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Lord Peter Wimsey #3
Unnatural Death
The wealthy Agatha Dawson is dead--a trifle sooner than expected--but there are no apparent signs of foul play. Lord Peter Wimsey, however, senses that something is amiss and refuses to let the case rest--even without any clues or leads. Suddenly, he is faced with another murder: Agatha's maid. Can super-sleuth Wimsey find the murderer and solve the case before he becomes the killer's next victim?The intricate trail of horror and senseless murder leads from a beautiful Hampshire village to a fashionable London flat and a deliberate test of amour.
264 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1927
About the author
Dorothy L. Sayers
675 books2,784 followersThe detective stories of well-known British writer Dorothy Leigh Sayers mostly feature the amateur investigator Lord Peter Wimsey; she also translated the
Divine Comedy
of Dante Alighieri.
This renowned author and Christian humanist studied classical and modern languages.
Her best known mysteries, a series of short novels, set between World War I and World War II, feature an English aristocrat and amateur sleuth. She is also known for her plays and essays.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...
This renowned author and Christian humanist studied classical and modern languages.
Her best known mysteries, a series of short novels, set between World War I and World War II, feature an English aristocrat and amateur sleuth. She is also known for her plays and essays.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...
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August 26, 2016I have managed to rate 76 books so far, everything from Regency romance to labor history with the same five-star system, but I can't do this one. Stars do not apply. I rate Unnatural Death ARRRRGHH!
Purely as a mystery, I think it's excellent -- excellent and very grim, the grimmer the more I think about it.
With regard to the female characters (always something I pay great attention to with Sayers), it's both deeply satisfying and terribly uncomfortable.
And then, race. Oh god, Sayers. Why? Why did you have to be a "product of her time" in that particular way? Why were you so. damn. thoroughly a product of your time, and why was your time that way, even though Ida B. Wells was of your mother's generation?
** spoilers commence **
The mystery:
The premise is that Wimsey and Parker happen to hear a doctor's story about the death of his elderly patient, a death that seemed suspicious to the doctor but to no one else. Despite Parker's lack of interest, Wimsey begins to pry into the affair. Presently, a woman Wimsey has been trying to contact dies in a sudden, though apparently natural way. Mysterious circumstances pile up and at the end two witnesses are murdered, at least three more people have come near murder, and the murderer herself commits suicide.
Wimsey is interested in this case because the original death of the old woman strikes him as a "perfect murder" -- one that leaves behind no evidence and arouses no suspicion. He theorizes that murderers only get caught when they make mistakes in covering up for themselves. Wimsey supposes that many deaths are in fact murders. The problem is that in attempting to bring these unsuspected murderers to justice, the sleuth stirs up the affair and incites the murderer to take further steps to hide -- more desperately, more brutally as Wimsey nears the truth.
Wimsey and the reader are left, at the close of the novel, with the horrible question of how responsible Wimsey is for all this devastation.
The female characters:
Specifically, this is a book about lesbians.
The original murder victim, the old lady Agatha Dawson, is being taken care of by her grand-niece at the time of her death. Prior to this, she had lived at a country estate with her life partner, Clara Whittaker. How these two women are described is maybe my favorite thing that I've read so far by Sayers. Miss Dawson and Miss Whittaker met at school and became best friends. Their siblings married (producing the great-niece) and Miss Dawson and Miss Whittaker, deciding that marriage and men were not for them, set up housekeeping together. Miss Whittaker was a very enterprising woman who knew all about horses, and she began keeping a stable, which made her rich. Miss Dawson was the more domestic and retiring of the two, but very proud of Miss Whittaker's accomplishments. When Miss Whittaker died, she left all her money to Miss Dawson.
The two old ladies and their relationship are mostly described by an elderly countryman and woman who worked for the Whittaker family all their lives. They have nothing but admiration and affection for the couple, whom they describe as being devoted to one another, and for Miss Whittaker -- "The Lord makes a few on 'em that way to suit 'Is own purposes, I suppose."
There's never any mention that Miss Dawson and Miss Whittaker's relationship was sexual, but I didn't find that to be a problem -- perhaps it wasn't; perhaps it was but it's not relevant to the old countryfolk, Wimsey, Sayers, or the reader. What matters is that they were devoted to one another, and nobody in Unnatural Death judges them for that or even finds it especially unusual.
But then there's the younger Miss Whittaker, the great-niece and the murder suspect. She is also meant to be read as a lesbian. (N.B., Sayers never uses the word "lesbian" or says much about being sexually attracted to women. She does write about being sexually unattracted to men, having a deep need to live independently of men, and being emotionally attached to women.)
The younger Miss Whittaker exhibits the same traits as the elder Miss Whittaker: stubborn independence, explicit disdaining of having anything to do with men, confident and powerful body language, and being in a close relationship with another women (in this case, Vera Findlater). But while the elder Miss Whittaker isn't judged and receives fond admiration for these very traits, the younger Miss Whittaker is portrayed as unnatural and suspicious.
It's true that a lot of this suspicion comes from Miss Climpson, not from Wimsey or the narrator. (Oh, Miss Climpson! Having loved her in Strong Poison, I was so happy to find her so prominent in Unnatural Death, which is the first book in which she appears. But although I still love her, I can't love her as much now that I've seen more of her opinions.) Miss Climpson, we learn, is a spinster of necessity, not by choice, but, having lived her life among other spinsters, she understands unmarried women very well. So when she becomes the confidante of Vera Findlater, she is worried by the "schoolgirl crush" Miss Findlater has for Miss Whittaker -- an unhealthy passion, which makes Miss Findlater susceptible to being abused by Miss Whittaker...
At first I hoped that we were just seeing the more foolish, prejudiced side of Miss Climpson, and that she would turn out to be wrong. In fact, I hoped that by duplicating the life of the elder Miss Whittaker, the younger would be demonstrating her innocence. But she's not. She is abusing Miss Findlater's loyalty, and in the end Miss Findlater is the victim of her most horrible murder.
The plot, Wimsey's perceptions, and the narrator's description all enforce Miss Climpson's diagnosis that Miss Whittaker, because of her lesbian characteristics, is an unnatural and suspicious woman. (To be clear, I'm not saying that Sayers is being homophobic because she made a lesbian the murderer. What's problematic is that her lesbianness is a major part of what makes her suspicious.)
I think the only way to save the situation is to say that maybe it is Wimsey's fault. Perhaps if he hadn't begun his unsolicited investigation, the younger Miss Whittaker could have developed almost-blamelessly into the elder Miss Whittaker, life-partner and all, and nobody would have found her unnatural.
But that's a stretch. So I don't really know what to make of it. I can't help but love the elder Miss Whittaker and Miss Dawson -- but I'm confused and hurt by how Sayers could write them and also write about the younger Miss Whittaker as she did.
Race:
To begin, while investigating the Dawson family in search of relatives who could have a better claim to Miss Dawson's money than the younger Miss Whittaker, Wimsey stumbles upon the Reverend Hallelujah Dawson. The elderly Rev. Dawson is the grandson of Miss Dawson's great-uncle. The great-uncle had a sugar plantation in the West Indies, and had a child with a Trinidadian woman, to whom he was not married. As this child was the Rev. Dawson's father, the Rev. Dawson has no legal claim to the Dawson money, and he knows this quite well. However, being impoverished, he has come to England to see if his relatives can help him. Before her death Miss Dawson had made him an allowance, and expected that her heir would continue it, but Miss Whittaker had stopped it.
Wimsey first hears of the Rev. Dawson through a letter from Miss Climpson. She's reporting on her investigative gossip with a woman who used to be Miss Dawson's housekeeper, and who remembered a "n***er" who visited Miss Dawson. (Miss Climpson reports the housekeeper's extremely racist description while disavowing it herself, but not in a way that makes Miss Climpson entirely innocent of racism.)
Wimsey then goes to meet the Rev. Dawson, whom the narrator describes in a way that Sayers clearly intended to be respectful. That doesn't count for very much when she still manages to use the word "rolling" to describe his eyes. Wimsey's attitude to the Reverend is annoying in a very Wimsey-ish way: he feels sorry for him, while making jokes about his first name and about non-Conformist ministers.
This is all bad enough, and pretty much what I expected from Sayers when I first realized she was going to introduce a black character.
What actually, deeply shocked me has very little to do with how Sayers portrayed the Rev. Dawson. It happens close to the end, when Wimsey is convinced Miss Whittaker is the murderer and only wants evidence to convict her, and when she's most desperate to escape him.
Miss Whittaker has needed to use Vera Findlater as an alibi, but she has long known that Miss Findlater, knowing too much, could be used against her. Several months previously, she began to prepare a backup plan by which she could dispose of Miss Findlater and pin the blame on someone else. At that time she bought some articles of men's clothing in the Rev. Dawson's name. Now, she and Miss Findlater go off on a daytrip. Miss Whittaker kills Miss Findlater and arranges footprints (with the shoes she'd bought) and other false evidence suggesting that two men killed Miss Findlater and kidnapped Miss Whittaker. Then she runs away, disguised as another woman whose identity she has already established.
One of the pieces of false evidence she leaves is a copy of a magazine, The Black Mask, with the first two words of the title underlined.
Investigating the scene, Wimsey discovers this magazine. He has already figured out that Miss Whittaker has faked everything. Although the clothing hasn't been traced yet and so the Rev. Dawson's name hasn't come in, he correctly deduces that Miss Whittaker is trying to suggest that one of the men who are supposed to have kidnapped her and killed Miss Findlater is black, and that one of the female victims marked the magazine cover in hopes of helping a rescuer.
Because he doesn't want Miss Whittaker to know that he's on her trail, Wimsey allows the police and newspaper reporters to be deceived by the false evidence. The result:
Whose name is in that newspaper? I don't know in what month Unnatural Death was published in the U.S. If it was May, perhaps the newspaper mentioned Jonathan Carter. If June, perhaps David and Lee Blackman.
