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Title: Lord Peter Views the Body
Series:
Lord Peter Wimsey #5
Author: Dorothy Sayers
Rating:
3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages:
235
Words: 94K
From Wikipedia
The
Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers
Members
of London's "Egotists' Club" are telling stories of odd
things that happened to them, when one of the member's guests, a
cinema actor named Varden, relates that he was invited to model for a
wealthy sculptor, Eric Loder, and spent several months at Loder's New
York mansion. A few years later, after the war, Loder invited Varden
back to New York, and Varden noticed that Loder's mistress, Maria
Moranno, had disappeared, though a life-size gilded sculpture of her
now occupied the living room. One night, Varden was wakened by a
"funny-looking man" wearing a monocle, who told him his
life was in danger. For explanation, the man smashed the arm of the
"statue" with a fireplace poker, and Varden saw a human arm
bone beneath the gold plating. Varden fled the house immediately,
though to this day he is not certain whether he really did narrowly
escape death or whether someone played an elaborate practical joke on
him.
Then
the "funny-looking man" - Wimsey, also a member of the club
- appears and explains the mystery: while Wimsey himself was a guest
in Loder's mansion, a small night-time accident led to him occupying
a sofa in the living room, where he observed Loder entering a secret
chamber. Entering the chamber himself, Wimsey found an apparatus for
electroplating and diagrams drawn by Loder, revealing his plans to
kill Varden and encase him in a gilded statue. After further
investigation, Wimsey concluded that Loder killed Maria in jealousy,
believing that she and Varden were lovers during his first stay in
New York, and planned to kill Varden in the same fashion after he
returned from his war service.
Wimsey
goes on to relate that after Varden fled the house, Wimsey confronted
Loder with a pistol in the secret workshop. Loder tried to
outmaneuver Wimsey by shutting off the lights and then rushing him,
but tripped and fell into the vat of cyanide to be used in the
electroplating process, dying almost instantaneously. While Wimsey
fumbled to turn the lights back on, he inadvertently switched on the
current to the copper wire Loder was gripping, which transferred
copper plating to his hands. Loder was found the next morning, and
his death was ruled an accident, while Wimsey took Maria Moranno's
encased body to a local cemetery and gave it a Christian burial with
the aid of a sympathetic priest.
The
Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question
Peter
and Bunter are waiting in line at Saint-Lazare in Paris, when Peter
overhears a conversation from a young woman in line that makes him
curious, particularly when he notes that the woman and her companion
are also taking the same train to Calais, and crossing the Channel to
Dover. After patient investigation, Peter meets with his mother's
friend, the Dowager Countess of Medway, warning her that someone is
planning a burglary during her granddaughter's upcoming wedding. He
believes he knows who the thief is, but cannot prove it unless the
theft is allowed to take place.
Peter
also alerts Charles Parker, who has men on guard during the wedding.
A brief uproar arises when the bride's famous diamond necklace,
brought out of the family vault for the occasion, is reported stolen,
but the thief and her accomplice are caught red-handed. Peter shocks
the assembled wedding party by exposing the Dowager Countess's French
lady's maid as a man in disguise, Jacques le Rouge, a.k.a. Jacques
sans-Culotte, a notorious safecracker, burglar and female
impersonator. Jacques admits defeat, asking Peter how he knew. Peter
explains that while waiting in the line at Saint-Lazare, he overheard
Jacques, while dressed as a woman, use the masculine article "un"
instead of the feminine "une." Jacques congratulates Peter
for a mastery of the French language probably unique among all
English people.
The
Dowager Countess is initially outraged that Peter knowingly allowed
her to be dressed, undressed, and assisted to bed by a man, but then
laughs off the whole affair, reminiscing that she was a famous beauty
in her youth, who attracted the attentions of many young men.
The
Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will
The
disposal of a dead man's fortune depends on his penchant for
cross-word puzzles.
The
Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag
A
high-speed chase and a lost bag converge with a gruesome discovery.
The
Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker
A
lady pleads for Lord Peter's help in retrieving a valuable necklace,
and more importantly, a portrait with an indiscreet inscription.
The
Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention
Lord
Peter, visiting friends in the country, sees a ghostly carriage,
hears rumours of an odd will, and deduces that foul play is afoot.
The
Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran
Lord
Peter deduces the whereabouts of a cleverly hidden murder weapon.
The
Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste
Lord
Peter's celebrated palate exposes two impostors seeking a secret
formula.
The
Learned Adventure of the Dragon's Head
Viscount
St. George appears as a boy as Lord Peter uses clues from a rare book
to find a treasure.
The
Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach
Involving
several Scotsmen, a digestive organ, and a handful of diamonds.
The
Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face
Prompted
by a discussion with strangers on a train, Lord Peter investigates
the murder of a man whose face was disfigured after death.
The
Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba
Lord
Peter infiltrates a den of ruthless thieves; notable for unusual
technology.
This was a good entry in the series. A selection of short stories
worked perfectly for me and kept my attention without making me feel
“Ok, get on with it already”.
Some stories worked better than others and the last one did NOT work
for me. Faking his own death for 2 years just to catch a gang of high
tech thieves seemed a bit ridiculous to me. And it made me realize
how old he is. He was 37 at the time of his fake death. I also don't
understand why he's still single. I seem to vaguely recollect that
he's married in later books but might be confusing him with his
official detective partner Charles Parker. Either way, he's not
Batman/Bruce Wayne so he should be married. And that's my final
answer.
Other than those odd complaints, this was just what was needed. I
really like collections of short stories if they are done well. None
of this 800 page “world building” crap where the author destroys
any chance of allowing the reader to use their imagination. None of
this 800 pages of “character development” where the author makes
the character more important than the story. Sayers tells a story
using the titular character and she does it well. But they are the
vehicles and the story is the point. I appreciate, so much, that
approach to story telling. It is sadly lacking in today's books and
is probably one of the reasons I'm not drawn so much into modern SFF.
Going slightly off topic here. I don't understand why authors like
Sayers, and McKillip, aren't mentioned more by those who want more
women writers. They seem to be completely ignored by the very people
I would have thought would be searching them out and bringing them to
a new generation. Part of it, I suspect, is the style of writing.
“Kids these days” just don't want this sparse, utilitarian and
yet excellent kind of writing. Heaven help us, they might have to use
their imaginations! Maybe it's a genre thing? Most of the mystery
series that I've dipped my toes into have been penned by women but I
don't hear their names bandied about at all nowadays. Ok, I'm done
blabbering.
The main reason this got a 3.5 instead of a 4 is because in one of
the stories Wimsey is talking with someone who's french and Sayers
doesn't translate it. She expects her readers to be able to read
french. She obviously was NOT part of the Freedom Fries movement of
the 00's, otherwise she'd know better. To be honest though, I don't
feel like I really missed out on anything by not being able to read a
couple of paragraphs.
★★★✬☆
