Ed Watz's book 'Wheeler & Woolsey' is a superb film history of a great and sadly forgotten movie comedy team. This volume evokes the golden days of both Vaudeville and Hollywood, as we follow the rise and sad fall of Wheeler & Woolsey. Mr. Watz also sets straight the historical record that the boys were second only to the great Laurel & Hardy in the 1930's and certainly ahead of their rivals the Marx Bros., the Ritz Bros., and the Three Stooges! Readers of this book will want to go out and see the films of Wheeler & Woolsey. Watz's book is a lost treasure.

This "sleeper" book, which I picked up because of my curiosity about the subjects (they are appearing regularly on the Turner Classic Movies station) is a revelation. Positively one of the best researched and entertaining books about a comedy team from the movies' golden age, the 1930s. To watch Wheeler & Woolsey is to understand what vaudeville-type comedy is (was) all about. Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey have been overlooked in favor of teams like the Marx Bros. or the 3 Stooges. This book corrects that oversight. It is also a highly readable accounts of Hollywood politics behind the scenes at some of the major studios. If you're a fan of vintage movie comedy, get this book.

Wheeler and Woolsey were second to Laurel and Hardy in the heart's of movie going audiences of the 1930's. Since then, however, their star has faded and their acomplishments have been relegated to footnote status in the history of the golden age of comedy. Thanks to Edward Watz, Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey are alive and kicking again in a definitive history of the lovable pair and their films. Exhaustingly researched and lovingly executed, the book chronicles the career ups and downs of the most unjustifiably forgotten comedians in the history of show business. Personal biographies are included, as well as detailed accounts of all of their features and short subjects. Long time leading lady Dorothy Lee lends her first hand account of the way things happend with a refreshingly candid foreward. She also shares her memories of each of the films that she participated in with a fascinating view that only an insider could relate. The later years are chronicled in the final chapter, featuring accounts of Bert Wheeler's career after the untimely death of his partner. All in all, this book ranks along side the superlative Laurel and Hardy, The Magic Behind The Movies, and Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, as one of the most enjoyable and informative demonstration's of film history as can be expected. If you love film comedy, you should not be without this book.

This book provides a detail explanation of ethics in difficult 20th century situations that the church has a difficult time to discuss or cover. 1 - Natural ethics and moral are discussed and defined, 2 - morality and it's effects are detailed, 3 - many different applications are listed and examined sucha as principles relating to the origin of life such as contraception, prenatal testing, cloning, and more, the taking of life such as suicide abortion and more, and the presevation of life such aas plastic surgery, aids, organ transplantation. Extremely good ethical reference guide for today's Catholics.

In the past, editors watered down their texts for dentists and served them to dental hygienists. This textbook has always considered the dental hygienist a central focus in the diagnosis and treatment of periodontal disease. I have used this text as a reference for my CE courses and studies, but also for my patients in order to understand grafts, implants and other aspects of treatment that sometimes are not fully explained my practitioners. This area has expanded so much in new technologies that I am already looking forward to the next edition.

Harriet Vane is long past marrying age, independent (like Ms. Sayers herself, she is a mystery writer) ... and on top of all that, she was the primary suspect in the murder of her own fiancé not too long ago. So can she possibly be a good choice as the person that her alma mater, Oxford's [fictional] Shrewsbury College turns to in order to help solving crimes ranging from poison pen letters to acts of vandalism and assault? Not all of the college's dons think so. In fact, even before being called on for this delicate task, upon returning to Oxford for the first time in years for a school reunion ("Gaudy Night"), Harriet's presence in the college triggers thinly-veiled inquiries into the details of her encounter with the criminal justice system and, coincidentally with that experience, into her difficult friendship with Lord Peter Wimsey (much-acclaimed graduate of another Oxford college, diplomat, amateur sleuth and, for much of his career, one of literary history's most dashing bachelors). Shrewsbury's teachers and students, past and present, heatedly discuss issues ranging from a woman's choice between profession and family, and the respective values of independence and loyalty, to the meaning of truth and accuracy in a scholar's work ethics. Those who were never in favor of the college's decision to ask Harriet to help unraveling the secret behind the progressively evil deeds plaguing Shrewsbury are, predictably, even more scandalized when she ultimately brings in Lord Peter Wimsey; who after all, as everybody has long since concluded, is vying for her hand in marriage. Ultimately, however, the dons find themselves almost uniformly grateful to Harriet and Lord Peter: The perpetrator's identity is revealed, and the sleuthing pair has managed to keep the affair out of the headlines and out of the local police's reach - which would have meant immeasurable damage to the college's reputation, so crucial at a time when the presence of women on the sacred grounds of a traditional and highly acclaimed university was anything but a given.

