Whose Body?

 Whose Body? (1923) by Dorothy L. Sayers; read by Nano Nagle (2023)

I have read the detective works of Dorothy L. Sayers more times than I can count. If you would like a more in-depth review of the story itself, then please visit my previous review. This current review is devoted to Nano Nagle's audio version which is a slightly sanitized version of the Lord Peter Wimsey novel. Nagle indicates in a note on the audio novel blurb that she wanted to give the story a "modern voice" for today's readers. With the term "modern," my first thought was that she meant to transport Wimsey and company to modern Britain. But, no. Modern seems to  mean changing derogatory references to Jewish businessmen and applying the statements to businessmen in general. Because it's okay to paint all businessmen with the same greedy, distasteful brush, just as (I suppose) the phrase "first kill all the lawyers" would be okay--as long as we don't choose a particular portion of the business or law community. I'm not a supporter of racial stereotyping/profiling (or stereotyping in general), but I am also not a fan of "cleansing" works from the past. In my opinion, we shouldn't tidy up an author's work to make it more palatable for modern audiences or ban a book because of its content. The modern audience should read these works and consider why such stereotypes are a bad thing, look at how (or if) society's attitudes have changed, and what we can do to make things even better. It is better to learn from the past rather than pretend these things never existed. [Note: she managed to miss one late in the story. I wonder if she even realized what the word was and what it meant.]

Nagle also uses a very odd pronunciation of Sir Julian Freke's name. Every other reader I have listened to for Whose Body? pronounces it like freak (using the e at the end to provide the long vowel sound). Nagle seems to think the word is foreign, giving the final e a sound that should come with an accented é (such as is found in French): Frehké. And then there's the ominous tone she tends to use for the narrator's voice. It makes everything sound so dramatic and tense, especially as we begin the next chapter. Even when it's not the most dramatic or tense moment. In general she does pretty well with most of the supporting characters--making them distinct and it is easy to identify who is speaking. I can't say, however, that I care for her interpretation of Wimsey, Parker, and Bunter, though Bunter fares the best of the three. One really doesn't get a good idea of the brains behind Wimsey's social pose and Parker sounds more like he should be driving a taxi. ★★ for this audio edition.

One interesting tidbit (for me at least): This reading was the first time I picked up on Sayers's reference to Robert Louis Stevenson's story The Wrong Box when our murderer quotes Michael Finsbury saying, "What hangs people is the unfortunate circumstance of guilt."

First lines: "Oh, damn!" said Lord Peter Wimsey at Piccadilly Circus. "Hi, driver!"

Last line: "The Napoleon brandy."
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Deaths = 2 (one hit with poker; one traffic accident)