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Summary: Peter and Harriet's Happily Ever After
Review: After recently going on a Lord Peter binge, I was a bit apprehensive about reading a collection of short stories. How, I wondered, could short stories hold a candle to the witty and intricate writing of the novels? But, I was in withdrawl. Lord Peter had been my companion for the last month and I wanted to get as much of him as I could. I was pleasantly surprised. While the stories of course did not have the wealth of familiar characters all on stage at the same time, they each gave glimpses into those lives alongside the steady Lord Peter. From the disturbing to the merely amusing, Lord Peter managed to mix himself up in murder and mystery, and smoothly work out the muddle. One is also blessed to have two stories with Harriet Vane and the Wimsey children in them. The collection is fun and quite a vital part of the Lord Peter collection.
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Summary: Fascinating peak into mid-1900's British high-society.
Review: Each story is self-contained, but there is progression.
Lord Peter himself, and most of the other characters are self-efacingly described in a very endearing way.
The plot twists are mostly "high-brow" and often quite technical. Especially impressive the the female author of her time period so astutely describes such stereotypically manly things such as motorcycle enthusiasts, smoking-room society, poker playing, etc.
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Summary: A great read if you love Lord Peter!
Review: It's great to watch the character development of Lord Peter as he grows throughout the stories. Some are potboilers, other magnificent. BTW, Dorothy Leigh Sayers married Mac FLEMING, not "Fielding", and never hyphenated her name as an earlier reviewer showed it.
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Summary: The last pure and authentic Lord Peter there can ever be
Review: Lord Peter Wimsey led a vigorous and invigorating life from the time Bunter entered his Lordship's service; we know all from grisly killings to proposals in Latin. Mrs. Sayers gave a brief look at the years ahead in "Busman's Honeymoon," but could not, of course, describe the little ones unconceived. Boys will be boys, and Harriet Vane's kids are Wimseycal chips to be admired. Well, anyway, Mrs. Sayers-Fielding as she then was takes the time to watch over the young family still living at Talboys. And there are other stories, some clever, one or two as gruesome as anything in fine English mystery fiction. For those who know Dorothy Sayers' great creation, this is a must have, being the last authentic Wimseyana ever finished by her own hand. For newcomers, it is a perfect gentle introduction to the noble detective and his (growing) entourage.
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Summary: Lean and on the dark side
Review: These short stories are fine examples of the strong, lean prose required of all short fiction, not just mysteries. It seemed to me that Sayers let readers into the dark corners of her mind a bit more than in her novels--especially in that story about the sculptor. That one gave me chills. Not to say that all the stories weren't satisfying. It was also nice to glimpse some of Lord Peter's married life. If only there were more...
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Summary: Peter and Harriet's Happily Ever After
Review: This book has a selection of short Lord Peter stories that are as entertaining as always, but the reason to buy it is the glimpse it offers of Harriet and Peter as parents. The final story takes place at Talboys, and it centers around the Wimseys' domestic life. Lord Peter's eldest does not disappoint in his spirit or his intelligence, and Peter and Harriet fulfill all expectations as they lovingly handle their children.
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Summary: An excellent read
Review: This is my first encounter with Lord Peter Wimsey, and I have very much enjoyed it. Incredible writing, where wonderful details do not bog down the story, and interesting plots make these stories fun to read. Though different, they remind me of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
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Summary: Lord Peter throughout his career
Review: This omnibus edition of all the Lord Peter Wimsey short stories consists of the stories from _Hangman's Holiday_, _In the Teeth of the Evidence_, _Lord Peter Views the Body_, and _Striding Folly_ (the final 3 stories of _Lord Peter_), those of _Striding Folly_ being the most difficult to get outside the omnibus edition. See reviews of the individual collections if you want a more detailed discussion of the contents. If you get the omnibus _Lord Peter_, be aware that it contains the complete text of _Lord Peter Views the Body_, while HH and Teeth contain non-Wimsey stories that are worth having. If you're interested in an unabridged audio version, check out those for the individual volumes that have been cannibalized for the omnibus edition; Ian Carmichael has narrated unabridged recordings of most of the short stories, with the exception (so far) of a few that turn on visual clues given in the text. I find the 2 stories from Teeth uninteresting, but those from HH are enjoyable. The stories from _Lord Peter Views the Body_ all predate the events of _Strong Poison_ - that is, they occur years before Lord Peter met Harriet Vane. In fact, some occur within two years of the end of WWI, such as "The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran", set in June 1921. For the most part, most of my favorite Lord Peter short stories fall into this group, with the exception of "The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention", an enormous (and to me, tedious) novella wherein the will of a recently deceased old reprobate was deliberately designed to create bad blood between his sons. Apart from that, we have such gems as the Attenbury diamond case, mentioned in later years as having started Lord Peter on his hobby of detection, a case featuring Lord St. George as a child staying in the Piccadilly flat (and featuring the first appearance of Bill Rumm, who later appeared in _Strong Poison_). We even have "The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will", wherein Lady Mary persuades her brother to help a friend with Red politics find her uncle's missing will. (It's much more entertaining than Hercule Poirot's only foray into a case of this kind, and more sophisticated than Jane Marple's only such case - Uncle Meleager had a wicked sense of humor.) Harriet Vane appears only in the last two stories, both from _Striding Folly_: "The Haunted Policeman" and "Talboys", neither involving murder and both set after the events of _Thrones, Dominations_.
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