Dorothy L. Sayers writes many non-fiction books however among her best fiction is the Lord Peter Wimsey series. I came to this series sort of though the back door. My first taste was the BBC productions with Petherbridge as Lord Peter that can now be found on DVD. So, I read all of Dorothy's books containing the relationship of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. Now it is time to go through the whole series.
Now I watch the one I missed on PBS. The first thing I notice was that Ian Carmichael talks much faster than Petherbridge. And all the people seem older. Of course, Peter was supposed to be older when he met Harriet.
Lord Peter returns from Corsica. To find his older brother the Duke of Denver (David Langton) practically accused of murder. What is worse is his brother is not talking. So, it is up to Peter to find out what happened and clear his brother.
In the process, he puts his foot in it and practically gets all his relatives and friends accused. As with all Sayers' stories nothing is simple, there are overlapping plots and foolish deeds, as if Peter can not figure them out. On the side, we learn a little about English society and ballistics.
They took the time to put just about everything relevant from the book into this production. There were a few exceptions but not worth bothering about. The production is complete enough that you do not have to read the book.
I am glad they finally made a DVD version. However, the one I watched was the tape series and I swear just as soon as you turn it on the part (episode) is over and it is time for the next tape as the story moves very fast.
This item is worth purchasing as you will want to replay it often.
