Podcasts about Strong Poison

fWotD Episode 2471: Dorothy L. Sayers Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.The featured article for Friday, 9 February 2024 is Dorothy L. Sayers.Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic.Born in Oxford, Sayers was brought up in rural East Anglia and educated at Godolphin School in Salisbury and Somerville College, Oxford, graduating with first class honours in medieval French. She worked as an advertising copywriter between 1922 and 1929 before success as an author brought her financial independence. Her first novel Whose Body? was published in 1923. Between then and 1939 she wrote ten more novels featuring the upper-class amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. In 1930, in Strong Poison, she introduced a leading female character, Harriet Vane, the object of Wimsey's love. Harriet appears sporadically in future novels, resisting Lord Peter's proposals of marriage until Gaudy Night in 1935, six novels later.Sayers moved the genre of detective fiction away from pure puzzles lacking characterisation or depth, and became recognised as one of the four "Queens of Crime" of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction of the 1920s and 1930s, along with Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh. She was a founder member of the Detection Club, and worked with many of its members in producing novels and radio serials collaboratively, such as the novel The Floating Admiral in 1931.From the mid‐1930s Sayers wrote plays, mostly on religious themes; they were performed in English cathedrals and broadcast by the BBC. Her radio dramatisation of the life of Christ, The Man Born to Be King (1941–42), initially provoked controversy but was quickly recognised as an important work. From the early 1940s her main preoccupation was translating the three books of Dante's Divine Comedy into colloquial English. She died unexpectedly at her home in Essex, aged 64, before completing the third book.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:03 UTC on Friday, 9 February 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Dorothy L. Sayers on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Olivia Neural.

Wouldn't sleuthing be so much easier if the dead could speak to the living? This episode was first released on 18th September 2019. Be aware: there are no major (ending!) spoilers in this episode but there are plot descriptions given of the books listed below. Books mentioned: — Strong Poison  by Dorothy L. Sayers — Peril at End House  by Agatha Christie — Murder Most Unladylike  by Robin Stevens — The Plague Court Murders  by John Dickson Carr — When Last I Died  by Gladys Mitchell — The Sittaford Mystery  by Agatha Christie — Dumb Witness  by Agatha Christie — “The Last Seance” in The Hound of Death  by Agatha Christie Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at shedunnitshow.com/membership. To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter. The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice. Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/knockknocktranscript. Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The novel opens with mystery author Harriet Vane on trial for the murder of her former lover, Phillip Boyes: a writer with strong views on atheism, anarchy, and free love. Publicly professing to disapprove of marriage, he had persuaded a reluctant Harriet to live with him, only to renounce his principles a year later and to propose. Harriet, outraged at being deceived, had broken off the relationship. Following the separation, the former couple had met occasionally, and the evidence at trial pointed to Boyes suffering from repeated bouts of gastric illness at around the time that Harriet was buying poisons under assumed names, to demonstrate – so she said – a plot point of her novel then in progress. Returning from a holiday in North Wales in better health, Boyes had dined with his cousin, the solicitor Norman Urquhart, before going to Harriet's flat to discuss reconciliation, where he had accepted a cup of coffee. That night he was taken fatally ill, apparently with gastritis. Foul play was eventually suspected, and a post-mortem revealed that Boyes had died from acute arsenic poisoning. Apart from Harriet's coffee and the evening meal with his cousin (in which every item had been shared by two or more people), the victim appeared to have taken nothing else that evening. The trial results in a hung jury. As a unanimous verdict is required, the judge orders a re-trial. Lord Peter Wimsey visits Harriet in prison, declares his conviction of her innocence and promises to catch the real murderer. Wimsey also announces that he wishes to marry her, a suggestion that Harriet politely but firmly declines. Working against time before the new trial, Wimsey first explores the possibility that Boyes killed himself. Wimsey's friend, Detective Inspector Charles Parker, disproves that theory. The rich great-aunt of the cousins Urquhart and Boyes, Rosanna Wrayburn, is old and senile, and according to Urquhart (who is acting as her family solicitor) when she dies most of her fortune will pass to him, with very little going to Boyes. Wimsey suspects that to be a lie, and sends his enquiry agent Miss Climpson to get hold of Rosanna's original will, which she does in a comic scene exposing the practices of fraudulent mediums. The will in fact names Boyes as principal beneficiary. Wimsey plants a spy, Miss Joan Murchison, in Urquhart's office where she finds a hidden packet of arsenic. She also discovers that Urquhart had abused his position as Rosanna's solicitor, embezzled her investments, then lost the money on the stock market. Urquhart recognised that he would face inevitable exposure should Rosanna die and Boyes claim his inheritance. However, Boyes was unaware of the will's contents and Urquhart reasoned that if Boyes were to die first, nobody could challenge him as sole remaining beneficiary, and his fraud would not be revealed. After perusing A.E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad (in which the poet likens the reading of serious poetry to King Mithridates' self-immunization against poisons) Wimsey suddenly understands what had happened: Urquhart had administered the arsenic in an omelette which Boyes himself had cooked. Although Boyes and Urquhart had shared the dish, the latter had been unaffected as he had carefully built up his own immunity beforehand by taking small doses of the poison over a long period. Wimsey tricks Urquhart into an admission before witnesses.

