Striding Folly by Dorothy L. Sayers Narrator: Ian Carmichael
Series: Lord Peter Wimsey
Published by BBC Audio on 2002 (this audio recording; story collection first published 1972)
Genres: Mystery
Format: Audiobook
Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Chirp
Also in this series: Whose Body?
Also by this author: Whose Body?
Three perplexing puzzles-and three inimitable Wimsey solutions-told with wit, humor, and suspense. Narrator Ian Carmichael, the quintessential Lord Peter, provides great entertainment with his talented performance of these three stories. In "Striding Folly," a frightening dream provides a haunting premonition. A house numbered thirteen is in a street of even numbers, and a dead man was never alive in "The Haunted Policeman." And "Talboys" sees Lord Peter's own children accused of theft.
Three Lord Peter short stories
Striding Folly contains three Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, each one different in character. The first, “Striding Folly”, has a dream element unusual in Lord Peter mysteries. The second, “The Haunted Policeman”, takes place immediately after the birth of Peter and Harriet’s first son, and involves a very clever hoax. “Talboys” shows the Wimsey family vacationing at their country house (see Busman’s Honeymoon), where young Master Bredon is suspected of stealing Mr. Puffett’s prize peaches. Peter exhibits his usual detective flair along with an affinity for boyish pranks. It’s fun to see him as a family man; the interactions between him and Bredon are delightful.
I first read these stories in Lord Peter, the complete collection of Lord Peter Wimsey stories. “The Haunted Policeman” and “Talboys” remain among my favorites of Sayers’ short stories. As usual, Ian Carmichael (who played Lord Peter in the original British TV series) does an excellent job on the narration for the audiobook; he has a good ear for regional and class accents, and applies it to the character voices he creates.
Challenges: Cruisin’ thru the Cozies 2013
kimbacaffeinate
I have never tried these and you have me curious, glad the audio was good, and I will watch for him as a narrator.
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
Oh, I love the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries! The full-length novels are the best, though. Ian Carmichael played Wimsey in the first BBC adaptations, so he has the main character down pat, but he’s also very good at the other voices.
Blodeuedd
Yes I could see myself listening to this audio 🙂
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
You know, I completely forgot to check whether it’s still available, since I borrowed it from the library. But yes, Audible.com has it. Phew!
readerholicnotes
Oh, this sounds good. I read Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries years ago, but I think it would be fun to listen to some of these. I’m going to check my library.
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
I’ve had a lot of fun listening to the Lord Peters. I was able to find most of them through my library, though some were only available on cassette! Be careful, though — there is a set of unabridged readings narrated by Ian Carmichael, but there’s also a set of BBC radio play adaptations which feature Carmichael as Lord Peter. I like the readings better than the radio adaptations, myself.