A Presumption of Death: A New Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane Mystery (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)
by Jill Paton Walsh, Dorothy L. Sayers
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dorothy L. Sayers, Jill Paton WalshEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-08-03
ISBN: 031299138X
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Book Reviews of A Presumption of Death: A New Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane Mystery (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)
Book Review: It cuts both ways
Summary: 5 Stars
This is Walsh's 2nd collaboration (posthumously) with DLS--and, IMHO, it's far better than the prior one (Thrones, Dominations (A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery)). This book provides a glimpse into the trials/problems in England towards the beginning of WWII--esp. in the countryside. It continues most of DLS' prior main characters in a reasonably convincing manner, with French excerpts, numerous literary allusions, etc. It does also include many anachronistic terms (at least from a modern, American perspective). The mystery is IMHO up to snuff, including more elucidation on Lord Wimsey's exploits on behalf of the British Government--with an interesting tie-in to Harriet Vane. However, sensate, die-hard DLS fans may find fault with any posthumous work not entirely written by Sayers. Personally, I think this is a fine mystery--it relies heavily on DLS' prior works but has, perhaps, a bit of Ngaio Marsh thrown in--i.e. it has quite a few very fine quotations as well as wise observations on life. My favorites are:
Quotations:
p. 19: Henry de Montherlant, Explicit Mysterium, 1931--It is through chance that, from among the various individuals of which each of us is composed, one emerges rather than another.
p. 41: Bertrand Russell, On Education, 1926--No one gossips about other people's secret virtues.
Observations:
p. 11: It's only grown-ups who want children to be children; children themselves always want to be real people...All this cult of keeping young as long as possible is a lot of unnatural nonsense; no wonder the world seems to get sillier and sillier.
p. 99: The trouble with living with children wasn't what she had thought it would be. They were on the whole as interesting to her as a group of adults; she wasn't in the least bored with them...But they were liable to present one without any warning at all with acute moral dilemmas, like a fatal cosmic game in which the stake was one's integrity--not truth or dare, but truth or comfort...justice for all or protection for the weakest.
p. 188: People who make regulations...should have a firm grasp of human nature.
p. 259: A tragedy is a good theory defeated by a fact.
Turn of phrase:
p. 293: Your tongue's so sharp it's a wonder it doesn't cut your mouth sometimes.
The last reminds me of some of the critics of this work.
More A Presumption of Death: A New Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane Mystery (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries) reviews:
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Summary of A Presumption of Death: A New Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane Mystery (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)
While Lord Peter is abroad on a secret mission, Harriet Vane, now Lady Peter Wimsey, takes their children to safety in the country. But there's no escape from war: rumors of spies abound, glamorous RAF pilots and flirtatious land-girls scandalize the villagers, and the blackout makes rural lanes as sinister as London's alleys. And when a practice air-raid ends with a young woman's death, it's almost a shock to hear that the cause is not enemy action, but murder. Or is it? With Peter away, Harriet sets out to find out whodunit...and the chilling reason why.
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