Choose Your Own Adventure (Authors Edition)

[fictional]

Item: Lord Peter Wimsey.

Sadly Dorothy Sayers wrote Lord Peter mysteries of a finite number, and then moved onto religious plays, and Dante of all things...[and I say, wasn't one infernal poet enough??? I ask you. When the world could have been blessed with tales of Lady Peter (nee Miss Harriet Deborah Vane) and the Wimsey sproglets in WWII to say nothing of Bunter & Lord Peter's engrossing activities in Intelligence as well as those of Viscount St. George alias Jerry (it occurs to me that nickname couldn't have done him any favors in the RAF, now could it???) and his adventures in the Battle of Britain... from where I am sure he effected a daring escape of some kind, Miss Sayers' opinion to the contrary. And Winnifred. Perhaps we might actually meet her. And some more Dowager Duchess wouldn't come amiss. But I digress.]

So, okay, you read all the mysteries, then move on to the continuations by Jill Paton Walsh, then you want more. Naturally, being a person of sound taste and judgement, you proceed to the Wimsey fanfic on the web, all of it being of a surprising quality, but small in number. (Perhaps the explanation of the former lies in the latter.) You watch the filmed adaptations (Strong Poison and Have His Carcase excellent; Gaudy Night unforgivably awful).

And then? What then?

There are numerous directions to go: one can proceed to the incomparable Miss Heyer for the regency worldbuilding tinged with a gorgeous and delightful twenties/thirties aesthetic - (Incidentally Lord Peter's world, and Heyer's Regency are... surprisingly similar, now that I think of it. Including rhythms of phrase, etc.; says something about our tendency to merrily and muddily accept anything prewar and historical as "back then")... and know the path from there is straight towards comedies of manners, and probably on into fantasies of manners. Unexceptionable, what?

But suppose that's not desired... one can go and read inspirational texts... not the spiritual kind (not the chicken soup meaning anyway), but the ones that have their genesis in love. I've got Lois McMaster Bujold at my fingertips... and I remember my last reread of the Sayers oeuvre was in fact a sort of reverse application of this phenomenon -- I was desperate for more Miles Vorkosigan, and clearly the only thing to do was apply poultice of Lord Peter and hope for the best.

However! Ruthlessly back to the original quandary. One could go straight into P.G. Wodehouse say, and maybe after that wind up with a little Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in A Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)... and then... maybe a soupçon of Evelyn Waugh? Or backwards instead and choosing to indulge in a little, as Lord Peter might say, coming over all Galsworthy? I've always meant to give the Forsyte saga another wallop. And from thence backwards to Miss Austen? And then through to Emily Eden's "The Semi Attached Couple" and oh golly, back to la belle Georgette. A person could get dizzy with all this perambulating backwards and forwards in time.

[Incidentally, it occurs to me there is something quite Wimsey-esque to the Doctor and his TARDIS. Screwdriver/monocle, TARDIS/enviable Lagonda, post-(Time)war PTSD -- the arrogance, and the angst over condemning those that must be condemned... the list goes on and on. There's the fun of it all too.

Anyone up for a Tennant-Wimsey remake????

Incidentally, I wonder what pre-WWII era Torchwood would have made of Lord Peter....

...I but stir the pot.]

Thoughts? The important thing is to have a Plan.

Also, I really need a "reading books" icon.

Comments

[thaddeusfavour.livejournal.com]

You've seen the LPW/TW crossover? I'd never read the LPW stuff, but I liked the crossover. :P

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

I've not seen it! Where is it?

(There is nothing thought of that has not already been thunk before...)

Wait...I've seen Sam's x-over with all the butlers/valets/batmans?(batmen?). Is that what you're referring to?

[thaddeusfavour.livejournal.com]

Nope. I recced it at TWH. I think you'll like it. The author uses a style similar to Sayer's (I gather) and it works nicely.

http://community.livejournal.com/torchwood_house/24319.html

All The Young Soldiers

[valancy-joy.livejournal.com]

If one were exceptionally stunted by their rural upbringing, and hadn't, you know, actually read any Dorothy Sayers ... where would you suggest one start?

Please advise by return post, after, certainly, taking some time to recover from the shock caused by the knowledge that there are still such uninformed readers out there...