I found these three men's names on this list, which does not give details, but I can guess what happened to them: Someone made a claim that a bad thing had happened to a white woman, and that a black man had done it. The newspapers reported this. The notion "aroused all the passion and horror of which the [Southern] temperament is capable" -- that might, later, be a line published in one of these newspapers. Thus aroused, a mob of white Southerners rushed out to enact justice by killing a black man -- it didn't matter very much which one. Then, a festive atmosphere, a picnic at the foot of the tree.
I am sure that Sayers, with her keen interest in crime, knew about lynching. Lynching did not, I think, occur in Britain, but some incidents were reported internationally, and I don't think Ida B. Wells was the last anti-lynching activist to make a speaking tour of England (in 1893 and 1894). What comes through in Unnatural Death is an awareness of how white people react en masse to the accusation of a black man of raping a white woman -- and perhaps a vague sense that for this reaction, the public are rather vulgar and excitable -- and no awareness of the consequences of this reaction for any black bystander.
Unnatural Death is a story about Wimsey's responsibility for the results of his investigations. Encouraging the public to believe the story that Miss Whittaker set up is the most directly irresponsible thing I have ever read of Wimsey doing, and yet Sayers doesn't treat it that way at all. Yes, this is England, not the U.S. South. I can't make that matter to me very much.
"The Yell came out with the [false story] all over the front page this morning, and a patriotic leader about the danger of encouraging coloured aliens." Wimsey is worried by this -- only because the rival newspaper has obtained the real story and will be eager to publish it, and this might tip off Miss Whittaker.
I don't think it occurs to Sayers at all that there are any "coloured aliens" in Britain who could be harmed by this situation, except for the Rev. Dawson. He is arrested. But (as would not be taken for granted in the U.S. South) he is otherwise well, and at the end Wimsey is cheered to learn that he has come into some of Miss Whittaker's money after all. I was relieved and rather surprised to find him come safely to the end of the story...
I don't want very much from Sayers here. I don't ask that she leave out Miss Whittaker's false evidence, because I find that entirely believable -- I remember reading a case of a white woman pinning her own crime on a black man just last year. I don't really want Sayers to have left out the Rev. Dawson, because I was happy to see a character of color in one of her stories, even though she described him somewhat clumsily. And the reader is definitely supposed to know that Wimsey is not a perfect sleuth, not a moral paragon, not an example to follow. This story is all about how he might in fact be completely wrong. I would be fine with Wimsey not quite realizing that by encouraging Miss Whittaker's false evidence, he was taking still more people's lives into his hands. But what I do want is for the readers to know that this was what he was doing -- all the readers, not just the contemporary readers who could not not make that connection, and current readers who know a bit about U.S. history.
Purely as a mystery, I think it's excellent -- excellent and very grim, the grimmer the more I think about it.
With regard to the female characters (always something I pay great attention to with Sayers), it's both deeply satisfying and terribly uncomfortable.
And then, race. Oh god, Sayers. Why? Why did you have to be a "product of her time" in that particular way? Why were you so. damn. thoroughly a product of your time, and why was your time that way, even though Ida B. Wells was of your mother's generation?
** spoilers commence **
The mystery:
The premise is that Wimsey and Parker happen to hear a doctor's story about the death of his elderly patient, a death that seemed suspicious to the doctor but to no one else. Despite Parker's lack of interest, Wimsey begins to pry into the affair. Presently, a woman Wimsey has been trying to contact dies in a sudden, though apparently natural way. Mysterious circumstances pile up and at the end two witnesses are murdered, at least three more people have come near murder, and the murderer herself commits suicide.
Wimsey is interested in this case because the original death of the old woman strikes him as a "perfect murder" -- one that leaves behind no evidence and arouses no suspicion. He theorizes that murderers only get caught when they make mistakes in covering up for themselves. Wimsey supposes that many deaths are in fact murders. The problem is that in attempting to bring these unsuspected murderers to justice, the sleuth stirs up the affair and incites the murderer to take further steps to hide -- more desperately, more brutally as Wimsey nears the truth.
Wimsey and the reader are left, at the close of the novel, with the horrible question of how responsible Wimsey is for all this devastation.
The female characters:
Specifically, this is a book about lesbians.
The original murder victim, the old lady Agatha Dawson, is being taken care of by her grand-niece at the time of her death. Prior to this, she had lived at a country estate with her life partner, Clara Whittaker. How these two women are described is maybe my favorite thing that I've read so far by Sayers. Miss Dawson and Miss Whittaker met at school and became best friends. Their siblings married (producing the great-niece) and Miss Dawson and Miss Whittaker, deciding that marriage and men were not for them, set up housekeeping together. Miss Whittaker was a very enterprising woman who knew all about horses, and she began keeping a stable, which made her rich. Miss Dawson was the more domestic and retiring of the two, but very proud of Miss Whittaker's accomplishments. When Miss Whittaker died, she left all her money to Miss Dawson.
The two old ladies and their relationship are mostly described by an elderly countryman and woman who worked for the Whittaker family all their lives. They have nothing but admiration and affection for the couple, whom they describe as being devoted to one another, and for Miss Whittaker -- "The Lord makes a few on 'em that way to suit 'Is own purposes, I suppose."
There's never any mention that Miss Dawson and Miss Whittaker's relationship was sexual, but I didn't find that to be a problem -- perhaps it wasn't; perhaps it was but it's not relevant to the old countryfolk, Wimsey, Sayers, or the reader. What matters is that they were devoted to one another, and nobody in Unnatural Death judges them for that or even finds it especially unusual.
But then there's the younger Miss Whittaker, the great-niece and the murder suspect. She is also meant to be read as a lesbian. (N.B., Sayers never uses the word "lesbian" or says much about being sexually attracted to women. She does write about being sexually unattracted to men, having a deep need to live independently of men, and being emotionally attached to women.)
The younger Miss Whittaker exhibits the same traits as the elder Miss Whittaker: stubborn independence, explicit disdaining of having anything to do with men, confident and powerful body language, and being in a close relationship with another women (in this case, Vera Findlater). But while the elder Miss Whittaker isn't judged and receives fond admiration for these very traits, the younger Miss Whittaker is portrayed as unnatural and suspicious.
It's true that a lot of this suspicion comes from Miss Climpson, not from Wimsey or the narrator. (Oh, Miss Climpson! Having loved her in Strong Poison, I was so happy to find her so prominent in Unnatural Death, which is the first book in which she appears. But although I still love her, I can't love her as much now that I've seen more of her opinions.) Miss Climpson, we learn, is a spinster of necessity, not by choice, but, having lived her life among other spinsters, she understands unmarried women very well. So when she becomes the confidante of Vera Findlater, she is worried by the "schoolgirl crush" Miss Findlater has for Miss Whittaker -- an unhealthy passion, which makes Miss Findlater susceptible to being abused by Miss Whittaker...
At first I hoped that we were just seeing the more foolish, prejudiced side of Miss Climpson, and that she would turn out to be wrong. In fact, I hoped that by duplicating the life of the elder Miss Whittaker, the younger would be demonstrating her innocence. But she's not. She is abusing Miss Findlater's loyalty, and in the end Miss Findlater is the victim of her most horrible murder.
The plot, Wimsey's perceptions, and the narrator's description all enforce Miss Climpson's diagnosis that Miss Whittaker, because of her lesbian characteristics, is an unnatural and suspicious woman. (To be clear, I'm not saying that Sayers is being homophobic because she made a lesbian the murderer. What's problematic is that her lesbianness is a major part of what makes her suspicious.)
I think the only way to save the situation is to say that maybe it is Wimsey's fault. Perhaps if he hadn't begun his unsolicited investigation, the younger Miss Whittaker could have developed almost-blamelessly into the elder Miss Whittaker, life-partner and all, and nobody would have found her unnatural.
But that's a stretch. So I don't really know what to make of it. I can't help but love the elder Miss Whittaker and Miss Dawson -- but I'm confused and hurt by how Sayers could write them and also write about the younger Miss Whittaker as she did.
Race:
To begin, while investigating the Dawson family in search of relatives who could have a better claim to Miss Dawson's money than the younger Miss Whittaker, Wimsey stumbles upon the Reverend Hallelujah Dawson. The elderly Rev. Dawson is the grandson of Miss Dawson's great-uncle. The great-uncle had a sugar plantation in the West Indies, and had a child with a Trinidadian woman, to whom he was not married. As this child was the Rev. Dawson's father, the Rev. Dawson has no legal claim to the Dawson money, and he knows this quite well. However, being impoverished, he has come to England to see if his relatives can help him. Before her death Miss Dawson had made him an allowance, and expected that her heir would continue it, but Miss Whittaker had stopped it.
Wimsey first hears of the Rev. Dawson through a letter from Miss Climpson. She's reporting on her investigative gossip with a woman who used to be Miss Dawson's housekeeper, and who remembered a "n***er" who visited Miss Dawson. (Miss Climpson reports the housekeeper's extremely racist description while disavowing it herself, but not in a way that makes Miss Climpson entirely innocent of racism.)
Wimsey then goes to meet the Rev. Dawson, whom the narrator describes in a way that Sayers clearly intended to be respectful. That doesn't count for very much when she still manages to use the word "rolling" to describe his eyes. Wimsey's attitude to the Reverend is annoying in a very Wimsey-ish way: he feels sorry for him, while making jokes about his first name and about non-Conformist ministers.
This is all bad enough, and pretty much what I expected from Sayers when I first realized she was going to introduce a black character.
What actually, deeply shocked me has very little to do with how Sayers portrayed the Rev. Dawson. It happens close to the end, when Wimsey is convinced Miss Whittaker is the murderer and only wants evidence to convict her, and when she's most desperate to escape him.