This novel has it all: the best of Dorothy Sayer's writing (rich characters, intimate knowledge of her subject and the setting of her story, suspense, humor and a thoroughly believable plot), a profound and engrossing discussion of moral issues way before her time and, last but not least, one of the classiest and most unusual marriage proposals I know of, in fact or fiction. ("Placet, magistra?") Unlike many other mysteries it does not open with the crime to be solved; rather, Ms. Sayers leads the reader into the story through Harriet's reflections upon returning to Oxford for her school's reunion. This book, then, is not to be measured by the standards or the sensationalism of an action thriller - it follows the beat of a more measured drummer, although tensions are certainly running high throughout the story; emotionally, socially and otherwise. This is one of Dorothy Sayer's best works, and not only a great mystery story but as truly rewarding and lasting a reading experience as any literature ever will be.

Dorothy L. Sayers wrote some of the best mystery novels that ever appeared in print. In fact she wrote most of them.

Gaudy Night is mainly a novel of Oxford, despite its being ostensibly a mystery. Harriet Vane is the main character of this novel, though of course Sayers' best creation, Lord Peter Wimsey, plays an important part in this book. The dialogue is as clever and wonderfully piffling as ever, the story thought-provoking, and best of all it is here that Peter is finally successful in wooing his Harriet. (The punt scene! And the finale...)

There never was a better mystery writer. I would suggest, before reading this, that you read Strong Poison and Have His Carcase for the full effect. Oh, and follow Gaudy Night up with Busman's Honeymoon.

Gaudy Night has long been my favorite Dorothy Sayers mystery. The plot involves Harriet Vane and Peter Wimsey investigating a murder at Harriet's old college at Oxford. The plotting is excellent and the dialogue intelligent and witty. This is classic Sayers. What really adds to the story is the continuing love story between Harriet and Peter. Before Harriet came along, Wimsey seemed to me to not be a fully fleshed out character. Adding Harriet to the mix livens up Wimsey and makes him seem more real and more human. This is an excellent golden age mystery from a master writer. Highly recommended.

This book is very reminiscent of my English childhood and will amuse adults and children alike. Similar ilk to Milly-Molly-Mandy. Be warned, however, there is much use of the word 'bad' in relation to children rather than children's behaviour, some parents may object to this. My 5-year-old found the naughty little sister's antics quite hilarious and greatly enjoyed the short, lively chapters and lovely illustrations. I would recommend this book for little children who would appreciate the English references.

When I was little my parents would read me this book and it was halarious to me at the age of 4. This book will amuse any child and even parents. Best of all they are true stories. I give it 10 stars !

The words is easy to understand, and the story is very good. I love it

"Strong Poison" is a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, the first of four that feature his relationship with Harriet Vane, so if you are new to Sayers, this is a good one with which to start. Sayers was one of the authors of mystery's "Golden Age", following the pioneers - Poe, Wilkie Collins and Conan Doyle - and preceding the hardboiled school of Hammett and Chandler. She was thus a contemporary of Agatha Christie and Ellery Queen.

Her style is perhaps the most literary and polished of any mystery writer. (For further evidence of her skills, read her superb translation of "The Song of Roland"). She handles dialogue and human interaction extremely well and convincingly portrays a wide range of character types. Also notable is the occasional flash of ironic, rather dark, humor. I have to say however, that her penchant for bizarre names can be rather off-putting. We meet two jounalists called Salcombe Hardy and Waffles Newton, a lawyer called Sir Impey Biggs and an actress called - would you believe? - Cremorna Garden.

