Customer Reviews

Whose Body?

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4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If "Whose Body?" is the only Lord Peter Wimsey novel you've read, don't judge the rest by it. And if, like me, you read the later ones first, you may be amused to see how different this one is. I wonder whether Dorothy L. Sayers was still unsure, when she wrote this, whether she wanted to write a detective story or a parody of a detective story. There are wonderful comic touches, oddly mixed with some fairly gruesome scenes. The characters are broadly satirical, like the caricatured upper-class twits in P.G. Wodehouse. Lord Peter is frivolous and eccentric, a sort of smarter cousin to Wodehouse's amiable fop Bertie Wooster; the Dowager Duchess, his mother, is endearingly ditsy, like Aunt Dahlia of Wodehouse fame. As a mystery, the story fails -- I knew who the murderer was at once, not because of any clues but because there wasn't any other reason to introduce that character. However, it's interesting to examine the early, rough work that preceded Dorothy L. Sayers later, more polished mysteries. In this book, she was just beginning to learn her craft. Aspiring writers can probably learn a lot by comparing this with the much more successful "Clouds of Witness," written 4 years later.

This was the first of Dorothy L. Sayers' detective novels, but 70-odd years after publication it's not the best introduction to Sayers or to her most successful hero, Lord Peter Wimsey. If that's what you're looking for, try Nine Tailors, Murder Must Advertise, or one of the books that include Harriet Vane (my personal favourite is Gaudy Night).

"Whose Body" is something of an apprentice work. Lord Peter is here more a bundle of characteristics than a character: a collector of rare books and incunabula, facile with quotations, fluent in French and probably in Latin, a skillful and sensitive pianist who never needs to practise, slightly built but possessed of "curious" strength and speed which he maintains without exercise. Over subsequent books, this caricature smooths and deepens into one of the most interesting and attractive detectives in fiction.

In spite of its awkwardness, Whose Body is worth reading. The plot is clever, the villain is believable and sadistic, and most of the supporting characters are a delight. Some of these characters are further developed in later novels: Bunter, Parker, the Dowager Duchess, Freddy Arbuthnot. Others fortunately are not. Sayers is much better with people she might recognise as "like us" then with people from other social groups.

Sayers developed into a powerful writer of fiction whose technique was imperceptible. Here she has less mastery of technique, so that the scenes that work have disproportionate impact. The encounter between the Dowager Duchess of Denver and the American millionaire Milligan is a tiny classic.

In summary, interesting and entertaining for existing fans, but a hurdle for newcomers to the world of Wimsey.

Please publish more Sayers books on Kindle! This one is notable for being the first entry to my knowledge in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, but as soon as you finish it, you are ready for the next one. Hurry, Kindle!

My comments are specific to the Kindle edition of this novel (which I have read and enjoyed several times, as I am a Sayers fan).

Overall, the formatting of the book was good, but there were several ( 5 or more) typographical issues, particularly when trying to deal with diacritics. That is unfortunately distracting from an overall well presented edition.

When Lord Peter Wimsey is called in by Her Grace the Dowager Duchess (AKA Mother) to help extricate the timid Mr. Thipps from a case of body in the bathtub he finds himself embroiled in for far more than he has bargained. For one thing, the church architect's excess body, naked except for a Gold pince-nez, appears to be inexplicable. When it turns out that Sir Reuben Levy, an important financier is missing, the police become convinced that the body is that of Levy, and seize Thipps and the maid as the guilty party, despite all evidence to the contrary. Now Wimsey must work quickly with his friend Inspector Parker to solve both crimes and save both Thipps and the leaking church roof.

Thus begins Dorothy Sayer's first novel in the Lord Peter Wimsey series. Partly a satire of the British upper class, partly a comedy of manners, and mostly the first of a time honored series of detective novels that very nearly reinvented the British mystery story in the 1920's. Lord Peter is the second son of the current generation of the Dukes of Denver, his rather stuffy brother currently holding the title. Lately recovered from some harrowing war experiences and a badly ended relationship, he has come to be an amateur detective as a way to gain a new focus in life. Wimsey is intelligent, only occasionally serious, and a perfect image of the English gentleman.

Accompanying Lord Peter is his most excellent manservant Bunter, who served with him in the war and has become a loyal and true companion. Bunter is the straight man for many of Wimsey's quips and quotes, but has a wry wit of his own, and is probably the first forensic photographer in detective fiction. Lord Peter's other aide in this and ensuing tales is Inspector Parker who is of the same age and equally bright in his own right. A man after my own heart, Parker reads theology for entertainment. While the detection style has much of the same cerebral quality which mark many of Holmes' adventures, Wimsey and his companions are far more accessible than the 'Consulting Detective.'

