In which Charis and Sharon take a detour through a Sayers’ short story that features a different detective than our eponymous Wimsey: Mr. Montague Egg, traveling salesman representing Messrs. Plummet and Rose. We follow Monty as he notices something amiss with a potential customer he is visiting in “The Professor’s Manuscript.” We also talk about the underlying class anxiety that the story betrays, as well as the personality traits Monty shares with Lord Peter. And we take some winding detours through theology, anti-capitalism, and more!
Our next episode will return us to the shores of Wilvercombe and HAVE HIS CARCASE.
Download the Episode 18 transcript.
Shownotes:
- “The Professor’s Manuscript” is part of the IN THE TEETH OF THE EVIDENCE short story collection, published in 1939.
- In one of our tangents, we mention RETURN OF THE THIEF, the final book in Megan Whalen Turner’s incredible QUEEN’S THIEF YA series. We both very much recommend the series, starting with the first book, THE THIEF. (Warning, you may need to find a time when you can gulp all six books down in quick succession. They are compulsively readable!)
- For more on T.S. Eliot’s views of John Donne, read his 1921 essay “The Metaphysical Poets”
