Asked by her new husband, the gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey, why she is having trouble writing her latest mystery novel, Harriet Vane expla...
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Jan 29, 2012
Kate
rated it: 
"Deemed 'one of the greatest mystery writers of this century' by the Los Angeles Times</>, Dorothy L. Sayers first captivated readers nearly seventy years ago with her beloved sleuths Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane in the novel Strong Poison. In Busman's Honeymoon, her loast completed Wimsey/Vane novel, Lord Peter and Harriet culminated their partnership with marriage. Now Thrones, Dominations, Sayers' uncompleted last novel, satisfied the vast readership hungry to know what hap
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Jan 28, 2012
Genia
rated it:
So, okay, this is not Dorothy Sayers. Obviously, Miss Walsh doesn't have her education, erudition, or grace as a writer, but it's still quite a fun book, and parts of it 0 the more Sayersy parts - are a thrill to read.
The mystery, which I hear is mostly Walsh's work, is admittedly rather dull, and so pat it makes one almost annoyed; everything somehow coincidentally happens to fall into place with some helpful husband-wife dynamics, and that comparison between the two couples is fabu More...
The mystery, which I hear is mostly Walsh's work, is admittedly rather dull, and so pat it makes one almost annoyed; everything somehow coincidentally happens to fall into place with some helpful husband-wife dynamics, and that comparison between the two couples is fabu More...
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Jun 01, 2011
Kim
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I liked this book more than I expected to and less than I wanted to. I've been on a bit of a Dorothy L Sayers binge recently. Or rather, I've been on a Peter and Harriet binge, as over the past few weeks I've re-read the four novels involving them one after the other. I remember hearing about Thrones, Dominations when it was first published, but didn't read it at the time. Always very wary about anything which could be classed as fan fiction, I was pleasantly surprised that Jill Paton Walsh stru
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Sep 22, 2007
Telesilla
rated it: 
Once you get it in your head that you're reading fan fiction, this isn't a horrible book. Trouble is, I read and write fan fiction and I've read better stuff than this. Sayers' style isn't easy and while Paton Walsh had notes and even some actual text to go off, the dialog often feels forced, as does the attempt to add historical events to the narrative even though Sayers herself had done that in both Gaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon.
It all boils down to the fact that Paton Walsh More...
It all boils down to the fact that Paton Walsh More...
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Oct 11, 2011
Meaghan
rated it: 
I thought that this book was remarkably well written. I already previously knew that Dorthy L. Sayers had not written the entire book and accordingly read with a bit of trepidation. It's difficult to immitate an author's style, phrasing, characterization and such, but I think that Jill Patton Walsh did a good job of it. I liked that comparison that Sayers set up between Peter and Harriet and Rosamund and Laurence. The mystery itself seemed to be played out in a similar manner to others of the Wi
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Jan 29, 2012
Reds_reads
rated it:
Thrones, Dominations was started by Sayers (she left notes and plot outlines) and finished by Paton Walsh. I wish I could give this a half star more, it's not great, but the opportunity to read about Peter and Harriet's life together soon after their marriage is very welcome.
The actual murder mystery is not very substantial, my enjoyment came from the return of familiar characters (and seeing Helen's snobby nose being put well and truly out of joint).
The main drawback of More...
The actual murder mystery is not very substantial, my enjoyment came from the return of familiar characters (and seeing Helen's snobby nose being put well and truly out of joint).
The main drawback of More...
Jan 21, 2012
Knitme23
rated it:
Wow. Loved this one (which is a re-listen--read the book before) from start to finish! Ian Carmichael is the reader, and he's excellent; Paton Walsh's completion is seamless, so the book reads just like another Sayers.
And, listening to and enjoying this as I carried my ipod into and out of my car, enjoying that ability for the first time, I realized something I hadn't before: this book is almost completely about SEX. Not sure if DL Sayers (who looks a lot like Queen Victoria in the More...
And, listening to and enjoying this as I carried my ipod into and out of my car, enjoying that ability for the first time, I realized something I hadn't before: this book is almost completely about SEX. Not sure if DL Sayers (who looks a lot like Queen Victoria in the More...