[ophymirage.livejournal.com]

the answer to your question is a regrettably subjective one; there are ardent Wimsey fanciers who resent the intrusion of one Harriet Vane as distraction from some rather fine (early) straight-up detective novels. They would undoubtedly recommend that you begin with "Whose Body?", the earliest (and really, honestly, the best) pre-Vane.

However, it is undeniably true that most of the best of Sayers' mysteries are post-Vane. If you want to read them in approximate chronological order for the romance, start with Strong Poison, then Have His Carcase, Murder Must Advertise, Gaudy Night, and Busman's Honeymoon. (I tend to skip Nine Tailors partly because Harriet's not involved, and partly because it's just an odd mystery, and not her best.)

Were I forced to choose a single favorite, it would probably be Murder Must Advertise. It's mostly Wimsey (Harriet makes brief appearances at best) and Sayers's rich and complex use of language is at her most amazing and witty.

[valancy-joy.livejournal.com]

Being both ardent, and fond of a linear chronology I will have to take this sensible advice, well, under advisement.

But huge thanks for pointing the way towards a series I can't believe I haven't explored! It all sounds just so delightfully spiffy.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

Clearly our charming colloquy is turning out to be both decorative and useful. I am enchanted to be of service, to say nothing of being in your debt for a lovely afternoon spent with Mrs. Gillmore and her protege Miss Maida Westabrook, of Boston.

Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries can be divided into two parts -- pre-Harriet and post-Harriet. While there is something to be said for reading them in chronological order, the writing gets substantially better the more you move along. If you don't insist on reading in order -- I myself read the Harriet Vane ones first, fell madly in love, and then went back and read the previous ones as sort of prequels.

So, the first one of the Harriet Vane ones is Strong Poison.
If you want to read completely in order, the first one proper is Whose Body.

There's a pretty excellent summation here -- Poison for Two in the Library: A Lord Peter Wimsey Overview (http://community.livejournal.com/crack_van/2822469.html#cutid1) -- which also explains the books in brief (scroll down.)

[valancy-joy.livejournal.com]

Your kind words are very welcome, and I will take your excellent advice to heart at my earliest opportunity to visit my local lending library.

I am so glad to hear you enjoyed your visit with Mrs. Gillmore and Miss Westabrook. I have been wondering if you would care to be introduced to a Miss Patricia Fairfield. I first met her in the summer of 1906 while she was on a tour of Long Island in one of those new fangled automobiles.

I enclose further particulars, and remain in your debt.

http://redeemingqualities.wordpress.com/the-patty-fairfield-series-by-carolyn-wells/ (includes links to the Gutenberg full text versions)

[calloocallay.livejournal.com]

There is no Post-Harriet, there is only Pre and during. Harriet: she lasts. I went directly from a reread of all the Wimsey books and short stories in Peter's chronological order (ie, not order of publication, but rather the order in which the plots occurred in the characters' lives) to a reread of the the Anne books. I'm not sure why it seemed like a logical next step, but it seems to be working out okay.

I HIGHLY recommend Connie Willis, particularly To Say Nothing of the Dog and Bellwether.

[semyaza.livejournal.com]

If it were me, I'd read Margery Allingham, which is just what I did when I finished the Wimsey books at the age of 13 and had nowhere else to go. I never found an even remotely adequate substitute for Heyer though. She remains unique to this day.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

I have... never heard of Margery Allingham... but a quick google tells me I am missing out! Glory be.

Where would you suggest I start?

[semyaza.livejournal.com]

I've noticed that many people who love Sayers have missed Allingham so I proselytise at every opportunity. I began at the beginning (The Crime at Black Dudley) but if you can't find it you could try any of the ones written in the 30s. Campion matures -- or the author matures -- a great deal in the course of the series, so it's worth following his career chronologically. And since he also has a significant other, it probably makes sense to catch the beginning of the relationship rather than work back to it. You might prefer the later books, of course. :D

[ophymirage.livejournal.com]

Anyone up for a Tennant-Wimsey remake????

Never do. David's much too hyper and not nearly horsey enough. :D

I waited for *years* for someone to figure out that Peter Davison would make a PERFECT Wimsey, on the other hand.

Edward Petherbridge is delightful as Wimsey, but agree that Gaudy Night was dreadful (but really, how can one collapse 500+ pages into 90 minutes well?)