It's our Christmas episode here on the Bookshelf Odyssey Podcast! I invited youtuber and expert reader Kate Howe onto the show to give us some suggestions to make our Christmas and Winter reading the coziest it can be. We talk about all the books mentioned below, along with our thoughts on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Louise Penny, and Little Women (and it's adaptations!), and so much more. If you head over to the youtube page, you'll find a video version of this episode.The Christmas Hirelings by Mary Elizabeth BraddonMiss Read The Christmas MouseThe Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge (1 of 3)Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers (Lord Peter Whimsey series) Josephine Tey - The Daughter of TimeJosephine Tey - Miss Pym Disposes The Betsy Tacy Series by Maud Hart Lovelace Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart LovelaceMelendy Quartet by Elizabeth Enright Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson and the sequel Little Women by Louisa May AlcottCharlotte Mary Young  Heartsease #bookshelf #books #classics #cozyreads

Welcome, Cockroaches, to Series2 Episode5.   This is a Judy Dalziel reads stuff aloud episode. If this is the first time you have visited us, please go back to Episode 4 to enjoy our usual stuff.   First up, we're continuing with our serial, a gallop through the interesting bits of Strong Poison, by Dorothy  L. Sayers.   Next, the legal stuff.   In this episode, we look at sentencing. About Sentencing from the Sentencing Council of Victoria. An example of sentencing remarks from a Judge Meryl Sexton. An excerpt from a rather good ABC on line story.   Please find links below.   https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-18/how-a-court-case-put-the-spotlight-on-sexual-assault-trials/100281894   https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/about-sentencing   http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/vic/VCC/2019/1745.html     SUPPORTS   AUSTRALIA   1800 RESPECT Lifeline 13 11 14   Link to other supports Australia wide https://www.kooyoora.org.au/public-resources/   UK - Samaritans 11 61 23   USA - 1800 273 TALK   NEW ZEALAND AOTEOROA – 0800 LIFELINE  Or text “Help” to 4357   CANADA – 1833 456 4566 Link to other supports across Canada, USA and other countries   https://thelifelinecanada.ca/help/call/   SOUTH AFRICA – 0861 322 322 Link to a range of supports throughout SA https://www.opencounseling.com/hotlines-za

Returning guest Dan Moren joins me to discuss his Comfort Reading, as well as the latest book in his Galactic Cold War series, The Aleph Extraction. Dan’s links: https://dmoren.com/https://twitter.com/dmoren

We commence our DLS quartet!

Books recommended: The Unseen World by Liz Moore: narrated by Lisa Flanagan A heartbreaking and moving story about a daughter's quest to discover the truth about her father's hidden past. Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers. Narrated by Ian Carmichael Dashing detective Lord Peter Wimsey is caught up in the murder trial of mystery writer Harriet Vane. Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett: narrated by the author Ann Patchett and writer Lucy Grealy met in college

Laine and Meg break down this excellent murder mystery/romance and the excellent character development in the series so far. She's a badass with a quick wit and courage. He's Lord Peter. What more can we say?

