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Volume 19 Article 4
Number 3
Summer 7-15-1993
The Fragmentary Lord Peter
Joe R. Christopher
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore
Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons
Recommended Citation
Christopher, Joe R. (1993) "The Fragmentary Lord Peter," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis,
Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 19 : No. 3 , Article 4.
Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol19/iss3/4
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by
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Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022
http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm
Abstract
Outlines the unpublished or obscure writings of Sayers concerning Lord Peter Wimsey held in the Wade
Collection, imagining a published volume of same.
Additional Keywords
Sayers, Dorothy L.—Characters—Peter Wimsey—Minor works
This article is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic
Literature: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol19/iss3/4JWy t I^L o r c issue 73 su cd cd g r 1993 P A Q e 23
j o e R. Cl}RlSTOpt>eR
suppose that all thorough-going bibliophiles C arroll's Alice books in this fragment — in the person of
imagine books collecting the last snippets of the the Mad Hatter (p. 45) — for the Carrollian m otifs run
works of their favorite authors (The Laundry throughout the Lord Peter saga. And thus this would make
Lists of C. S. Lewis, Illegible Notes by J. R. R. a good beginning for a volume of fragments.
Tolkien). I have in m ind a book of Dorothy L. Sayers'
The second item for this im agined book is "The
fragmentary writings on Lord Peter Wimsey. It would be
Mousehole: A Detective Fantasia in Three Flats" (Gregory,
more substantial than the two titles I have just invented, but
Item B.12), which Gregory dates from manuscript evi
it would not be a commercial work. Perhaps a university
dence as "probably . . . written in 1927’ (p. 225). Since A ct
press (such as Kent State, which published Sayers' play Love
I is titled "The Second-floor Flat," probably each act was to
All) could produce this volume. (I must confess that, after
be laid in a different flat of a building — but since Sayers
my first draft of this paper in the spring of 1990, Alzina
does not get beyond the first act, one cannot be certain.
Stone Dale came out w ith an essay which showed that she
Gregory does not identify this as a Lord Peter work, but it
had thought of something like the same thing somewhat
is mentioned that his flat is on the first floor (p. 7) — no
earlier— she had actually made some steps toward it, when
doubt meaning the second floor in Am erican terms — and
Sayers' son died and the estate got confused for a while.)
he himself enters slightly later. Also appearing is Constable
What would go in it? First, a forty-eight page untitled, Sugg, who is no longer the inspector of his earlier and later
unfinished manuscript at the Wade Center, Wheaton, appearances and who does not know Lord Peter in this
Illinois, that E. R. Gregory in his 1979 checklist of holdings work.
called, in his own invented title (in brackets), "Introducing
The plot seems to be a locked-room puzzle. Mr. Edward
Lord Peter" ("Manuscripts in the Marion E. Wade Collection,"
Mortim er, a financier, and Mrs. Montague Carruthers are
Item C.14, p. 230). Gregory says in his note, "This is very early
found asphyxiated in his bedroom with the gas jet on. The
work— Some evidence: Bunter is not mentioned; Inspector
door has to be broken down to get to them; the keyhole was
Sugg, who appears in Whose Body?, is a character; Lord Peter
filled (with w hat is not clear) (p. 6); the window was shut
is introduced with a long paragraph of exposition, which is
and fastened (p. 12). As the play breaks off, the police are
... amateurish...." He conjectures, "this may be the very first
looking at the catch on the window, which seems to have
work about [Lord Peter] that Sayers wrote."
had something done to it with a knife, and Lord Peter picks
To go beyond Gregory: the story consists of three parts. up and pockets something off the floor.
