Striding Folly

 Striding Folly (1972) by Dorothy L. Sayers

This particular edition includes an introduction by Catriona McPherson which examines the stories in detail and a short essay by Janet Hitchman discussing Lord Peter and his creator. Each is very informative both for the Sayers novice as well as for those of us more familiar with the detective novelist and her sleuth.

It is a delightful collection of short stories to round out the Wimsey canon. Not much mystery, but lots of great characters and insight into life in the Wimsey household after Busman's Honeymoon. The first is slightly odd--more in the line of "The Image in the Mirror" found in Sayers's collection Hangman's Holiday. But I do so enjoy the first peek into Lord Peter's first experience at fatherhood and his family at Talboys. ★★★★

"Striding Folly": This one has a bit of the mystic about it. A man has a dream which appears to be strangely prophetic about the murder of his neighbor. Except it didn't predict that he would be accused! Lord Peter comes to the rescue, of course!

"The Haunted Policeman": The story of the poor policeman who saw a house numbered thirteen where no thirteen ought to be and a murdered man where no one has been murdered. Lord Peter helps him prove that he wasn't drunk nor delusional.

"Talboys": In which, Bredon, Lord Peter's eldest, steals peaches, is punished and wrongly accused of stealing peaches a second time. While Lord Peter helps track down the rightful culprits, Miss Quirk, guest of the Wimseys and an errant amateur psychologist, finds that practicing psychology on a family of Wimsey boys may not be the best of ideas.

First line (1st story): "Shall I expect you next Wednesday for our game as usual?" asked Mr. Mellilow.

Last line (last story): "It answers to the name of Cuthbert."

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Deaths = one strangled