In which Charis and Sharon conclude their discussion of STRONG POISON. We follow Miss Climpson as she has an encounter with Spiritualism, Miss Murchison as she snoops, and give away the whodunnit and howdunnit. We also talk about narrative echoes to previous Wimsey mysteries, such as Mrs. Wrayburn in relation to the other elderly women in the plots of UNNATURAL DEATH and THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT THE BELLONA CLUB. And we consider the callbacks to the scene in WHOSE BODY? where Peter solves the case.For shownotes and the episode transcript, please visit our website.

In this third of four episodes on STRONG POISON, we start discussing the second half of the book. We talk about the very uncomfortable Christmas Peter spends at Dukes Denver. We also consider detective fiction as "the purest literature we have" and how STRONG POISON marks a turn in Sayers' style. Sharon finally learns how to pronounce Norman Urquhart's name, the book catches us up on several characters' love lives, and we see how a Cattery operative works. Also: more plot!For shownotes and episode transcripts, please visit our website. 

In this episode, Charis and Sharon talk about the real-life inspiration for Philip Boyes and what was happening in Sayers' life around the time she wrote STRONG POISON. We also see more of Marjorie Phelps, learn about Harriet's circle of friends, and reflect on Peter's gender performance and privilege in a world of double standards. This is the second of our episodes on the first half of STRONG POISON. We talk about events up through chapter 11 and do not give away the whodunnit. Here's our previous episode with part one of our discussion.*Audio note: There is a slight high-pitched buzz in the background of this episode on Charis' side of the audio that we could not quite edit out and do apologize for!*Content note: We bring up the topic of narcissists and abusive relationships at two points in this episode. While we do not go into detail, if this is a topic you would rather not hear about, those discussions take place between minutes 23:40 and 25:04, and again between minutes 47:48 and 50:00.For more shownotes and the episode transcript, please visit our website.

In which Charis and Sharon finally (finally!) start discussing STRONG POISON, the fifth Lord Peter Wimsey mystery. We talk about the dramatic introduction of Harriet Vane, our love for the novel's first few chapters, and the theme of the detective's intuition. We also cover Parker's promotion, Sayers' desire to "Reichenbach" Peter, and the many callbacks this book has to previous mysteries in the series. This will be the first of two episodes on the first half of STRONG POISON. We do not give away the whodunnit.For episode shownotes and transcripts, please visit our website.

There have been only a few elections in US history in which a presidential candidate won the election without winning the popular vote. The 2016 election was one of those times, and that, combined with the 2020 election coming up, has reignited the debate about the significance of the Electoral College. Does it fairly represent the country? If not, how could it be bettered? If so, how does it answer the accusation that it grants more weight to one man's vote than another's? Hodges and Vowell dig into the "steel man" arguments on both sides, and compare the EC with the Bill of Rights. Hodges recommends Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane mysteries (complete with accents): Strong Poison, Have His Carcass, Gaudy Night, and Busman's Honeymoon.Vowell recommends CGP Grey's video "The Trouble with the Electoral College" as an intelligent anti-EC argument.

