Episode 16: HAVE HIS CARCASE, part 1

~ Sharon

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.

Download the episode 16 transcript.

Shownotes:

  • “There’s only one set of footprints in the sand and it was not when Jesus carried the corpse.” Sharon is making flippant reference to this (in her opinion) terribly insipid Christian poem.
  • The Terry Pratchett quote that Charis mentions is indeed from NIGHT WATCH. The full quote is: “Yes, thought Vimes. That’s the way it was. Privilege, which just means private law. Two types of people laugh at the law: those that break it and those that make it.” But Pratchett also has another character, William de Worde, mention the literal meaning in THE TRUTH: “We’ve always been privileged, you see. Privilege just means ‘private law.’ That’s exactly what it means. He [his father, Lord de Worde] just doesn’t believe the ordinary laws apply to him. He really believes they can’t touch him, and that if they do he can just shout until they go away. That’s the de Worde tradition, and we’re good at it. Shout at people, get your own way, ignore the rules.”
  • The Tana French book that Sharon brings up in our discussion about policing is THE TRESPASSER.
  • “I just realized I’m thinking of the beginning of GREASE.”
  • Sharon refers to M.M. Bakhtin’s theory of the carnivalesque, first put forth in PROBLEMS OF DOSTOEVSKY’S POETICS, in our discussion about the way that the characters at the Wilvercombe hotel create different personas for themselves.

Episode 15: FIVE RED HERRINGS, part 2

~ Charis Ellison

In which Charis and Sharon discuss the second half of THE 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.

 

Download the episode 15 transcript.

Shownotes:

  • “…and in the future Bob Ross is gonna show everyone how to do it.” Bob Ross, host of the PBS show The Joy of Painting, frequently demonstrated techniques using a palette knife.

  • The Charlie Day meme references an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and features the character in front of a ‘conspiracy theory wall’ of images and text linked with string.

    • angela meme

  • “You think a depressed person could make this?” is a quote from Parks & Recreation, Season 4, Episode 11: ‘The Comeback Kid’. 

Episode 14: FIVE RED HERRINGS, part 1

~ Sharon

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 joined 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.

Download the episode 14 transcript.

Shownotes:

Episode 13.5: Neuroscience with Gavrielle Farmer

~ Sharon

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 and will return in four weeks with an episode on FIVE RED HERRINGS.

Download the episode 13.5 transcript!

Shownotes:

  • Sharon and Charis note that neither STATION ELEVEN (Emily St. John Mandel) nor DOOMSDAY BOOK (Connie Willis) may be comforting pandemic reading. They do recommend TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG and HOGFATHER (Terry Pratchett) if you’re looking for an engrossing read that’s on the lighter side.
  • If you’re interested in learning more about milestones in the study of neuroscience, Gavrielle recommends this resource.
  • Gavrielle cited the following publications in our discussion:
    -“Where Has Psychology Left Religion?” (1923), George Malcolm Stratton, The Journal of Religion Vol. 3 no. 1 p. 51-63
    -“Psychology and Free Will” (1937), Aidan Elrington, Blackfriars Vol. 18 no. 205 p. 262-272
    -“Has Psychology Failed?” (1935), Joseph Jastrow, The American Scholar Vol. 4 no. 3 p. 261-269
  • For more on our current understanding of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, you can find resources from the American Psychiatric Association and the US National Institute of Mental Health.
  • If you would like us to relay a question to Gavrielle on the topic of glands and neuroscience, you can email us at talkingpiffle AT gmail DOT com.

Episode 13: STRONG POISON, part 4

~ Sharon

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 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.

Download the episode 13 transcript!

Shownotes:

  • We bring up TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG by Connie Willis, which we both love so much, again in our discussion about Miss Climpson’s fake seance.
  • W.B. Yeats’ interest in Occultism is well-documented in his own writing and biographies about him.
  • For more on the Fox Sisters, see this article from The Smithsonian.
  • Charis brings up LEVERAGE, her favorite tv show.
  • “You’ve been Dread Pirate Robertsing it”; Sharon is referring to a pivotal plot revelation in THE PRINCESS BRIDE.
  • We both talk about our distaste for Turkish Delight, despite early reading of THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE convincing us it would be delightful.
  • The anecdote about Anne Shirley expecting diamonds to look like amethysts is from ANNE OF GREEN GABLES.
  • King Cophetua; Harriet’s friends are referring to a ballad in which a king falls in love on first sight with a beggar maid and proposes marriage.

Episode 12: STRONG POISON, part 3

~ Sharon

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!

Download the episode 12 transcript!

Shownotes:

  • We talk about contemporary mystery writer Tana French as an inheritor of Sayers’ style of character portraiture.
  • THE SECRET HISTORY is by Donna Tartt, and we both highly recommend it.
  • Charis paraphrases JRR Tolkien’s comments on Sayers from a 1944 letter to his son, in which he actually wrote “I could not stand Gaudy Night. I followed P. Wimsey from his attractive beginnings so far, by which time I conceived a loathing of him (and his creatrix) not surpassed by any other character in literature known to me, unless by his Harriet.” [Letter 71 from THE LETTERS OF JRR TOLKIEN, ed. by Humphrey Carpenter]
  • We reference the Bechdel test in our discussion of JRR Tolkien’s criticism of Sayers’ mysteries.
  • “I served seven years for Rachel”; this is a story from the Hebrew Bible that Freddie Arbuthnot cites to Lady Levy.
  • “The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba” is from the short story collection LORD PETER VIEWS THE BODY, first published in 1928. In it, Peter fakes his own death in order to infiltrate a gang of criminals.

Episode 11: STRONG POISON, part 2

~ Sharon

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.

Download the transcript for episode 11!

Shownotes:

Episode 10: STRONG POISON, part 1

~ Sharon

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:

  • “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.

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

~ Sharon

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.

Download the episode transcript (prepared by Melanie Sliker)

Shownotes:

  • We have a long digression about Vladimir Nabokov’s LOLITA in our discussion of Ann Dorland’s portraiture.
  • Peter makes a joke about the circles of hell that he and Parker might inhabit, riffing on Dante’s DIVINE COMEDY.
  • “I’m just trying to be a minor government official”–we find the allusion to Pontius Pilate quite amusing.

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

~ Sharon

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.

Download the episode transcript (prepared by Melanie Sliker)

Shownotes:

  • “So as long as you’re familiar with Mr. Dickens’ massive canon,” you too would note the copy of OLIVER TWIST in the Club’s library.
  • For more on the Armistice Day poppy, see this article.