Sayer's has a unique ability to do caricature, creating little gemlike performances for each of the people who parade through her stories. Be they somewhat dull policemen to distinguished surgeons, nobody is unmemorable. The wonderful characters, and Wimsey's own unique charms are very much the reasons that ''Whose Body' and the rest of the tales remain rereadable long after the plot has been completely memorized. Hopefully, you are a reader newly come to the world of Lord Peter and can look forward to the delights of this discovery. Dorothy Sayers is very much in a class by herself, both in terms of her own achievements and because of the history of her most remarkable invention, Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WQBIHS/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

Dorothy Leigh Sayers Fleming was a scholar, a theologian, and a mystery writer. That is not an extremely common constellation. This is her first mystery, and it is a winner from the first word. The only possible complaint is that Lord Peter is somewhat more skittishly playful in this one than in the rest of the series, but the fault is forgivable. I hope that the entire series is soon available from Kindle; that will clear another two feet of my rapidly dwindling collection of tree books, to which I am allergic.

In Lord Peter Wimsey's debut novel, Dorothy L. Sayers provides her detective with quite the conundrum: a known missing body as well as a found unknown one. While the modern reader won't likely be puzzled by whodunit for long, the story is still an enjoyable read. While the class distinctions seem anachronistic - at least in 21st Century America - I can see that the story could have easily been a sensation for the time and place it was written.

In addition to introducing Lord Peter, we also meet his mother, the Dowager Duchess, and his brother, Gerald, the Duke (sadly, his sister, Lady Mary and nephew, Gherkins, don't make an appearance in this book), as well as his future brother-in-law, Parker, the Honorable Freddy Arbuthnot, and, of course, the indispensable manservant, Mervyn Bunter. While all of the characters have some growing to do as the novels progress, Lord Peter's relationship with Bunter is firmly established here. There's little wonder Sayers' series became a hit and has continued to be enjoyed down the years.

While the "mystery" portion of the book isn't the most challenging, Sayers includes a few entertaining tangents, like the one about the future of mankind's vestigial conscience (which includes an aside about "backwards individuals" like myself who can wiggle their ears). I enjoyed her philosophical/theological musings here (and moreso in her non-Wimsey mystery, Documents in the Case), and wish she had included more of them in her later novels.

If you've never read any of the Wimsey novels, this is a great place to start. The villain is well-constructed, if insufficiently hidden, and the story has a charm that, while old-fashioned, is charming nonetheless.

I began this series because one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth George, cites D.L. Sayers as a major influence on her work. I always start series books with the first one, so "Whose Body?" was the obvious choice. I'm glad there are more of this series because this one is not worthy of the praise that has been bestowed upon the author. "Whose Body?" was too predictable; I knew right away who did it. And it was quite tedious. But Lord Peter is eccentric to a fault, and I'm sure that is his charm. If you are a series reader, I think you will find the value of this book is the background information about Lord Peter himself, his way of approaching life and crime, and his relationships with other recurring characters. So my advice is read it anyway. You will learn something and get a good start on what is known as a remarkable body of work (no pun intended...)

I must add that I am currently reading "Clouds of Witness" which I am thoroughly enjoying.

I count myself as a devoted fan of Lord Peter Wimsey. The first book I read in the series was "Unnatural Death" which I would highly recommend, but only after reading "Whose Body?" first. It is a most entertaining introduction to Lord Peter, the impeccable Bunter, his policeman friend Parker, and Peter's family, including the spirited and hilarious Dowager Duchess of Denver and Peter's elder brother, the present Duke, who is disgruntled at his younger brother's being mixed up in police business (a trait, he will however find very useful in "Clouds of Witness"). The mystery itself is genuinely gripping and although Sayers deliberately makes the reader aware of the identity of the killer halfway through the book (a similar tactic she used in "Unnatural Death"), the real pleasure lies in the carefully orchestrated revealing of further details, and the way Lord Peter's hypothesis is gradually confirmed in every respect. No blood and gore and car chases here, just a great intellectual exercise and a fascinating novel. Highly recommended for readers who love the period!

This is the first of the 'Lord Peter' series and therefore spends a lot of time laying the groundword for the series. We learn of Peter's wartime experiences and subsequent post traumatic stress (to use 21st century terms), meet many of the characters that will return through the series, most notably Bunter, Parker, and the Duchess Dowager. The on going conflict that Peter feels about the consequences of his 'poking around' is also introduced.

The mystery centers on the disappearance of a wealthy businessman and the appearance of a naked corpse in a bathtub. Peter finds the connection between these seemingly unrelated events after following a trail through various strata of 1920's English society. Although the mystery is clever for me at least the real story here is Lord Peter and his world. The lives of Peter and his friends and family are much more engaging than the mystery. This is definitely a 'cozy' series, anyone looking for a more hardcore challenging story should look elsewhere.

This story was written and set in the early 1920's and is definitely a product of those times. There a numerous comments that are typical to the time but are very offensive to the 21st century reader. Ignore those and enjoy the rest of the story.

This is also a first novel and has some flaws common to first novels. Sayers gives us far too much information and detail. The subsequent novels are better edited and move along more easily. Still this is a must read for any fan of this series.