Miss Whittaker has needed to use Vera Findlater as an alibi, but she has long known that Miss Findlater, knowing too much, could be used against her. Several months previously, she began to prepare a backup plan by which she could dispose of Miss Findlater and pin the blame on someone else. At that time she bought some articles of men's clothing in the Rev. Dawson's name. Now, she and Miss Findlater go off on a daytrip. Miss Whittaker kills Miss Findlater and arranges footprints (with the shoes she'd bought) and other false evidence suggesting that two men killed Miss Findlater and kidnapped Miss Whittaker. Then she runs away, disguised as another woman whose identity she has already established.
One of the pieces of false evidence she leaves is a copy of a magazine, The Black Mask, with the first two words of the title underlined.
Investigating the scene, Wimsey discovers this magazine. He has already figured out that Miss Whittaker has faked everything. Although the clothing hasn't been traced yet and so the Rev. Dawson's name hasn't come in, he correctly deduces that Miss Whittaker is trying to suggest that one of the men who are supposed to have kidnapped her and killed Miss Findlater is black, and that one of the female victims marked the magazine cover in hopes of helping a rescuer.
Because he doesn't want Miss Whittaker to know that he's on her trail, Wimsey allows the police and newspaper reporters to be deceived by the false evidence. The result:
The Whittaker case had begun almost imperceptibly, in the overhearing of a casual remark dropped in a Soho restaurant; it ended amid a roar of publicity that shook England from end to end and crowded even Wimbledon into the second place. The bare facts of the murder and kidnapping appeared exclusively that night in a Late Extra edition of the Evening Views. Next morning it sprawled over the Sunday papers with photographs and full details, actual and imaginary. The idea of two English girls -- the one brutally killed, the other carried off for some end unthinkably sinister, by a black man -- aroused all the passion of horror and indignation of which the English temperament is capable. Reporters swarmed down upon Crow's Beach like locusts -- the downs near Shelly Head were like a fair with motors, bicycles and parties on foot, rushing out to spend a happy week-end amid surroundings of mystery and bloodshed.I am imagining a fan of detective stories in the United States, an African American reader of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories, who buys all of them as soon as they come out, who in 1927 bought Unnatural Death and is reading it at his or her breakfast table with the morning newspaper folded away next to the plate.
Whose name is in that newspaper? I don't know in what month Unnatural Death was published in the U.S. If it was May, perhaps the newspaper mentioned Jonathan Carter. If June, perhaps David and Lee Blackman.
I found these three men's names on this list, which does not give details, but I can guess what happened to them: Someone made a claim that a bad thing had happened to a white woman, and that a black man had done it. The newspapers reported this. The notion "aroused all the passion and horror of which the [Southern] temperament is capable" -- that might, later, be a line published in one of these newspapers. Thus aroused, a mob of white Southerners rushed out to enact justice by killing a black man -- it didn't matter very much which one. Then, a festive atmosphere, a picnic at the foot of the tree.
I am sure that Sayers, with her keen interest in crime, knew about lynching. Lynching did not, I think, occur in Britain, but some incidents were reported internationally, and I don't think Ida B. Wells was the last anti-lynching activist to make a speaking tour of England (in 1893 and 1894). What comes through in Unnatural Death is an awareness of how white people react en masse to the accusation of a black man of raping a white woman -- and perhaps a vague sense that for this reaction, the public are rather vulgar and excitable -- and no awareness of the consequences of this reaction for any black bystander.
Unnatural Death is a story about Wimsey's responsibility for the results of his investigations. Encouraging the public to believe the story that Miss Whittaker set up is the most directly irresponsible thing I have ever read of Wimsey doing, and yet Sayers doesn't treat it that way at all. Yes, this is England, not the U.S. South. I can't make that matter to me very much.
"The Yell came out with the [false story] all over the front page this morning, and a patriotic leader about the danger of encouraging coloured aliens." Wimsey is worried by this -- only because the rival newspaper has obtained the real story and will be eager to publish it, and this might tip off Miss Whittaker.
I don't think it occurs to Sayers at all that there are any "coloured aliens" in Britain who could be harmed by this situation, except for the Rev. Dawson. He is arrested. But (as would not be taken for granted in the U.S. South) he is otherwise well, and at the end Wimsey is cheered to learn that he has come into some of Miss Whittaker's money after all. I was relieved and rather surprised to find him come safely to the end of the story...
I don't want very much from Sayers here. I don't ask that she leave out Miss Whittaker's false evidence, because I find that entirely believable -- I remember reading a case of a white woman pinning her own crime on a black man just last year. I don't really want Sayers to have left out the Rev. Dawson, because I was happy to see a character of color in one of her stories, even though she described him somewhat clumsily. And the reader is definitely supposed to know that Wimsey is not a perfect sleuth, not a moral paragon, not an example to follow. This story is all about how he might in fact be completely wrong. I would be fine with Wimsey not quite realizing that by encouraging Miss Whittaker's false evidence, he was taking still more people's lives into his hands. But what I do want is for the readers to know that this was what he was doing -- all the readers, not just the contemporary readers who could not not make that connection, and current readers who know a bit about U.S. history.
April 12, 2024
Unnatural Death is the 3rd book in Lord Peter Wimsey series. Delightful as the previous two, maybe the plot was a bit over the top. You need to stretch your imagination to find sense in all that happened. Still, I enjoyed it and will read/listen to the next one soon.
December 23, 2023
Murderer in the House!
A country doctor confides in Lord Peter Wimsey and Detective Charles Parker, that he is being held responsible for the death of old Miss Dawson.
Peter decides to investigate and decides that Miss Dawson has been murdered and he has a list of suspects that begins to shorten as his investigation continues.
Now he is left with only a few suspects who he believes are evil incarnate and who have murdered multiple people who have stumbled upon their secret.
Peter and Parker are both determined to capture the culprits and arrest them for the murder of at least two of the three people who have been murdered.
Will they capture the killers and prosecute them? Or will the murderers get away? I surely hope not.
Recommend this for mystery lovers.
Edit: This was written during the golden age of mystery, so a lot of racial bigotry is shown.
Four stars. ✨✨✨✨
A country doctor confides in Lord Peter Wimsey and Detective Charles Parker, that he is being held responsible for the death of old Miss Dawson.
Peter decides to investigate and decides that Miss Dawson has been murdered and he has a list of suspects that begins to shorten as his investigation continues.
Now he is left with only a few suspects who he believes are evil incarnate and who have murdered multiple people who have stumbled upon their secret.
Peter and Parker are both determined to capture the culprits and arrest them for the murder of at least two of the three people who have been murdered.
Will they capture the killers and prosecute them? Or will the murderers get away? I surely hope not.
Recommend this for mystery lovers.
Edit: This was written during the golden age of mystery, so a lot of racial bigotry is shown.
Four stars. ✨✨✨✨
July 18, 2023
This was my favorite so far.
And a big thank you to all of my friends who told me to hang in there because "this series gets better"!
This time around Lord Wimsey and Parker set out to discover if the death of a dying old woman was really as natural as it seemed.
And if not, why?
Why kill an invalid woman who would be dead within a year anyway?
Well, there's your mystery, folks.
And it turns out to be a pretty good one! There is also the introduction of Miss Katharine Climpson, a fabulous older lady who is Lord Peter's very own paid busybody.
HE IS A GENIUS.
She can go anywhere, ask anything, and be suspected of nothing more than acting like a nosey old biddy.
When I first started this series, I was looking for something to fill the Agatha Christie spot in my soul. And after book 3, I can say that Sayers' Lord Wimsey is earning a spot in my heart.
I enjoyed this from top to bottom.
Recommended!
And a big thank you to all of my friends who told me to hang in there because "this series gets better"!
This time around Lord Wimsey and Parker set out to discover if the death of a dying old woman was really as natural as it seemed.
And if not, why?
Why kill an invalid woman who would be dead within a year anyway?
Well, there's your mystery, folks.
And it turns out to be a pretty good one! There is also the introduction of Miss Katharine Climpson, a fabulous older lady who is Lord Peter's very own paid busybody.
HE IS A GENIUS.
She can go anywhere, ask anything, and be suspected of nothing more than acting like a nosey old biddy.
When I first started this series, I was looking for something to fill the Agatha Christie spot in my soul. And after book 3, I can say that Sayers' Lord Wimsey is earning a spot in my heart.
I enjoyed this from top to bottom.
Recommended!
October 4, 2017
This book was validation for my choice in reading a series in order. Dorothy L. Sayers really hit her stride in this book – all of her regular characters are more fully developed, and the new ones introduced come through at the same higher quality of 3D. There is also an 11-page bonus section at the end: a ‘biography’ of Lord Peter Wimsey, written by his ‘uncle’. I put the quotes in because obviously the uncle is created by the author as well. What I liked about the bonus section is that it gives a family overview and goes into more depth with the little nuggets of Lord Peter’s personality we previously encounter in the series. Great stuff!
This story starts out with Lord Peter introducing Charles Parker (the Scotland Yard Inspector Detective) to a woman in a small apartment. The chapter starts with a quote saying that there are two million more women than men in England and Wales. This makes sense after the devastation of lives lost in World War I. Lord Peter gets the inspiration that this is a huge, untapped workforce of brilliant people. Thus, he has hired this “spinster” (not by choice, as she says) named Miss Alexandra Katherine Climpson as his “Enquiry Agent” – or Private Investigator, as we say on this side of the Pond.
There is also a very cloak and dagger conversation with a doctor who won’t even give his name, yet he wants to find out if anything can be done about a medical case of his - one that he feels was somehow speeded along in her departure from this world. The whole situation created a scandal for himself and the relief nurse with whom he fell in love and was engaged to.
Lord Peter is convinced right away that there is foul play involved but with no information at all, he has to build a case out of thin air – including finding out who his victim is. As his mission progresses, more bodies begin appearing and Lord Peter is beside himself. He believes it is his fault for opening this creaking vault door in the first place.