LOVE Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane.

ETA: Sayers led me directly into Wodehouse, Waugh, and also Graham Greene. :) One might also suggest E.M. Forster for delicate romance..

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

I am amused that our answers to valancy_joy coincided so admirably.

Never do. David's much too hyper and not nearly horsey enough
It would be a re-imagining of the character certainly, as I also cannot imagine DT with suitably primrose locks. I do still stand by the fact that there is something Wimsey-esque about the Doctor, and the Tenth Doctor at that. Peter Davison is a pretty charming idea, however.

I loved Edward Petheridge to bits, and Harriet Walter as well, lack of deep husky voice notwithstanding. But the writers! After having adapted the first two so beautifully -- they just lost the plot on Gaudy Night and I mean that most literally. It completely omitted the stress and terror of the Poison Pen actually driving people to suicide, which I think could have easily been included. The whole thing about women's work and women's power... just absent. And the charms of the world vs. the ivory tower. And Peter's ever so perfect proposal. Lost, lost utterly.

[chimosa.livejournal.com]

OT- but are we on for tonight?

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

You have been emailed!

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

I would actually go from Lord Peter to Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax series as having the same sort of quirky, intelligent lead.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

Yet another Not-Read. I will go and investigate forthwith.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I would do whatever it took to get Tennant as Wimsey. Whatever it took.

I opted to reject Jill Walsh's continuations of the Wimsey books, but instead to go the UUBERGEEK route of going up to Wheaton IL, where the original MS for Thrones Dominations is stashed, and reading Sayers' version of events. Her handwriting is atrocious but once you get used to it you only have to squint about four times a page.

If I could write mysteries I'd write more LPW fic; I'm pretty good at the piffle but the plot never seems right.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Oh and -- someone wrote a Jack/Peter TW/Wimsey crossover, I can rummage around and see if I can find it, if you're interested.

[sykii.livejournal.com]

I want Tennant to be Lymond. So bad.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

Dunnett post upcoming soon. And yes, David Tennant would feature. (God, I have become obsessed.)

Someone when I was ranting earlier about Tennant playing Lymond suggested the best Francis Crawford would be played by a mashup of Tennant and young David Bowie.

Yeah. Now try and unsee that.

[chiara7.livejournal.com]

I'm on the Tennant Bandwagon, waving a bottle of Cockburn '68 or whatever the damn vintage was. I'm with you; I can picture him, and only him.

I did love the original Ian Carmichael Wimseys on BBC, even if he was a little old for the part. Murder Must Advertise, in particular.

Of Sayers' near-contemporaries -- mystery-cum-comedy-of-manners writers -- the one I love next best is Josephine Tey, and by no means all her books equally. She's quite different from Sayers, far less engaged in class mechanics (as befits someone almost a generation younger), but with similar wit. "The Daughter of Time" and "Brat Ferrar" are my faves, with "Miss Pym Disposes" close behind (and how can you not love a book with a title like that).

And now, Sam, I'm deathly curious to know what you found from the Thrones, Dominations ms. There are about three scenes that ring very true to me in Paton's book (especially the state visit from Wimsey's godmother), and the rest I could dispense with, so I never read any of the later iterations.

*I'm really bad at deciphering handwriting. I took a paleography course once and had to quit in self-defense. Only after I had bled over a 15th c. manuscript, after stabbing myself with a pencil, of course.*

Having spent way too much of my professional life deciphering 15th-century mss., I can tell you that it does get easier, but that suicidal impulse never quite goes away.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I have become too obsessed with DT. Nothing good will come of this.

I'll have to dig up the Ian Carmichaels. I've only seen the Edward Petheridge ones. He's good for more sedate Peter; Tennant would be the more frenetic younger chap.

I've read "Daughter of Time" and adored it. But not the others. I'll have to dig her up.

Perhaps there might be more manuscripts in my future, but I'm not sure it's where my talents lie, and it wasn't as romantic as I thought it was going to be. Fortunately they don't make pencils out of lead anymore. ;-)

[ophymirage.livejournal.com]

waving a bottle of Cockburn '68 or whatever the damn vintage was

WAVING? You'll stir up all the lees in the bottom!!

Bunter *blanches in horror and fury* "All his lordship's vintage port! Eighty shillings the dozen!"