The Nine Tailors

by Alistair Beaton (Adapter), Dorothy L. Sayers, Ian Carmichael (Narrator)

The elegant, intelligent amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is one of detective literature's most popular creations, and Ian Carmichael is the personification of Dorothy L. Sayers' charming investigator in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation by Alistair Beaton. Lord Peter Wimsey, man about town and amateur sleuth, and his man Bunter, are drawn into a series of intriguing incidents after being stranded in the remote village of Fenchurch St. Paul. What is the identity of the grotesquely disfigured corpse found in the churchyard? Who murdered him and why? Perhaps the Fenchurch bells hold their own answers to the mystery...

Starring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey, this Radio 4 dramatisation was first broadcast as a weekly serial from 20 October to 8 December 1980.

Duration 3:15

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, 20th Century

4 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

”When I was a girl, we would work in the fields, and walk for miles. That was in the fens. Before I came out. Flat country, certainly but it does not let you eat it up all that easy.” She laughed. “We would skate, too, all of us girls and boys; we was nine in the family. We would skate across the flooded country during a hard winter, miles and miles, everything so brittle. The twigs on the hedges looked as if you could have broken them off like glass.”
Her eyes were suddenly brightened by what she was telling. Solidity in herself seemed to give to the glass twigs some mysterious, desirable, unattainable property of their own.
—Riders in the Chariot, by Patrick White

It’s an excellent radio theater production of a whodunit. Maybe, best for lovers of bellringing.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lucked out and found this eight-part adaptation on the BBC Radio site one day when looking for something to listen to to drown out my office's hideous radio station and coworkers with no filter, volume control, or off switch. (It's no longer available as of this writing: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00m5xc7) It's books (and their adaptations) like this that make that radio station and those coworkers just look all the worse.

Hillary - But they're all idiots.
LPDBW - Most people are. But it ain't kind to tell 'em so.

Granted, there aren't too many people who hold up well in comparison to Lord Peter Wimsey in any form, but really, having to return to reality after a few hours in the fen country … stinks.

LPDBW - Oh, hell!
Bunter - Yes, my lord, that thought passed through my own mind.

Ian Carmichael plays Lord Peter, which is wonderful. He wasn't my favorite filmic Peter (Petherbridge forever!), but he was pretty terrific himself; I need to look up those episodes of "Mystery!" before too long. Everyone in the cast is terrific. The Nine Tailors has always been arguably my favorite of the Wimsey novels, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

And I always think what a shame it is Peter couldn't have left Rev. Venables his joy at completing the nine hour toll.

Highly recommended.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lord Peter investigates the death of a mysterious man in a village. The corpse, found when they prepare to bury a spouse in the couple's grave, turns out to be a person with connections to the village. Lord Peter investigates the case with a most unusual solution. I listened to the full cast audio production by BBC Radio featuring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey. It was delightful. This is probably my favorite Lord Peter Wimsey mystery.

[Isabella ⸙ · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)

I feel the same about this as I did about Clouds of Witness: I was enjoying it for the most part, but the ending didn't land for me. (At least this time it doesn't feel like a complete cop-out.) The characterisations and possible motives were a also bit more convincing than the last few Wimseys. All that aside, what a grisly way to go! 🥴

[^ · Rating 4 out of 5]

To ensure that I missed nothing, I had to listen to this twice, because the only cassette player that I now have is in my car. Obviously when driving one has to concentrate on the road and other road users.

This is a very good production indeed. Ian Carmichael plays LPW to perfection.

The best thing about an audio production of this book is that the listener hears the sound of church bells rung in the English style, and also hears the sound of Norfolk, London, Northern French, and upper-class English voices. That really brings the text to life, without impeding the listeners imagination in the way that visual film sometime does. Towards the end of the story, the sound effects of the flood were so tremendously life-like that I felt discomforted by the real-life coincidence of simultaneously driving through (yet another, this year) heavy rain storm.

The only thing that grated on me was a heightened irritated awareness of the (few) technical errors that Miss Sayers made in the subject of change ringing on church bells; the most glaring being that during the ringing of a peal the same person must ring the same bell throughout – no breaking off for a quick pint of beer! Reading the novel in print my eyes have now learnt to overlook that faux pas. But my ears were not so cooperative.