We have a good idea – if we trust Lord Peter’s intuition – who the culprit is, but getting the proof and finding the details needed to build a warrantable case is the challenge. There are multiple threads to follow and they all have snags and snarls that need to be unraveled along the way.
I really enjoyed this story a lot. Miss Climpson’s letters to Lord Peter as she reports in with her Capitals, underlines and MANY exclamation marks (!!!) makes me want to swear off using those ever again. But I won’t. I love my exclamation marks too much!
This story starts out with Lord Peter introducing Charles Parker (the Scotland Yard Inspector Detective) to a woman in a small apartment. The chapter starts with a quote saying that there are two million more women than men in England and Wales. This makes sense after the devastation of lives lost in World War I. Lord Peter gets the inspiration that this is a huge, untapped workforce of brilliant people. Thus, he has hired this “spinster” (not by choice, as she says) named Miss Alexandra Katherine Climpson as his “Enquiry Agent” – or Private Investigator, as we say on this side of the Pond.
There is also a very cloak and dagger conversation with a doctor who won’t even give his name, yet he wants to find out if anything can be done about a medical case of his - one that he feels was somehow speeded along in her departure from this world. The whole situation created a scandal for himself and the relief nurse with whom he fell in love and was engaged to.
Lord Peter is convinced right away that there is foul play involved but with no information at all, he has to build a case out of thin air – including finding out who his victim is. As his mission progresses, more bodies begin appearing and Lord Peter is beside himself. He believes it is his fault for opening this creaking vault door in the first place.
We have a good idea – if we trust Lord Peter’s intuition – who the culprit is, but getting the proof and finding the details needed to build a warrantable case is the challenge. There are multiple threads to follow and they all have snags and snarls that need to be unraveled along the way.
I really enjoyed this story a lot. Miss Climpson’s letters to Lord Peter as she reports in with her Capitals, underlines and MANY exclamation marks (!!!) makes me want to swear off using those ever again. But I won’t. I love my exclamation marks too much!
August 22, 2017
3.5★
It would be nice when reading a new, favourite author if there was a steady arc of improvement, but I don't like this one quite as much as I liked Clouds of Witness. I still enjoyed it, but there were places where the story became quite bogged down and Sayers had characters voicing their disapproval of both blacks & Roman Catholics. My usual disclaimer; I still prefer to read uncensored.
I think Sayers was probably struggling a bit with censorship herself - it was obvious that two of the characters were
I guessed the main twist well before the end, but this was still a satisfying read & I hope to tackle another Sayers before the end of the year.
It would be nice when reading a new, favourite author if there was a steady arc of improvement, but I don't like this one quite as much as I liked Clouds of Witness. I still enjoyed it, but there were places where the story became quite bogged down and Sayers had characters voicing their disapproval of both blacks & Roman Catholics. My usual disclaimer; I still prefer to read uncensored.
I think Sayers was probably struggling a bit with censorship herself - it was obvious that two of the characters were
I guessed the main twist well before the end, but this was still a satisfying read & I hope to tackle another Sayers before the end of the year.
May 30, 2022
Unnatural Death is a 1927 Golden Age mystery novel, the third in the series featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. I fell in love with Wimsey’s character in the first book, Whose Body? and was determined to read the entire series not to miss the arc. Book two, Clouds of Witness, turned out less than I expected after rating the first one five stars. This book, Unnatural Death, took me longer than normal to finish because I mostly didn’t like it. Still, I plan to continue reading as I know later books in the series are on notable reading lists, and I am optimistic for them.
In this book, when Wimsey hears a doctor’s tale about a terminally ill patient of his who died suddenly and earlier than he expected, Wimsey immediately smells a murder mystery and sets about digging up evidence and conducting interviews of firsthand accounts. Wimsey’s friend, Inspector Charles Parker partners with him on the case. Wimsey also employed an enquiry agent whom nobody would suspect, a middle-aged spinster, Miss Climpson.
All this activity spurs the guilty party to commit crimes to cover their tracks. This leads to further murder investigations. And a chase around towns to locate an elusive suspect.
The plot centers on who will inherit the deceased’s wealth after she died intestate. Readers interested in family law and the interpretation of its language will find more enjoyment in this book than I did. The legal issue in this case plays a key role in the story and thus gets quite a bit of page time.
My struggle with this one, besides the legal focus, was that I didn’t care for Miss Climpson’s character. Mostly she communicates with Wimsey via letters, so a sizable portion of her contribution to the case occurs off page. She gathers gossip for Wimsey to follow up on. Additionally, a prominent Black character (being vague to not leave spoilers) is poorly treated by other characters Finally, almost no background was given on the murderer except for they did it. The reader is left with the impression that they were either a cold killer or that they were nutty or both, but no reasoning was giving for why they came to be that way.
Overall, I liked any content with Wimsey or Inspector Parker, but found Miss Climpson and the legal details tiresome. As for the character arc, this didn’t tell me anything new about Lord Peter Wimsey (and his servant, Bunter, whom I adored in book one). Unless you have a keen interest in law matters, I would encourage you to skip this one if you are determined to read the full series.
In this book, when Wimsey hears a doctor’s tale about a terminally ill patient of his who died suddenly and earlier than he expected, Wimsey immediately smells a murder mystery and sets about digging up evidence and conducting interviews of firsthand accounts. Wimsey’s friend, Inspector Charles Parker partners with him on the case. Wimsey also employed an enquiry agent whom nobody would suspect, a middle-aged spinster, Miss Climpson.
All this activity spurs the guilty party to commit crimes to cover their tracks. This leads to further murder investigations. And a chase around towns to locate an elusive suspect.
The plot centers on who will inherit the deceased’s wealth after she died intestate. Readers interested in family law and the interpretation of its language will find more enjoyment in this book than I did. The legal issue in this case plays a key role in the story and thus gets quite a bit of page time.
My struggle with this one, besides the legal focus, was that I didn’t care for Miss Climpson’s character. Mostly she communicates with Wimsey via letters, so a sizable portion of her contribution to the case occurs off page. She gathers gossip for Wimsey to follow up on. Additionally, a prominent Black character (being vague to not leave spoilers) is poorly treated by other characters Finally, almost no background was given on the murderer except for they did it. The reader is left with the impression that they were either a cold killer or that they were nutty or both, but no reasoning was giving for why they came to be that way.
Overall, I liked any content with Wimsey or Inspector Parker, but found Miss Climpson and the legal details tiresome. As for the character arc, this didn’t tell me anything new about Lord Peter Wimsey (and his servant, Bunter, whom I adored in book one). Unless you have a keen interest in law matters, I would encourage you to skip this one if you are determined to read the full series.
May 12, 2017
The continuing adventures of that dandy Lord Peter Wimsey continue.
In Unnatural Death, our somewhat foppish hero, the amateur detective Wimsey suspects there may be more to the cancer-assumed death of an older lady. But what are the means? What is the motive?
I've read about five of Sayer's Wimsey books so far and this is the least engaging. There's nothing blatantly wrong with it, it's just not quite up to standard. I struggled to get a grasp on why I felt this way. I think it's because there's very little action and a whole lot of talking, specifically between Wimsey and his friend Inspector Parker. They spend a good deal of time sitting about talking this one over. They literally don't move. Yes, of course there is SOME action somewhere within the book: a bit of dash at the end; a touch of insinuated violence. But most of this seemed to me to be Wimsey spouting his theories with Parker poopooing them.
However, Unnatural Death contains all the humor and old world panache (as well as old world borderline racism) one comes to expect from these books, and any fan of the Wimsey stories will enjoy this one regardless of its minor failings.
In Unnatural Death, our somewhat foppish hero, the amateur detective Wimsey suspects there may be more to the cancer-assumed death of an older lady. But what are the means? What is the motive?
I've read about five of Sayer's Wimsey books so far and this is the least engaging. There's nothing blatantly wrong with it, it's just not quite up to standard. I struggled to get a grasp on why I felt this way. I think it's because there's very little action and a whole lot of talking, specifically between Wimsey and his friend Inspector Parker. They spend a good deal of time sitting about talking this one over. They literally don't move. Yes, of course there is SOME action somewhere within the book: a bit of dash at the end; a touch of insinuated violence. But most of this seemed to me to be Wimsey spouting his theories with Parker poopooing them.
However, Unnatural Death contains all the humor and old world panache (as well as old world borderline racism) one comes to expect from these books, and any fan of the Wimsey stories will enjoy this one regardless of its minor failings.
February 12, 2016
This is the third Lord Peter Wimsey novel. Wimsey and Charles Parker are interrupted, while in a teashop, by a doctor who overhears them talking about crime. He relates a tale of how he was treating an elderly lady for cancer, whose niece insisted was much nearer than death than he felt she was. When she died suddenly, without leaving a will, the doctor insisted on an autopsy, leading to bad feeling with both the niece, Miss Whittaker, and the local community. Indeed, his actions led to him having to leave the area and begin work elsewhere. Of course, Lord Peter is immediately intrigued - how many people do 'get away with murder'? However, Parker is not conviced there is a case to answer. Presumably, as an officer of the law he had enough real work to be getting on with, but Wimsey is determined to investigate.
In this entertaining novel, Lord Peter uses the indefatigable Miss Climpson as his "ears and tongue and especially nose." A spinsterish lady, much in the style of a slightly younger Miss Marple, she is an enquiry agent for Lord Peter; settling herself into a boarding house near where the elderly lady died and sending letters (which you feel the author had great fun writing) reporting on the people and places involved. Before long there is a further murder and even Parker is convinced that something is amiss. Did Miss Whittaker hurry her aunt along to make sure she inherited? Who is the mysterious Mrs Forrest? Is Lord Peter Wimsey himself going to become a victim?
