by Rocky Wood
… gleams of what Wimsey had been and could not even yet deny utterly. It would pass, and he would become the Wimsey that was in this dull aftermath of the war that had made their war seem like child’s play – a dreary ghost-Wimsey, distracted and vague, a Wimsey who did too much solitary drinking, a Wimsey whose wit had soured.
Returning to the car Wimsey states that if the heavy weather continues the bridge will collapse. When they return to the road Wimsey even wonders if “Sir Pat” was not himself responsible for trying to isolate his home from the world, considering in particular his “…invitation, renewed so tiresomely over the last month and a half, until we quite ran out of excuses. It began to take on a … a flavor, did it not?” Wimsey and Bunter begin to consider that Sir Patrick might have a problem “…requiring certain detective talents…” Then, “Wimsey said quietly, ‘I don’t detect. I shall never detect again.’ Bunter did not reply. ‘If I hadn’t been off detecting for the British Secret Service, I … what rot.’” Apparently Wimsey blamed himself for his wife’s death in the Blitz.
Now their thoughts turn to Miss Katherine Climpson, another of Wimsey’s employees. Wimsey tentatively asks how “she” was and Bunter does “… not affect to know of whom Lord Peter spoke.” We discover that Climpson is mortally ill with cancer in a hospital near Wimsey’s Picadilly flat and that he had “…gone to visit her himself in the first nine weeks of her stay, but at last he had been able to face it no more. He cursed himself for a coward, reviled himself, called himself a slacker and a yellow-livered slug … but he did not go.” The slow decline of Climpson was,
Too much. Harriet was dead; his brother was dead; even Salcomb Hardy was dead; Miss Climpson was dying and Sir Patrick Wayne, a rich old bore who had been knighted for making himself richer at the expense of thousands of lives, was alive and apparently doing fine. “Is tomorrow Halloween, Bunter?” “I believe it is, my lord.” “It should be,” Wimsey said, and helped himself to a cigarette. “It bloody well should be.”
As Sir Patrick’s house approaches the brakes fail and their Bentley crashes (Bunter, still in character, laconically comments, “We appear to have lost all braking power, my lord”). Chapter One ends at this point.
In the aftermath of the crash and the beginning of Chapter Two Wimsey wakes and calls for Bunter. At this point what we have of the story ends.
Although Wimsey is relatively short there are a number of interesting facts to report. Sir Patrick Wayne’s estate is seven miles from Little Shapley, England. If the bridge collapsed there was only one other road, barely a cart track, out of the estate. Wimsey and Bunter were driving to the estate on 30 October 1945 (“is tomorrow Halloween?”), less than six months after the end of the Second World War in Europe.
The only details of note that King provides us with about Wimsey himself are that he was formerly a detective with the British Secret Service, that his wife Harriet Vane Wimsey had died during the German blitz and the reader’s presumption that the elder Duke of Denver was Wimsey’s brother.
Wimsey’s nephew, the current Duke of Denver (“Jerry”) had visited Sir Patrick Wayne’s daughter until she had become engaged to another man. Jerry had served in the RAF during the Battle of Britain and was one of the relatively few survivors of that action.
Katherine Climpson seems set to be an important character in the novel. She ran Wimsey’s typing bureau, was unmarried, and was dying of cancer in a hospital on Great Ormond Street, London. Salcomb Hardy, who had recently died of a stroke, was a crime reporter and heavy drinker. Wimsey read his obituary in The Times.
King adopted a style for Wimsey that is indeed very English in tone, including a rather dry tone of exchange between Bunter and the title character. It is clear that King was quite capable of delivering in this style, as one might expect from a premier novelist. In one passage, as Bunter pulls the car over for a comfort stop, he reminds his employer, “If you would not take it amiss, my lord, your heavy overcoat is on the hook directly behind you. I’m afraid of the effects of the rain might be on that worsted.” In another Wimsey says, “Let’s go back to the car, Bunter, before we take a chill,” in the best of British aristocratic tones of the 1940s.
Wimsey is mentioned as a literary character in both Bag of Bones and Apt Pupil. Adding this to the fact that King attempted a Wimsey novel leads us to speculate that King is probably a fan of the Wimsey series. King listed Wimsey’s creator, Dorothy L Sayers, as one of the authors he most admired during an interview for The Waldenbook Report in late 1997.
