Line #286 Literature/LordPeterWimsey


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8	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lord_peter_wimsey.jpg]]
9
10	The hero of eleven books, a play, and a number of short stories created by Creator/DorothyLSayers, with [[OutlivedItsCreator four sequels by Jill Paton Walsh following her death]]. The character and the stories he stars in are often considered among the best of the pre-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII "Golden Age" mysteries, to the point where [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece modern readers may see them as more]] like [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructions of]], parodies of, and occasionally paeans to British culture in [[GenteelInterbellumSetting the Interbellum]] that just happen to be about murder.
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12	The younger brother of the Duke of Denver, Lord Peter is an AmateurSleuth with a keen observational faculty, an intense sense of justice and [[ShellShockedVeteran deeply ingrained trauma from his service in the trenches]], all of which he hides behind [[ObfuscatingStupidity a diffident and flippant personality]]. As he has no need for a job, he spends his time collecting rare books and acting as a police consultant in murder and grand larceny cases, frequently alongside Inspector Charles Parker of Scotland Yard and Mervyn Bunter, his loyal valet and old war comrade. Other recurring characters include Harriet Vane, Peter's love interest and a rare example of an AuthorAvatar done exceptionally well; Miss Climpson, an elderly spinster whom Peter sometimes sends on fact-finding missions; The Honourable Freddy Arbuthnot, financial genius; Peter's mother, the Dowager Duchess of Denver; and Peter's sister, Lady Mary, who rebels against her aristocratic family by involving herself in socialist politics.
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14	The Wimsey stories take place between 1922 and 1936, and (a bit unusually for a mystery series) the characters age in real time: Lord Peter is thirty-two in ''Literature/WhoseBody'' and forty-six in ''Busman's Honeymoon.''
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16	While there is an [[OldShame film]] called ''The Silent Passenger'' made in Sayers's lifetime based on the character, she disliked it, a feeling seemingly reciprocated by the public and fandom, as it has not survived. In 1940 Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer released a "satisfactory" film version of ''Busman's Honeymoon'' (called ''Haunted Honeymoon'' in the USA) starring Robert Montgomery and Constance Cummings. In the 1970s, the BBC produced five miniseries starring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter (''Clouds of Witness'', ''The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club'', ''Five Red Herrings,'' ''Murder Must Advertise'', and ''The Nine Tailors''). Carmichael also starred in the BBC's radio drama series from the '70s to the '80s which adapted nearly all the novels, save for ''Gaudy Night,'' which was finally adapted in 2005. The '80s saw Edward Petherbridge and Harriet Walter adapt the three main Harriet Vane novels, ''Strong Poison,'' ''Have His Carcase,'' and ''Gaudy Night.'' Carmichael brought both humor and depth to the role, while Petherbridge emphasized the melancholy and romantic sides of the sleuth.
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18	[[foldercontrol]]
19
20	[[folder: Novels in publication order]]
21	[[index]]
22	* ''Literature/WhoseBody'' (1923)
23	* ''Literature/CloudsOfWitness'' (1926)
24	* ''Literature/UnnaturalDeath'' (1927)
25	* ''Literature/TheUnpleasantnessAtTheBellonaClub'' (1928)
26	* ''Literature/StrongPoison'' (1931)
27	* ''Literature/TheFiveRedHerrings'' (1931)
28	* ''Literature/HaveHisCarcase'' (1932)
29	* ''Literature/MurderMustAdvertise'' (1933)
30	* ''Literature/TheNineTailors'' (1934)
31	* ''Literature/GaudyNight'' (1935)
32	* ''Busman's Honeymoon'' (1937)
33	[[/index]]
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder: Short story collections]]
37	* ''Lord Peter Views the Body'' (1928; containing 15 stories):
38	** "The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers"
39	** "The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question"
40	** "The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will"
41	** "The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag"
42	** "The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker"
