A collection of all the Peter Wimsey short stories, plus an introduction, an analytical essay, and a parody by E. C. Bentley.

I'm familiar with the Lord Peter Wimsey from Sayers' detective novels, in which he juggles his passion for murder with his enthusiasm for rare books and wine. He wears a monocle. He can make a Biblical pun, invoke Shakespeare, and provide meta-commentary on detective fiction -- all in the same breath. It is not just literary critics who cringe at his portrayal of aristocratic English foppery; most of the people around him consider him a first-class twit, and even his circle of friends is frequently exasperated by his high-strung verbosity. He is a protagonist of Puck-like proportions.

In contrast, the stories collected in "Lord Peter" portray a steely figure who can assume a dozen different identities at the drop of a hat in his varied roles as an undercover mole in a criminal syndicate, a magician rescuing an imprisoned lady, and a top-secret foreign agent of the British government. In short, it's Lord Peter as James Bond, minus the misogyny. Only a few of the stories seem to approach the same flavor as the novels: "The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention" (in which Peter is driven to petulance by high-handed heirs), "The Learned Adventure of the Dragon's Head" (told from the perspective of Peter's admiring nephew), and "The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face" (which ends with Peter in the weary, nihilistic mood that seems to conclude all of his novels). ( )

How I enjoy Dorothy Sayers' creation, Lord Peter. Aside from a few gruesome tales, these are some of the most enjoyable mysteries I have ever read, because they are so literate. The puzzles are often quite ingenious, but what's better is the characterization. ( )

This volume collects the many short stories involving Lord Peter Wimsey. Although I had read many of them before in previous volumes, it was good to read those stories again as well as to find totally new ones. Most surprising were stories with Lord Peter as a father. ( )

This book contains some extras not included in "Lord Peter Views the Body". They are mostly not good, but the hilarious pastiche by E.C. Bentley makes up for all the rest. ( )

My current distal discomfort being what it is, I thought a book of short stories would work for me, and I've been in the mood for some Whimsey.

Of this entire collection, I think the only one I'd read previously was The Necklace of Pearls. A few I didn't much care for - The Queen's Square pops immediately to mind, but that could be simply chalked up to my current attention span and the story being a fair-play mystery with maps are at odds. I liked the logic behind how Whimsey solved it, I just found the process tedious.

My favourites are far and away the easiest to identify:

The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Mileage's Will: I loved this story and I think it's a great example of superior writing, in that it was short but still contained all the suspense and entertainment many long stories struggle to achieve, and it was a nice departure from a 'murder' mystery.

The Learned Adventure of the Dragon's Head: Another 'no-murder' mystery; less suspense but still oodles of fun with old books, maps, and a treasure hunt. Peter learning what happens when you poke a dragon in the eye was the cherry on top of this delightfully fun tale.

The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach: Probably my least fave of the 4 I'm listing, but there was a whimsy about it I enjoyed, if the premise itself wasn't totally disgusting.

Talboys: This one was just funny. Sweet too, but mostly just funny. The ending is sublime.

All in all a solid set of short stories, with very few disappointments. ( )