Customer Reviews

Lord Peter Views the Body

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The otherwise excellent 'unabridged' audio edition (read by Ian Carmichael, who portrayed Lord Peter in most of the adaptations of Sayers' novels) actually omitted 3 of these 12 stories, although the rest were indeed unabridged.

The complete set of short stories can only be found in the _Lord Peter_ collection; apart from that, this volume is the largest single batch. They don't overlap with _Hangman's Holiday_ or _In the Teeth of the Evidence_, which contain both Wimsey and non-Wimsey stories.

"The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers" - Varden, an American actor and a guest of one of Lord Peter's friends at the Egotists' Club, tells a story of an encounter with a mysterious stranger years before. A good story; Sayers' rare American characters are much better than, e.g. Christie's, although Varden does slip occasionally into British colloquialisms.

"The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question" - Omitted from the 'unabridged' audio edition, Heaven only knows why. The affair of the Attenbury diamonds, so often mentioned elsewhere as the beginning of Lord Peter's career in detection. A word of warning - Sayers never provided English translations of French dialogue unless forced to do so by her publishers, so part of one scene may be incomprehensible to the reader.

"The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will" - "A woman who pretends to be serious is wasting her time and spoiling her appearance. I consider that you have wasted your time to a really shocking extent. Accordingly, I intend to conceal this will, and that in such a manner that you will certainly never find it unless by the exercise of a sustained frivolity." This letter threw down a gauntlet for Hannah Marryat, one of Lady Mary's terribly earnest Radical friends (who will otherwise lose the money to the Primrose League via an earlier will). Very enjoyable; a shame it wasn't included in the audio edition (it involves a visual clue).

"The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag" - One motorcyclist chases another all along the Great North Road, followed by Lord Peter's Daimler, in pursuit of a small bag. But instead of the Dowager's jewelry stolen from Lord Peter in Piccadilly, the bag contains a woman's severed head. Which of the denials of ownership is a lie?

"The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker" - Mrs. Ruyslander is the victim of the bald-faced theft of two items: the 'Light of Africa' (a diamond necklace of 115 stones), and a small portrait 'with an inscription that nothing, *nothing*, could ever explain away.' Lord Peter tackles the job of retrieving them from the thief without exposing Mrs. Ruyslander's secret.

"The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention" - ENORMOUS, for a 'short' story, and not really worth the trip. Lord Peter's hosts are on the stuffy (and in one instance, spiteful) side, and gossipy, which gives us the background on the local rich old reprobate whose funeral is on the morrow. The mystery here isn't about the death, but who steals the body, and why. Sayers throws in a good bit of supposedly supernatural hocus-pocus for trimming. Although the old man's sons are named Martin and Haviland, they're not related to the 'Haviland Martin' in _Have His Carcase_. (This one *wasn't* cut from the audio edition; I'd have traded it gladly for the 3 that were, visual clues notwithstanding.)

"The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran" - On a hot June day in 1921, Lord Peter and Bunter have called at the home of a medical friend, a Bloomsbury G.P. who appreciates Bunter's photography of his experiments. Throughout their conversation and the meal, Lord Peter notices the footsteps of the doctor's neighbours on the floor overhead - which end in murder.

"The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste" - One of Lord Peter's government errands, for the War Office this time; he is to purchase a formula for poison gas. Some bright person sold out, however; two Lord Peters show up at the scientist's country estate in France (as a titled Royalist, he offers no allegiance to the upstart French government). The story follows Death Bredon, a 3rd party carrying a letter of introduction. Le comte proposes to find the real Lord Peter with an impromptu wine-tasting competition.

"The Learned Adventure of the Dragon's Head" - Introducing St. George, staying with his uncle Peter during an outbreak of measles at prep school, as well as Lord Peter's first meeting with Bill Rumm. St. George buys a damaged rare book (nearly all the double-page maps having been torn out) which the bookseller picked up at an estate sale. The audio edition omitted this story, probably because the "treasure map" on which the story turns is a visual clue.

"The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach" - 95-year-old Great-Uncle Joseph left medical student Thomas Macpherson only one thing - his digestive system in a bottle - before jumping out a 6th-storey window after a stroke. "He left a letter. Said he had never been ill in his life and wasn't going to begin now." Lord Peter takes an interest after Mac (a fishing buddy) mentions that cousin Robert, the residuary legatee, can't find most of the old man's assets. You really should listen to Carmichael's narration of this one. :)

"The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face" - A strangler left the corpse on the beach at East Felpham, face mutilated beyond recognition. The story begins with several strangers on a train discussing the newspaper headlines - one of whom turns out to be Lord Peter, and another the inspector in charge of the case.

