In Which Lord Peter Wimsey is a huge dork

[kaitou]

I'm continuing to read Dorothy L. Sayer's Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries and am on to 'Strong Poison' where she intended to end the series by marrying him off. I can kind of see why Harriet Vane, the love interest gets a reputation as a Mary Sue, even though she's barely been IN the book at this point. It's a bit much when you're a woman writing a mystery about a woman mystery writer accused of poisoning her ex-lover with arsenic who has just written a book about a woman mystery writer who is accused of poisoned her current lover with arsenic. Though for the sake of irony it's almost a shame that Dorothy Sayers wasn't ever accused of poisoning anyone.

But what I really love is how utterly dorktastic Lord Peter is when he's smitten. And I can't resist sharing a bit. (Normally I'd just read out the bit to anyone in the room, but there's no one currently in the room, so you'll have to suffer instead)


Scene: Peter and Harriet are sitting in the prison's visiting room. They have just met for the first time, and he has already proposed. (Harriet is disappointed, this making the 47th proposal since she was arrested)

She says..."But, by the way, you're bearing in mind, aren't you, that I've had a lover?"

"Oh, yes. So have I, if it comes to that. In fact, several. It's the sort of thing that might happen to anybody. I can produce quite good testimonials. I'm told I made love rather nicely - only I'm at a disadvantage at the moment. Once can't be very convincing at the other end of a table with a bloke looking in at the door."

...

"It seems very probable that I shall not survive to make the experiment."

"Don't be so damned discouraging," said Wimsey. "I have already carefully explained to you that this time I am investigating this business. Anybody would think you have no confidence in me."

"People have been wrongly condemned before now."

"Exactly; simply because I wasn't there."

"I never thought of that."

"Think of it now. You will find it very beautiful and inspiring. It might even help to distinguish me from the other forty-six, if you should happen to mislay my features, or anything. Oh, by the way - I don't positively repel you or anything like that, do I? Because, if I do, I'll take my name off the waiting list at once."

"No," said Harriet Vane, kindly and a little sadly. "No, you don't repel me."

Comments

[mewsrissicat.livejournal.com]

My god... he *is* adorable... "adorkable"?
XD

[kaitou1412.livejournal.com]

Utterly adorkable. I love when a suave character just utterly loses it. (Although I'm not sure I'd call Wimsey suave. He *can* be, but he can also pretend to be Bertie Wooster. Makes for a very interesting character I think.)