A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery

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A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery
Dorothy L Sayers Mystery titlescreen.png
Titlescreen. The animated title sequence was created by Richard Purdum Productions.
GenreMystery
Period drama
Starring Edward Petherbridge
Harriet Walter
Richard Morant
Composer Joseph Horovitz
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes10
Production
ProducerMichael Chapman
Running time52 minutes
Original release
Network BBC Two
Release25 March (1987-03-25) –
30 May 1987 (1987-05-30)

A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery is a series of television adaptations of three Lord Peter Wimsey novels— Strong Poison , Have his Carcase and Gaudy Night —by Dorothy L. Sayers.

Contents

The series follows the aristocratic sleuth Lord Peter's romance with the crime writer Harriet Vane, and stars Edward Petherbridge as Wimsey, Harriet Walter as Vane and Richard Morant as Bunter. The adaptations were first broadcast on BBC Two beginning on 25 March 1987.

Production

According to Harriet Walter in her introduction to a reprint of Gaudy Night, the working title of the series was Harriet Vane, since it encompassed all of the novels to feature the character, except for Busman's Honeymoon , for which the BBC could not obtain the rights. [1]

The series was a co-production with the PBS network station WGBH Boston, which broadcast it under the title Lord Peter Wimsey as part of its Mystery! strand. Walter believed that the change of name perhaps reflected a nervousness about hanging a series on a female character, and on a writer whose name was not well known in the United States compared with Sayers' contemporary, Agatha Christie. [1]

Reception

Compared to what he saw as the more flamboyant interpretation by Ian Carmichael in the 1970s BBC adaptations Lord Peter Wimsey , John J. O'Connor felt that Petherbridge "not only looks the part but also manages to convey the darker tones beneath the surface frivolity of the character as well." Petherbridge noted at the time that he saw Wimsey as "maintaining the impenetrable shell of the silly fool, the complete comedian, to camouflage an underlying extraordinary seriousness." [2]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1–3"Strong Poison" Christopher Hodson Dorothy L. Sayers, adapted by Philip Broadley25 March 1987 (1987-03-25)—8 April 1987 (1987-04-08)
The crime novelist Harriet Vane is on trial for the murder by poisoning of her former lover Philip Boyes. Lord Peter Wimsey is convinced of her innocence and falls in love with her. After the jury fails to reach a verdict, Lord Peter has 30 days until her retrial to investigate, and proposes marriage to Harriet should he save her. Suspicion soon falls on the solicitor Norman Urquhart, with whom Boyes dined shortly before his demise, with an inconsistent will of a wealthy relative appearing to be the motive. [3]
4–7"Have His Carcase"Christopher HodsonDorothy L. Sayers, adapted by Rosemary Anne Sisson 15 April 1987 (1987-04-15)—6 May 1987 (1987-05-06)
Having been cleared of murder, Harriet Vane holidays in the West Country, only to find a recently-murdered body on a rock on a deserted beach. Before she can summon help, the corpse is washed away by the tide. Together with Lord Peter Wimsey she investigates and discovers a complex plot involving a wealthy widow and a gigolo who believes he is a member of the Russian aristocracy. [4]
8–10"Gaudy Night"Michael SimpsonDorothy L. Sayers, adapted by Philip Broadley13 May 1987 (1987-05-13)—27 May 1987 (1987-05-27)
With some trepidation, Harriet Vane attends a reunion "gaudy" dinner at her old Oxford college, where she is welcomed by the dons, but suspects they are mostly interested in her association with Lord Peter Wimsey. A series of poison pen letters, acts of vandalism and other unpleasant events begins to plague the college and threaten the hard-won reputation of women at the university. Harriet is invited back by the Dean and Fellows of the college to investigate discreetly. [5] At the end of the story, Harriet finally accepts Peter's proposal of marriage.

Related Research Articles

<i>Gaudy Night</i> 1935 mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers

Gaudy Night (1935) is a mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, the tenth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, and the third including Harriet Vane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Peter Wimsey</span> Fictional character by Dorothy L. Sayers

Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers. A dilettante who solves mysteries for his own amusement, Wimsey is an archetype for the British gentleman detective. He is often assisted by his valet and former batman, Mervyn Bunter; by his good friend and later brother-in-law, police detective Charles Parker; and, in a few books, by Harriet Vane, who becomes his wife.

<i>Strong Poison</i> 1930 mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers

Strong Poison is a 1930 mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her fifth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey and the first in which Harriet Vane appears.

<i>Have His Carcase</i> 1932 mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers

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<i>The Nine Tailors</i> 1934 mystery novel by Dorothy L Sayers

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<i>Busmans Honeymoon</i> 1937 mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers

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A Presumption of Death is a 2002 Lord Peter Wimsey–Harriet Vane mystery novel by Jill Paton Walsh, based loosely on The Wimsey Papers by Dorothy L. Sayers. The novel is Walsh's first original Lord Peter Wimsey novel, following Thrones, Dominations, which Sayers left as an unfinished manuscript, and was completed by Walsh. A Presumption of Death is written by Walsh, except for excerpts from The Wimsey Papers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Morant</span> English actor (1945–2011)

Richard Morant was an English actor.

Mervyn Bunter is a fictional character in Dorothy L. Sayers's novels and short stories. He serves as Lord Peter Wimsey's valet, and served as Wimsey's batman during the First World War. Bunter was partially based on the fictional butler Jeeves, created by P. G. Wodehouse.

In the works of Dorothy L. Sayers, the fictional title of Duke of Denver is held by Gerald Wimsey, older brother of the books' protagonist, Lord Peter Wimsey. In novels written after Sayers' death by Jill Paton Walsh, Lord Peter also eventually holds the title. Sayers and several friends constructed an elaborate backstory for the duchy.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentleman detective</span> Type of fictional character

The gentleman detective, less commonly lady detective, is a type of fictional character. He has long been a staple of crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories set in the United Kingdom in the Golden Age. The heroes of these adventures are typically both gentlemen by conduct and often also members of the British gentry. The literary heroes being in opposition to professional police force detectives from the working classes.

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<i>The Attenbury Emeralds</i> 2010 novel by Jill Paton Walsh

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Miss Katharine Alexandra Climpson is a minor character in the Lord Peter Wimsey stories by Dorothy L. Sayers. She appears in two novels: Unnatural Death (1927) and Strong Poison (1930), and is mentioned in Gaudy Night (1935) and Busman's Honeymoon (1937).

Lord Peter Wimsey is a series of full cast BBC Radio drama adaptations of Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey detective novels broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1973 and 1983, with a further adaptation of Gaudy Night mounted for BBC Audiobooks in 2005 to complete the full sequence of Sayers' novels, all starring Ian Carmichael in the title role.

<i>Lord Peter Wimsey</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

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References

  1. 1 2 Sayers, Dorothy L. (2009). Gaudy Night. Hachette. p. 3.
  2. ↑ "Mystery! presents Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey". New York Times. 2 October 1987.
  3. ↑ "Strong Poison". BBC Genome. 25 March 1987. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  4. ↑ "Have His Carcase". BBC Genome. 29 April 1987. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  5. ↑ "Gaudy Night". BBC Genome. 13 May 1987. Retrieved 20 October 2019.

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