Busman's Honeymoon: A Love Story with Detective Interruptions: Starring Ian Carmichael (BBC Radio Collection)

This was Dorothy L Sayers' last Wimsey novel and he goes out in a blaze of glory! We probably learn more about Wimsey in this book than in all the others put together. Personally I wish she had written more. The characters become more three dimensional with every book and I feel that with this last book Sayers had developed wonderfully as a writer. As always with Wimsey there is also the the pleasure of the intellectual exercise of solving the murder and, as always, it's beautifully done. I just love this book and have read it many, many times since I bought it about 10 years ago. Whenever I'm stuck for something to read this is always the book I pick up. I still giggle at Mr Puffet and the power 'e puts behind it! I still squirm with anticipation as the vicar prepares to clear the blockage in the chimney. Knowing exactly how he propses to clear it and what the end result is going to be just adds to the pleasure. Lord Peter can see what's coming and I know too; it's like we share a private joke.

The Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries aren't great literature but they're very well written and extremely readable, despite having been written in the 30's. There are some very "un-PC" moments in some of them but they are a product of their time and have to be read with that in mind. I would heartily recommend the whole series of Wimsey books and this one in particular. However, I would also recommend reading them in the order they were written which means that you have to save the best (this book) to last!


Vintage Sayers.   December 7, 2002
John Austin (Kangaroo Ground, Australia)
31 out of 31 found this review helpful

I am glad to find so many favorable reviews of this, Dorothy L Sayers' final detective fiction novel, on the internet. It failed to find much favor with the public or the critics when it was written in the late 1930s. In actual need of the income that her earlier works in this genre had generated (she had to support not only herself but also a non-productive husband and an illegitimate son), she negotiated with her publisher to "once again try my hand at detective fiction" after he had pointed out that the market seemed to have become saturated.

Just as a busman's holiday is a vacation where the busman is likely to be as involved with driving as he is throughout the rest of the year, a busman's honeymoon (a phrase which she coined) is one where the busman (in this case Lord Peter Wimsey) is likely to spend his honeymoon checking alibis, interviewing murder suspects, observing rigor mortis, and all the other tiresome activities of an amateur detective.

Lord Peter and Harriet Vane are the honeymooners. After their wedding (reported in a series of letters that begin the novel), they travel to "Talboys", a country house chosen by Harriet. Their reception is not as predicted. Eventually Lord Peter's butler, Bunter, discovers a corpse in the cellar.

The novel began life as a play, as you may infer from the many static scenes involving a large ensemble of characters entering and exiting. The prose is as rich in wit, classical illusions and sophistication as you will ever encounter in detective fiction. Dorothy L. Sayers was an honours graduate and capable of writing as well as George Eliot.

Don't expect the kind of fast food satisfaction that Agatha Christie provided so successfully. You will find instead the full silver service dining and wining experience here.


Last novel containing Harriet Vane.   October 22, 2002
B. Chandler (Arlington, Texas)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

The title "Busman's Honeymoon" is sort of a play on words. Look up busman's holiday in the dictionary. There are still some short stories; however Busman's Honeymoon is the last of the novel series containing Harriet Vane. Some of the short stories are "The Haunted Policeman" and "Talboys." The book starts off with a series of letters from well-known friends of the couple, described previous in Dorothy L. Sayers' novels. They bring you up to date while describing the wedding of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. Some of the charters are just referenced yes it ought on and you will have to have read the previous novels for fuller detail.
The primary thrust of this novel is the relationship between Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. With exquisite descriptions of their life and the English environment in which they live. Oh yes, there is also a mystery. However the mystery does not overshadow the rest of the story.
One of the most important overlooked items in most descriptions of this book is the expanded explanation of the history and relationship of Bunter to Lord Peter.


One of my favourite books ever   April 5, 2002
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

Dorothy L Sayers is always a cut above your average crime novelist, especially in the Harriet Vane novels (Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Gaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon). Busman's Honeymoon can't quite decide if it is a love story or a detective story ... but that really doesn't matter, it's a great example of both, with characters that really live. Read it ... but you'll enjoy it all the more if you start with Strong Poison and work your way up to it.