This is a real puzzle of a mystery, with endless clues and suspects and sometimes you do feel a little bogged down in information. However, the real fun and sense of righting a wrong does shine through and you happily embark on the journey with Lord Peter, Parker, Miss Climpson and, of course, Bunter. Very enjoyable, brilliantly plotted (if a little confusingly at times) and, of course, much of the pleasure is in the character of Lord Peter Wimsey himself. If you enjoy Golden Age detective fiction then you will love this.
In this entertaining novel, Lord Peter uses the indefatigable Miss Climpson as his "ears and tongue and especially nose." A spinsterish lady, much in the style of a slightly younger Miss Marple, she is an enquiry agent for Lord Peter; settling herself into a boarding house near where the elderly lady died and sending letters (which you feel the author had great fun writing) reporting on the people and places involved. Before long there is a further murder and even Parker is convinced that something is amiss. Did Miss Whittaker hurry her aunt along to make sure she inherited? Who is the mysterious Mrs Forrest? Is Lord Peter Wimsey himself going to become a victim?
This is a real puzzle of a mystery, with endless clues and suspects and sometimes you do feel a little bogged down in information. However, the real fun and sense of righting a wrong does shine through and you happily embark on the journey with Lord Peter, Parker, Miss Climpson and, of course, Bunter. Very enjoyable, brilliantly plotted (if a little confusingly at times) and, of course, much of the pleasure is in the character of Lord Peter Wimsey himself. If you enjoy Golden Age detective fiction then you will love this.
June 8, 2017
I decided to begin my rereadings of the Lord Peter books with book 3. I have started over on volumes 1 and 2 so many times that I thought it would be better to skip them and get right to it.
This is a delightful episode in the series with the appearance of Miss Climpson. It is also quite a series of contrasts between the various female spinster characters in the book.
I almost finished the book today during my three hour stint at the DMV, keeping up my record of reading appropriate literature while waiting, waiting, waiting at the DMV. I told Alex he would have an unnatural death if he failed his test and I had to return to that place. He was in full agreement and passed with flying colors.
This is a delightful episode in the series with the appearance of Miss Climpson. It is also quite a series of contrasts between the various female spinster characters in the book.
I almost finished the book today during my three hour stint at the DMV, keeping up my record of reading appropriate literature while waiting, waiting, waiting at the DMV. I told Alex he would have an unnatural death if he failed his test and I had to return to that place. He was in full agreement and passed with flying colors.
June 20, 2024
Plot:
"Lord Peter Wimsey and his friend Chief Inspector Parker hear about the death, in late 1925, of an elderly cancer sufferer named Agatha Dawson who was being cared for by her great niece Mary Whittaker. Miss Dawson had an aversion to making a will and believed that, if she died without one, Miss Whittaker, her only known relative, would automatically inherit everything.
Wimsey is intrigued despite no evidence of any crime having been committed. He sends his private investigator, Miss Katharine Climpson, to the village of Leahampton to investigate. She discovers that shortly before Miss Dawson's death her maids, the sisters Bertha and Evelyn Gotobed, had been dismissed. Wimsey asks his solicitor friend John Murbles to place advertisements in the press asking them to get in touch. A few days later, Bertha is found dead in Epping Forest. On the body is a £5 banknote, originally issued to a Mrs Muriel Forrest who lives in an elegant flat in South Audley Street, Mayfair.
Wimsey and Parker visit her. She claims not to remember the banknote, but thinks she may have put it on a horse. Wimsey tricks her into providing her fingerprints on a wineglass. In a drawer he finds a hypodermic syringe with a doctor's prescription "to be injected when the pain is very severe".
Evelyn Gotobed tells Wimsey of an episode shortly before the sisters were dismissed in which Miss Whittaker had tried to get them to witness Miss Dawson ostensibly signing her will, without the latter's knowledge.
Wimsey visits a West Indian clergyman named Hallelujah Dawson, now in London. It seems that he may be a cousin of Miss Dawson, and a closer relative than Miss Whittaker. He has a large family and is in need of funds
Wimsey learns of a motive for Miss Dawson to be killed before the end of 1925: a new 'Property Act', due to come into force on 1 January 1926, that changed the law of intestacy. Until 1925, the estate of a person dying without a will always passed to the closest relative, no matter how remote. From 1926, in the absence of near relatives the estate is forfeit to the Crown, leaving more distant relations such as a great niece with nothing.
In Leahampton, Whittaker disappears along with her besotted young female admirer, Vera Findlater. Several days later, Miss Findlater's body is found on the downs, brutally disfigured by a blow to the head. There is no sign of Mary Whittaker. A distinctive cap and male footprints nearby suggest a link with Hallelujah Dawson. However, the post-mortem finds that Vera Findlater was already dead when she was struck. Close inspection reveals that the footprints have been faked, and that the scene has been set up in order to frame the innocent clergyman. Tyre tracks from Mrs Forrest's car cause Wimsey to suspect her and Mary Whittaker of acting in collusion."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unnatur...
"Lord Peter Wimsey and his friend Chief Inspector Parker hear about the death, in late 1925, of an elderly cancer sufferer named Agatha Dawson who was being cared for by her great niece Mary Whittaker. Miss Dawson had an aversion to making a will and believed that, if she died without one, Miss Whittaker, her only known relative, would automatically inherit everything.
Wimsey is intrigued despite no evidence of any crime having been committed. He sends his private investigator, Miss Katharine Climpson, to the village of Leahampton to investigate. She discovers that shortly before Miss Dawson's death her maids, the sisters Bertha and Evelyn Gotobed, had been dismissed. Wimsey asks his solicitor friend John Murbles to place advertisements in the press asking them to get in touch. A few days later, Bertha is found dead in Epping Forest. On the body is a £5 banknote, originally issued to a Mrs Muriel Forrest who lives in an elegant flat in South Audley Street, Mayfair.
Wimsey and Parker visit her. She claims not to remember the banknote, but thinks she may have put it on a horse. Wimsey tricks her into providing her fingerprints on a wineglass. In a drawer he finds a hypodermic syringe with a doctor's prescription "to be injected when the pain is very severe".
Evelyn Gotobed tells Wimsey of an episode shortly before the sisters were dismissed in which Miss Whittaker had tried to get them to witness Miss Dawson ostensibly signing her will, without the latter's knowledge.
Wimsey visits a West Indian clergyman named Hallelujah Dawson, now in London. It seems that he may be a cousin of Miss Dawson, and a closer relative than Miss Whittaker. He has a large family and is in need of funds
Wimsey learns of a motive for Miss Dawson to be killed before the end of 1925: a new 'Property Act', due to come into force on 1 January 1926, that changed the law of intestacy. Until 1925, the estate of a person dying without a will always passed to the closest relative, no matter how remote. From 1926, in the absence of near relatives the estate is forfeit to the Crown, leaving more distant relations such as a great niece with nothing.
In Leahampton, Whittaker disappears along with her besotted young female admirer, Vera Findlater. Several days later, Miss Findlater's body is found on the downs, brutally disfigured by a blow to the head. There is no sign of Mary Whittaker. A distinctive cap and male footprints nearby suggest a link with Hallelujah Dawson. However, the post-mortem finds that Vera Findlater was already dead when she was struck. Close inspection reveals that the footprints have been faked, and that the scene has been set up in order to frame the innocent clergyman. Tyre tracks from Mrs Forrest's car cause Wimsey to suspect her and Mary Whittaker of acting in collusion."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unnatur...
September 19, 2017
For years I've been convinced that I much prefer the Lord Peter Wimsey books after Harriet Vane makes an appearance, but this book changed my mind. I always picture Lord Peter as an empty-headed fop in pre-Harriet days but I've had to revise my opinion as he came across as sensitive and conscientious rather than just a rich man of leisure with too much time on his hands
The character of Miss Climpson shines throughout the book for me and her situation made me think about the limited possibilities open to spinsters in the 1920s. Miss Climpson certainly rises to the challenge (this last to be said in capital letters with many exclamation marks).
The character of Miss Climpson shines throughout the book for me and her situation made me think about the limited possibilities open to spinsters in the 1920s. Miss Climpson certainly rises to the challenge (this last to be said in capital letters with many exclamation marks).
June 16, 2011
the further adventures of the inimitable mervyn bunter, prince of manservants, master of the perfectly correct response and the carefully disguised critique, expert at pretty much everything. all that plus he had to deal with dressing annoying lord peter wimsey every morning. surely the man must have been a virgo.
October 27, 2016
Mildly amusing, mid 1920s Sherlock Holmes wanna-be Lord Peter Wimsey & his Scotland Yard side-kick Parker try to solve a murder that only Wimsey believes in at first. I would have liked it at half its length, as a BBC play, or even a movie more. It was very well read.
The characters were good. Mrs. Climpson, one of too many women with nothing to do, was elegantly put to work ferreting out secrets & Bunter was the perfect man-servant. Parker was a bit of cardboard straight man, though. Wimsey was well done, of course. He is a hoot. I'm not much on English humor, but this had me chuckling occasionally. Very well turned phrases & appropriate quotations.
Third in the series, I was told that they stood alone well enough that I shouldn't worry too much about finding the first. That held true. It was quite easy to pick up the setting & everyone's positions within it.
The plot was fairly obtuse. It took a long time for the motive to come to light & relied mostly on Wimsey's witty repartee as he makes the long search to put the pieces together. The villain was so obvious from the first that I kept waiting for a twist that never came. I don't think I'll listen to another, at least no time soon.
The characters were good. Mrs. Climpson, one of too many women with nothing to do, was elegantly put to work ferreting out secrets & Bunter was the perfect man-servant. Parker was a bit of cardboard straight man, though. Wimsey was well done, of course. He is a hoot. I'm not much on English humor, but this had me chuckling occasionally. Very well turned phrases & appropriate quotations.
Third in the series, I was told that they stood alone well enough that I shouldn't worry too much about finding the first. That held true. It was quite easy to pick up the setting & everyone's positions within it.
