The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, by Dorothy L. Sayers. A Lord Peter Wimsey mystery.

The old General died in his armchair at the club on Armistice Day...or, did he? Some interesting class stuff between Wimsey and Parker, wit, possible murder, unbalanced former soldiers, money, money, and money.

Clouds of Witness

Clouds of Witness, by Dorothy L. Sayers. A Lord Peter Wimsey mystery.

Lord Peter's brother, the Duke of Denver, is up for murder. Did he? What is their sister, Lady Mary, hiding? Who was the victim, Denis Cathcart, really? And, while we're at it, what is everyone else hiding?

Unnatural Death

Unnatural Death, by Dorothy L. Sayers. A Lord Peter Wimsey mystery.

Wills, murder, and possible murder abound in this one. It was fun, and I loved Miss Climpson, who seemed very much of the Miss Marple (unnoticed inquisitor) mode.

I don't normally read mysteries set in the early 1900's, but I'll definitely read more of these.

Nicholas Nickleby

Nicholas Nickleby, by Charles Dickens.

There's love stories, and a morality play about a usurer, but the most riveting story in NN, to me, is the indictment of the school system of the time, as portrayed in the Yorkshire school of Mr. Wackford Squeers. As always, Dickens has much to say about the experience of the poor and the class differences of England of that time. Smike, the youngster who suffers extremely at the hands of Squeers, stole my heart in the BBC dramatisation of NN that I watched recently, which led to me reading the book when I did. And I'm glad I did.

A little slower than my current fave Dickens thus far, David Copperfield, but I think I have a soft spot for adult situations as seen through childish eyes, which you get a lot of in that particular novel.

Nicholas Nickleby -- for Squeers, the Cheeryble Brothers, and the superbly rendered Ralph Nickleby, and the imperfect yet ever-loyal Nicholas himself -- is well worth reading.