Lord Peter Wimsey - Fberuary - Book 2 - Clouds of Witness

Welcome to the Group Read of Lord Peter Wimsey. February's read, the second book of the series, is Clouds of Witness.



After Peter's success in Whose Body? how will he do in his second outing?

This was one of my first Wimsey reads, but it's been a long time. I'm looking forward to a reread!

I read Clouds of Witness in 2011, giving it 3 stars. I ordered the BBC full cast radio drama so I get a different experience.

>3 thornton37814: I'll be interested to hear how you liked it.

>4 majkia: I think it's the package arriving tomorrow although I've got a library audiobook ahead of it. I should be able to listen to most of the current one next week. Then I can get to Clouds of Witness and then I'll move to the Donna Leon book from January. (I listened to the December one in January, and I listened to the one for February a couple years ago, so I can catch up easily.)

I have read this series multiple times but maybe it is time for me to read them again :)

I first read Clouds of Witness back in 1972 when the TV adaptation with Ian Carmichael was showing on PBS -- I just couldn't wait a whole week to find out what was going to happen! And Carmichael has always been my mental picture of Lord Peter ever since.



>3 thornton37814: Maybe I should look for an audiobook edition for a different experience as well!

>6 leslie.98: me too, though I think I might have seen the Wimsey series about 1974. I remember going to the tiny public library looking for the books, but not finding them. My mother drove me to the next "large" town (Willimantic, CT) where some of the books were available.

Funny, I'd forgotten all about that experience until answering your post...

>7 fuzzi: They did several seasons (IMDB informs me 1972-1975) so your date is within the range. I was lucky regarding the books - my parents owned the whole series!

And yay for me - my library had Clouds of Witness in audiobook narrated by Ian Carmichael!

>8 leslie.98: ooh! I'm not much of an audiobook fan, but I'd give that one a try.

I'm very disappointed. The 3rd party shipped my full cast audiobook of Clouds of Witness on January 21 via UPS. I never received a notification from UPS that it was scheduled to arrive. Amazon said it was supposed to arrive by January 29. Yesterday I contacted the shipper asking for the tracking number. They did not provide that number but said it was actually shipped January 22 and must have been lost in transit. They issued me a refund. I'm really sad. I don't really want to re-read the print version. The Ian Carmichael audio version has an estimated 7 week wait (2 copies, 6 people waiting). I ordered the other one because I could get it for under $3 with shipping.

>10 thornton37814: oh, shucks. I hate that for you.

>10 thornton37814: Oh crap.

>10 thornton37814: How aggrevating!

>11 fuzzi: >12 majkia: >13 leslie.98: At least I've read it in the last 10 years. ;-)

I did put a hold on the Ian Carmichael audiobook. Maybe they'll listen quickly and return early. Fingers (and toes) crossed!

My library has the Ian Carmichael version on dvd. I’m going to read the book but I may also watch the video.

>15 hailelib: enjoy. I see Ian Carmichael as Wimsy, just as I see Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes. Both seemed to perfectly portray and define their characters.

>16 fuzzi: Or David Suchet as Hercule Poirot...

I loved listening to Carmichael's voice narrating this book - his voice is Lord Peter's voice but he also does well with the other characters (including an American accent for the American ambassador!).

I should have known that once I started I wouldn't be able to stop - I finished the book today.

I'm loving the book, but every night when I try to read it in bed I fall asleep. It might take me the rest of the week at this rate!

I'm enjoying Ian Carmichael's work also. Lovely reading.

I had Clouds of Witness in my personal library and I am blessed with a short memory so it was like reading the story for the first time. I had not remembered about Lord Peter's brother being involved in a murder. I wonder what I won't remember about the next book up for March?

I'm still awaiting that one. (I wanted to listen to the audio on this one since I read it in print fairly recently.) I'm #2 on 2 copies at our library. If it comes in before the end of the month, I might actually finish it on the 29th since I have a long drive that day.

