01.03.2010 11:06
What's on?: Lord Peter Wimsey

England is the birthplace of detective fiction. Even if you don't know the names of many of the authors, e.g. Elizabeth George, Conan Doyle, Colin Dexter, Agatha Christie and Ruth Rendell, their characters' names are probably familiar to you: ...

... Inspector Lynley, Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Morse, Miss Marple and Inspector Wexford. Another popular sleuth is Lord Peter Wimsey, created by Dorothy L. Sayers. When she started writing, in the 1920s, she was very short of money so she asked herself: What do people like to read about? She looked in various newspapers and found her answer: crime and the aristocracy. So, she combined these in the persona of Lord Peter Wimsey, an aristocratic private detective.

Wimsey was brilliantly played on television and on the radio by the popular actor, Ian Carmichael (18 June 1920 - 5 February 2010). Ian would have been 90 this year and the BBC was planning a series of programmes to celebrate this, but sadly, Ian died in February and, as a tribute to him, Radio 7 will be broadcasting a selection of the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, beginning in early April. So, if you're a detective fan, watch out for Lord Peter Wimsey.