In the first (pp. 1-15), Mr. Julian Peckwater, a reporter for
The most curious aspect of this work, if G regory's
the Evening Banner, has elaborate problems with a public
dating is correct, is the appearance of Constable Sugg.
telephone and meets Mrs. A. P. Masterman, wife of a
Perhaps the solving of the case was going to be credited to
famous popular novelist. He goes with her to her flat to
him, thereby explaining how he became an inspector —
talk to her husband who has been having some sort of
thus the writing and the temporal setting would not be the
problem s— but they find her husband's body, shot. In the
same. Lord Peter calls Sugg a sergeant in the play (p. 9),
second section (pp. 15-27), Peckw ater manages to get his
but that presumably is outweighed by the stage direction
scoop to his paper, phone the proper authorities and Mrs.
calling him a constable. Of course, one should not take
M asterm an's sister, get a wom an from the flat opposite to
these matters too seriously. In the first, untitled fragment,
stay with Mrs. M asterm an (and thereby gives the same
Charles Parker is a chief-inspector, but in the published
scoop to another newspaper, indirectly; if my notes are
fiction he does not reach that rank until he is promoted
correct, Sayers has managed to nam e both papers the
during The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club.
Evening Banner)-, Peckw ater manages also to talk to Inspec
tor Sugg and interview the Divisional police-surgeon, and For the record, Lord Peter is 32 years old in this play (p.
so forth. The third section (pp. 28-48) follows the other 9) and living in a flat overlooking Green Park (p. 1), the
reporter, Toby Dimm ock of the second Evening Banner, latter as in the early novels. If the "W ho's Who" entry in
and his fiancee, M iss Clarinda Stokes, who — after supper Unnatural Death applies to this play, W im sey's age of 32
where they get engaged — go to Lord P eter's flat to talk to puts the action of the play in 1922 — which does not fit
Lord Peter and Chief Inspector Parker, who is visiting well with Sugg being an inspector in 1923 in Whose Body?
Wim sey. The foursome make up a variety of possibilities
Another interesting aspect of this play is the sheer fact
about M asterm an's seem ing suicide being murder — and
that Sayers is attempting a mystery play, and one about
then the story breaks off.
Lord Peter, so early in her career. The general critical view
It is appropriate that Lord Peter should refer to Lewis has been that she was drawn to the detective drama almostpa.Qe 24 issue 73 sucncneK 19 9 3 ^ Y T l}L O R e
as a by-product of h er period of religious dramas, as the In 1934 Sayers wrote som e sort of movie treatm ent or
latter started. But this fragm ent shows that that is not so. script, which evidently — from h er com m ents — w as not
closely followed in the 1935 movie The Silent Passenger.
Gregory attributes two w orks to about 1928. These are
W hen I was last at the W ade C enter, in the sum m er of 1988,
in a m essy n otebook titled by Sayers "Lord Peter W imsey
its new ly purchased Sayers m aterials had not been opened
— Unprofessional Sleuth." This is a forerunner to Lord
up; but I hoped that this treatm ent w as am ong them.
Peter Views the Body (1928) since "The Fascinating Problem
Unfortunately, a phone call to M arjorie Lamp Mead,
of Uncle M eleager's W ill" appears in it, num ber 5 in the
Associate Curator, on 20 M ay 1992, properly set up by
notebook but appearing third in the book. The fragmen
earlier contact, indicated that it w as not. Perhaps the Say
tary story, num bered 6, is "The Horrible Story of the
ers Estate still h as a copy; perhaps not. The m ovie, at any
M issing M olar" (Gregory, Item A.2.b, p. 220). In the W ade
rate, involved the m urder of a blackm ailer; his body is
C enter's num bering of the Xeroxed pages, this story ap
found in a trunk of a lady he had been blackm ailing w hen
pears on even num bered pages, from p. 78 (the title page
she reaches France w ith her husband; Lord Peter shared
of the story) to p. 90. The story does not go beyond the
their com partm ent on the train from London, and so ends
opening scene (equivalent to the dialogues of Holmes and
up the detective in the case. (For a description of the movie,
W atson before the client shows up). In this case Lady Mary
see The Dorothy L. Sayers Society, Bulletin, No. 76 [April
tells her dream about a dentist and a wom an at the party
1988], 1.) If Sayers' film treatm ent can be located, it belongs
gives a sem i-Freudian interpretation of it as an Electra
in this im agined collection.