The plot is not as strong as the poison; it is too linear, with no twists and turns, although the central idea is quite good. It is more interesting as a literary portrait of 1930 English society than as a crime puzzle. But a good read, nonetheless.

Dorothy L. Sayers remains the finest of the early 20th century mystery writers: unusually erudite, she earned one of the first english degrees awarded to a woman at Oxford University. Eclectic enough to have written a definitive translation of Dante's Divina Comedia, her detective novels are shot through with quotations from a who's who of english literature.

Sayers loved language and her characters display this love with brilliance. In this novel, her favorite sleuth, the curiously human Lord Peter Wimsey, engages himself for the first time with Harriet Vane, whom he discovers on trial for her life for murdering her lover. Convinced at once of her innocence, he sets out to prove it. A hung jury gives him the opportunity, and Sayer's great skill in plotting brings Miss Vane out of prison, but unfortunately for Wimsey not (yet) into his arms. He has, of course, become hopelessly besotted with her.

Some reviewers describe Harriet Vane as unlikable -- there's little douibt that Sayers put much of her own sometimes awkward personality into Harriet. However, she is a genuinely interesting and surprisingly real character, and without question an early feminist.

The book is entirely satisfying in its own right, with particularly telling passages about spiritualism (an obsession of the time). Sayers' Miss Climpson, another fascinating character, a spinster who aids Wimsey in his detective work and philanthropy, uses spiritualism to elicit the motive for the murder and ultimately the responsible party.

It is also noteworthy for introducing the series of novels about Wimsey and Harriet Vane that includes Have His Carcase (the least satisfying), Gaudy Night (the first great feminist novel of the 20th century) and Busman's Honeymoon. Jill Paton Walsh, no mean novelist herself, completed a Sayers manuscript much more recently for Thrones and Dominations, a competent additional chapter in Peter and Harriet's lives.

Sayers was an extraordinary woman and an extraordinary writer -- in Wimsey and Harriet Vane, she connected her ideal man (Wimsey) with her alter ego, (Harriet). Strong Poison is the start of a sequence of highly intelligent, beautifully written novels that happen to be mysteries.

Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey books are diverting detective fiction, set in a 20s and 30s England in which an aristocrat who is much less silly than he sometimes pretends to be goes about solving well-thought-out literary puzzle mysteries. As the saying goes, if Lord Peter did not exist, we would have to invent him.

Strong Poison marks the introduction of Ms. Sayers' love interest for Lord Peter, Harriet Vane. Ms. Vane, a curious mix of 19th Century ideas and 20s era feminism, is a mystery writer (and, in this volume, accused murderess) in her own right.

Apparently, some of those folks they call "purists" took a dislike to Ms. Vane, much preferring Lord Peter to be assisted only by his Jeeves-like gentleman's gentleman, Bunter. In fact, Sayers' Harriet Vane is a thorough delight.

This book is the first of a set of subplots in a love story notable for the fact that its heroine is frequently described as "not pretty", the affair is one of the head as well as heart, and the enchanting quirkiness of the couple makes the chase a bit winding but the result inevitable.

Is the plot a bit of whimsy? Absolutely. But, after all, it is Lord Peter Wimsey, and that makes it all come out right.

If you've not read this, I strongly recommend. If you have read this, take a good afternoon, and return to the Wimsey/Vane world.

Dorothy L. Sayers writes many non-fiction books however among her best is the Lord Peter Wimsey series. I came to this series sort of though the back door. My first taste was the BBC productions with Petherbridge as Lord Peter that can now be found on DVD ASIN: B000062XDX. So I read all of Dorothy's books containing the relationship of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. Now it is time to go through the whole series.

Lord Peter returns from Corsica. To find his older brother the Duke of Denver practically accused of murder. What is worse is his brother is not talking. So it is up to Peter to find out what happened and clear his brother.
In the process he puts his foot in it and practically gets all his relatives and friends accused. As with all Sayers' stories nothing is simple there are overlapping plots and foolish deeds, as if Peter can not figure them out. On the side we learn a little about English society and ballistics.

