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.
Download the episode transcript. (Prepared by Nia Greene)
Shownotes:
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- “Guinness is good for you” – Sayers penned the jingle for this famous advertisement. Learn more about the Guinness zoo ad campaign here.
- ‘Gaudy Night‘ by Dorothy L. Sayers – this essay was collected in Howard Haycraft’s THE ART OF THE MYSTERY STORY (1946), and can be found online here
- “Reichenbaching” is a reference to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Final Problem’
- If you or someone you know experiences suicidal thoughts, as Peter Wimsey does, you are not alone–in the US, you can speak to someone at suicidepreventionlifeline.org by calling 1-800-273-8255, or you can reach out via text to www.crisistextline.org by texting ‘home’ to 85258 in the UK, or 686868 in Canada.