com plex; Lord Peter com ments that it is odd that his sister
is attached to their father since he died before she was bom ; About 1937 was w ritten "The M aster-key" (Gregory,
at this point the Hon. Freddy A rbuthnot turns the conver Item C.22, p. 231). Again, one finds the opening of a story
sation to a m ass killer who pulls the teeth of his victims — and again a title page (p. 1); the opening consists of a brief
and the story ends. scene and transition, followed by part of a m ore elaborate
scene. The first is in one of W im sey's three clubs, w here a
This would m ake a nice item in the im agined collection
young m an — the Hon. John H em lock — begins to brag
— it is the equivalent to the Holmes-W atson dialogues that
about a conquest of his, m entioning her nam e. Lord Peter
Ellery Queen collected in the first edition of 101 Years'
fights him, as a m atter o f principle, and loses (p. 2). After
Entertainment (1941): delightful and fairly com plete in itself.
a transition, with another b rief scene in which Lady Peter
The other item of about 1928 (Gregory, Item A.2.e, p. and her husband discuss the fight while Bunter works on
221) is the set o f notes for an undeveloped mystery novel his face (p. 2), the incom plete scene begins when the lady
in the back of the notebook. (These are written upside in question is m urdered and H em lock show s up to have
down to the previous notes.) These notes consist of a group W im sey help him — and, soon after, so does C hief Inspec
of epigraphs about time, for chapter headings presumably, tor Parker; they have a lengthy conversation over breakfast
(pp. 120-121); a list of chapter titles all including the words (pp. 4-15).
time and hour (p. 123); a spaced set of chapter numbers,
three to a page, with notes only in the first six of the From the fragm ent available, the story was probably to
twenty-four (pp. 125-132); a list of five characters with turn on the question of w ho had a key to the lady's flat.
notes on the backgrounds of two of them (pp. 133-134); Certainly H emlock, in the discussion, indicates drat the
another list of the twenty-four chapters, identified as lady (a motion-picture actress, p. 10) had him return his
occurring one per hour from 7:00 p.m. on a Tuesday key after the new s o f the fight got about, even though her
through 6:00 p.m. on a W ednesday, together with notes on nam e was not repeated in the stories (pp. 9,1 2 -1 5 ); since
eight characters (pp. 135-136); som e m iscellaneous notes the door was broken open (if I am reading the manuscript
on the sam e matter, with hours written out and som e other correctly, p. 10), this im plies that the killer did n ot have a
jottings and two sim ple sketches. I have listed these as one key — but the title of the story suggests Sayers was going
goes through the notebook; but, since Sayers had turned to play games with the w hole question of the key(s). The
the volum e upside down and was w orking her w ay back likeliest twist — although it is not necessarily w hat Sayers
through it, her process of w riting these m aterials was the would have done — is to have the door broken open by
opposite of my listing. But it did not seem to m e to matter som eone other than the killer several hours after the ac
w hat order m y description took, since the material is not tress died — som eone who then fled, leaving a false im
in any sort of finished form. pression of the killer having broken open the door.
The point, however, is that the notes were for a Lord The private life of Lord and Lady Peter is interesting in
Peter novel, since Freddy Arbuthnot, Bunter, and the this story. They are living in H udley Square (p. 3), and they
Dowager Duchess appear in one or the other of the lists of certainly seem to have no children. Parker m entions to
characters, and it is indicated that W im sey knows Eliza W im sey that his sister, Parker's w ife, is pregnant w ith their
beth Pendred, a motorcyclist. It is difficult to im agine that third child (p. 9). The W im seys have a large num ber of
a publisher would be enthusiastic about these pages; but servants: besides Bunter the valet, there is a footman
perhaps they could be reproduced directly, in Sayers' nam ed W illiam (w hose actual nam e is Em m anuel Griffin);
hand, and be left for a reader to puzzle over. Mr. M eredith, the butler; M iss Pippette, the upper house-^ lY T t )L O R e i s s u e 73 — SU C D CD eU 1993 pa.