Dec 10, 2011
Gwenyth
rated it:
If you really, really like Dorothy L. Sayers you might, in a fit of grief after turning all the pages of all her Peter Wimsey books, turn to Thrones, Dominations, in which Walsh rounds some scratching of notes left behind by Sayers into a novel.
I have mixed feelings about efforts like this. On the one hand, if they are good, I will forgive anything. If they are not, and I've been tricked into reading them anyway by the transparent marketing scheme, I end up annoyed.
In my More...
I have mixed feelings about efforts like this. On the one hand, if they are good, I will forgive anything. If they are not, and I've been tricked into reading them anyway by the transparent marketing scheme, I end up annoyed.
In my More...
Sep 17, 2011
Mary Helene
rated it: 
Random notes while reading and so enjoying this:
*Feminist! Yes, I think Dorothy would be one. The first 65 pages are much concerned with the perceived conflicts of work/family.
*It's a mystery with modern sensibilities. The image of a village grieving the death of King George(p.64) reminded me of our national grieving over 9/11 and yet it was published in 1998.
*Funny! The Dowager Duchess' diary is priceless!
*For an explanation of the title, see p.133
*It's a novel ab More...
*Feminist! Yes, I think Dorothy would be one. The first 65 pages are much concerned with the perceived conflicts of work/family.
*It's a mystery with modern sensibilities. The image of a village grieving the death of King George(p.64) reminded me of our national grieving over 9/11 and yet it was published in 1998.
*Funny! The Dowager Duchess' diary is priceless!
*For an explanation of the title, see p.133
*It's a novel ab More...
Aug 28, 2011
Catherine
rated it:
I'd been curious about this book but heard it wasn't that good; a free copy convinced me to satisfy that curiosity, and yeah, it's not that good. However, it was light reading to hole up with during the wait for Hurricane Irene, so on that level it worked; I'm giving it two stars because I kept reading when I could have picked up something else.
The early chapters, which apparently were written by Sayers herself, have their high points, but I can see why she didn't finish the book -- i More...
The early chapters, which apparently were written by Sayers herself, have their high points, but I can see why she didn't finish the book -- i More...
Aug 15, 2011
Marlee
rated it:
Some high points of this excellent book:
Peter is worried that his playing a detective is just a rich man's game. "When you have seen people die," he said, "when you have seen at what abominable and appalling cost the peace and safety of England was secured,and then you see the peace squalidly broken, you see killing that has been perpetrated for vile and selfish motives..."
"Oh, yes, I can see that," she said. "Beloved, I do see."
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Peter is worried that his playing a detective is just a rich man's game. "When you have seen people die," he said, "when you have seen at what abominable and appalling cost the peace and safety of England was secured,and then you see the peace squalidly broken, you see killing that has been perpetrated for vile and selfish motives..."
"Oh, yes, I can see that," she said. "Beloved, I do see."
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May 09, 2011
Linda
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I've noticed that during these recent months of political chaos in Wisconsin, I am reading lots of news and political blogs. But when it comes to reading for pleasure, I have a stack of serious books — politics, history, biography — that I can't seem to touch. I want to lose myself in mysteries where the good guys win and wrongs are righted or in fantasy novels about Robin Hood where those in charge get their comeuppance. Thus, I add to my Good Reads list more mysteries, courtesy of Laurel at OT
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Apr 28, 2011
Cheryl
rated it:
After reading The Attenbury Emeralds, I have been revisiting Lord Peter Wimsey. I reread Busman's Honeymoon, then viewed the 1980s Strong Poison three-part video, and read this in conjunction with some of the classic Lord Peter short stories. As with any series, once you get beyond the classic comedy plot (love leading to marriage), your characters change. The same thing as when a comic strip starts letting its characters age, instead of running through the same stock jokes. The emphasis shifts
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Nov 18, 2011
Tracey
rated it:
This is going to be long. I read Thrones, Dominations not too long after it first came out; this is a second reading, and first review.
Of Thrones, Dominations, Dorothy L. Sayers "had written six rough chapters, and devised a plot diagram in coloured inks. When sixty years later a brown paper parcel containing a copy of the manuscript turned up in her agent's safe in London, her literary trustees commissioned Jill Paton Walsh to complete it."
