As My Wimsey Takes Me

Episode 16: HAVE HIS CARCASE, part 1

In which Charis and Sharon attempt to begin discussing HAVE HIS CARCASE, the seventh Lord Peter Wimsey mystery. Spoiler alert: they don't get very far. They cover their mutual love of the book's opening paragraph, the practice of the British walking tour, and Harriet Vane's discovery of a corpse. They then go on a very long tangent about the depiction of policing in detective fiction. Also: Harriet's relationship with the press, how various characters in the novel attempt to construct narratives for themselves, and Sayers' increasing attentiveness to place in the latter half of the Wimsey series.

This episode covers the first three chapters of HAVE HIS CARCASE and does not give away the whodunnit.

For shownotes and episode transcripts, please visit our website at www.asmywimseytakesme.com.

Episode 15: FIVE RED HERRINGS, Part 2

In which Charis and Sharon discuss the second half of FIVE RED HERRINGS. We’re joined once again by our friend Angela Hines, who represents the pro-timetables point of view.

We reveal the Thing That Was Missing, briefly round up all the suspects, and re-visit our discussion of the Farren marriage as part of Sayers’ continuing theme of equality and inequality in relationships. We also discuss why Peter seems to get along well with artists, what Charis and Sharon find lacking (fraught emotions!), and what Angela finds in abundance (complex puzzle solving!) before revealing the whodunnit and outlining the final confrontation of the book.

This episode covers the second half of the novel and gives away both the vital clue and the whodunnit.

Visit our website at asmywimseytakesme.com for shownotes and episode transcripts!

Episode 14: FIVE RED HERRINGS, Part 1

In which Charis and Sharon return from their short hiatus to talk about traaaaaiiiiinnnnssss. That's right, this is the first of two episodes on THE FIVE RED HERRINGS! Our friend Angela Hines joins us to represent the pro-timetables point of view.

We discuss Sayers' correspondence about the novel with her publisher, as well as how the book differs from the previous Lord Peter mysteries. We also cover the scene of the murder, discuss a depiction of marriage in THE FIVE RED HERRINGS, and get ourselves tangled up trying to distinguish which Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood version of "The Lady of Shalott" we're respectively referring to.

This episode covers roughly the first half the novel and does not give away the whodunnit.

Episode 13.5: Neuroscience with Gavrielle Farmer

In this special episode, Sharon spoke with listener Gavrielle Farmer about breakthroughs in neuroscience in the early 20th century, contemporary conversations about brain chemistry and behavior in Sayers' day, the evolving conversation around shellshock between the world wars, and more.

Charis and Sharon also catch up on each other's lives during Covid-19 shelter-in-place.

The podcast is taking a short hiatus, returning in four weeks with our first episode on FIVE RED HERRINGS.

For shownotes, please visit our website.

Episode 13: STRONG POISON, part 4

In which Charis and Sharon conclude their discussion of STRONG POISON. We follow Miss Climpson as she has an encounter with Spiritualism, Miss Murchison as she snoops, and give away the whodunnit and howdunnit. We also talk about narrative echoes to previous Wimsey mysteries, such as Mrs. Wrayburn in relation to the other elderly women in the plots of UNNATURAL DEATH and THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT THE BELLONA CLUB. And we consider the callbacks to the scene in WHOSE BODY? where Peter solves the case.

For shownotes and the episode transcript, please visit our website.

Episode 12: STRONG POISON, part 3

In this third of four episodes on STRONG POISON, we start discussing the second half of the book. We talk about the very uncomfortable Christmas Peter spends at Dukes Denver. We also consider detective fiction as "the purest literature we have" and how STRONG POISON marks a turn in Sayers' style. Sharon finally learns how to pronounce Norman Urquhart's name, the book catches us up on several characters' love lives, and we see how a Cattery operative works. Also: more plot!

For shownotes and episode transcripts, please visit our website.

 

Episode 11: STRONG POISON, part 2

In this episode, Charis and Sharon talk about the real-life inspiration for Philip Boyes and what was happening in Sayers' life around the time she wrote STRONG POISON. We also see more of Marjorie Phelps, learn about Harriet's circle of friends, and reflect on Peter's gender performance and privilege in a world of double standards. 

This is the second of our episodes on the first half of STRONG POISON. We talk about events up through chapter 11 and do not give away the whodunnit. Here's our previous episode with part one of our discussion.

*Audio note: There is a slight high-pitched buzz in the background of this episode on Charis' side of the audio that we could not quite edit out and do apologize for!

*Content note: We bring up the topic of narcissists and abusive relationships at two points in this episode. While we do not go into detail, if this is a topic you would rather not hear about, those discussions take place between minutes 23:40 and 25:04, and again between minutes 47:48 and 50:00.

For more shownotes and the episode transcript, please visit our website.

Episode 10: STRONG POISON, part 1

In which Charis and Sharon finally (finally!) start discussing STRONG POISON, the fifth Lord Peter Wimsey mystery. We talk about the dramatic introduction of Harriet Vane, our love for the novel's first few chapters, and the theme of the detective's intuition. We also cover Parker's promotion, Sayers' desire to "Reichenbach" Peter, and the many callbacks this book has to previous mysteries in the series.

This will be the first of two episodes on the first half of STRONG POISON. We do not give away the whodunnit.

For episode shownotes and transcripts, please visit our website.

Episode 9: THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT THE BELLONA CLUB, part 3

In which Charis and Sharon wrap up the discussion of THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT THE BELLONA CLUB. We finally meet a key suspect and reveal the culprit. We also talk about whether or not art always reflects something about the artist's psyche. And we cover the unequal care given to traumatized members of different economic classes, Peter "starting to see women as people," Parker as sidekick vs. policeman, and why Peter turns certain criminals in to the law and offers others a different ending. We also talk about all our many favorite lines from THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT THE BELLONA CLUB!

This episode gives away the whodunnit.

For shownotes and the episode transcript, please visit our website.

Episode 8: THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT THE BELLONA CLUB, part 2

In this second of three episodes on THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT THE BELLONA CLUB, Charis and Sharon run through the events of chapters 8 through 16. We continue to explore the similarities between this book and the themes we talked about in our two earlier episodes on UNNATURAL DEATH. We also discuss our glimpse into Parker at work, alternative sidekicks for Peter, and the introduction of Marjorie Phelps.

This episode does not give away the whodunnit. For our first episode on THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT THE BELLONA CLUB, listen here.

For shownotes and the episode transcript, please visit our website.