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A Presumption of Death: The new Lord Peter Wimsey Novel [Paperback]

Dorothy L Sayers (Author), Jill Paton Walsh (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 26 May 2003
In A Presumption of Death, Jill Paton Walsh tells how World War II changed the lives of Peter, Harriet and their growing family.



The story opens in 1940. Harriet Vane - now Lady Peter Wimsey - has taken her children to safety in the country. But the war has followed them: glamorous RAF pilots and even more glamorous land-girls scandalise the villagers; the blackout makes the night-time lanes as sinister as the back alleys of London. Then the village's first air raid practise ends with a very real body on the ground - not a war casualty but a case of plain, old-fashioned murder. And even before the second body is found, Lord Peter Wimsey and his brilliant wife are on their way to finding the killer.

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A Presumption of Death: The new Lord Peter Wimsey Novel + The Attenbury Emeralds + Thrones, Dominations: The new Lord Peter Wimsey Novel
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Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks; New Ed edition (26 May 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0340820675
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340820674
  • Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 17.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 92,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Authors

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Jill Paton Walsh
Dorothy L. Sayers

Product Description

Review

'Jill Paton Walsh has...given us a Lord Peter story in the true Sayers' style and tradition' (Norma Major - The Week on Thrones, Dominations)

'An engrossing, intelligent and provocative novel in the guise of a conventional mystery.' (Joyce Carol Oates, New York Times Book Review)

'Could this be the best book Dorothy L. Sayers never wrote? She has done a splendid job - certain to please the legions of Sayers loyalists as well as readers new to the Wimsey canon . . . Lord Peter has been made much more human and interesting by marriage. . . and the story is full of twists and connivance.' (Chicago Tribune on THRONES, DOMINATIONS)

'A must for all Wimsey lovers...an entertaining read which offers some longed for insight into the lives of the Wimseys after their marriage' (Northern Echo (Presumption of Death) 2002-11-12)

'Vintage whimsey ... Wimsey lives on in delicious familiarity in this triupmh not just of one writer's art, but of two' (Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Presumption of Death) 2002-12-21)

'An admirable page-turner with some fascinating detail' (Publishing News 2002-12-21)

'Jill Paton Walsh excels as Ms Sayers' posthumous voice. As before the two authors blend seamlessly and the intricately woven plot would grace anything from the golden age of detective writing' (Norfolk Journal (Presumption of Death) 2002-12-01)

"Undeniably fascinating reading for lovers of good crime novels - nad, in particular, those who loved the Lord Peter Wimsey series." (Liverpool Echo 2003-05-03)

"A must for all Wimsey lovers, this beautifully written novel is a murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie." (Lancashire Evening Post 2003-05-31)

"A truly engaging read" (Lancashire Evening Post 2003-05-31)

About the Author

Jill Paton Walsh, born in 1937, is the author of five novels for adults: the fourth of these, Knowledge of Angels, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Before writing for adults she made a career as a writer of children's books and has won many literary prizes. In addition she is the author of two crime novels: The Wyndham Case and A Piece of Justice, which was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award. These novels feature Imogen Quy, the college nurse at St Agatha's College, Cambridge, as her heroine.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable mystery to delight Wimsey fans! 25 Oct 2002
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
This book is a must for all Wimsey-lovers as we are reunited with Peter and Harriet in the first two years of the Second World War. Peter makes his appearance late in the novel but Harriet is as engaging as ever taking centre stage. Her longng for her husband keeps Lord Peter firmy in the reader's consciousness. He may not appear quite enough for everyone's taste, but his reappearance at all more than makes up for it.

The mystery itself is not particularly thrilling; most of your suspicions or hunches will prove to be right. The book compensates for this with a delightful development of the relationship between Peter and Harriet and with a real sense of period. The fear of the early was years is vividly brought home and the uncertainty felt will strike a chord with society after September 11. This is not enough to make it a great read for those unfamiliar wth Wimsey - the Wimsey uninitiated would be well advised to start elsewhere - but Jill Paton Walsh has tied the book carefully with the Wimsey Papers published in The Spectator in 1939-1940 and sets the stage more clearly for the short story Talboys (in "Striding Folly"). As with Dorothy L Sayers books, the characterisation is endearing.
Jill Paton Walsh may not have produced another work like "Thrones, Dominations", (her completion of Dorothy L Sayers unfinished Wimsey novel) but it is nevertheless an entertaining read which offers some longed for insight into the lives of the Wimseys after their marriage.

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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Seems like a Sayer's collaboration 7 Oct 2007
By M. A. Ramos TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
This book takes place mainly in a small village in the countryside of England. The time, Wartime England, covering the end of 1939 through early 1940. While the village has its first air-raid practice, a crime is committed. They return to the streets to find a young lady murdered.

Lord Peter Wimbsy is off on a Secret Mission for his country. Leaving the short-handed police to turn to his wife for assistance, Writer and amateur detective Lady Peter Wimsey, known before her marriage as Harriet Vane.