The plot was fairly obtuse. It took a long time for the motive to come to light & relied mostly on Wimsey's witty repartee as he makes the long search to put the pieces together. The villain was so obvious from the first that I kept waiting for a twist that never came. I don't think I'll listen to another, at least no time soon.
February 19, 2021
2.5 stars... Oh man, this one is so hard for me to rate. On the one hand, this is a definite improvement in the quality of the mystery from the previous two entries in the series. I also continue to love Bunter, and frankly, I wish he were our MC. My issue with this one is around how race and lesbianism are portrayed. Yes, I think this is a function of the time period, and I do think Sayers is attempting a kind of commentary here (it actually reminds me somewhat of Hickory Dickory Death by Agatha Christie). But I still felt uncomfortable with these elements as a modern reader, and the mystery/overall quality of the book did not feel high enough to fully overcome my own squeamishness on how these elements were incorporated into the story.
March 9, 2016
This is by far my favourite Sayer so far.
The Whittaker case begins almost imperceptibly, with the overhearing of a casual remark in a Soho restaurant where Lord Peter Wimsey and Charles Parker are dining. It ends amid a roar of publicity that shakes England from end to end.
A wealthy old woman is died some three years earlier, a little earlier than was expected, but then she was in the last stages of cancer. Miss Dawson's death has aroused no suspicion, despite her doctor's dismay at her end coming so quickly. But something tells Wimsey that this was, indeed, an unnatural death, and he makes a bet with Parker that he can prove it.
Lord Peter's personality grows in leaps and bounds in this, the third of the Lord Peter Wimsey series. Lord Peter's family are not in evidence, but his friend Charles Parker, and the loyal manservant Bunter are both there, and Wimsey is aided by the intelligence of Miss Climpson whom he sends out to the Hampshire village to be his ear to the ground.
A lovely, lovely read. And I am greatly looking forward to reading the next in the series.
The Whittaker case begins almost imperceptibly, with the overhearing of a casual remark in a Soho restaurant where Lord Peter Wimsey and Charles Parker are dining. It ends amid a roar of publicity that shakes England from end to end.
A wealthy old woman is died some three years earlier, a little earlier than was expected, but then she was in the last stages of cancer. Miss Dawson's death has aroused no suspicion, despite her doctor's dismay at her end coming so quickly. But something tells Wimsey that this was, indeed, an unnatural death, and he makes a bet with Parker that he can prove it.
Lord Peter's personality grows in leaps and bounds in this, the third of the Lord Peter Wimsey series. Lord Peter's family are not in evidence, but his friend Charles Parker, and the loyal manservant Bunter are both there, and Wimsey is aided by the intelligence of Miss Climpson whom he sends out to the Hampshire village to be his ear to the ground.
A lovely, lovely read. And I am greatly looking forward to reading the next in the series.
March 28, 2012
Where I got the book: My bookshelf. A re-read.
Well I've already failed in my attempt to re-read the Wimsey books in order, because I always thought Clouds of Witness came AFTER Unnatural Death. Wimsey seems younger in the latter, somehow.
The Wimsey books, in general, are superb examples of Golden Age detective fiction: intricate plots which give you all the clues on the page and yet count on misdirection to keep you guessing. The plot of Unnatural Death seems to arise from a question: do doctors ever suspect wrongdoing around their patients' deaths? Wimsey meets such a doctor by chance, and sets about investigating the slightly premature decease of an old lady who refused to make her will.
There are three interesting points I'd like to note about this book. First, the initial signs of Wimsey's transformation into the godlike figure of the later books are there, notably in the hints about his vast experience of women and skill as a lover. Not to mention his ability to climb drainpipes and locate a body in a large expanse of countryside.
Second, we see the hammering home of a theme Sayers weaves through the Wimsey novels: what right does Wimsey have to go around detecting given that his interfering inevitably seems to result in more deaths? I love the way Sayers makes her detective think about the internal logic of detective novels.
Third, Sayers gets to tackle the topic of LESBIANS without actually being able to clarify that point to the reader, since the book was written in the 1920s and homosexuality could only be hinted at in the broadest manner. It always makes me laugh that the main "proof" of the villain's same-sex preference is that she doesn't fancy Wimsey. Nice to be so irresistible.
Black marks on this book, always quoted by Sayers' critics, are her casual use of racially offensive terms; but the reader needs to remember that this kind of speech was the norm in her day, and if anything she shows greater sympathy toward non-Christians or non-whites than many writers of her time.
Clouds of Witness now loaded on my Kindle. Onward!
Well I've already failed in my attempt to re-read the Wimsey books in order, because I always thought Clouds of Witness came AFTER Unnatural Death. Wimsey seems younger in the latter, somehow.
The Wimsey books, in general, are superb examples of Golden Age detective fiction: intricate plots which give you all the clues on the page and yet count on misdirection to keep you guessing. The plot of Unnatural Death seems to arise from a question: do doctors ever suspect wrongdoing around their patients' deaths? Wimsey meets such a doctor by chance, and sets about investigating the slightly premature decease of an old lady who refused to make her will.
There are three interesting points I'd like to note about this book. First, the initial signs of Wimsey's transformation into the godlike figure of the later books are there, notably in the hints about his vast experience of women and skill as a lover. Not to mention his ability to climb drainpipes and locate a body in a large expanse of countryside.
Second, we see the hammering home of a theme Sayers weaves through the Wimsey novels: what right does Wimsey have to go around detecting given that his interfering inevitably seems to result in more deaths? I love the way Sayers makes her detective think about the internal logic of detective novels.
Third, Sayers gets to tackle the topic of LESBIANS without actually being able to clarify that point to the reader, since the book was written in the 1920s and homosexuality could only be hinted at in the broadest manner. It always makes me laugh that the main "proof" of the villain's same-sex preference is that she doesn't fancy Wimsey. Nice to be so irresistible.
Black marks on this book, always quoted by Sayers' critics, are her casual use of racially offensive terms; but the reader needs to remember that this kind of speech was the norm in her day, and if anything she shows greater sympathy toward non-Christians or non-whites than many writers of her time.
Clouds of Witness now loaded on my Kindle. Onward!
June 30, 2022
Lord Peter Wimsey Group Read June 2022
An enjoyable read, and in my opinion probably the best in the series so far.
A chance meeting with a Doctor, gives Lord Peter the idea that an unrecognised murder could possibly have taken place. Speaking to his good friend Inspector Parker he tries to persuade him of his thoughts.
As he commences his investigation more and more issues come to light and he begins to build his case , but against who ? Mary Whittaker or Mrs Forrest, or was it one of the nurses or one of the staff. All could have done it but will Inspector Parker and Lord Peter find the real killer
An enjoyable read, and in my opinion probably the best in the series so far.
A chance meeting with a Doctor, gives Lord Peter the idea that an unrecognised murder could possibly have taken place. Speaking to his good friend Inspector Parker he tries to persuade him of his thoughts.
As he commences his investigation more and more issues come to light and he begins to build his case , but against who ? Mary Whittaker or Mrs Forrest, or was it one of the nurses or one of the staff. All could have done it but will Inspector Parker and Lord Peter find the real killer
January 30, 2016
1.5
The only reason why I won't stop reading this series is I really like Lord Peter Wimsey. The problem is he isn't the only main character here. I don't mind Parker but both of them got swept under all the gossip you get to read here. I will just pretend I never read this book.
There are so many problems in this book that I am at a loss where to start. First, Wimsey doesn't play that much a role here anyway. He does start everything though.
The case starts 'almost imperceptibly, in the overhearing of a casual remark dropped in a Soho restaurant' but then goes south. The stupidity of everyone involved in it is staggering. Most of this book is he said, she said reporting. This is one of the most gossipy novel I've ever read.
One of the biggest problems I had with this case and what ruined this so-called mystery for me is that the author so obviously tried to keep Parker and Wimsey away from a person of interest. It was so in your face I started thinking it could be a parody of some sort. It was glaringly obvious. God, it was tedious to get through it. Not much of a mystery I'm afraid.
The less I say about other characters, the better. The way a distant cousin of Miss Dawson's, Rev. Dawson, is treated is horrible. To say it was uncomfortable to read parts of this book would be an understatement.
There are a couple of things I did like but I am not sure if they could be enough to redeem this book. The relatio0nship between the murder victim Agatha Dawson and her best friend Clara Whittaker is lovely. And I do like Wimsey and Parker so there's that.
I hope this will be the only weak story in the series.
The only reason why I won't stop reading this series is I really like Lord Peter Wimsey. The problem is he isn't the only main character here. I don't mind Parker but both of them got swept under all the gossip you get to read here. I will just pretend I never read this book.
There are so many problems in this book that I am at a loss where to start. First, Wimsey doesn't play that much a role here anyway. He does start everything though.
The case starts 'almost imperceptibly, in the overhearing of a casual remark dropped in a Soho restaurant' but then goes south. The stupidity of everyone involved in it is staggering. Most of this book is he said, she said reporting. This is one of the most gossipy novel I've ever read.
One of the biggest problems I had with this case and what ruined this so-called mystery for me is that the author so obviously tried to keep Parker and Wimsey away from a person of interest. It was so in your face I started thinking it could be a parody of some sort. It was glaringly obvious. God, it was tedious to get through it. Not much of a mystery I'm afraid.
The less I say about other characters, the better. The way a distant cousin of Miss Dawson's, Rev. Dawson, is treated is horrible. To say it was uncomfortable to read parts of this book would be an understatement.
There are a couple of things I did like but I am not sure if they could be enough to redeem this book. The relatio0nship between the murder victim Agatha Dawson and her best friend Clara Whittaker is lovely. And I do like Wimsey and Parker so there's that.
I hope this will be the only weak story in the series.