This particular media is the cassette edition with Ian Carmichael. There is a version with Petherbridge but it is abbreviated and you need to hear every word to make the magic of the mystery work. Ian does speak rather fast and once in a while you get the detective mixed up with Peter. So I suggest you also read the book. However the tape has the advantage of inflection and is also desirable for the morning commute.

Dorothy Sayers' second Lord Peter Wimsey novel comes in on a more serious note. Wimsey, just returned from a long rest in Corsica, finds himself embroiled in a murder far closer to home. While staying at a hunting lodge with friends Peter's brother Gerald has gotten tangled up in a murder, and has become the chief suspect. To make matters more complicated, the victim is their sister Mary's ex-fiancée. Very recently ex, as a matter of fact. The murder was done shortly after Gerald has thrown him out of the house as a card cheat.

When an alibi is demanded, Gerald refuses to give one, and so is charged with the crime. As he is the Duke of Denver, Gerald's case will not be heard in court, but before the House of Lords. Lord Peter is confronted with a case in which the accused seems bound and determined to get himself hung. Gerald offers no help to his brother, the police, or even Impey Biggs, his barrister. Peter and his long time friend Inspector Parker, are left with only faint clues and surmises as the basis for building a defense.

It quickly becomes apparent that there is guilt everywhere. Denis Cathcart, the victim, had lived a suspicious life in Paris, Lady Mary has complicated ties to the British socialist movement, and Gerald, if he wasn't killing Cathcart, had to be doing something he didn't want to reveal. Wimsey and Parker find a surplus of suspicious behavior, in England and abroad, but the puzzle refuses to be unlocked. Worse, those mysteries they can solve do nothing to help Gerald. Time marches inexorably on, and Lord Peter must make a last minute race against time in an effort to solve the mystery.

Despite the seriousness of this case, with all its lurking tragedies, Lord Peter retains his sarcastic style, providing both comic relief and the insights of the master detective. This time however he does reveal more of serious side, leaving behind his facetious exterior as he displays new depth. Sayers, of course, continues to write brilliantly, providing finely grained characters and a wonderful sense of place. An unexpected side romance shows signs of beginning, which will delight the readers, as Inspector Parker leaves behind theology long enough to embarrass himself.

The Wimsey novels can be read in any order, although the latter part of the series does have some thematic material with develops over several volumes. The early novels are independent tales, and I exhort the reader to start with whatever is at hand. In little time you will find yourself addicted to an England that never really was, but certainly should have been.

For those who are not yet familiar with Dorothy L. Sayers' aristocratic sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, this book proves a perfect introduction to Lord Peter and his whole family as his brother Gerald, Duke of Denver, is accused of murder! Sisters, Bolsheviks, and green-eyed cats tangle up the path as Lord Peter strives to find out who REALLY killed Lady Mary's fiance, as Britain gears up the whole cumbersome mechanism required to try a peer of the realm. Entertaining and well-plotted, with red herrings galore!

Dorothy L Sayers provided some of the great treasures to be found in the so-called "Golden Age of Detective Fiction". A classical scholar with a formidable intellect, she was an eminent practitioner and an eloquent critic of detective fiction. Her feisty, detective fiction writing character, Harriet Vane, and her aristocratic, monocled, amateur detective, Lord Peter Wimsey, may be found together for the second time in her 1932 novel "Have His Carcase".

On a walking holiday, while recovering from a court case in which she was alleged to have killed her lover, Harriet Vane discovers the body of a man. It is lying on rocks on a beach, close to low tide level. The evidence suggests suicide. After taking photographs with her camera, finding a cut throat razor and removing a shoe from the corpse, Harriet vainly tries to enlist help in moving the body before it is washed away by the incoming tide. The local police force is alerted and so is Lord Peter Wimsey.

This is a long novel. Interest focuses not only on the solution to the mystery but also on the likelihood of Wimsey succeeding with his wish to marry Harriet. There is witty dialogue, there are fulsome reports from a range of eccentric characters, there are descriptions of the human anatomy and how it responds to the throat being cut, there is an interminable attempt to decode a ciphered letter, and there are classical quotations provided at the start of each chapter. There is little dramatic tension, no suspense, and no thrills. Dorothy L Sayers was a cultivated, fluent writer, sometimes boring but never banal.

