“The special qualities of Dorothy Sayers’ writing are seen here at their best” as Lord Peter battles to solve the murder of a war hero (Saturday Review). Even the Bellona Club’s most devoted members would never call it lively. Its atmosphere is that of a morgue—or, at best, a funeral parlor—and on Armistice Day the gloom is only heightened. Veterans of the Great War gather at the Bellona not to … gather at the Bellona not to hash over old victories, but to stare into their whiskies and complain about old injuries, shrinking pensions, and the lingering effects of shell shock. Though he acts jolly, Lord Peter Wimsey finds the holiday grim. And this Armistice Day, death has come to join the festivities.
The aged General Fentiman—a hero of the Crimean War—expires sitting up in his favorite chair. Across town, his sister dies on the same day, throwing the General’s half-million-pound inheritance into turmoil. As the nation celebrates and suspicions run riot, Lord Peter must discover what kind of soldier would have the nerve to murder a general.
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club is the 5th book in the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, but you may enjoy the series by reading the books in any order.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dorothy L. Sayers including rare images from the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College.
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I ‘ve read almost all of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels and I love them. Dorothy Sayers is the queen of wittiness and Lord Peter is her masterpiece!
Peter Wimsey solves a classic locked-room mystery, as he tries to determine how the corpse of an elderly man came to be in the Bellona Club on Remembrance Day. The man died sometime after 10am, but the exact time of death is a mystery. It becomes a pressing mystery when it becomes clear that the time of death determines who will inherit a large …
Interesting but very dated, not the story but the style of writing and the attitudes of the characters.
Not as predictable as I first thought
Old style mystery but enjoyable.
Dorothy Sayers is always good reading.
What happens when a dead body is discovered in an easy chair by the fire in a posh London gentleman’s club? With Lord Peter Whimsey nosing round, all kinds of mayhem. Peter, a member of the club, is there when the body’s discovered. It’s called a natural cause of cessation, but Whimsey comes up with the conclusion of murder. Follow the twists …
Sayers writes better than others in the genre. The characters are so very very British. She plays that up to the hilt.
Even second-tier Lord Peter mysteries are great fun.
Dorthory is long gone, but her mysteries are still enchanting, logical and great.
I’ve never read a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery I didn’t like and this one is no exception.
Entertaining series
This is standard Lord Peter Wimsey. Funny, entertaining, I enjoy the old fashioned language and customs.
Anything by Dorothy Sayers is a great read!
Dorothy L. Sayer’s The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club is quite the opposite: a pleasant little read, in traditional, British-cuppa-by-the-fireside fashion. Written in 1928, it’s in league with Dame Agatha and other contemporaries of that era. (The afterward notes that the 1920s were the golden era of detective fiction.)
So…elderly General …
I love all of Dorothy Sayers books.
Classic Peter Wimsey
Classic murder mystery–I love Lord Peter Wimsey!
Recommend for fans of the cosy mystery. I read the series. Best to read the books in order. I enjoyed the characters and the plot twists.
Highly recommended for those who like traditional British detective novels. Dorothy Sayers is one of the queens of this genre.