Sayers’ character, Lord Peter Wimsey was immensely popular in the 1920s and 1930s and the books are still read avidly today. The BBC made two successful television series based on the character, starring Ian Carmichael and Peter Haddon in the lead roles, and there were also 1935 and 1940 movies based on two of the novels.
The fourteen novels and additional short stories were all published from the 1920s through the early 1940s and feature Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey, the younger brother of the Duke of Denver and a World War I veteran. His manservant is Bunter. An avid rare book collector, Wimsey develops a penchant for investigating crime, often assisting Detective Inspector Charles Parker, his brother in law. Sayers’ imaginary life of Lord Peter ends in 1942, with Wimsey married to Harriet Vane and the father of three sons. From the Author’s Note in Thrones, Dominations we know that he served in Military Intelligence in World War II.
It seems that King has been faithful to the Wimsey mythology, as we would expect. He has Wimsey married to Harriet, although he extends the mythos by having her die in the Blitz. He also has Wimsey serving in the British Secret Service during the War, linking the note of his serving in Military Intelligence. Readers will conclude from the text that he is the uncle of the current Duke of Denver, which is the way Sayers had it.
Sayers herself was acquainted with a number of the literary circles of her time, being a friend of T. S. Eliot and C. S. Lewis. She was a figure of some controversy, having had a child out of wedlock in 1924 and being accused of anti-Semitism in her writing. Apart from the Wimsey and Vane stories (Harriet Vane was also an amateur detective), which set her up financially and which she then retired from writing, she also wrote religious essays and plays in an orthodox Anglican manner; and translated some of Dante’s writings. Interestingly enough, she also translated the Song of Roland from the Old French. That work is an anonymous Old French epic, dating to the 11th Century and is regarded as the first of the great French heroic poems known as chansons de geste. Born in 1893, Sayers died in 1957.
King has continued to show an interest in crime and detective stories and has presented his Constant Readers with a limited but quality selection, including The Fifth Quarter, Man with a Belly, The Wedding Gig, The Doctor’s Case, Umney’s Last Case and The Colorado Kid.
Appendix: Bibliography
Fiction
The following is a list of all known King fiction as at 30 April 2010 (including announced material for Full Dark, No Stars). Where the author has assessed that the story appears in different versions or variations (see Chapter 4 – Variations and Versions in King’s Fiction for more detail) these are listed individually. Otherwise, only the first point of publication and any inclusions in a King collection is listed.
The codes used below are: (a) = Abridgement; (e) = Excerpt; (n) = New Version; (r) = Reprint; (v) = Variation
The Aftermath Unpublished Novel
All That You Love Will Be Carried Away The New Yorker, 29 January 2001
Everything’s Eventual (v)
American Vampire Graphic Novel
An Evening at God’s Unpublished Play
Apt Pupil Different Seasons
Autopsy Room Four Six Stories
Everything’s Eventual (r)
Ayana Paris Review, Fall 2007
Just After Sunset (r)
Bag of Bones Novel
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1984
Skeleto
n Crew (v)
Battleground Cavalier, September 1972
Night Shift (v)
Night Shift Screenplay (n)
Beachworld Weird Tales, Fall 1984
Skeleton Crew (v)
The Bear The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1990
The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (n)
Before the Play Whispers, August 1982
TV Guide, 26 April – 2 May 1997 (a)
The Beggar and the Diamond Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Beneath the Demon Moon Paperback Giveaway
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
Big Driver Full Dark, No Stars
Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game New Terrors 2
(Milkman #2) Skeleton Crew (n)
The Bird and the Album A Fantasy Reader: The Seventh World
Fantasy Convention Program Book
It (n)
Black House Novel
Black Ribbons Black Ribbons (album), 2010
Blaze Novel
Blind Willie Antaeus, Autumn 1994
Six Stories (v)
Hearts in Atlantis (n)
Blockade Billy Novella
The Blue Air Compressor Onan, January 1971
Heavy Metal, July 1981 (v)
The Body Different Seasons
The Bone Church Playboy, November 2009
The Boogeyman Cavalier, March 1973
Night Shift (v)
The Breathing Method Different Seasons
Brooklyn August Io, 1971
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (r)
