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The Late Scholar

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The Late Scholar

By: Jill Paton Walsh
Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
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About this listen

When the fellows at an Oxford college appeal to Peter Wimsey to resolve a dispute, he and Harriet are happy to oblige. The dispute between the two passionate parties is evenly balanced, that is, until several of the fellows unexpectedly die. And the causes of death bear an uncanny resemblance to the murder methods in Peter's past cases - methods that Harriet has used in her novels.…

©2013 Jill Paton Walsh and the Trustees of Anthony Fleming, deceased (P)2014 W F Howes Ltd International Mystery & Crime Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Sayers's fans won't be disappointed, and newcomers are in for a treat" ( Guardian on The Attenbury Emeralds)
"A pitch-perfect Golden Age mystery; not a pastiche but a gem of a period puzzle that belongs on the shelf beside the Wimsey originals." ( Financial Times on The Attenbury Emeralds)
All stars
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I am always a bit nervous of reading a follow-on to a classic series written by another author. There certainly were odd moments when the story jarred, but mostly it was good. The performance wasn't perfect - the characterisation and accents were a bit uneven - but that is perhaps the most difficult aspect of recording an audio-book and I wouldn't want to make an issue of it. (Years ago I recorded several books for my mother, who was blind, and I didn't even try to adopt accents - I knew my limitations.)
So, read the novel, listen to the audio version, and I think you'll enjoy it.

A good read and a good listen

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You always fear that an author 'after' the style of a such a strong stylist as Sayers will grate at least a few times but really this didn't happen for me at all. A great plot, characters that have matured but not altered, themes that are so familiar it's like wearing an old but faithful winter coat.

Pitch perfect.

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I enjoyed revisiting Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane later on in life but the mystery plot was over-complicated and ultimately unsatisfying. The concept of using DLS's plots as Harriet's and then basing murders on them got tiring rather quickly. There was no sense of urgency in the detection which, with academics dropping like flies, there really should have been. What I did enjoy was the small details of Peter and Harriet's lives like the education of their children and the ageing of the Dowager Duchess.

The reading was better with some voices than others. The rendition of Peter and Harriet was OK but it was lucky there wasn't too much of Charles Parker as that sounded completely wrong to me.

Good enough but not Dorothy L Sayers

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This reincarnation of Dorothy L Sayers hero Lord Peter D B Wimsey is a fascinating story bringing our hero forward in time updating his life & wonderfully weaving previous books as history. I just found it a great story & the narrator has Wimseys voice just right. A spell binding listen

As good a yarn as Dorothy l Sayers

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After having read the one star ratings I was struck by the similarity to the book itself. The knockers might have written the plot.
I found it a well presented and conceived story, read almost as well as Ian Carmichael might have done it. Well worth a listen.

Read the last reviews and then read the book.

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Only a dedicated DLS fan would tolerate this book, and fortunately I am.
JPW's plots are usually very good, and this plot is fine, but the book assumes a good knowledge of Oxford university college terminology, and I assume the written version of this book has a map of the centre of Oxford (although in fact the references to specific streets, pubs etc are not really necessary for the plot.
The number of quotations that Lord Peter spouts is just ridiculous, and even the faithful Harriet starts begging for mercy towards the end of the book.
If you're a DLS fan, start with another JPW book, and theBBC's 1970s radio dramatisations of DLS books are little gems.

Death by quotation?

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insightful takes on the characters, and a real insight into Oxford at the time. sticks to the characters, but advances them too. really good

Brilliant!

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Any additional comments?

Any fans of Dorothy L Sayers detective Lord Peter Wimsey will not be disappointed with this book. The characterisation of the more mature Peter and Harriet is extremely well done.

Well worth the wait.

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I've enjoyed listening to all Paton-Walsh's Wimsey books, she's followed the originals well and provided some excellent additional storylines. The only disappointment for me was the narrator this time, not a patch on Edward Petherbridge or the incomparable Ian Carmichael

Good

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I've enjoyed Jill Paton Walsh's previous recreations of the Wimsey detective stories and although this is a welcome addition, I must admit I don't think it's her best. SPOILER: The device of having a murderer using methods of murder inspired by Harriet's books (who, rather unbelievably, has apparently started to take her own inspiration from LPW's 'real-life' cases, as created by DL Sayers' books) must have seemed a fun idea in theory, but in practice it didn't work for me. It merely kept calling my attention to the fact I was reading fiction about other works of fiction. And sadly Gordon Griffin's narration did nothing to dispel the ghost of Ian Carmichael's wonderful readings of the other books. No light, quick witted tones here, but ponderous and slightly pompous speeches, which do tend to irritate. I know Peter Wimsey is meant to have aged since our last meeting with him, but in this reading he sounds like an elderly judge, while Bunter sounds so aged that I wondered if he was intended to expire before the end of the book. I'm sure Gordon Griffiths would be a great narrator for some books, but not this one.
I hope this review doesn't sound too negative. It's still an entertaining novel, and it's always good to catch up with Wimsey and Harriet. Although it's not the best, I have no regrets about buying it.

Enjoyable, but not the best

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