Folks! This third part to our series on English mystery writer and her creation, Lord Peter Wimsey, was hidden away in an obscure corner of my flashdrive until this day. Now you can hear of the last several books, our favorites, and the conclusion of Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane's thrilling love story.   Music: Mendelssohn's String Quartet in E minor Op. 44/2- 3. Andante  Future Mind by Powerbleeder Wimsey novels in chronological order: Whose Body? (1923) Clouds of Witness (1926) Unnatural Death (1927) The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (1928) Strong Poison (1931)- Xoe's Fav The Five Red Herrings (1931) Have His Carcase (1932) - Rita's favorite Murder Must Advertise (1933) - Rita and Xoe's favorite The Nine Tailors (1934)- Xoe's favorite Gaudy Night (1935) Busman's Honeymoon (1937) Bibliography: Brabazon, James. Dorothy L. Sayers: A Biography, 1981. Coomes, David. Dorothy L. Sayers: A Careless Rage for Life, 1992. Dale, Alzina Stone. The Story of Dorothy L. Sayers, 1978. Hitchman, Janet. Such a Strange Lady, 1975. Kenney, Catherine McGehee. The Remarkable Case of Dorothy L. Sayers, 1990. (A scholarly look at the themes of social criticism in Sayers' work.) Reynolds, Barbara. Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul, 1993. (The best one in my opinion. It is writen in an open, modern style and contain many more pictures than than the others.) Video: The best series - A Dorothy L Sayers Mystery. BBC, 1987. This cover 3 out 4 of the Wimsey/Vane books - Strong Poison (in which they meet and Peter saves Harriet from the gallows), Have His Carcase (in which Harriet finds a body, which subsequently disappears, and partners with Peter in investigating and solving the murder), Gaudy Night (in which Harriet goes back Oxford for a reunion and runs into a mystery about a vicious vandal; while the plots thickens, so does their romance). Best Wimsey is Edward Petherbridge and best Vane is Harriet Walter, both of whom are in this series. The other series was made by the BBC in 1970. It starred Ian Carmichel as Wimsey. Carmichel looks nothing like Wimsey and, to my mind, does not act like Wimsey either. This series includes: The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club The Nine Tailors Murder Must Advertise Five Red Herrings Clouds of Witness There were also a couple films made, both of which Sayers absolutely hated. They are: The Silent Passenger, 1935, British, starring John Loden and Peter Haddon. Busman's Honeymoon (US: The Haunted Honeymoon), starring Robert Montgomery and Constance Cummings, 1940. A short Interview with Edward Patherbridge on playing Lord Peter Wimsey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsMOMbCpBFU Link to an article illustration about Sayer's advertisment for Guiness https://vinepair.com/articles/history-guinness-toucan-ads/

Today’s Book List: (affiliate links) Gaudy Night, Strong Poison, Clouds of Witness, Unnatural Death, Five Red Herrings, Murder Must Advertise, The Nine Tailors, and The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers   Seeking God by Esther de Waal and Kathleen Norris The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis   Essays by Dorothy Sayers: Are Women Human?, The Mind of the Maker,  and Letters to a Diminished Church   Find out more about our sponsor, New College Franklin at https://newcollegefranklin.org/   Connect with us! Find Angelina at  https://angelinastanford.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/   Jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB   Today’s poem: A Slice of Wedding Cake by Robert Graves   Why have such scores of lovely, gifted girls Married impossible men? Simple self-sacrifice may be ruled out, And missionary endeavour, nine times out of ten.   Repeat 'impossible men': not merely rustic, Foul-tempered or depraved (Dramatic foils chosen to show the world How well women behave, and always have behaved).   Impossible men: idle, illiterate, Self-pitying, dirty, sly, For whose appearance even in City parks Excuses must be made to casual passers-by.   Has God's supply of tolerable husbands Fallen, in fact, so low? Or do I always over-value woman At the expense of man? Do I? It might be so.

Kate Enters is a contemporary renaissance woman. As a painter, she responds to her contemporary life in London creating paintings that depict moments in time through stylised compositions borrowing from vintage scenes, quotations, book titles as well as taking a wry look at social media, all conveyed through her own mix of wit and pathos. Responding to the need for more opportunities for artists to show work on their own terms, Kate set up ArtCan, innovatively positioning the organization as a peer network with the opportunities to take part in exhibitions. As the director of ArtCan she builds on her ability to produce and manage art events, honed through her background in events management for high end art museums and celebrity charity events and arts PR. ArtCan has enabled Kate to develop both her curatorial vision and her writing voice. She has also written about art, championing organizations and individuals she is keen to shout about, most recently for Wall Street International and STATE magazine. The book mentioned in the interview was by Dorothy L. Sayers, Strong Poison. Captured: A Moment In Time 2018 London Streets Acrylic on canvas 8”x12” Captured: A Moment In Time 2019 Road Trip! Acrylic on canvas 14”x14”