I don't know.
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Of Thrones, Dominations, Dorothy L. Sayers "had written six rough chapters, and devised a plot diagram in coloured inks. When sixty years later a brown paper parcel containing a copy of the manuscript turned up in her agent's safe in London, her literary trustees commissioned Jill Paton Walsh to complete it."
I don't know.
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Aug 08, 2011
Melinda
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 08, 2008
Alexa.elam
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OK, maybe I rated this a little low, but to be honest, I have long reconciled myself to the fact that there were no more Lord Peter books to come. While I admire Jill Patton Walsh for finishing what Sayer's started, it is really only worth reading as a curiousity. I may feel too attacehd to Sayers to be able to read someone trying to write in her voice.
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Aug 04, 2009
Samantha
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I was hesitant to read this book as my understanding is that Sayers herself didn't finish the novel but that the plot was taken fom her rough drafts. As desperate as I was to get news of the Wimseys post-honeymoon, I think ultimately this book is a failure. Although there are glimpses of Sayer and I think some of the themes she was going to develop, the ghostwriter does not have her depth of knowledge or even a vague imitation of her voice. In fact everybody's voice was off. Harriet was a shadow
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Jun 16, 2008
Walsh took the notes that Sayers left for a Wimsey/Vane mystery, and finished it. I'd rather they had simply published the notes. It is quite obvious where Sayers notes ended, and Walsh is simply incapable of writing in anything like Sayers' voice. She may well write decent novels of her own, but I wish she'd kept her hands off Peter and Harriet.
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Nov 17, 2010
Brittany
rated it:
I understand that Dorothy Sayers died before she was able to complete this book, but that she left a color-coded chart of the plot and extensive notes that enabled Jill Paton Walsh to finish the book.
Some of the characteristic Sayer snap and sparkle was absent, but, even so, this was still an absorbing mystery novel. It was deeply entertaining as it explored both an upsetting and followed Harriet finding her footing in her new life. Some very funny bits, as always, and very fun to rea More...
Some of the characteristic Sayer snap and sparkle was absent, but, even so, this was still an absorbing mystery novel. It was deeply entertaining as it explored both an upsetting and followed Harriet finding her footing in her new life. Some very funny bits, as always, and very fun to rea More...
Mar 15, 2009
Joy
rated it:
The Harwells are notorious in London society for being indecently in love. The death of Mrs. Harwell exposes a tragedy in the classical sense: a sad ending made inevitable by character flaws. I loved reading this.
A Dorothy Sayers idea developed by Jill Paton Walsh. Either Sayers did a lot of the writing, or Paton Walsh did a much better job of replicating Harriet and Peter's lives in London than she did for their country life in A PRESUMPTION OF DEATH. In THRONES, DOMINATIONS, I love More...
A Dorothy Sayers idea developed by Jill Paton Walsh. Either Sayers did a lot of the writing, or Paton Walsh did a much better job of replicating Harriet and Peter's lives in London than she did for their country life in A PRESUMPTION OF DEATH. In THRONES, DOMINATIONS, I love More...
Jan 01, 2012
Kate
rated it:
Sayers' last Wimsey/Vane novel was abandoned at the outline stage and fleshed out 60 years later by Jill Paton Walsh. This odd collaboration makes it difficult to rate this book, but I've tried to approach it on its own merits and not as a bastard child of Dorothy Sayers. But that's kind of what it is.
I must say that I read it in one sitting and found it to be wonderfully diverting. If I had never read a Dorothy Sayers novel, I would have thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters ar More...
I must say that I read it in one sitting and found it to be wonderfully diverting. If I had never read a Dorothy Sayers novel, I would have thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters ar More...
Jun 25, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
Let me begin by saying that I enjoyed this book. I don't think it's possible for me to not enjoy anything Harriet Wimsey née Vane does. But it seems that all the things worth saying about this book are negative. The experience as a whole was pleasant and worthwhile and I have no doubt I'll read it again, but I have my criticisms and I'll go into them somewhat here.