October 9, 2018
Lord Peter Wimsey, a 37-year-old self-taught private sleuth, is at it again with his friend and crime-solving partner Charles Parker of Scotland Yard. Wimsey, who sometimes refers to himself as Sherlock Holmes, has resolved to take a case that for much of the book doesn't seem to be much of a case at all except in Wimsey's mind.
Reading Unnatural Death is "jolly good fun" for mystery lovers. Wimsey is sometimes cocky and so full of himself I found myself rolling my eyes a time or two -- but in the end, he proves his mettle.
Reading Unnatural Death is "jolly good fun" for mystery lovers. Wimsey is sometimes cocky and so full of himself I found myself rolling my eyes a time or two -- but in the end, he proves his mettle.
July 30, 2018
One of the earliest of the series that I'm going back to read. And this one is excellent. It seems to introduce Miss Climpson too- who is a spinster that works undercover for Lord Peter in her travels and visitations rift with gossip gathering gems of information. Something that a high class Lord by his very presence and manner would not successfully approach. I love how Lord Peter continually rolls with the punches of the social order and locale or associated "conditions" to finding out what HE wants to know.
Sayers is honed here in her conversational tidbits and dialect diatribes. Usually between groups of church women or female servants. It's melodic.
The case prime premise is essentially core to being a standard central original. I knew how they died because I believe this crux has been used dozens of times AFTER Sayers' era of writing. She's the prime literary source, possibly, for this "method". (Poisons have been SO overdone.) Among other unique and original features of hers, hardly ever given the credit, IMHO! Agatha is colder, trickier and more devious in the tellings, but I do think that Sayers is far more inventive, actually. Although their styles are so different, I can absolutely understand how Christie became the standard. Sayers is too unique and high brow of tones and of wit to be as universally admired. But I think in some nuance and critical thinking skill displays, she might be better than Christie.
In this one we have some tricky moves that don't become apparent until 30 pages from the ending. Unlike some Sayers of Lord Wimsey, this one is not at all overlong. And he has not meet Harriet yet, nor is he at all embedded within great detail of Lord Denver or other family members. This one is Det. Parker and himself with his "new" help. Bunter is not even centrally involved.
I found the entire believable and an excellent and entertaining read. And the Vicar very much like the dozens of priests and brothers I have known. A miracle!
I'll definitely read them all. Top rung entertainment and all kinds of serendipity knowledge displayed!
Lastly, all of these books (my copies of various date publications but nearly all were the hardcovers)- have delightful letters or some business correspondence or some other 2 page essential prize gem at the beginning or the ending. It will "catch you up" or give essential past or family mood nuance - or plant the emotive specifics for a death or an inheritance or something. I LOVE IT.
This one has an entire genealogical chart of 2 page width at the ending- which gives you the 250 year or so family branch ancestor history for the "old lady" victim. (I laughed out loud for the terms of "old" people in this book- twice.) This ancient is 73.
Also a short aside warning to those of you who are highly politically correct social warriors. This is a book of its era-the earliest quarter of the 20th century. The language and standards names used for other humans beyond the UK's high classes for other groups or visual conditions is quadruple XXXX. Do not judge these present day (language bombs now) of Sayers or Lord Wimsey's time by those of your own time. Please.
Sayers is honed here in her conversational tidbits and dialect diatribes. Usually between groups of church women or female servants. It's melodic.
The case prime premise is essentially core to being a standard central original. I knew how they died because I believe this crux has been used dozens of times AFTER Sayers' era of writing. She's the prime literary source, possibly, for this "method". (Poisons have been SO overdone.) Among other unique and original features of hers, hardly ever given the credit, IMHO! Agatha is colder, trickier and more devious in the tellings, but I do think that Sayers is far more inventive, actually. Although their styles are so different, I can absolutely understand how Christie became the standard. Sayers is too unique and high brow of tones and of wit to be as universally admired. But I think in some nuance and critical thinking skill displays, she might be better than Christie.
In this one we have some tricky moves that don't become apparent until 30 pages from the ending. Unlike some Sayers of Lord Wimsey, this one is not at all overlong. And he has not meet Harriet yet, nor is he at all embedded within great detail of Lord Denver or other family members. This one is Det. Parker and himself with his "new" help. Bunter is not even centrally involved.
I found the entire believable and an excellent and entertaining read. And the Vicar very much like the dozens of priests and brothers I have known. A miracle!
I'll definitely read them all. Top rung entertainment and all kinds of serendipity knowledge displayed!
Lastly, all of these books (my copies of various date publications but nearly all were the hardcovers)- have delightful letters or some business correspondence or some other 2 page essential prize gem at the beginning or the ending. It will "catch you up" or give essential past or family mood nuance - or plant the emotive specifics for a death or an inheritance or something. I LOVE IT.
This one has an entire genealogical chart of 2 page width at the ending- which gives you the 250 year or so family branch ancestor history for the "old lady" victim. (I laughed out loud for the terms of "old" people in this book- twice.) This ancient is 73.
Also a short aside warning to those of you who are highly politically correct social warriors. This is a book of its era-the earliest quarter of the 20th century. The language and standards names used for other humans beyond the UK's high classes for other groups or visual conditions is quadruple XXXX. Do not judge these present day (language bombs now) of Sayers or Lord Wimsey's time by those of your own time. Please.
September 9, 2020
This follows Clouds of Witness in composition, though not a sequel. It also improves on her second novel, especially early on; later, the legalisms may intrude on easy comprehension. Inheritance law changed in 1926, and that change impinges on the first, possibly perfect, undetectable murder.
Lord Peter Wimsey enlists meticulous help from an older spinster, Miss Climpson. Lord detective imagines on his gravestone, “To the Man who Made / Thousands of Superfluous Women / Happy,” such women being spinsters like Mrs Climpson, who writes long and detailed letters with many flourishes, capitals and underlining. The book appeared in the 1920’s, when women in England did not run businesses, although one in this novel does, a horse farm which turns a good profit.
Hence, older unmarried women were considered almost useless, but not by Wimsey.
Climpson also has a sense of humor, someone’s disapproving her laughing after Catholic service, “Coming from Communion …ready to laugh and make jokes”(217) The acquaintance disapproves both the laughter and the religion of the Roaming Catholics. Sayers laces her stories with humor, even at the most intense part, “You mean one murder leads to another,” Wimsey responds to a priest answering his question on ethics, “Knock the man down, but don’t dance on the body. Quite.”(221)
As in other Britmysts, you encounter Britisms, like “spanner” for U.S. “wrench”— here used as a weapon. Or like “gorse,” a spiky yellow-flowered bush widespread on the Southcoast Path I first walked when we traded houses in ’96 with George (with his Lancastrian accent) and Viv: “Wimsey took a dislike to gorse-bushes that day”(226). He was checking in and under them for evidence, tougher for him than for us, merely walking between them.
Throughout, Sayers offers profound insights here and there, like “Now, it is easy to be mistaken in faces, but almost impossible to mistake a back”(256). (My artist wife recognizes faces better than I do, but she claims to know people seen from behind even better.)
For such a delectable novel, my review is too brief.
*Pagination in edition, Hodder and Stoughton: Chatham, 1968.
Lord Peter Wimsey enlists meticulous help from an older spinster, Miss Climpson. Lord detective imagines on his gravestone, “To the Man who Made / Thousands of Superfluous Women / Happy,” such women being spinsters like Mrs Climpson, who writes long and detailed letters with many flourishes, capitals and underlining. The book appeared in the 1920’s, when women in England did not run businesses, although one in this novel does, a horse farm which turns a good profit.
Hence, older unmarried women were considered almost useless, but not by Wimsey.
Climpson also has a sense of humor, someone’s disapproving her laughing after Catholic service, “Coming from Communion …ready to laugh and make jokes”(217) The acquaintance disapproves both the laughter and the religion of the Roaming Catholics. Sayers laces her stories with humor, even at the most intense part, “You mean one murder leads to another,” Wimsey responds to a priest answering his question on ethics, “Knock the man down, but don’t dance on the body. Quite.”(221)
As in other Britmysts, you encounter Britisms, like “spanner” for U.S. “wrench”— here used as a weapon. Or like “gorse,” a spiky yellow-flowered bush widespread on the Southcoast Path I first walked when we traded houses in ’96 with George (with his Lancastrian accent) and Viv: “Wimsey took a dislike to gorse-bushes that day”(226). He was checking in and under them for evidence, tougher for him than for us, merely walking between them.
Throughout, Sayers offers profound insights here and there, like “Now, it is easy to be mistaken in faces, but almost impossible to mistake a back”(256). (My artist wife recognizes faces better than I do, but she claims to know people seen from behind even better.)
For such a delectable novel, my review is too brief.
*Pagination in edition, Hodder and Stoughton: Chatham, 1968.
January 4, 2015
Starting the New Year with a Sayers review? Yes, please.
So Unnatural Death is maybe not the best in terms of the convoluted plot, the number of characters, etc, because it’s not one of the most personal stories for Lord Peter. On the other hand, you do get to see Peter again treating it a little like a hobby, a curiosity, and then having to face the consequences of his ego. And there’s a lot of Miss Climpson, too; not as much as one of the later books, but enough to show that she’s a really great character — her letters with their underlinings and italicising are hilarious.
The murder method is pretty good for this one, though, really: I wouldn’t guess it if I wasn’t familiar with an NCIS episode where there are a couple of killings done the same way, and yet it’s simple and obvious once you know what it is.
So not my favourite, but it does work and come together beautifully.
So Unnatural Death is maybe not the best in terms of the convoluted plot, the number of characters, etc, because it’s not one of the most personal stories for Lord Peter. On the other hand, you do get to see Peter again treating it a little like a hobby, a curiosity, and then having to face the consequences of his ego. And there’s a lot of Miss Climpson, too; not as much as one of the later books, but enough to show that she’s a really great character — her letters with their underlinings and italicising are hilarious.
