I don't much get into authors born post World War II because they often embellish with graphic sex and violence. I prefer my murders and tales clean and pure...with only the barest suggestion of sex and horror. I like suspense, but not too much violence. I love untangling the mysteries.
I began reading these authors (Christie, Sayers, Chesterton, Collins, Trollop, etc.) when I felt the desire to write a story of my own. I thought studying the established writers would be good for my stories. The first thing I learned about writing was that a talented writer can produce a vivid image of place and time with only a few lines or paragraphs. I was using up pages and pages for descriptions, at first.
Below: Jill Paton Walsh and Dorothy L. Sayers
Sayers wrote eleven novel and two sets of short stories about her creation, Lord Peter. She said, in later years, she intended to put an end to Lord Peter via matrimony by introducing Harriet Vane. However, Lord Peter refused to die, in her mind, so she wrote one book about their murder-filled honeymoon and, later, the murder mystery in London which she was writing when she died.
Below: the village of Little Gaddesden in Hertfordshire which looks much as I imagine Paggleham would.
Lord Peter books by Dorothy L. Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh (continuation after Sayers's death)
Whose Body? 1923
Clouds of Witness 1926
Unnatural Death 1927
Lord Peter Views the Body (short stories) 1928
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club 1928
Strong Poison 1930
Five Red Herrings 1931
Have His Carcase 1932
Hangman's Holiday (short stories) 1933
Murder Must Advertise 1933
The Nine Tailors 1934
Gaudy Night 1935
Busman's Honeymoon 1937
Striding Folly (short stories) 1973
Thrones, Dominations (co-author Jill Paton Walsh) 1998
A Presumption of Death (co-author Jill Paton Walsh) 2002
Below: I can imagine Talboys would have looked something like this:
A PRESUMPTION OF DEATH
The story takes place in the village of Paggleham, Hertfordshire. Lady Peter had evacuated to the village from London at the start of World War II, with her two children and the three children of her sister-in-law, Mary Wimsey Parker. Their home, Talboys, was introduced in an earlier novel, BUSMAN'S HONEYMOON, another of my favorites, along with several of the local "color" characters, Superintendent Kirk and Miss Twittertown. At the time, the villagers were establishing and digging bomb shelters. The night of an air raid drill, a young woman, one of the Land Girls, was found dead on the High Street, after the drill.
Underlying the murder mystery is the world of the war, Bunter and Lord Peter's long absence on a spying venture in Europe and the usual, lovely English village and country life. The lives of the several children are intertwined throughout and the threat of bombings and invasions looms ever over all.
I liked this story very much because we finally see Lord Peter and Harriet with their family, complete, in the English countryside, albeit, over-shadowed by the dangers of war and the threat of murder. The pleasant scenes are unforgettable. I am especially fond of how the love of Peter and Harriet has grown and blossomed.
It would be good to read all the Lord Peter novels in order of publication, especially from STRONG POISON forward. Those latter books build the relationship between Lord Peter and Harriet very well. Oh, how I wish Dorothy Sayers were still writing; and that Jill Paton Walsh would keep on with the Lord Peter Wimsey stories.
I'll write about the other novels, too, in time, but this is my favorite right now. I hope you'll enjoy it too.