This was a considerably less conservative novel than any other Dorothy Sayers I've read and I don't know how much of it is More...
This was a considerably less conservative novel than any other Dorothy Sayers I've read and I don't know how much of it is More...
Dec 26, 2010
Becky
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Dec 12, 2010
Sarah
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So I've been Lord Peter re-reading binge lately, and having just enjoyed Busman's Honeymoon, I decided to go ahead and give Thrones, Dominations another try. I'd read it some years ago when I first got into the Lord Peter books, and then, I'd found it sort of meh. I didn't think it was that bad, but I didn't think it was that good, either.
This time around, I can't believe how FULL OF FAIL it is. The most obvious problem is that it doesn't have the soul of all the originals. It feels v More...
This time around, I can't believe how FULL OF FAIL it is. The most obvious problem is that it doesn't have the soul of all the originals. It feels v More...
Dec 19, 2009
Deenbat
rated it:
I re-read/skimmed this last night and today because it was a gift from a dear friend, and I was quite justified in having given it 4 stars when I first registered it.
I have only read one book by Patton Walsh, and frankly it would not have given me confidence to think that she could complete this book, so it's as well that I read this before I read her other book (and that I wasn't the one doing the selecting for a co-author!) I think Patton Walsh did an excellent job of it.
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I have only read one book by Patton Walsh, and frankly it would not have given me confidence to think that she could complete this book, so it's as well that I read this before I read her other book (and that I wasn't the one doing the selecting for a co-author!) I think Patton Walsh did an excellent job of it.
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Jul 06, 2008
Garnette
rated it:
Only after one reads all of Lord Peter, perhaps twice or thrice, then turn to this most marvelous book, written sixty years after she abandoned the ms but left the outline for us. Written, unlike most follow-ups aka the Austen knock-offs except Pamela Aiden, and completed in Sayers' voice and according to her outline by Jill Paton Walsh. Walsh because of reading Sayers' went to Oxford. If I could know that even one person was so inspired to appropriate action by any of my books, I would be joyou
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May 05, 2009
Sarah
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FULL OF FAIL. The most obvious problem is that it doesn't have the soul of all the originals. It feels very mechanical, and lacks the wonderful humanity that Sayers breathed into her works. But more than that, it has all sorts of characterization fail. Not a single one of the characters comes off feeling entirely true to form- but Parker, Harriet, and Bunter all suffer the most.
Sayers was often accused of being in love with her own creation; whether or not that was true, her affectio More...
Sayers was often accused of being in love with her own creation; whether or not that was true, her affectio More...
Feb 05, 2009
Samira
rated it:
This is a hard book for me to review, because I really, really enjoyed it, but only once I had come to understand that it simply wasn't a Dorothy L. Sayers book. Given that difference, it is a well written mystery, perfectly good. Harriet, Peter, and Bunter, are but ghosts of their former selves, but they are not badly done, just somewhat hollow. But the high rating comes from my thought that if the book stood on its own, I would quite enjoy it.
Aug 07, 2011
Bev
rated it:
Had to read and own this simply because it had the beloved characters in it. It's a decent outing...but the sad part is knowing how very outstanding it could have been if Sayers had written it and Walsh had never gotten hold of it.
I admire Sayers for taking her writing where she felt it needed to go (non-fiction), but as a mystery lover and a fan of her particular mysteries I wish very much she had completed this one.
I admire Sayers for taking her writing where she felt it needed to go (non-fiction), but as a mystery lover and a fan of her particular mysteries I wish very much she had completed this one.
Nov 13, 2011
Slogging but finally there is a murder mystery. There are some great historical references and lots of literary quotes too. On a Nook, I can look them up:). We'll see what happens . . . hopefully the pace will speed up.
Eventually the pace improves and threads come together with Peter representing 'Thrones' and his lovely lady as his 'Domina' or 'Domination' - the historical references continued and with a Nook made looking up information about London sewers and the change in mystery More...
Eventually the pace improves and threads come together with Peter representing 'Thrones' and his lovely lady as his 'Domina' or 'Domination' - the historical references continued and with a Nook made looking up information about London sewers and the change in mystery More...
