Busman's Honeymoon

The Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane Mysteries

By: Dorothy L. Sayers

Narrated by: Ian Carmichael

Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Society's eligible women are in mourning. Lord Peter Wimsey has married at last, having finally succeeded in his ardent pursuit of the lovely mystery novelist Harriet Vane. The two depart for a tranquil honeymoon in a country farmhouse but find, instead of a well-prepared love nest, the place left in a shambles by the previous owner. His sudden appearance, dead from a broken skull in the cellar, only prompts more questions.

Why would anyone have wanted to kill old Mr. Noakes? What dark secrets had he to hide?

The honeymoon is over, as Lord Peter and Harriet Vane start their investigations. Suspicion is rife, and everyone seems to have something to hide, from the local constable to the housekeeper. Wimsey and his wife can think of plenty of theories, but it's not until they discover a vital fact that the identity of the murderer becomes clear.

©2012 Dorothy L. Sayers (P)2012 AudioGO

a fun wrap-up for Harriet &Lord Peter

I loved the prologue and all the personalities. the doweger Dutchess is the best.

How have I missed out on this gem my whole life?

Never a fan of Agatha Christie, I've long assumed that all the "golden age of detective fiction" authors would also be not to my taste -- but I was so wrong. Dorothy L. Sayers (along with Margery Allingham, who I discovered first) well deserves her reputation as one of the queens of the golden age.

Just what I needed to get me out of myself.

A fine, absorbing story in all its details, remarkable, moving quotes to lead off each chapter, moving poetry, too, of Lord Peter in love with the perfect woman and she in love with him. Some really transcendent moments! And to top it all off, extraordinary narration by a real master.

Great

I love the Peter Wimsy series and wish Audible would hurry up and get the rest. This one is the one that explains Lord Peter and Bunter’s beginning.

Romantic Mystery

This was my first book by this author. It's a good book. I found myself going back to certain parts to be sure of the plot twists!

Dorothy L. Sayers at Her Best

I watched the BBC drama many years ago on PBS tv staring Mr. Carmichael who ably does the narration here. However, I missed a female actress doing the voice of Harriet Vane. It was confusing sometimes to know which voice was Lord Peter's and which was his wife's. Good mystery, well written by Dorothy L. Sayers who is right up there, in my opinion, with the Great Agatha Christie. This is a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

A magnificent book beautifully performed

I read this book many years ago, but listening to Ian Carmichael’s performance brought home to me its power and beauty. Above all, we see the real Lord Peter Wimsey — the piffle, the urbanity, the cleverness, the suffering, and the deep love he has for Harriet Vane. It is all just about perfect. Thank you, DLS.

What a wonderful listen!

Author, characters, setting, plot, narrator: all first rate. Dorothy Sayers is the Jane Austen of mystery writers. I love her books, especially Gaudy Night, which ends shortly before this book begins. Busman's Honeymoon is the last of several mystery stories about Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane.
Splendid in every way!

Interesting murder mystery

This story explores the difficulties faced in the early days of marriage for a couple in early middle age. Most of us would never face finding a murdered man in the basement of our honeymoon home, but the other daily challenges to comfort and routine are definitely true to life. The situations are somewhat exaggerated but this is definitely an interesting subject to explore because most young people do not think about this sort of thing prior to living together not do they know how to solve the daily problems that inevitably arise.

Sayers also explores the weight of sending people to their death in war or the gallows. This is a major theme in all the Wimsey books, Lord Peter being driven to the point of depression and madness because of his part in it. The new marriage must also endure this aspect of his character.

The murder mystery presented an interesting problem that was not solved until the very end. It made sense because that character was most skilled and most tempered to do such a thing. I listen to a lot of Agatha Christie and have read some Chesterton. Neither one have come up with such an ingenious method of murder. This story stands apart so far in that manner. I enjoyed its ingenuity.

The story also stands apart from Christie because Christie’s treatment of the guilty condemns the evil they do without hesitation. Both authors are concerned with the truth and not allowing evil to continue, but Christie’s resolution bears no remorse for exposing evil and punishing it. Christie is shocking somewhat in that she often suggests suicide is the best solution for murderer or lets them off altogether if the murder is of an evil person. Sayers’ characters feel a responsibility to rule of law but also show so much remorse for the condemned that one gets the impression that they take on the guilt of the condemned. In this, Sayers’ Wimsey is a much more complex person than Christie’s Poirot.

The narrator handled the copious amount of literary quotes marvelously. I would not have understood many of them had I not heard them with the kind of intonation and emotion he showed. His biggest weakness was that his voice showed little difference between Harriet and Peter. I often could not tell who was speaking. To his defense, it could be that the author did not make adequate note of this herself. The narrator was very entertaining voicing the other characters. He definitely made the book a great listen even when I tired of the author.

And I did eventually tire of Sayers. The characters kept quoting literature passages at each other to the point of nauseam. Normal people do not speak to each other in a set of literary allusions instead of real conversations. I do usually enjoy these kinds of allusions when they illuminate an enrich the story. The quotes intrigue me to read further or help in my prior understanding of the books or poems I have read. In this case, Sayers uses quotes so often that they become a running commentary of ideas that actually make the characters more obscure because they are speaking with another’s voice instead of their own.

Having been brought up in America in our modern times, the kind of social structure in English society seems so ridiculous to me. It is interesting that the characters often rebel against this as well. Sayers does not take their side in their argument, however. She writes with a definite prejudice toward common working people. In one ridiculous scene, moving men cannot move a large piece of furniture through a door. Lord Peter takes off his jacket to aid them and immediately the furniture gets through the door. I got the impression that Sayers felt that the lords knew how to do everything better than the common man. She makes a lot of references to people knowing their place and usually makes the characters holding lower positions in life so much cruder and less morally respectable. This is interesting because even though both Peter and Harriet have immoral, only the lower class gets impregnated and cannot find acceptable employment without their help.

I find this sort of class snobbery interesting because of its novelty but have to admit that, even though it is definitely not as pronounced in modern America, it still exists in a way. We certainly treat our celebrities as if they were lords and ladies. What usually annoys me the most, is that the celebrities do not show awareness of their own ignorance. I think in this book, Sayers is much like the modern celebrity, unfortunately, unaware of how little she knows what it is like to be a commoner. She is not unsympathetic or ungenerous, but she definitely writes from above them. Her treatment of Bunter is a notable exception. He is functionally their equal and the characters know and love him for it even if he is not formally acknowledged as such and lives to serve them gracefully.

In spite of these annoyances, I still did enjoy the story because of the themes it explores and will likely read or listen to more of Sayers’ Wimsey books in the future. Thankfully, we are not as limited today by the circumstances of our birth as many were in times past. We can laugh at the snobbery and just appreciate the rest of the story and maybe be temped to look up an English classic or two.

Sublime Dorothy Sayers -My favorite of her books

Now this is how marriage should be. I'm always entranced from the first chapter and all the way to the last word. I adore the quotes! Character development like crazy. Just fabulous!!