43	** "The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention"
44	** "The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran"
45	** "The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste"
46	** "The Learned Adventure of the Dragon's Head"
47	** "The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach"
48	** "The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face"
49	** "The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba"
50	* ''In the Teeth of the Evidence'' (1933; containing 2 Lord Peter stories):
51	** "In the Teeth of the Evidence"
52	** "Absolutely Elsewhere"
53	* ''Hangman's Holiday'' (1939; containing 4 Lord Peter stories)
54	** "The Image in the Mirror"
55	** "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey"
56	** "The Queen's Square"
57	** "The Necklace of Pearls"
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	Three further short stories, "Striding Folly," "The Haunted Policeman," and "Talboys", were collected posthumously in the anthology ''Striding Folly'' in 1971. All the short stories were subsequently anthologized in the compendium ''Lord Peter'' (1972). A collection of mock-historical studies by Sayers and various friends, notably including professional herald C.W. Scott-Giles, of the Wimsey family was printed privately and finally published in 1977 under Scott-Giles's name and the title, ''The Wimsey Family'', with Scott-Giles's illustrations[[note]] He would subsequently provide Sayers with the maps and diagrams for her translation of Dante's ''[[Literature/TheDivineComedy Commedia]]''[[/note]]. One unfinished novel, ''Thrones, Dominations'', was completed by novelist Jill Paton Walsh in 1998, who went on to write three sequels on her own: ''A Presumption of Death'' in 2002, ''The Attenbury Emeralds'' in 2010, and ''The Late Scholar'' in 2013. A series of "letters written by various members of the Wimsey family" and generally referred to as ''The Wimsey Papers'' appeared in the ''Spectator'' magazine between November 1939 and January 1940; these have not yet been anthologized, though various excerpts from them appear in ''A Presumption of Death''.
61	----
62	!!The books provide examples of:
63	[[index]]
64	* LordPeterWimsey/TropesAToC
65	* LordPeterWimsey/TropesDToF
66	* LordPeterWimsey/TropesGToI
67	* LordPeterWimsey/TropesJToL
68	* LordPeterWimsey/TropesMToP
69	* LordPeterWimsey/TropesQToS
70	* LordPeterWimsey/TropesTToZ
71	[[/index]]
72
73	!!Tropes found in adaptations include:
74	* AdaptationNameChange: In the TV ''Have His Carcase'', a couple of names are made more obviously Cornish: Inspector Umpelty is renamed Inspector Trethowan, and Gaffer Gander becomes Gaffer Trewin.
75	* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: In the 1975 ''Five Red Herrings'', Mrs Farren is made jealous of her husband's friendship with Strachan, to the point that she strongly hints that they're in a relationship. To make this more plausible, Strachan becomes a bachelor, so his tomboy daughter is replaced by a teenage niece.
76	* AdaptedOut:
77	** The BBC ''Five Red Herrings'' removes Constable Ross.
78	** In the BBC ''Murder Must Advertise'' loses its cricket match, and a number of characters who only appear in it.
79	** The TV ''Have His Carcase'' removes Charis, one of the professional dancers at the hotel.
80	* BaitAndSwitch: In the BBC ''Five Red Herrings'', Bunter notices Campbell's unattended easel in the distance and suggests that he walk up the river to investigate. Lord Peter tells him not to interfere, then adds: "Now just you listen to me. The idea of walking over there is quite absurd... We'll go in the car."
81	* {{Bifauxnen}}: In the 1986 adaptation of ''Strong Poison'', the 'anti-man' Eiluned Price dresses in this style.
82	* CompositeCharacter:
83	** The TV ''Five Red Herrings'' removes Constable Duncan and gives his plot elements to Sergeant Dalziel.
84	** The radio version of ''Murder Must Advertise'' amalgamates Garratt, Copley and Smayle into a single character.
85	** The TV ''Murder Must Advertise'' combines Miss Rossiter and Mrs Johnson.
86	* SparedByTheAdaptation:
87	** Rather than being killed at the end of the 1972 BBC ''Clouds of Witness'', [[spoiler:Grimethorpe]] survives and is hospitalised.
88	** Milligan survives to the end of the TV ''Murder Must Advertise'' and is one of Parker's arrests when he breaks up the drug-smuggling ring.
89	* TakeOurWordForIt: The TV adaptation of ''Murder Must Advertise'' is very careful not to show the allegedly obscene Nutrax advertisement, only the characters' reactions to it.

Context Literature / LordPeterWimsey