I expect that this recording is now available either to download or on CD. If so, I really ought to put it on my “Dear Father Christmas” list.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourites, in book form, and pretty well done for the radioplay, too. I always want to see more of the recurring characters, though at least Bunter's reasonably prominent in this one -- still, I felt the lack of the Parkers and Harriet. Peter's struggles with finding the real culprit when the victim is so unpleasant are pretty poignant, and his realisation of the actual situation is well dramatised.

There was less about the technical side of bell-ringing in the audio adaptation, which was probably wise considering the medium, but I'm looking forward to rereading The Nine Tailors in full and seeing what I make of the bells this time round.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much better than Five Red Herrings; Lord Peter seemed much less condescending, and even quite human, in this story set in the remote Fenlands in winter.

All of the characters were well drawn and distnguishable, the mystery was clever, the solution ingenious but believable. And the location was so atmospheric, it really conveyed the isolation and 'otherness' of these wide open spaces with their long drains, creaking sluice gates and ominous waterways.

And for once no train timetables.

[Cidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourite Dorothy L Sayers, in most of the books Lord Peter Wimsey seems to be a total ass really, he comes across as quite condescending, but in this one we see him as human after all.

Wimsey and his butler Bunter are driving through Fenchurch St Pauls and after running into a ditch they are given a lift by the local vicar. It's New Year's Eve and Fenchurch St Paul always ring in the new year and this year they intend to ring the bells for a record breaking now was it 9hrs? Anyway one of the bell ringers is unwell and they will have to cancel the peal, Wimsey steps in and they begin the long peal. The next day a mutilated male corpse is found in the grave of the local Lord of the manor, with his face shattered by a shovel and his hands cut off. Wimsey now begins the chase.

The chase takes them to France and back and with a superintendent dealing with the London police in that they are thinking this murder is related to a newly released prisoner and the loss of some famous emeralds in Fenchurch St Pauls, and the water levels are rising on the Fens which could lead to disastrous consquences.

The bells do play a prominent part in this story! And as the granddaughter of an record breaking bellringer, who has a plaque well several, on the walls in his local church, I appreciated hearing the peal of the bells greatly! I wouldn't say it's exactly a fast paced book but I really enjoyed it. I've had a lot of appointments lately and it has been good to listen to this in the car. And I hadn't expected the ending!

[Bice · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Maybe because I got confused at times.
Glad it was in Audio.

[Feeling-bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago and listened to this excellent adaptation recently.

I knew zilch about campanology, church bells and change ringing when I read it first and was forced to find out more to understand what was going on.

This is one of this author's slow-burn mysteries in that the clues aren't falling out of the heavens with great generosity and timing. Nor is the path of the investigation smooth and clear. It takes a lot of back and forth and clearing this and that to solve the crime, and I did enjoy every step of it.

The fens, the village and its inhabitants are really well done, and the audio narration did a great job of bringing them alive for me.

[Katy Picken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this as a BBC full cast recording, and quite enjoyed it. It's very much of its time, but that is part of its charm. As I remember doing before, when I read a paper copy, I got a bit muddled about who was who in the centre part of the novel, which was full of village gossip and things that had happened in the past, and dragged a little. The ending fell a bit flat for a murder mystery in my opinion, but was certainly clever and unexpected. I like Lord Peter, but he can't hold a candle to Albert Campion.

[Macpudel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is for the BBC radio play only. As a radio play, it was a bit frustrating as there was only dialogue and no narration, transition or scene setting. Removing the description and, you know, writing, impoverishes the story and reduces it to a whodunnit. The sense of place is greatly diminished and the power of the bells is poorly conveyed.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled keeping any interest in this one. It just drug on and on, and I didn't care about any of the characters. Maybe that's because I was driving the whole time, but that hasn't mattered in general, unless the book was highly intellectual or required great focus...which didn't seem to be the case for this one.

[CatBookMom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full-cast version, Lord Peter played by Ian Carmichael.

This is abridged, but it's delightful, in the way of the TV adaptation. Sound effects are lovely, with snips of real bell ringing being played. 3+ hrs

[The Book Loving Monkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Ian Carmichael and Peter Jones are on top form as Lord Peter Wimsey and Bunter.

[Mary Newcomb]

Lord Peter Wimsey helps to solve another unusual mystery. The sound quality is uneven but the dramatization is delightful.

[Sharron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story feels dated but it is well narrated and the setting in the fens is well described. Best of all, the ending was unpredictable.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dorothy Sayers runs Peter Wimsey through his paces. I wonder if he really did all these activities...