Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
Dec. 19th, 2009 03:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
It was a body of a tall stout man. On his dead face, a handsome pair of gold pince-nez mocked death with grotesque elegance.
The body wore nothing else.
Lord Peter Wimsey knew immediately what the corpse was supposed to be. His problem was to find out whose body had found its way into Mr Alfred Thipps’ Battersea bathroom.
When Alfred Thipps finds a naked male corpse in his bath at the same time as rich financier Sir Reuben Levy goes missing, the police see a connection. Thipps and his maid are arrested on suspicion of murder and the only person they can turn to is Lord Peter Wimsey, ably supported by Bunter. What unfurls is a carefully constructed mystery revolving around identity with Wimsey finding himself battling a chilling adversary who is completely untroubled by conscience.
My understanding is that this was the first Wimsey novel but even so, all the elements that make Sayers great are already here: the characterisations, the cosy sense of place and time and a story that keeps you guessing. That said, this is a novel that’s a product of its time with the result that a couple of instances of anti-Semitism may disquiet modern readers and certainly made me wince.
Wimsey is a complicated character and Sayers’ draws out the aftershocks from his breakdown during World War I. A scene where he essentially relapses is desperately sad and touching, as is Bunter’s reaction to the same. My favourite aspect of these books is the devotion that the two men show to each other and Bunter really shines in this story with the way he takes responsibility for his master’s well-being. Equally interesting though is the way Sayers draws a distinction between Wimsey – a man conflicted by the fact that his investigations will lead to death – and the murderer, who has deliberately excised their conscience and can operate untroubled by the consequences of their actions.
As a result, this is a novel that can be read on two levels – each equally entertaining and successful at holding the attention.
The Verdict:
Quintessential reading for Sayers fans with a touching demonstration of the effect that the War had on Wimsey.
It was a body of a tall stout man. On his dead face, a handsome pair of gold pince-nez mocked death with grotesque elegance.
The body wore nothing else.
Lord Peter Wimsey knew immediately what the corpse was supposed to be. His problem was to find out whose body had found its way into Mr Alfred Thipps’ Battersea bathroom.
When Alfred Thipps finds a naked male corpse in his bath at the same time as rich financier Sir Reuben Levy goes missing, the police see a connection. Thipps and his maid are arrested on suspicion of murder and the only person they can turn to is Lord Peter Wimsey, ably supported by Bunter. What unfurls is a carefully constructed mystery revolving around identity with Wimsey finding himself battling a chilling adversary who is completely untroubled by conscience.
My understanding is that this was the first Wimsey novel but even so, all the elements that make Sayers great are already here: the characterisations, the cosy sense of place and time and a story that keeps you guessing. That said, this is a novel that’s a product of its time with the result that a couple of instances of anti-Semitism may disquiet modern readers and certainly made me wince.
Wimsey is a complicated character and Sayers’ draws out the aftershocks from his breakdown during World War I. A scene where he essentially relapses is desperately sad and touching, as is Bunter’s reaction to the same. My favourite aspect of these books is the devotion that the two men show to each other and Bunter really shines in this story with the way he takes responsibility for his master’s well-being. Equally interesting though is the way Sayers draws a distinction between Wimsey – a man conflicted by the fact that his investigations will lead to death – and the murderer, who has deliberately excised their conscience and can operate untroubled by the consequences of their actions.
As a result, this is a novel that can be read on two levels – each equally entertaining and successful at holding the attention.
The Verdict:
Quintessential reading for Sayers fans with a touching demonstration of the effect that the War had on Wimsey.