The murder method is pretty good for this one, though, really: I wouldn’t guess it if I wasn’t familiar with an NCIS episode where there are a couple of killings done the same way, and yet it’s simple and obvious once you know what it is.
So not my favourite, but it does work and come together beautifully.
May 20, 2019
Uh, no. If I never meet Lord Peter Wimsey again, that will be too soon. As detectives go, he is mostly aggravating, the plot was fairly predictable (I worked out the main “mystery” very early on), and the offensive language regarding a black character just added one more thing to object to.
May 2, 2024
Worth it for the scene where two completely disinterested people try to "make love" alone! Also, the introduction of one of society's forgotten women: the clever older spinster!
October 5, 2024
This is a really good book, my favorite of Peter’s “pre-Harriet” era. This is the first book, too, where one meets Miss Climpson, my favorite old-lady sleuth! (I’m still figuring out where she is on the Anglican scale though.)
In a way, indeed, this book resembles “Strong Poison” a good deal—the villain is known for most of the book but only the method is elusive.
I must also press this point: I am fortunate enough to have purchased an unedited copy of this book. (The “n-word” is used several times.) Make sure that you get one too.
There is another thing which I really, really detest seeing in people’s reviews of this book. A lot of people claim that Miss Whittaker and Miss Findlater’s amicable relationship was different than what it really is. It is my belief is that Miss Whittaker is only being portrayed as an example of a False, or Unnatural, Woman, especially as she is described so cold and unfeeling. This is connected to the title being UNNATURAL DEATH. This book is discussing things that are Unnatural. That’s it. No politics, just literature.
I’m very excited to continue my complete reread (in order) of this series!!!
In a way, indeed, this book resembles “Strong Poison” a good deal—the villain is known for most of the book but only the method is elusive.
I must also press this point: I am fortunate enough to have purchased an unedited copy of this book. (The “n-word” is used several times.) Make sure that you get one too.
There is another thing which I really, really detest seeing in people’s reviews of this book. A lot of people claim that Miss Whittaker and Miss Findlater’s amicable relationship was different than what it really is. It is my belief is that Miss Whittaker is only being portrayed as an example of a False, or Unnatural, Woman, especially as she is described so cold and unfeeling. This is connected to the title being UNNATURAL DEATH. This book is discussing things that are Unnatural. That’s it. No politics, just literature.
I’m very excited to continue my complete reread (in order) of this series!!!
March 8, 2017
Was hankering for a cozy mystery that I'v not read before, thought of trying this book. Can't say am much impressed. It was just an okay read with a mildly annoying protagonist.
The mystery wasn't much about who-had-done-it but how-it-was-done. Read this author for the first time, will try a few more of her stories before I pass judgement.
Just about almost-there-2.5-stars from me.
September 14, 2017
Found the audio copy of this at the library waiting for me to go to North Carolina.
Enjoyable. Made the miles fly by.
While this was my 6th reading of this book, I apparently forgot the conclusion or the killer.
I was driving along trying to figure it out when the light bulb went off.
Enjoyable. Made the miles fly by.
While this was my 6th reading of this book, I apparently forgot the conclusion or the killer.
I was driving along trying to figure it out when the light bulb went off.
March 4, 2024
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, or Shouldn’t You?
Unnatural Death, the third Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, starts with a rather unlikely event: Sitting in a restaurant and discussing the question whether a doctor should find it advisable to insist on an inquest when he thinks that there is something fishy about a death but cannot prove it, Lord Peter and Charles Parker are overheard by another guest who not only happens to be a doctor but also to have been in exactly this self-same situation, and who barges in on their conversation, telling them about his own particular case, in which an old lady called Agatha Dawson and suffering from cancer suddenly died and left her great-niece with her considerable fortune. This sounds very intriguing to Peter Wimsey, much less so to Mr. Parker, and so our idle hobby sleuth sets forth on a cause to prove a crime that happened several months ago and that no one else believes to be a crime.
Unlike other Wimsey novels, Unnatural Death is not a whodunnit at all because we know quite well that if Lord Peter’s whim of suspecting foul play in the sudden death of Miss Dawson is finally corroborated, then her great-niece Mary Whittaker must be the murderess. The actual crux of the matter is to find out how she did it and why she did it – because she would have benefitted from the old lady’s demise, anyway, which would only have been a matter of months. What makes the case additionally peculiar is that Lord Peter and the suspected murderess never seem to meet each other eye to eye, and that the hobby investigator conducts his campaign from a distance. To get some first-hand information from the spot where the supposed murder has taken place, he sends out his agent Miss Climpson, an elderly spinster, whose natural inclination to finding things out and meddling with other people’s business Lord Peter is determined to put to constructive use both to society and to herself. By the way, Miss Climpson with her spinsterish mannerisms and her voluble letters to her employer is one of the major highlights of this novel – and it is quite remarkable that 1927 was not only the year Sayers came up with this recurring side character but also the one Agatha Christie makes her first use of Miss Marple in some of her short stories. Interestingly, Miss Climpson points out that people often clam up when interrogated by a police official whereas an elderly lady going around and asking questions will be taken for a gossip by them.
There is one passage in which Lord Peter chatters about his hobby to one of the people he interrogates:
This may be the typical Lord Peter spiel – with a vague allusion to the shell trauma the man suffers from –, but what gives this novel additional depth is the fact that Lord Peter’s apparently “harmless” investigations lead to another murder, namely that of a young woman who happened to be a maid in Miss Dawson’s household, and Lord Peter is decent and serious enough to ask himself (and, later, a clergyman he comes across) whether he had not better had left well alone because, after all, Miss Dawson was already on the brink of death whereas the young woman, who could still live if it hadn’t been for his meddling, had all her life before her.
Although the identity of the murderess is clear from the very beginning, Unnatural Death comes up with a lot of surprises and twists, with the first appearance of Miss Climpson and with quite a lot of humour and wit, as when Lord Peter for instance coins an aphorism like ”Even the closest of one’s friends turn out to be secret thinkers” (i.e. suspecting one of indulging in certain peccadilloes), or when he revels in allusions to Dickens – ”Sherlock is my name and Holmes is my nature”. Last not least, in comparison to the first two Wimsey novels, I consider the plot a lot more plausible and consistent.
Unnatural Death, the third Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, starts with a rather unlikely event: Sitting in a restaurant and discussing the question whether a doctor should find it advisable to insist on an inquest when he thinks that there is something fishy about a death but cannot prove it, Lord Peter and Charles Parker are overheard by another guest who not only happens to be a doctor but also to have been in exactly this self-same situation, and who barges in on their conversation, telling them about his own particular case, in which an old lady called Agatha Dawson and suffering from cancer suddenly died and left her great-niece with her considerable fortune. This sounds very intriguing to Peter Wimsey, much less so to Mr. Parker, and so our idle hobby sleuth sets forth on a cause to prove a crime that happened several months ago and that no one else believes to be a crime.
Unlike other Wimsey novels, Unnatural Death is not a whodunnit at all because we know quite well that if Lord Peter’s whim of suspecting foul play in the sudden death of Miss Dawson is finally corroborated, then her great-niece Mary Whittaker must be the murderess. The actual crux of the matter is to find out how she did it and why she did it – because she would have benefitted from the old lady’s demise, anyway, which would only have been a matter of months. What makes the case additionally peculiar is that Lord Peter and the suspected murderess never seem to meet each other eye to eye, and that the hobby investigator conducts his campaign from a distance. To get some first-hand information from the spot where the supposed murder has taken place, he sends out his agent Miss Climpson, an elderly spinster, whose natural inclination to finding things out and meddling with other people’s business Lord Peter is determined to put to constructive use both to society and to herself. By the way, Miss Climpson with her spinsterish mannerisms and her voluble letters to her employer is one of the major highlights of this novel – and it is quite remarkable that 1927 was not only the year Sayers came up with this recurring side character but also the one Agatha Christie makes her first use of Miss Marple in some of her short stories. Interestingly, Miss Climpson points out that people often clam up when interrogated by a police official whereas an elderly lady going around and asking questions will be taken for a gossip by them.
There is one passage in which Lord Peter chatters about his hobby to one of the people he interrogates:
”’Oh – well, you may have noticed my name croppin’ up in a few murders and things lately. I sleuth, you know. For a hobby. Harmless outlet for natural inquisitiveness, don’t you see, which might otherwise strike inward and produce introspection an’ suicide. Very natural, healthy pursuit – not too strenuous, not too sedentary; trains and invigorates the mind.’”
This may be the typical Lord Peter spiel – with a vague allusion to the shell trauma the man suffers from –, but what gives this novel additional depth is the fact that Lord Peter’s apparently “harmless” investigations lead to another murder, namely that of a young woman who happened to be a maid in Miss Dawson’s household, and Lord Peter is decent and serious enough to ask himself (and, later, a clergyman he comes across) whether he had not better had left well alone because, after all, Miss Dawson was already on the brink of death whereas the young woman, who could still live if it hadn’t been for his meddling, had all her life before her.
Although the identity of the murderess is clear from the very beginning, Unnatural Death comes up with a lot of surprises and twists, with the first appearance of Miss Climpson and with quite a lot of humour and wit, as when Lord Peter for instance coins an aphorism like ”Even the closest of one’s friends turn out to be secret thinkers” (i.e. suspecting one of indulging in certain peccadilloes), or when he revels in allusions to Dickens – ”Sherlock is my name and Holmes is my nature”. Last not least, in comparison to the first two Wimsey novels, I consider the plot a lot more plausible and consistent.
March 30, 2018
This was the best in the series so far for me. The introduction of Ms Climpson was a particular highlight and I hope she continues to help out Wimsey as we progress through the series.
I also liked that this one was a little less slap stick and a little more mystery. The development of the relationship between Wimsey and Parker is also progressing well.
I also liked that this one was a little less slap stick and a little more mystery. The development of the relationship between Wimsey and Parker is also progressing well.
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