Done!


Clouds of Witness by Dorothy Sayers

Members of Lord Peter Wimsey's family become suspect when a dead body is found at a hunting lodge in Yorkshire, and a charge of murder is quickly brought against Peter's brother, the Duke of Denver. Lots of humor and an intriguing mystery all in one book. Recommended.

>22 fuzzi: I remember those editions! Though the one for this book that I remember was this one:


I can't find the cover of my parents' old paperback copy (long since replaced with a newer edition). It had the cat on it but not prominently I think...

>23 leslie.98: there are a couple images with the cat on the cover uploaded here on LT. Just go to the main page for the book and choose "change cover" on the left side.

I was given a boxed set of several of the Wimsey mysteries in the 1970's, but they're all gone now. Currently I have a set I found at a library sale, covers are meh, but at least I have all the books.

I just finished my umpteenth reread, and one of my fondest memories is the image of Charles Parker buying silk undies for his sister...

>25 MissWatson: And being so brave about it!

>26 majkia: I think DLS was a bit harsh on him saying that "he was not very imaginative". I thought he was rather clever about it, asking for the one item he knew and then letting the shop assistant do the rest. But I do wonder how he knew the proper size.

>14 thornton37814: I have discovered the (probably illegally uploaded) audiobooks narrated by Ian Carmichael on YouTube. Here is the link for Part 1 of 2 for Clouds of Witness:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMtOC0HpfOY&list=PL-AU0QX5vdtfMNEUxeAVIUHZ7F...

>28 leslie.98: thanks. If a book/movie/etc is OOP and unavailable, and someone uploads their own copy for free use, who is being hurt?

>28 leslie.98: I'll wait on the legitimate copy. I'm listening to a "Vera" book (by Ann Cleeves) at the moment.

I'm next in line for Clouds of Witness. If it comes in before the 28th, I may be able to finish it on the last day of the month.

>31 thornton37814: 29 days in February this year...you've got two days!

>32 fuzzi: Well, it will be audio, and I have a 10 hour drive on the 29th.

March thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/316905

I finished my read of Clouds of Witness earlier in the week. I found this to be a fun intelligent mystery romp that kept me guessing, but is it just me or does anyone else think the last chapter/scene just seemed, "odd"?

My copy just arrived via Overdrive so I should be able to listen to it later this week on my commute and on my drive Saturday. I should be able to finish it on the 29th.

>36 thornton37814: Great!

>36 thornton37814: Yay! Enjoy :)

After >36 thornton37814:'s long wait for the audiobook, I put in my hold for the next one, Unnatural Death, about a week ago. It has just become available so I am set for March now ;)

>39 leslie.98: I put the hold on the March one a little earlier in February, and the expected wait at that point was 6 weeks. I'm #4 on 2 copies with an expected 4 week wait now. (Of course, that could be up to 6 if everyone takes a full 21 days.)

My library copy of Unnatural Death arrived before Clouds of Witness! So looks like I will be reading both in March.

>41 JayneCM: Luckily, the stories are fairly independent at this point in the series.

>40 thornton37814: I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that everyone ahead of you on the list reads the book quickly!

>42 leslie.98: Overdrive is coming up with some new way to do holds so I think if one or more decides to defer their loan, I'll get it faster too.

How did I miss this thread all of February? I read Clouds of Witness early in the month and enjoyed, as always. It makes for such an interesting introduction to the rest of Peter's family....

I'm about to start Unnatural Death, so I'll head over to the March thread.

I really enjoyed Clouds of Witness. As I mentioned elsewhere I thought I was doing a reread, but I didn't really recognize anything in it.

Those who are loving Sayers' general vibe and writing should look into the books jointly authored by Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson, starting with Enter Sir John. (Disclaimer: You may have difficulty finding them.)

>45 NinieB: I didn't remember anything in it either and I know that I read it before.

>45 NinieB: thanks for that tip. I'll look him up.