"The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba" - Begins with a newspaper account of Lord Peter's will, mentioning his death at age 37 in a hunting accident in Tanganyika. Rogers, upon reading the story, breathes a sigh of relief and proceeds with his plans to join a criminal mastermind's burglary & blackmail organization. The story follows Rogers, rather than the efforts of the Law.

'Lord Peter Views the Body' comprises twelve short stories of mystery. They are well-structured, well-written little puzzlers, though some are definitely more engaging than others. There are no bad stories here (of course not! this is Dorothy L. Sayers, after all), but a couple leave only a mark of complancency, rather than intrigue.

With these twelve little morsels, Sayers shows a side of Wimsey not often explored in the full-length novels. We see Wimsey, the affable protagonist, involved in cases ranging from the flimsy, to the bizarre, to the positively horrific. There are stories concerned with solving crossword puzzles, preventing a theft, witnessing a ghostly apparition in the form of a headless horseman carriage, and even a tale which includes THREE Lord Peter Wimseys!

My paperback copy professes, on the rear teaser, that Wimsey views the body in twelve different ways. This is somewhat misleading, as not every one of the twelve stories is an actual *murder* mystery. Some are just fun adventure/spy dramas. All of them are sturdy tales, some better than others.

Relish the well-done 'Lord Peter Views the Body'. It is one of the best golden age mystery collections out there.

At her best, Sayers used a complex style to create complex characters in complex settings and playing out a complex plot, and such novels as MURDER MUST ADVERTISE, GAUDY NIGHT, and BUSMAN'S HONEYMOON are classics of the mystery genre. But few authors seem able to create both excellent novels and excellent short stories, and Sayers is no exception to the general rule.

Her wordy style simply does not show as well in the short story form as it does in a novel-length work, and she has considerable difficulty in actually constructing plots for these stories that might in any way be described as "mysteries" per se. While most of the stories collected here are readable in a general sort of way, they read more as 1920s pulp-adventure than as "mystery." Fans of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (myself among them) will certainly enjoy them, and have fun noting that Sayers later expanded some of these short story ideas into more substantial work, but newcomers will likely be unimpressed. Recommended for hardcore Sayers fans only.

This book is a collection of short stories, set in nineteen-twenties and thirties England, about Lord Peter Wimsey. He is a sleuth more in the style of Holmes than Poirot, but with fewer of the incredible deductions that sometimes make Doyle's stories a bit hard to believe. Which is not to say that reading this book does not require a healthy suspension of disbelief. The stories also feature Wimsey's faithful manservant, Bunter; the Egoists' Club, where you can talk about yourself as much as you like (Wimsey is a member) and various other characters and places, all presented in a delightful style. One of the things that I enjoyed most about this book was that Sayers managed to get a fair amount of humor into it without losing the suspense.

Dorothy L. Sayers' sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, is a unique creation - an aristocratic gentleman turned sleuth who can always fathom the truth out of the most impossible mysteries. Sayers' wrote some great novels featuring Lord Peter at his best. Yet "Lord Peter Views the Body", s collection of a dozen short stories, is an odd conglomeration, even for one of the most unique detectives in the history of the genre.

The collection begins with an odd and disturbingly grotesque story entitled "The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers". It is the story of an artist whose latest work may be more than what initially meets the eye. Thankfully, this seeming departure from Sayers' usual ground does not set the tone for the rest of the stories. There are several stories that stand out, many which center around inheritances. One of them is "The Fascinationg Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will", where a young woman's inheritance hinges upon solving a maddening crossword puzzle created by her uncle. Sayers gives the blank crossword form and the clues, although I highly doubt any modern readers would be able to supply all of the answers (which are included at the end of the book). "The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention" is a rambling story that includes the possible phantom carriage of death and two brothers battling over the funeral rites of their dead father. "The Learned Adveture of the Dragon's Head" and "The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach" both deal with the hunt for treasures secured in the oddest of places, with the former showing Wimsey in a new light, as a tender uncle to his ten-year-old nephew.

I must admit I enjoyed the majority of the stories in the selection, even the light-hearted fare like "The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question" in which Lord Peter tries to prevent a robbery and "The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker" in which he tries to recover stolen goods without police involvement. "The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste" can be a particulary confounding story, since there are not one, but three Lord Peter Wimseys vying for a secret formula from a French count. All in all, "Lord Peter Views the Body" is a delightful collection of stories, some much stronger than the others. Sayers seems to have gotten caught up with the theme of contesting wills, since many of the stories focus around that. This would not be an apt collection to introduce someone to Sayers' work, making it more fitting for diehard fans of the writer and her interesting sleuth.

