A Presumption of Death

Paton Walsh, Jill; Sayers, Dorothy L.

ISBN 10: 0340820659 / ISBN 13: 9780340820650

Published by Hodder & Stoughton, London, 2002

About this Item

First Edition, signed. 8vo (24cm); black cloth; titles in red gilt on spine; illustrated and embossed dust jacket; 385pp. corners and head of spine nudged; sharp edges; previous owner's name on first free leaf; otherwise clean throughout; Near Fine. Dust jacket nudged on corners and head of spine; slight shelf wear and curling on top edges; not price clipped; Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall.

Seller Inventory # 250510

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Presumption of Death
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, London
• Publication Date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0340820659
• ISBN 13: 9780340820650
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature
  • Signed

About this title

Synopsis

In A Presumption of Death, Jill Paton Walsh tells how World War II changed the lives of Peter, Harriet and their growing family. The story opens in 1940. Harriet Vane - now Lady Peter Wimsey - has taken her children to safety in the country. But the war has followed them: glamorous RAF pilots and even more glamorous land-girls scandalise the villagers; the blackout makes the night-time lanes as sinister as the back alleys of London. Then the village's first air raid practise ends with a very real body on the ground - not a war casualty but a case of plain, old-fashioned murder. And even before the second body is found, Lord Peter Wimsey and his brilliant wife are on their way to finding the killer. Once again, Jill Paton Walsh has invented a mystery plot worthy of Sayers herself, while faultlessly capturing the voice of one of the most compelling writers of the twentieth century.

From the Back Cover

"Jill Paton Walsh scores a winner in her second novel based on the characters invented by the late Dorothy L. Sayers."
-Houston Chronicle

There's good news for fans of Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane mysteries. Jill Paton Walsh has repeated the success of her bestseller, Thrones, Dominations, with a new novel featuring the beloved sleuths. Using "The Wimsey Papers," in which Sayers described life in Britain during World War II, Walsh devises an irresistible story set in 1940 at the start of the Blitz.

A Presumption Of Death

While Lord Peter is abroad on a secret mission, Harriet Vane, now Lady Peter Wimsey, takes their children to safety in the country. But there's no escape from war: rumors of spies abound, glamorous RAF pilots and flirtatious land-girls scandalize the villagers, and the blackout makes rural lanes as sinister as London's alleys. And when a practice air-raid ends with a young woman's death, it's almost a shock to hear that the cause is not enemy action, but murder. Or is it? With Peter away, Harriet sets out to find out whodunit...and the chilling reason why.

"Should Walsh have no further original Sayers material to draw on, she seems perfectly suited to continue the series entirely on her own."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)