An edition of Unnatural Death (1927)

Unnatural death

1st Perennial Library ed.
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Last edited by Tom Morris
June 16, 2025 | History
An edition of Unnatural Death (1927)

Unnatural death

1st Perennial Library ed.
  • 4.2 (10 ratings)
  • 25 Want to read
  • 20 Have read

Unnatural Death, published in 1927, is the third novel written by Dorothy L. Sayers featuring her aristocratic detective Lord Peter Wimsey.

The story begins with a conversation in a restaurant between Wimsey, his friend Detective Inspector Charles Parker, and a doctor who tells them about a situation he was involved in: an elderly lady, suffering from a slow-acting cancer, died suddenly and unexpectedly with no obvious immediate cause of death. She died intestate, but her great-niece, with whom she was living, was set to inherit the considerable estate. Suspecting something wrong, the doctor demanded an autopsy, which showed nothing unusual, but stirred up such local animosity that the he was forced to abandon his practice. Wimsey, sensing a mystery, decides to investigate—but his investigation triggers a series of deadly events.

One of the delights of the book is the introduction of a new character in Miss Alexandra Climpson, a middle-aged spinster whom Wimsey employs as an investigative agent, and whose effusive reports of the gossip she picks up in the town are very amusing.

Unnatural Death is notable for its inclusion of one clearly lesbian character—a decision unusual in detective fiction at the time—and the very sympathetic treatment by Wimsey of a black character (though offensively racist terms for him are used by others in the book).

An adaptation of the book was made for BBC radio in 1975.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
241

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Unnatural Death
Unnatural Death
2023, Standard Ebooks
Cover of: Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)
Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)
August 1, 1995, HarperTorch
Mass Market Paperback in English
Cover of: Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery)
Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery)
July 1993, Perennial
Paperback in English
Cover of: Unnaturaldeath
Unnaturaldeath
1989, Coronet
in English
Cover of: Unnatural death
Unnatural death
1987, Perennial Library, HarperCollins Publishers, HarperPerennial
in English - 1st Perennial Library ed.
Cover of: Unnatural Death
Unnatural Death
1981-01-01, New English Library
Cover of: Unnatural Death
Unnatural Death
1976-01-01, New English Library
Cover of: Unnatural death
Unnatural death
1974, New English Library, Times Mirror
in English
Cover of: Unnatural death
Unnatural death
1964, Avon, Harper
in English
Cover of: Unnatural death
Unnatural death
1964, Avon
in English

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Book Details


Edition Notes

1

Published in
New York, NY
Series
Perennial Mystery Library -- P840

Classifications

Library of Congress
PR6037'A95'D39'1987, PR6037.A95 D39 1987, PR6037.A95D39 1987

The Physical Object

Pagination
xi, 241 p.
Number of pages
241

Edition Identifiers

Open Library
OL19845303M
ISBN 10
0060808403
LCCN
86045693
LibraryThing
16482
Amazon ID (ASIN)
Goodreads
1948733

Work Identifiers

Work ID
OL2234912W

Excerpts

But if he thought the woman was being murdered-" "My dear charles," said the young man with the monocle, "it doesn't do for people, especially doctors, to go about 'thinking' things.
added anonymously.

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June 16, 2025 Edited by Tom Morris merge authors
June 16, 2025 Edited by Tom Morris Merge works
April 23, 2023 Edited by indy133 new edition
December 27, 2021 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
November 11, 2009 Created by ImportBot add works page