Episode 9 "Lord Peter Wimsey Novels" Shownotes Links to Pictures of Dorothy's Crushes and Flames: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cournoshttp://www.writeopinions.com/eric-whelptonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Allen_(conductor) Music: Mendelssohn's String Quartet in E minor Op. 44/2- 3. Andante Wimsey novels in chronological order: Whose Body? (1923)Clouds of Witness (1926)Unnatural Death (1927)The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (1928)Strong Poison (1931)- Xoe's FavThe Five Red Herrings (1931)Have His Carcase (1932) - Rita's favoriteMurder Must Advertise (1933) - Rita and Xoe's favoriteThe Nine Tailors (1934)- Xoe's favoriteGaudy Night (1935)Busman's Honeymoon (1937) Bibliography: Brabazon, James. Dorothy L. Sayers: A Biography, 1981.Coomes, David. Dorothy L. Sayers: A Careless Rage for Life, 1992.Dale, Alzina Stone. The Story of Dorothy L. Sayers, 1978.Hitchman, Janet. Such a Strange Lady, 1975.Kenney, Catherine McGehee. The Remarkable Case of Dorothy L. Sayers, 1990. (A scholarly look at the themes of social criticism in Sayers' work.)Reynolds, Barbara. Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul, 1993. (The best one in my opinion. It is writen in an open, modern style and contain many more pictures than than the others.) Video: The best series - A Dorothy L Sayers Mystery. BBC, 1987. This cover 3 out 4 of the Wimsey/Vane books - Strong Poison (in which they meet and Peter saves Harriet from the gallows), Have His Carcase (in which Harriet finds a body, which subsequently disappears, and partners with Peter in investigating and solving the murder), Gaudy Night (in which Harriet goes back Oxford for a reunion and runs into a mystery about a vicious vandal; while the plots thickens, so does their romance).Best Wimsey is Edward Petherbridge and best Vane is Harriet Walter, both of whom are in this series. The other series was made by the BBC in 1970. It starred Ian Carmichel as Wimsey. Carmichel looks nothing like Wimsey and, to my mind, does not act like Wimsey either. This series includes:The Unpleasantness at the Bellona ClubThe Nine TailorsMurder Must AdvertiseFive Red HerringsClouds of Witness There were also a couple films made, both of which Sayers absolutely hated. They are:The Silent Passenger, 1935, British, starring John Loden and Peter Haddon. Busman's Honeymoon (US: The Haunted Honeymoon), starring Robert Montgomery and Constance Cummings, 1940. A short Interview with Edward Petherbridge on playing Lord Peter Wimsey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsMOMbCpBFU Link to an article illustration about Sayer's advertisment for Guiness: https://vinepair.com/articles/history-guinness-toucan-ads/

