodhouses Bertie Wooster verglichen. Der Fall ist, wie auch die andere Lord Peter Fälle, sehr sauber ermittelt. Lord Peter beginnt mit einem Mord ohne Motiv und ohne Verdächtigen und kommt schon bald einem sehr ausgeklügelten Verbrechen auf die Spur. In Conan Doyle Manier wird nichts verschwiegen, alle Hinweise sind von Anfang an da, jeder hat die Chance mitzuraten und selber auf die Lösung zu kommen und der Verdächtige stand für mich zumindest recht bald fest, dennoch bleibt es bis zum Ende spannend, denn es bleibt immer noch herauszufinden, warum der Mörder es getan hat.
Ein durch und durch sehr gut konstruierter Fall in ausgezeichneter Besetzung vertont. Obwohl das Hörspiel aus dem Jahr 1983 stammt, merkt man ihm sein Alter nicht an. Wie üblich bei BBC Hörspielen gibt es keinen bis kaum Soundtrack, dafür jedoch eine authentische Geräuschkulisse, die eine perfekte Illusion erschafft. Die Sprecher sind typgerecht Besetzt und von den Stimmen so unterschiedlich, dass man sie gut voneinander unterscheiden kann. Auch wird diesmal mehr oder minder Oxford Englisch gesprochen gewürzt mit einigen in den 20er Jahren typischen affektierten Begriffen, die heute so nicht mehr gebräuchlich sind, die man aber bereits aus früheren Episoden kennt.
July 6, 2012
Brilliant. Really one of Sayers' best efforts, using her experiences working as a copywriter at an advertising firm to flesh out characters and add social commentary to the story.
This book expresses the author's opinions about the world economy and the psychological tricks that marketers play on people to get us to buy, buy, BUY! She also gets in some good punches about public vs. private school and the problems of having a workforce that attempts to unite employees educated within different classes.
Lord Peter shows to good advantage, despite sleuthing without Harriet Vane by his side. We get to see his more athletic attributes, although I could have done without the play-by-play recap of a cricket match, which was about as uninteresting as reading about paint drying since I do not understand the scoring or rules at all.
I enjoyed the cunning word play used in the advertisements, and the restrictions (still in force today) on the use of words like "real", "contains", "pure" and "best", as well as the problems of joining copy to images. The incentive offers to get people to buy different brands of cigarettes were pure evil genius.
The actual mystery felt a bit thin, with the method of murder seeming extremely risky and unlikely, and the attempts to infiltrate the drug ring being quite naive and built on a silly idea that Lord Peter has a doppelganger cousin, but again, read this for what is going on outside the mystery. Nice sketches of jaded office gossips, office boys, the generation gap causing problems in the workplace, marriage and infidelity and greed and ennui.
Wonderful reading by Ian Carmichael, as always. He really did credit to delivering the advertising slogans with pizzazz!
This book expresses the author's opinions about the world economy and the psychological tricks that marketers play on people to get us to buy, buy, BUY! She also gets in some good punches about public vs. private school and the problems of having a workforce that attempts to unite employees educated within different classes.
Lord Peter shows to good advantage, despite sleuthing without Harriet Vane by his side. We get to see his more athletic attributes, although I could have done without the play-by-play recap of a cricket match, which was about as uninteresting as reading about paint drying since I do not understand the scoring or rules at all.
I enjoyed the cunning word play used in the advertisements, and the restrictions (still in force today) on the use of words like "real", "contains", "pure" and "best", as well as the problems of joining copy to images. The incentive offers to get people to buy different brands of cigarettes were pure evil genius.
The actual mystery felt a bit thin, with the method of murder seeming extremely risky and unlikely, and the attempts to infiltrate the drug ring being quite naive and built on a silly idea that Lord Peter has a doppelganger cousin, but again, read this for what is going on outside the mystery. Nice sketches of jaded office gossips, office boys, the generation gap causing problems in the workplace, marriage and infidelity and greed and ennui.
Wonderful reading by Ian Carmichael, as always. He really did credit to delivering the advertising slogans with pizzazz!
February 6, 2015
Really enjoying the BBC Audio dramatisations of these books - Ian Carmichael is perfect as Wimsey and the drama itself is nicely realised.
June 22, 2020
BBC 4 radio drama
⭐️3.5⭐️
⭐️3.5⭐️
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March 16, 2019Dorothy Sayers was an extraordinary writer, who wrote mysteries to pay the bills, but preferred to spend her time writing what she considered more serious books.
I'm grateful that she wrote the mysteries, including 'Murder Must Advertise'. It partly takes place in an advertising business in the 1930s. Sayers worked in one for a while, and is great at portraying the atmosphere and the relationships between the workers there.
The characters and the world of 1930s England are fascinating, and the mystery is intricate and unfolds gradually to come to the conclusion.
This, and all of Ms. Sayers mysteries are must-reads, extremely well-written in every way. I wish she had written more of them.
I'm grateful that she wrote the mysteries, including 'Murder Must Advertise'. It partly takes place in an advertising business in the 1930s. Sayers worked in one for a while, and is great at portraying the atmosphere and the relationships between the workers there.
The characters and the world of 1930s England are fascinating, and the mystery is intricate and unfolds gradually to come to the conclusion.
This, and all of Ms. Sayers mysteries are must-reads, extremely well-written in every way. I wish she had written more of them.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews