English Mysteries Club discussion

This is the thread to discuss our Golden Age English Mystery read for June. The novel which won the poll this time is the first Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers.

This is a perennial favourite! So happy English Mystery reading everyone :)

I am about 65% finished with the book. It reminds me of Jeeves and Wooster by P.G. Wodehouse. Very enjoyable and the mysteries are really stumping me

Wow - you're so well ahead Ru! Funny that you should make that comparison, as the actor Ian Carmichael has played both the part of Lord Peter Wimsey and Bertie Wooster for many series, back in the day :)

So who is joining us for this one? Reading (officially) starts on 1st June.

I'm in!

I finished Whose Body? and I enjoyed this one very much. The comparison to Jeeves and Wooster was very strong. The delightful interaction of Lord Peter with Bunter is very like that of Wooster with Jeeves. The mysteries kept me stumped until the end. I loved this one!

Bionic Jean wrote: "Wow - you're so well ahead Ru! Funny that you should make that comparison, as the actor Ian Carmichael has played both the part of Lord Peter Wimsey and Bertie Wooster for many seri..."

Well, I am retired so I have a lot of time for reading

I'm not lucky with the golden age choices lately... I read this one and I didn't like it though I did like the later one that we read last year. So skipping this month (again).

Ru wrote: "I finished Whose Body? and I enjoyed this one very much. The comparison to Jeeves and Wooster was very strong. The delightful interaction of Lord Peter with Bunter is very like that of Wooster with..."

If I remember rightly, Bunter was Lord Peter's batman in the war? I really enjoy their relationship - LP isn't super stuffy and uppity with Bunter, they have a pleasant rapport while still maintaining their positions. I love how devoted Bunter is to LP - he takes such tender care of him.

I'm in too!

I shall be reading too, though probably not until later in June. Work and Life are set to interrupt my reading as ever.

I'm in that position too, Jax, but do have it on kindle ready :)

Me too kindle copy set up and ready to go - but I know I'll need a couple of free evenings or a weekend to read it completely as I won't want to put it down I would imagine, always the way with golden age mysteries.

Yes! I've been finding recently that if Ieave a mystery just for a day or so, to read something else, then I'll have forgotten some important points! That never used to happen ... :( So blocks of time are better for me too.

Hooray! I got it from the library on audio. I’m so hopeless on other formats. I don’t remember this book specifically, but I’ve read all the Wimsey’s in the past and enjoyed them. After reading The Mutual Admiration Society last year (all about Sayers and her friends), I’m even happier to get back to reading her - with new eyes/ears.

I read this last year and am getting a head start re-reading it right now since my June will be busier.

Barbara K wrote: "After reading The Mutual Admiration Society last year (all about Sayers and her friends), I’m even happier to get back to reading her - with new eyes/ears...."

This one?
The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women by Mo Moulton

It looks good! Would you say it would make a good group read? (Sorry - bit off the subject - but just mulling over possibilities for an occasional factual read).

Marie wrote: "I read this last year and am getting a head start re-reading it right now since my June will be busier."

Good idea!

Bionic Jean wrote: "The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women by Mo Moulton"

It looks good! Would you say it would make a good group read? (Sorry - bit off the subject - but just mulling over possibilities for an occasional factual read).

I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially after getting through the opening chapters. My review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thanks! (Great review by the way :) )

Thanks, Jean. :-)

Bionic Jean wrote: "Yes! I've been finding recently that if Ieave a mystery just for a day or so, to read something else, then I'll have forgotten some important points! That never used to happen ... :( So blocks of t..."

I'm the same Jean. Reading for half an hour or so just doesn't work for me anymore. I find I'm not enjoying books when I do this as there's no flow, I can't get stuck into the characters and story, and as you say I forget what's happened. It's annoying when I like to read in bed before I go to sleep but find I nod off after a couple of pages.....

Cozy_Pug wrote: "Ru wrote: "I finished Whose Body? and I enjoyed this one very much. The comparison to Jeeves and Wooster was very strong. The delightful interaction of Lord Peter with Bunter is very like that of W..."

Yes, I think Bunter was a sergeant in the war with Lord Peter and he is affectionate to him. The same relationship occurs in Jeeves and Wooster except I think Jeeves is much smarter than Wooster.

About 25% of the way in. Excellent introduction to the characters and the two plots are intriguing. It is fun to let go of worrying about a realistic portrayal of either police or detectives and just let the story unfold. It’s kind of curious that Wimsey & Co. take such pains to reassure each other that it’s ok NOT to be anti-Semitic.

I have a feeling I might try to squeeze in more Sayers before long, taking the books in sequence so that I can observe her development as a mystery author over time. I read Strong Poison last year and the tone was a bit more complex, especially with the introduction of Harriet Vane.

I love it when there is a connection between a book set in the past and the present time. In this case, the coroner at the inquest insisting that the windows be opened because "the flu is back". A man who understood the nature of air borne diseases!

Barbara K wrote: "I have a feeling I might try to squeeze in more Sayers before long, taking the books in sequence so that I can observe her development as a mystery author over time ..."

I'm considering this idea as well, Barb. I've read a few odd ones out of sequence over the years, but could not get into our previous read of one, with that interminable report of the court scene. Even though some of the stories are familiar from dramatisations, I'd still like to read them in order, for the reason you say :)

I originally read Lord Peter randomly. I found him irritating and irksome. When I decided to read all of them in order, I liked him better and enjoyed the series more.

I m in too! I read it some time ago, so it's a re-reading. I agree with you Cozy Pug, reading in order is better to catch Lord Peter's spirit and understand his relationship with Harriet

carolina wrote: "I m in too! I read it some time ago, so it's a re-reading. I agree with you Cozy Pug, reading in order is better to catch Lord Peter's spirit and understand his relationship with Harriet"

Yes, there's something about Lord Peter that I couldn't just jump in randomly and click with him. And Harriet, too - I needed to start from her first appearance to understand her.

A favorite of my British authors. Am really excited to read this book, again. 😎

Zain

I am in

My first reaction is that I’m not thrilled with the choice (just being honest :)) but I’ll have a go. I didn’t enjoy any of the film/tv adaptations but maybe the book will be better, as so often happens.

So happy to be re-reading this. Read it only a few months ago but always happy to re-read Dorothy L Sayers. I have to admit that Lord Peter is a hero of mine, he is aware of his own falabilities and prejudices. He treats those around him with respect and doesn't take himself too seriously. Yes I can see the similarities with Wooster, but the other team for me is Campion and Lugg by Margery Allingham. I have read the series through and also those written by Jill Paton Walsh, which take the relationship with Harriet and Bunter futher along.

I just finished the book I was reading and have bought this to read with you. Maybe I can catchup.

I have read about a third of the way through and am enjoying it so far.

I said I’d give it a go and I have but I only lasted 26 pages or so before I had to bow out. I just can’t bear the dialogue or Lord Peter! Fingers crossed July’s choice will be more to my taste.

Ah well you can't win them all, Fiona :)

Pam - I read the first Jill Paton Walsh follow-up, but wasn't keen enough to read any more.

Interesting about Campion and Lugg. Perhaps we should read some of those :)

I have started - 18% through. I too find I now can lose the thread if I read a mystery too slowly with gaps between reading. I tend to read after dinner most nights and make a lot of head way. I have never read Sayers so I felt this was a good chance to start. It is hard when you are waiting for the next in a series to be published and have to try to remember details from earlier books from years before once it does. I think i have read enough to know I will be happy to continue to the end.

I Just finished this book. This was the first book I have read by Dorothy Sayers. It was really good. I will enjoy continuing with her other books.

I too have just finished this and enjoyed it. I too will certainly be reading more of the series. I liked the characters but agree it takes some work wading through Sir Peter’s dialogue but worth the trouble.

I went to get the next in series for my Kindle. I think it was free with Prime. Nice!

Isn't it great when that happens :)

Well, I finished the book a few days ago. It is just as good as it was a few years ago. 😎👍🏽

Zain

It's obviously a classic :)

This was a reread for me and I really enjoyed being able to take in more of the fine details of Sayers writing and her details from classical studies. I have read the first three Wimsey books as well as Gaudy Night. I too like to read detective series in order and watch the development of the characters.

I'm halfway through it and I think I've already read it but I don't remember the end so I'm enjoying the reading again. I wonder how Lord Peter always manages to get help from others! (his mother, his butler -of course-, Parker...). Is he really so charismatic?

carolina wrote: "I'm halfway through it and I think I've already read it but I don't remember the end so I'm enjoying the reading again. I wonder how Lord Peter always manages to get help from others! (his mother, ..."

I agree. I'm halfway through the book too and I find Parker awesome too!

I enjoyed the humor in the book juxtaposed with the evil of murder, the grisly references to dissection, and to the personal psychological struggles of Lord Wimsey. Aristocrat Lord Peter Wimsey shows himself to be a petulant, witty, playful, charismatic, and privileged character as his name would also indicate - a bit of whimsy. Yet, there is also the serious responsibility (noblesse oblige) he feels toward those less privileged and that truth and justice must win out, even if the villain is likable. Lord Wimsey's banter with Bunker, Parker and even his brother are comical. There is also humor in how the body with the gold pince-nez was "staged" in the bathtub. The serious discussion with Parker about how to go about an investigation becomes satirical with all the steps involved. Wimsey's humor, excitability and seemingly superficial banter hide a calculating, perceptive mind while he also copes with his own post-war trauma. He states he has become a sleuth to make himself useful! I'll have to continue the series to discover how Peter develops and becomes further useful.

In Chapter 5, Lord Peter quotes a bit from Dombey and Son by Dickens-talking about Joey Bagstock.
If some one has mentioned this already, please excuse the repetition.
I haven't read any of the post yet since I'm only halfway through the book.
Lord Peter is entertaining.

I finished this today and loved it. The dialogue is delightful and the characters are likeable.
I read all of the books years ago except Gaudy Night, which I read a couple of years ago. I loved it too.

You can't miss the classical, medieval and religious/biblical references that Lord Peter makes which reflect the educational and religious background and interests of the author. Wimsey has a true interest in collecting rare books, mentioning the Folio Dante, Voragine's 1493 Wynkyn de Worde edition of "Golden Legend," and the 1489 Caxton folio of "Four Sons of Aymon," "The Golden Ass," and "Ingoldsby Legends" by Richard Harris Barham. Even if Wimsey mentions these references in a humorous manner, they show Sayers as a well educated woman and her hero who reflects her own interests. I particularly liked the humor when Bunter spills some brandy and Lord Peter biblically states, "the voice of Jacob but the hands of Esau." (Genesis 27:22)

The works mentioned by Wimsey were an education for me as I couldn't resist looking up each reference! The only one I read was "The Golden Ass" when I was in high school, but don't recall much of it. But I do remember "Pilgrim's Progress" which is also mentioned when Lady Dowager states that Reuben Levy was "as well loved at home as he was hated abroad" - just the opposite of the description of a character in Pilgrim's Progress (a saint abroad and a devil at home) but that reminded the Dowager of that book.

As Rosemarie stated Wimsey quotes from "Dombey and Son." When Major Joseph Bagstock bursts out in anger when his marriage proposal is rejected - "you'll find him tough, Ma'am - tough is Joseph. Tough, and devilish sly!" Hearing how the lame, 80 year old Mr. Crimplesham is described as "tough" by a waiter, Wimsey recalls the Dickens' character. THEN, he had also thought that Crimplesham could still be the brains behind the crime and makes a different literary reference in his statement, "the aged spider sitting invisible in the centre of the vibrating web." This is a reference from the Sherlock Holmes story about Professor Moriarty in "The Final Problem" per The Complete, Annotated Whose Body?.

Just reading this one book, I have great admiration for Sayers's writing.