We follow Harriet as she tries to solve this mystery. The story is well woven and just when we figure out who did it, we are thrown a curious twist. The cast of characters in the village makes for a fun read. We are also given a good look at life in England during the early part of World War II.
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53 of 59 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Not Dorothy L Sayers 4 April 2005
By Davywavy2 VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
There is an excerpt of this book on Amazon. You might read it and think "Good heavens, this catches the tone of Sayers perfectly!". Well, of course it does. That's because the excerpt is lifted directly from Sayers' short story "The man who knew how" with just names and a few details changed and then inserted into this new book. The rest of the book doesn't live up to the writing of Sayers by a long chalk and this sort of underhand marketing ploy to make the reader think they're getting something they're not really ticks me off, especially when it is my money that they're taking.
Sayers had a delightful gift for characterisation and dialogue which few authors can manage. Jill Paton Walsh deserves credit for trying, but ultimately the fact that the publishers knew they had to run original Sayers dialogue to promote the book tells the potential buyer all they need to know.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A book to wallow in. 1 Nov 2009
By Mrs. M. R. Quinn
Format:Paperback
I have re read this book several times now and also listened to the narration of it - beautifully done by Edward Petherbridge - and it is without doubt one of my favorite books to relax with. The book is based in 1939 shortly after the outbreak of WW2 and Harriet has taken her children and her in-laws children to live at Tallboys, their country farmhouse. Jill Paton Walsh writes with a very easy style and has the ability to transport you to the era in which it was written through her characters, descriptions of the wartime lifestyles and the relationships that develop. The book is mainly about Harriet Vane, now Lady Peter Wimsey, and how she has settled into the role as Peters wife to the point where she is very comfortable and a lot more confident than she was as a single lady. Harriet is asked to help investigate the murder of a young woman while Peter is abroad working for the government in a covert operation. He appears about 2/3 of the way through book to help solve the murder. I would highly recommend this book to any DLS reader as a very good interpretation of the characters that she invented before she moved onto other things.
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29 of 35 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A delightful read 24 Oct 2003
By A Customer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Harriet Vane (now Wimsey) has always been one of the delights of the Dorothy L Sayers books and considerably more consistent and believable as a character than Lord Peter - this book focusses on Harriet and is stronger for it. Jill Paton Walsh attempts to resolve the problem of Lord Peter's varying character by having him comment on it and the changes which marriage has brought and he is certainly a nicer, more believable person here (although I still have doubts about all this "secret" work he does !!)

The delight of this book is not the mystery, which is reasonably straightforward, but the background detail of the war time village life and the reintroduction of the characters we already know and changes in their lives. The age is well evoked and the author handles the class issues well. We also get the expected and outrageously funny contributions we have come to expect from the Dowager Duchess.

The resolution of the mystery is clever although it does raise a number of moral points which the novel admits are difficult. The decisions made do feel like those which might well have been made in the circumstances ... whether they are the right ones, is a difficult question and thought provoking.

This novel does not have the air of despair that past Wimsey novels have had or the feeling of fragility in the relationships and concentrates more on issues and character development. It is a good, fun novel which will delight all those who who love and know the characters. I sincerely hope that Jill Paton walsh is considering more ......

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Clever and convincing
I thoroughly enjoyed this pastiche which demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the other Wimsey stories and of Sayers herself. Read more
Published 6 days ago by R. E. Booth
5.0 out of 5 stars Great item
Brought for my mother who has enjoyed the other books in the series. She sat happily reading it from cover to cover.
Published 23 days ago by s wilkes
4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing story, well-told.
Not a five star read but worth four, I think - Jill Paton Walsh certainly has a 'feel' for Dorothy Sayers' dialogue, though not her skill with descriptions.
Published 2 months ago by Linda Lee
4.0 out of 5 stars JILL PATON WALSH
Rating is for J.P.L-s understanding how the wheels in Dorothy L. Sayers head must have clicked. That is why, that she is able to regenerate the D.L.S. prose. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Gabor Antal Szilvay
5.0 out of 5 stars Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane in the Second World War
I find the characterss of Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane fascinating and after reading the canonical books by Dorothy Sayers, I was interested to see if JIll Paton Walsh could carry... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Richard Christou
5.0 out of 5 stars In keeping with Sayers
I bought this and the other two Paton Walsh novels and I was not disappointed. Sayers is, without doubt, better but these are engaging and entertaining. Read more
Published 5 months ago by gimmielinda
4.0 out of 5 stars Jill Paton Wash's update on Lord Peter Wimsey
It was a great decision to allow a modern author to update us on the later activities of Lord Peter Wimsey & Family. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Sage
5.0 out of 5 stars loved it
i really enjoyed reading the new lord peter wimsey as am a great fan of him. also of bunter and the old characters of busmans holiday.
Published 8 months ago by teresa kell
1.0 out of 5 stars None
if you are a fan of ms sayers writing do not buy this book. the quality of writing is poor. i dislike her characterisation of harriet. Read more
Published 13 months ago by ali brighton
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful new fix for Wimsey fans!
This is a terrific book, set during World War 2. Jill Paton Walsh has caught Sayers tone exactly, but has a lightness of touch that is very engaging. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Clancy
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