P 2 k .e e 2 6 i s s u e 73 — SUCDCDGR 1993 J ^ Y T l^ L o R e
appears in Sayers' "The Late Provost's Ghost Stories" in The indeed I would like to see such a collection m ade; but I
Eaton College Chronicle in 1937 (Gilbert C72, p. 179); and hope my survey is also valuable as a catalogue of the minor
"The W im sey Chin," a letter to The Times as if by M atthew works about Lord Peter which have not been really inves
W imsey, also in 1937 (Gilbert C81, p. 179). There may be a tigated by critics. W ill they replay this study? W ho knows?
few more m inor items. Certainly, I remember some That is why one investigates them. I do suggest that they
sonnets that are tied to the zodiac and were supposed to will be interesting, as m inor works often are and as som e
be written by a W im sey; one or two, if I remem ber cor of my com m ents have, I hope, suggested. Fragm ents raise
rectly, appeared in the Bulletin of the Dorothy L. Sayers the question of w hy Sayers did not com plete them. Other
Society. But that citation is not important, for Mead tells works — the w artim e letters, for exam ple — help fill out
me that the W ade Center has the m anuscript of six of these details of the fictional world Sayers created. But this is
and a typescript of all twelve. This paragraph at least going beyond m y purpose, w hich w as m ainly to present a
covers the m ajority of these m aterials. survey, not a critique.
The final item — of more interest than these historical
W orks Cited
essays, letters, and verses — is w hat I believe was Sayers' Bakerman, Jane S. "'From the time I could read, I always wanted to be a
final w riting about Lord Peter. O n 1 January 1954 over the writer': Interview with P. D. James.” The Armchair Detective 10:1 (Jan.
B.B.C. as a "Sherlock Holm es Centenary Birthday Tribute," 1977): 55-57,92.
Lord Peter (played by Dennis Arundell) praised Holmes Brabazon, James. Dorothy L. Sayers: The Life of a Courageous Woman.
London: Victor Gollancz, 1981.
and, in Colleen Gilbert's summary, "remembered when he
Dale, Alzina Stone. "Wimsey, Lost and Found." The Armchair Defectively.!
as a boy consulted Holm es about a lost kitten" (Gilbert E45, (Spring 1990): 142A8,150-51.
p. 213). Surely Sayers wrote this — I cannot im agine her Dorothy L. Sayers Society. The Bulletin (over 100 issues have been
allowing anyone to "ghost" it — and thus it becomes her published) is currently edited by Christopher Dean, Rose Cottage,
last writing on W im sey and, unlike m ost of the items I have Malthouse Lane, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, BN6 9JY, England.
considered, it is complete. Unfortunately, Mead reports Gilbert, Colleen B. A Bibliography of the Works of Dorothy L. Sayers. Ham
den, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1978.
that the manuscript is not at the Wade. Did Gilbert see the
Gregory, E. R. "Manuscripts in the Marion E. Wade Collection, Wheaton
manuscript or ju st a sum mary of the radio broadcast? If College (Wheaton, Illinois)." As Her Whimsey Took Her: Critical Essays
the item still exists, what more could one want for the on the Work of Dorothy L. Sayers. Ed. Margaret P(atterson) Hannay.
closing of such a volum e? Kent, Ohio: TTie Kent State University Press, 1970.218-245.
Scott-Giles, C. W. The Wimsey Family: A Fragmentary History, compiledfrom
I have played this paper as a wished-for collection, and correspondence with Dorothy L. Sayers. London: Victor Gollancz, 1977.
BecYcLiM G T o L k ie u &■ O a r m ia C a Lc n Da r s
Many people like to collect the Tolkien Calendars, among others, and display the one for the current year. For the
sake of variety, and for looking again at past calendars — if the artist in question pleases your personal taste: here is a
table from 1972 to 2010 showing which calendar years have the sam e beginning dates and thus are interchangable. The
days of the week indicate on which day of the week the years in that column began or w ill begin. Years in the sam e column
are interchangable. Enjoy your past calendars by reusing them in matching years. — Glen GoodKnight
H g q u La r ^ g a r s
Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat
1978 1973 1974 1975 1981 1982* 1977 1984* 1996 1980 1992 1976 1988 1972
1989 1979 1985 1986 1987 1993 1983* 2008 2004 2000
1995 1990 1991 1997 1998 1999 1994
2001 2002 2003 2009 2010 2005
2006 2007
Those years with an * also saw Narnia Calendars produced, illustrated by M ichael Hague: 1982 The Lion, The Witch
and theWardrobe, 1983 Prince Caspian, and 1984 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (No other N arnia Calendars w ere produced).You can also read