"Lord Peter Views the Body" Is part of the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Series. There are twelve mysteries. I will not pull them apart as the fun is watching them unfold.

"The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers"

"The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question"

"The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Mileage'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"

"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"

With the novels containing Harriet Vane [Strong Poison], the emphasis is on English life with a mystery added. This book is a series of mysteries with a little 20's and 30's England added. It may be my perception but the mysteries get better and more intriguing as the next one appears. Then it is over.

Next book is "The Nine Tailors: Changes Rung on an Old Theme in Two Short Touches and Two Full Peals."

Lord Peter Views the Body" Is part of the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Series. There are twelve mysteries. I will not pull them apart as the fun is watching them unfold.

"The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers"

"The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question"

"The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Mileage'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"

"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"

With the novels containing Harriet Vane [Strong Poison], the emphasis is on English life with a mystery added. This book is a series of mysteries with a little 20's and 30's England added. It may be my perception but the mysteries get better and more intriguing as the next one appears. Then it is over.

Next book is "The Nine Tailors: Changes Rung on an Old Theme in Two Short Touches and Two Full Peals."

It is a Golden Age when Acorn Media is turning out Poirot and Wimsey videos and Audio Partners is doing the same for books on tape with the very same stars, David Suchet and Ian Carmichael. Now we have from the latter company a complete reading of 9 short mysteries from Dorothy Sayers' anthology <Lord Peter Views the Body> (61218).

Strictly speaking, this is not quite an "Unabridged" set on 6 cassettes since the original book holds 12 tales. One of them is based around a crossword puzzle, so I can see how very difficult that would be to work into a reading. Still we should be grateful to have the 9 Audio Partners has treated us to.

One of them will recall "House of Wax," except this time it is metal plating ("The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers"). Most of the stories have a light tone, as you can tell from the titles: "The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag," "The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention," "The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach" (in which you will guess the solution early on), and so on.

To me, the most interesting were "The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste" in which two (or is it three?) Peter Wimseys show up to purchase secret documents, and "The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face" in which the first half is concerned with Wimsey's theoretical reconstruction of a murder as reported in the papers and the second with the actual facts. The most unusual is the last, "The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba," in which Wimsey comes very close to being killed when he poses as a member of a secret organization.

Carmichael, as the movie ads say, IS Peter Wimsey---and his voice is flexible enough to be all the other characters as well. Beautifully done.

This collection of a dozen short stories showcases the depth of Dorothy Sayers' versatility and demonstrates the breadth Lord Peter's sleuthing skills. By covering the gamut of the mystery genre - from treasure hunt to espionage, from cypher (in a devilishly hard crossword) to ghost story, with an occasional straightforward dead body thrown in for old times' sake - Lord Peter is in danger of eclipsing Bunter as the World's Greatest Overachiever.

As is frequently the case, trying to match wits with Wimsey is often an exercise in futility. Unless you are fluent in French you'll miss one villain's slip of the tongue (I caught the gist of the conversation in "The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question," but nowhere near enough to keep up with Lord Peter). In the crossword puzzle mystery I answered a whopping one of the sixty-four clues correctly. Still, there are a couple stories where you can get there ahead of Wimsey, and a few where you can at least see where he's going even if you can't beat him there.

My favorite of the twelve is "The Learned Adventure of the Dragon's Head" not only because I deduced the location of the buried treasure ahead of Wimsey, but because his avuncular counsel of young Gherkins is priceless. "The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face" seems to be the genesis of Sayers' later novel Have His Carcase, but with Wimsey solving the case solo (and without the maddening cypher). It's in short stories such as these that we are able to fully explore Lord Peter's character and appreciate Sayers' craft.

All of these stories are gems. Not all are equal, however. There are a few carbuncles among the diamonds, but all are much better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Don't worry if you feel at sea at the beginning of some of these stories (only one brief scene in one of the stories actually takes place at sea): Lord Peter is not always revealed immediately, nor is what's going on always eminently clear. Patience pays off and stick-to-itiveness is always rewarded.

"Lord Peter Views the Body" Is part of the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Series. There are twelve mysteries. I will not pull them apart as the fun is watching them unfold.

"The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers"

"The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question"

"The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Mileage'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"

"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"

With the novels containing Harriet Vane [Strong Poison], the emphasis is on English life with a mystery added. This book is a series of mysteries with a little 20's and 30's England added. It may be my perception but the mysteries get better and more intriguing as the next one appears. Then it is over.

Next book is "The Nine Tailors: Changes Rung on an Old Theme in Two Short Touches and Two Full Peals."