Other editions of book Strong Poison: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery

Dashing detective Lord Peter Wimsey is caught up in the murder trial of mystery writer Harriet Vane. Her fiance has died of poisoning exactly as described in one of Harriet's novels, so naturally she is the prime suspect. As Peter looks on, he not only falls in love with the accused but eagerly helps with Harriet's defense when the first trial ends in a hung jury. Will she be convicted and executed for the crime, or can he save her life and win her hand in marriage?

The classic mystery that first featured Harriet Vane, companion sleuth to the dashing, perennially popular private investigator, Lord Peter Wimsey, from the mystery writer widely considered the greatest mystery novelist of the Golden Age--Dorothy L. Sayers.Featuring an introduction by Elizabeth George, herself a crime fiction master, Strong Poison introduces Harriet Vane, a mystery writer who is accused of poisoning her fiancé and must now join forces with Lord Peter to escape a murder conviction and the hangman’s noose.

Lord Peter Wimsey encounters a lady in distress: she has been wrongly accused of murder. The lady is none other than Harriet Vane, the writer of mystery novels, and one of Dorothy Sayers' most famous creations. This novel marks her first appearance in literature.Review“A model detective story . . . fascinating.” —The New York Times “The end of this story is as ingenious as any solution could be.” —The Times Literary Supplement “Here is unquestionably a shining star in the mystery firmament and the best of all the Lord Peter stories—until the next comes along.” —The Saturday Review of Literature.A good murder mystery with lots of delightful humorThis is the first novel by Dorothy Sayers where Harriet Vane appears. She will reappear in a couple of forthcoming novels. She is a strong-willed outspoken woman in an age when women were felt to be better suited to look good but be silent and compliant. Lord Peter Wimsey, the whimsical hero of the Sayer novels, attends a trial where Harriet is charged for poisoning her lover, a man she lived with for some time. Both she and the man she lived with are novelists, but she made far more money with her books than he did. He refused to marry her until one day when he proposed. Harriet’s answer was to walk out on him. She is extremely fortunate to have as one of the jurors in her case a woman who works for Wimsey. As a result of this juror’s persistence, her refusal to agree with others and find her innocent, there is a mistrial, no decision, and a need for another trial, which would be held in a month. If proof could be found to show her innocence, it must be found within the month.The man died by arsenic poisoning. It could have been self-administered, suicide. But how can this be proven.As he sat watching the trial, Wimsey falls in love with Harriet, goes to the jail to meet her, and proposes marriage. He promises her that he will find a way to prove her innocence.Besides being a good mystery with clues, the book is filled with humor. The humor is found in the way people talk and act, all the people in the tale, especially Peter Wimsey. What he does makes sense, but it is eccentrics.

The sixth book in Dorothy L Sayers' classic Lord Peter Wimsey series introduced by crime writer Laura Wilson - a must-read for fans of Agatha Christie's Poirot and Margery Allingham's Campion Mysteries.'D. L. Sayers is one of the best detective story writers' Daily TelegraphCan Lord Peter Wimsey prove that Harriet Vane is not guilty of murder - or find the real poisoner in time to save her from the gallows?Impossible, it seems. The Crown's case is watertight. The police are adamant that the right person is on trial. The judge's summing-up is also clear. Harriet Vane is guilty of the killing her lover. And Harriet Vane shall hang.But the jury disagrees.'She brought to the detective novel originality, intelligence, energy and wit.' P. D. James