Feminists who are Lord Peter fans......

Petherbridge and Walters almost crackle with chemistry. It was watching those two that got me reading the books years ago.

Saw them not so them ,l

No. I meant the radio dramatisation.

I have the Petherbridge/Walters ones on dvd. Swoon! So them as a youngster and that had me hooked.

*He guessed her to be about forty, though, as is frequently the case with country women, she had lost most of her front teeth and looked older."

It's slipped in so casually*

Probably accurate, though for the 1930s. No NHS dentistry. My grandmother had hers taken out in the 1930s and wore false ones because dentists were so expensive. And being exposed to the elements without modern SPFs would hammer the skin.

Ah, no, I must have had the dramatisation on an old Audible account. I don't remember laughter though.

tobee, do you mean the TV version?

The Ian C BH is available both in dramatisation and as an unabridged audio. I believe I have both, BRB...

Sorry meant the Carmichael dramatisation.

I remember somewhere, was it here? About the dramatisation of Busman's Honeymoon ending with Peter and Harriet laughing at the end which jarred a great deal after the whole breakdown climax. Forewarned I can't possibly listen to these!

I find Jane McDowell very disappointing. You would hope there would be a flavour of Harriet in the choice of narrator's voice but no. She just sounds a bit bored. There are so many great people they could have chosen instead. Audiobooks are pretty big business these days instead.

That’s ok Helen, no need to envy you, I will just remember that you’ve been ‘remarkably flat on both aspects’ of your figure all your life, and probably say something rather acid about your spine....

Ian C skipped the French letter (oo-err missus) in Clouds of Witness.

I have the Ian Carmichael ones. Do feel free to hate me even more than you do anyway (for my iron discipline of my hair and my children )

Yes, Bertrand, I was really disappointed by the Jane McDowell versions on Audible - I hate to think what she’s made of the three-page letter in French in Clouds of Witness!
Though they do have Whose Body, read by Nadia May, who has made quite a good job of several Ngaio Marsh books, and they also have the Paton Walsh books Thrones, Dominations read by Ian Carmichael and A Presumption of Death by Edward Petherbridge.

I do wonder how they dealt with the several instances of the n-word in Unnatural Death - I was surprised to see them still there in full in the Kindle edition. Most of them are said by a character who was obviously meant to be displaying outright prejudice, but at least one is from the supposedly ‘good’ character, Charles Parker, referring to a supposed ‘taste’ for boots and hair-oil. I suppose it just reflects the fact that it was an accepted word in the 30’s, even for those who would have thought themselves unprejudiced.

That's really helpful, thanks. I will certainly explore further.

Yes, with GN the denouement scene with Annie was one of the bits I had in mind.

I think with the setting of the women's college, I was disappointed in how stark were some of the things that are hurled at women as insults by people who don't like women much, eg women and girls being inherently bitchy rather than friendly and supportive. But then it's only quite recently that female friendship has been particularly celebrated more in books/media, at least that I've noticed, for example in things like Parks and Rec. I think my recent noticing of and being pleased about that improvement was uncomfortably juxtaposed with my first reading of the book, possibly.

In so many older books (I'm thinking again of Marianne here, but think it happened in GN too) there are so many throw away comments about women's looks, in particular whether or not they have 'good legs'. That's a particular one that always really bugs me

I think I love you, RustyBear.

But I have an urgent work deadline and had better not settle down to read those right now.

Well maybe just one...

@InvisibleUnicorn

The Wimsey Papers are in the Spectator Archive

archive.spectator.co.uk/article/5th-january-1940/12/wimsey-papers-viii

The Harriet Vane books are Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Gaudy Night, Busman's Honeymoon - so you started a fair way into the LPW/HV relationship!

GN probably has more characters with pagetime than any of her other books and the majority are women. I think for some she strays a bit far into one-dimensional nastiness!

I will add Strong Poison to the shopping list too, as it were

Thanks.

I will give it a go!

Yeah. I'd probably start with Murder Must Advertise as it's very standalone. It's also full of educated by not very aristocratic types

Yes, Gaudy, Helen. It was recommended as a good one to start with.

Gah, sorry, I see it was Gaudy Night!!