Music:Mendelssohn's String Quartet in E minor Op. 44/2- 3. Andante Wimsey novels in chronological order:Whose Body? (1923)Clouds of Witness (1926)Unnatural Death (1927)The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (1928)Strong Poison (1931)- Xoe's FavThe Five Red Herrings (1931)Have His Carcase (1932) - Rita's favoriteMurder Must Advertise (1933) - Rita and Xoe's favoriteThe Nine Tailors (1934)- Xoe's favoriteGaudy Night (1935)Busman's Honeymoon (1937) Bibliography:Brabazon, James. Dorothy L. Sayers: A Biography, 1981.Coomes, David. Dorothy L. Sayers: A Careless Rage for Life, 1992.Dale, Alzina Stone. The Story of Dorothy L. Sayers, 1978.Hitchman, Janet. Such a Strange Lady, 1975.Kenney, Catherine McGehee. The Remarkable Case of Dorothy L. Sayers, 1990. (A scholarly look at the themes of social criticism in Sayers' work.)Reynolds, Barbara. Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul, 1993. (The best one in my opinion. It is writen in an open, modern style and contain many more pictures than than the others.) Video:The best series - A Dorothy L Sayers Mystery. BBC, 1987. This cover 3 out 4 of the Wimsey/Vane books - Strong Poison (in which they meet and Peter saves Harriet from the gallows), Have His Carcase (in which Harriet finds a body, which subsequently disappears, and partners with Peter in investigating and solving the murder), Gaudy Night (in which Harriet goes back Oxford for a reunion and runs into a mystery about a vicious vandal; while the plots thickens, so does their romance).Best Wimsey is Edward Petherbridge and best Vane is Harriet Walter, both of whom are in this series.The other series was made by the BBC in 1970. It starred Ian Carmichel as Wimsey. Carmichel looks nothing like Wimsey and, to my mind, does not act like Wimsey either. This series includes:The Unpleasantness at the Bellona ClubThe Nine TailorsMurder Must AdvertiseFive Red HerringsClouds of Witness There were also a couple films made, both of which Sayers absolutely hated. They are:The Silent Passenger, 1935, British, starring John Loden and Peter Haddon. Busman's Honeymoon (US: The Haunted Honeymoon), starring Robert Montgomery and Constance Cummings, 1940. A short Interview with Edward Patherbridge on playing Lord Peter Wimsey:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsMOMbCpBFU Link to an article illustration about Sayer's advertisment for Guiness: https://vinepair.com/articles/history-guinness-toucan-ads/

Not every city has a river running through it. And not many women plan a rendezvous at a San Antonio River Walk hotel during Fiesta Week after years of self-imposed celibacy. I was about to make history. -- Nancy G. West, River City Dead   Nancy G. West's heroine, Aggie Mundeen, burst onto the scene as a secondary character in Nancy's first novel, Nine Days to Evil, and demanded that Nancy write Aggie her own story. Lucky for us, Nancy obliged with not one, but four Aggie Mundeen mysteries, and counting. Check out her website, NancyGWest.com.  Her latest mystery, River City Dead, takes place during Fiesta Week in San Antonio, which Nancy calls a "fabulous, distinctive place and time." What more could one ask for? Well, perhaps a dead body in the penthouse suite... We also talked about Dorothy Sayers (I gave a shout-out to her translation of Dante's Inferno, which is a personal favorite) and Nancy's essay, which taught me things I never even suspected about the wonderful Ms. Sayers -- including the inspiration for Strong Poison. I would be remiss not to link to the Dorothy L. Sayers Facebook Page, and you can read Nancy's essay here.  Here are the Aggie Mundeen books in order: Fit to be Dead Dang Near Dead Smart, But Dead River City Dead And Nancy's first novel, Nine Days to Evil. Below is the transcript, if you'd rather read than listen. Enjoy! -- Laura Transcript of Interview with Nancy G. West Laura Brennan: My guest today is Nancy G. West, author of Nine Days To Evil and the Aggie Mundeen mystery series. Her first Aggie Mundeen mystery received a Lefty Award nomination for best humorous mystery, and she has won numerous awards, including the Chanticleer competition in the Mystery and Mayhem category -- an appropriate win for her heroine, Aggie, whose itchy feet presage dead bodies and danger. Nancy, thank you for joining me. Nancy G. West: Oh, I'm delighted to be here, Laura. Thank you. LB: Now, before you started writing professionally, you had a career in business. NGW: I did. Well, I majored in general business administration, and I took a lot of marketing courses and management and accounting courses. And I found out that that wasn’t really to my liking. So, after we married and I had two daughters, I decided that what I really wanted to do was write fiction. So I went back to school, to graduate school, to study English Lit. And I loved it, but they didn’t teach me how to write fiction either. So I read a bazillion books on the craft of writing fiction. And that’s really what got me started. LB: Did you look at your life and go, there’s got to be a mystery in here somewhere? NGW: Not so much a mystery in there somewhere but that writing was my passion and I really wanted to write fiction. I had written nonfiction articles, it was fun and satisfying; I’d even written a biography of a Texas artist who is actually a Spaniard who had immigrated here through Venezuela, up to Texas. But I really wanted to tell stories. And so I knew that, as a business major, I hadn’t had the opportunity to take very many courses in writing or creative writing or literature, so I thought it was time for me to learn something about it. LB: So, why mysteries then? Why did you gravitate towards mysteries? NGW: Well, I knew the hardest thing I thought, for me, would be to plot. And when you write mysteries, you have to have a good plot. I loved writing characters, I loved writing scenes, I love writing the dialogue where Aggie and Sam or the other characters talk to one another. So I didn’t think that would be a problem. But the plotting, I thought would be the most difficult – and it is. And so I thought, okay, if you’re going to write mysteries, you must learn how to plot. So that was where I did a lot of studying. LB: So you really just threw yourself into the hardest thing you could think of. NGW: Basically! I have a tendency to do that.

