The book is better than the audio tape.
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The book is terrific. It see's the development of the relationship between Harriet and Peter whilst providing a ripping good murder! The talking tape however was a diasappointment. This was heavily edited and without the benefit of having read the book would have made no sense whatsoever. The best part of it was that Edward Petherbridge read it. The man has a voice like melting chocolate and can put even the most hardened insomniac to sleep!
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Thrones and Dominations D L Sayers/J P-Walsh
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Having been an avid Dorethy L Sayers, (Lord Peter Wimsey) reader for years I was a little dubious about reading this book, thinking that it may change my vision of the characters because they would have been assumed by another writer, and therefore, altered. However I must admit I was pleasantly suprised. I think it is possible to tell which bits of the work were Dorethy's creation and which bits are where Jill has taken over and meated out the bear bones of the framework. The very beginning of the book has the arrival back of the newly-weds from honeymoon, and I feel this does not hang true to Sayers characterisation of the two main protaganists. Harriet has become rather hard around the edges, as if Paton-Walsh hadn't quite got under the skin of Harriet, some of the conversations that Harriet holds with her friends and one of the other female characters in the book are not believeable. Harriet at one point telling someone she barely knows that " Peter's over run with old servants like mice. His man Bunter has been with him twenty years...." Harriet of Busmans Honeymoon or Gaudy Night, or any of the other books featuring her just would not have said this, she would have had too much respect for Lord Peter. In fact no wife of this period would have said this about their family affairs to a comparative stranger.
However, all things considered Paton-Walsh does do an admirable job in reviving a manuscript that has added something to the Wimsey canon. The latter part of the book is much better, and whether Sayers had more input in this section, (some detective writers write the ending first), or whether Paton-Walsh just warmed to her theme, and began to love the characters more it is certainly more realistic, the conversations between Wimsey and Harriet are more credible, and you are left with a sense of closure as they move on into their married life, which you just know is going to be happy and fulfilled. (I wasn't so sure about Paton-Walsh's surmisses about the marriage of Bunter, that struck a discord with me, again he was so deferential to Wimsey in all the other previous books there is no way he would have allowed himself the flamboyance of a big society wedding with opera singers etc and the Dowager Duchess in attendance (I don't think so?), he would have followed his masters lead and had a quiet friendly affair in a country churchyard somewhere. Any way I'll let you make your minds up about that. All in all, a good book well executed.
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very good
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I was very reluctant to read a Peter Wimsey book not written by Sayers herself. However, I wanted some closure on how the Wimseys marriage went on and, comforted by the fact that at least Sayers had planned the book, I decided to order it. I have not regreted it, as it is a very interesting book. It is obvious both that she thought of the plot and that she did not write the actual book, but I don't think she would have been ashamed to have written; in fact, although not as good as her later novels, it is on the same level as her earlier works.
I must say, though, that it has not inspired me to buy the next book, which I understand in written exclusively by Walsh. This novel in my view completes the story of Peter Wimsey and anything more would be too much of a good thing. Also, I am not sure Ms.Walsh could continue writing about these characters without altering them in essentials or making them sound too modern. Besides, Peter Wimsey is a creature of the thirties; I cannot imagine him in wartime ot post-war Britain, or (God forbid!) in the sixties!
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In style, but wordy and tedious
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It is true that it is difficult to tell where Sayers broke off and Paton Walsh took over. So Paton Walsh does not warp the main characters or the tone of the Sayers 'universe'. That said, this book is not at all up to standard with Sayers' own completed works. First of all it is too long, tedious and wordy. There is no end to the characters' discussing, debating, reflection, and philosophying. There is no trace of a crime before page 128, and when the investigation has just started to gain speed, Lord Peter pops off to France for several days on business totally unrelated. If you consider this book, I would suggest re-reading one of the other Dorothy L. Sayers novels instead.
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Lord Peter Lives!
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Initially I wasn't too sure of this book; I get a slightly queasy feeling at the idea of one author taking over the characters of another but this novel is such a treat! I'm fairly sure I can spot at least some of the areas where Sayers leaves off and Patton Walsh takes over (DLS didn't have to work so hard to be 'period' for example - she just was!) but it was so delightful to have Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane alive once more. A word of warning, however... whilst deeply engrossed in this book I've missed my stop on the tube a couple of times and managed to get on completely the wrong train and ended up miles from home (not a common occurance) still, at least I had the book for company!
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