If your tolerance of boredom is low, but your credit balance at the bank is high, then invest in the audio tape reading of the book provided by Ian Carmichael. English actor Ian Carmichael has had great success associated with various adaptations of the novels of Dorothy L Sayers. He brings wonderful energy and gusto to this full-length reading, enough to keep you delighted for more than fifteen hours.

Personally I have always been an Agatha the Christie fan. My first encounter with Dorothy L. Sayers was the Mobile Mystery Theater series showing on PBS. Unfortunately I did not realize that my video player was also a recorder until the "Gaudy Night" was on Mystery Theater. In that sense I was lucky to copy the complete three hour "Gaudy Night." However it was too late for "Strong Poison" and "Have His Carcase". They never produced "Busman's Honeymoon".

Naturally the TV media cannot fill in all the details that you would pick up from reading the book. So I read the book. This added more depth to the story, but now I appreciate Dorothy L. Sayers more than Agatha Christie. But Dorothy not only fleshes her characters out better but her side trips into philosophy and psychology make the story that much more interesting. And just when you say what is the relevance to this conversation it is wrapped up in the final solution.

We are in luck as this is an unabridged tape of "Have His Carcase" The reader Is Ian Carmichael the first TV Lord Peter Wimsey. It makes a good compliment to the book.

This is the second of the book series. The story is complete and can be used as a stand-alone story. The notorious Harriet Vane is out for a walk and takes a nap. She wakes up and finds (you guest it) a body. If not for her trusty camera no one would believe her. As it is the authorities think it was suicide. Wimsey thinks it is murder. Naturally everyone, especially the main suspect has an airtight alibi. The real interests is the interaction between Lord Peter and Harriet.

All of Dorothy Sayers' mysteries are worth reading. She has a command of English and a story-telling ability that makes her, in my opinion, one of the two greatest mystery writers of the twentieth century. Most of Ms. Sayers' mysteries feature Lord Peter, second son of the Duke of Denver. He is one of the most delightful characters in English literature and well worth meeting in any of Ms. Sayers books. Most of the Lord Peter mysteries stand alone and can be read without worrying about sequence. However four of the mysteries involve Harriet Vane, and for maximum enjoyment, those four mysteries should be read in order. Strong Poison describes the first meeting between Harriet and Lord Peter. Have His Carcase explores the relationship between the two of them as they investigate the death of a man whose body Harriet discovers while hiking along a deserted beach. The interaction between the two of them can best be understood and appreciated if Strong Poison is read first. Have His Carcase may be the least enjoyable of the four romance-mysteries involving Harriet, but this book leads to the final two books in the series, and those two books are the finest romance-mysteries ever written.

The plot of A PRESUMPTION OF DEATH is relatively simple. The time is 1939 and England is at war. Lord Peter Wimsey is off doing his duty while his wife Harriet Vane --- mother, mystery writer and involved citizen --- has fled to the English countryside with her children and their cousins. After a practice air raid drill, a young woman of questionable virtue is found dead. Superintendent Kirk of the local constabulary calls upon Harriett to help solve the murder. Lord Peter usually undertakes this kind of investigation, but he is unavailable and a dead girl's killer must be found. "I don't know which way to turn, Lady Peter, and that's the truth," says Kirk, when he proposes that Harriet help him. She reluctantly agrees to step in: "It isn't easy ' [s]tanding in for Peter", but this is "' in various ways what I seem to be for, at the moment."

That particular murder is the epicenter around which Jill Paton Walsh builds her tale. She uses the "Wimsey Papers", a collection of works that Dorothy L. Sayers had published in The Spectator in the 1930s and 1940s. These papers comprise a series of letters written by the Wimsey family to each other and to friends. They become the voices of the characters, both familiar and new, that Sayers wrote about. Walsh comments: "In A PRESUMPTION OF DEATH all I had to use were propaganda letters, and so I had a completely free hand with the plot."

