Entertaining, but slight
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All detective fiction - indeed all fiction - relies on coincidence. But perhaps the plot of this book overdoes it. Sayers can write and the reader is carried along and entertained by the story; but in retrospect there is nothing of any substance there. I've also always found the denoument somewhat unpleasant. I don't share Sayers' evident belief that members of the aristocracy are somehow innately qualified to dispense justice, in whatever way they may see fit to do it.
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The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
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A passable time-waster, I found Lord Wimsey rather irritating this time. The mystery itself is quite amusing but tends to contribute towards the rather pretentious air of the book.
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Less frothy than some of the other Wimsey novels
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As other reviewers have mentioned, what makes this novel stand out from the usual period crime fiction is the portrayal of between-the-wars London when Armistice Day is still a real reminder of what men endured, when survivors of the first world war still suffer from shell-shock and the after-effects of gassing and wounds, and when having a wife go out to work is a significant slur on a man's masculinity.
The actual murder itself is less satisfying than some of the other novels in this series, and the unveiling of the culprit is a bit of a deux ex machina ending, so in some ways this works best as a novel with an incidental crime rather than the other way round. A good read anyway, though with a significantly darker centre than some of the other Wimsey books.
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The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
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Not one of Peter Wimsey's best efforts but an interesting enough puzzle, well though out and satisfying to all fans of Dorothy L Sayers. However what makes this book fascinating for me is the deeply convincing contemporary portrait of upper and middle class post World War 1 Britain. The Edwardian afternoon still lingers on for those too old to have fought and the Gentlemans club which forms the backdrop for much of this book remains a refuge from a rapidly changing world. But for the "lucky" ones who return from the trenches their experiences haunt them. There are also the new economic realities of unemployment to be faced. Dorothy L Sayer has brilliantly and effortlessly evoked the flavour of the period. As reader of detective fiction and a passionate history buff I enjoyed it enormously.
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A classic tale of crime
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Ian Carmichael quite simply is Lord Peter Wimsey. Capturing the feel of an era gone by, of the period between the two world wars, the effect of shell-shock & a gentleman detective, Dorothy L Sayers' timeless stories as reproduced by the BBC are all excellent. This is however the best. The plot is, as always believable yet challenging, & the overall production is excellent, as you would expect from the BBC. Special mention must go to the late lamented Peter Jones for his outstanding performance as the indispensable Bunter.
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