Check out the MBP on Strong Poison for background on Dorothy L Sayers, the theme of the expectations for male vs. female artists, and “insta-love.” I talked about the unique structure of Strong Poison as well as the thread of character development and relationship growth that runs through Sayers’ work, something that’s quite different from other Golden Age novelists, such as Christie, who wrote essentially stand-alone books featuring the same character. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christie’s books, too—I’m only pointing out the difference. As always, I closed with a quote.  Bookish news hit on how all of North America is now a Kindle Unlimited Zone as well as the discovery of a possible new Sherlock short story.  Links at http://www.SaraRosett.com  

Actress Claire Skinner, who plays the mum in BBC One's Outnumbered, and Glaswegian author Louise Welsh, talk favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. They include A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgaard, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and Strong Poison by Dorothy L Sayers.

This week we'll start with Sceptred Isle, continue the Josephine Baker story and in Dad's Army listen to The Battle For Godfrey's Cottage.  Then we'll have an hour of Strong Poison concluding the serial.  Only Lord Peter knows if Harriet is innocent.  Enjoy and as always email us at brunch@london.com join the Brunch With The Brits group on facebook or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/bwtbrits. 

This week Matt shares some thoughts about the jubilee concert.  But remembering we have a full slate ... John Lingard continues his series with radio broadcasting in the seventies along with an episode of The Burkes Way.  In Dad's Army we will listen to The Enemy At The Gate.  We also will hear about the great fire in This Sceptred Isle.  We'll continue to learn about Josephine Baker and we'll continue Strong Poison.  A hint for next week if you like Peter Whimsay you get a double dose.  Email the show at brunch@london.com or join our group on facebook or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/bwtbrits  enjoy

This week we end the current series of My Music.  Then we'll learn about the first political parties in England on This Sceptred Isle.  We'll then listen to Command Decission from the first series of Dad's Army and we'll continue Strong Poison by listening to the third episode in the series.  We'll conclude with The Josephine Baker Story.  Email the show at brunch@london.com also send mp3s thee as well.  As always ... enjoy.

This week we'll begin with This Sceptred Isle.  Charles is back on the throne but what's the debt situation like?  We'll then go back to Dad's Army and listen to The Museum Piece from February 4 1974.  We'll begin The Josephine Baker Story yess we'll be spending fifteen minutes a week with her the next five weeks and continue with Strong Poison with the episode Ten Minutes in Bloomsbury.  Lord Peter has met Harriet Vain and is still convinced of her innocence.  Oh and if you remember Jeffrey Palmer from when we played as Time Goes By, listen to a review of A Murder Of Quality.  This time Simon Russell Beal plays Smiley.  Email the show at brunch@london.com or voice us at 206-350-2926 and tell us what you think.  Finally per a listener request did you have to adjust your volume at all this week?  Was the sound better aka more leveled?  Thanks Jim in Missouri for letting us know. and Happy Memorial Day if like me you're in the States.

This week John Lingard continues his look at British broadcasting with a look at Dad's Army Just A Minute and other things as well.  We'll also return to This Sceptred Isle hear an episode of My Music and begin Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers.  For more information on Ian Whitcomb please vissit www.ian.whitcomb.com and for more info on wttm please vissit windowtothemagic.com  also email this show at brunch@london.com or call us at 206-350-2926.  As always please enjoy.