To recreate Harriet Vane in A PRESUMPTION OF DEATH, Walsh says, " ' [Sayers] didn't exactly promote Harriet, who is not, by any means, an idealized character. Just compare her with Peter. Look how grumpy she is, how bad-tempered, how sometimes cool she is. She's not beautiful, and has a hard, chilly-eyed view of life. And that's what gives her [a] convincing quality." She is bored with "just" being Lady Peter and, while she adores her children, she yearns for the freedom she had before motherhood and the war imposed their restrictions upon her. Readers and fans will have to decide for themselves how they feel about these issues, but the truth is they do not detract from an otherwise well-told story.

Agatha Christie and many other writers kill off their central characters in order to preserve their place in the canon. Sayers did not do this and, clearly, she left the "Wimsey Papers" for someone to "keep alive" with her/his ideas. The challenge for Walsh is to decide whether or not she wants to "adopt" the Wimsey clan with all of their eccentricities, lordly ways, manners and humor, or if she will decide that two is enough. When asked if she would consider this proposition, she said, "I would be fascinated, but I would be increasingly careful. Each step you take away from an authentic piece of work the harder it's going to be to maintain authenticity and I would need to think really hard. I mean Lord Peter and Harriet are lovely fun, they're awfully entertaining to write about, and I can think of loads of books about them that I'd love to write --- that's not the problem. I would need to be sure I could do it well. And by well, I mean really consistent with Sayers's work."

Jill Paton Walsh is a writer in her own right. She is the author of several children's books and six adult novels. She was invited to complete a Sayers manuscript (THRONES, DOMINATIONS): I "' had a lot of fun doing it" and she was applauded for her efforts. For this second book she had the "papers" to help bolster and frame her story. A PRESUMPTION OF DEATH is a good read. Fans will find that it is faithful to the personalities Dorothy L. Sayers created and the plot is one that certainly resembles the original Wimsey/Vane pattern.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

I very much enjoyed this book, primarily for its insights into Wimsey home life. The mystery plot was thin and a bit facile, but the book is well-written and engaging.

There are, however, a couple of flaws that prevented me from giving the book a higher rating. There are anachronisms sprinkled through the novel, particularly in the form of phrases that I cannot imagine Harriet Wimsey (or, indeed, anyone else) using in 1940. The use of prior Sayers novels is also a trifle heavy-handed. Ms Walsh must know that her readers have read all the Sayers/Wimsey books, probably more than once. Given this fact, her fairly constant tendency to include and summarize materials from the other novels can become oppressive. Would Harriet Wimsey's train of thought upon seeing Miss Twitterton really include a total recall of her contact with Miss Twitterton on her (Harriet's) wedding night? It is now four years later, and I cannot imagine that Harriet would have no more recent memories of Miss Twitterton upon which to call. To summarize this criticism: there is too much of Busman's Honeymoon in this book.

Despite these criticisms, I did enjoy the book. It is worth reading. Moreover, the print is so large that those who are compelled to wait for large print editions need not do so: they will probably be able to read this one just fine.

In 1940,the siren testing the warning system goes off in a remote English village. Except for the Methodists, everyone including Harriet Vane, better known as Lady Peter Wimsey, enter the cave used as the air raid shelter. After a long time, the siren finally ends signifying all clear. Everyone leaves the cave only to find the corpse of a Land Girl, "Wicked" Wendy Percival, lying in the street.

Knowing he is already shorthanded due to the war effort and her experience as a crime novelist, Superintendent Kirk asks Harriet to investigate the murder that is clearly not the work of a Nazi. He wants her to perform the role of her spouse Lord Peter, overseas on government work, to make inquiries and report back to him, but not take risks. Reluctantly Harriet begins her investigation starting with the other eight Land Girls, but quickly she finds reality much more complex and stranger than fiction.

Using fictional letters that the late great Dorothy L. Sayers wrote in support of the English World war II efforts, Jill Paton Walsh paints a powerful amateur sleuth tale that fans of the Wimsey tales will enjoy and will appreciate the cleverness of the endeavor. The story line insures that the regulars remain true to their known personalities while WW II in a remote village is used to provide the background of a strong who-done-it. Still, this tale belongs to the cast especially Harriet who provides a fine time for series fans and historical mystery readers.

Harriet Klausner