But Only Darkness Loves Me Unpublished Short Story
Cain Rose Up Ubris, Spring 1968
Skeleton Crew (n)
Calla Bryn Sturgis www.stephenking.com
The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (n)
The Cannibals www.stephenking.com
Carrie Novel
The Cat from Hell Cavalier, June 1977
Cat’s Eye Unpublished Screenplay
Cell Novel
Chapter 71 – Sword in the Darkness Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished
Charlie Unpublished Short Story
Chattery Teeth Cemetery Dance, Fall 1992
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (n)
Children of the Corn Penthouse, March 1977
Night Shift (n)
Unpublished Screenplay (n)
Chinga Unpublished Screenplay
Chip Coombs Unpublished Story
Christine Novel
Code Name: Mousetrap The Drum, 27 October 1965
The Colorado Kid Novel
Comb Dump Unpublished Story
The Crate Gallery, July 1979
Creepshow Screenplay (n)
Creepshow (n)
Creepshow Unpublished Screenplay
Crouch End New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (n)
Cujo Novel
Unpublished Screenplay (n)
The Cursed Expedition People, Places and Things
Cycle of the Werewolf Novella
The Dark Half Novel
The Dark Man Ubris, Fall 1969
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Original Novel
Revised and Expanded Novel (n)
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Novel
Three
The Dark Tower III: The Wastelands Novel
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass Novel
The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla Novel
The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah Novel
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower Novel
The Dead Zone Novel
Unpublished Screenplay (n)
The Death of Jack Hamilton The New Yorker, 24/31 December 2001
Everything’s Eventual (r)
Dedication Night Visions 5
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (n)
Desperation Novel
Unpublished Screenplay (n)
Dino The Salt Hill Journal, Autumn 1994
The Doctor’s Case The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (r)
Do the Dead Sing? Yankee, November 1981
Dolan’s Cadillac Castle Rock, 1985
Limited Edition Novella (n)
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (r)
Unpublished Screenplay (v)
Dolores Claiborne Novel
Donovan’s Brain Moth, 1970
Dreamcatcher Novel
Duma Key Novel
The End of the Whole Mess Omni, October 1986
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (n)
The Evaluation Unpublished Story
Everything’s Eventual The Magazine of Fantasy and Science
Fiction, October 1997
F13 (v)
Everything’s Eventual (v)
Eyes of the Dragon Limited Edition Novel
Mass Market Novel (n)
Fair Extension Full Dark, No Stars
The Falls of the Hounds Paperback Giveaway
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
Father’s Day Creepshow Screenplay
Creepshow (n)
The Fifth Quarter Cavalier, April 1972
The Twilight Zone Magazine, February
1986 (n)
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (n)
Firestarter Novel
For Owen Skeleton Crew
For the Birds Bred Any Good Rooks Lately?
The 43rd Dream The Drum, 29 January 1966
The Illustrated Stephen King Companion
Blood and Smoke
Everything’s Eventual (v)
From a Buick 8 Novel
The Furnace Know Your World Extra
General Screamplays
George D. X. McArdle Unpublished Novel
Gerald’s Game Novel
The Gingerbread Girl Esquire, July 2007
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon Novel
The Glass Floor Startling Mystery Stories, Fall 1967
Weird Tales, Fall 1990 (v)
Golden Years Unpublished Screenplay
A Good Marriage Full Dark, No Stars
Graduation Afternoon Postscripts, Spring 2007
Just After Sunset (r)
Gramma Weirdbook, Spring 1984
Skeleton Crew (n)
Graveyard Shift Cavalier, October 1970
Night Shift (r)
Gray Matter Cavalier, October 1973
Night Shift (r)
The Green Mile Serialized Novel
Omnibus Novel (v)
The Hardcase Speaks Contraband, 1 December 1971
Harrison State Park ’68 Ubris, Fall 1968
Harvey’s Dream The New Yorker, 30 June 2003
Just After Sunset (r)
Hearts in Atlantis Hearts in Atlantis
Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling Hearts in Atlantis
Here There Be Tygers Ubris, Spring 1968
Skeleton Crew (v)
Heroes for Hope: Starring the X-Men Heroes for Hope: Starring the X-Men, #1
Home Delivery The Book of the Dead
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (n)
The Hotel at the End of the Road People, Places and Things
The House on Maple Street Nightmares and Dreamscapes
I Am the Doorway Cavalier, March 1971
Night Shift (r)
I Hate Mondays Unpublished Short Story
I Know What You Need Cosmopolitan, September 1976
Night Shift (v)
Night Shift Screenplay (n)
Insomnia Novel
In the Deathroom Blood and Smoke
Secret Windows: Essays and Fiction on the Craft of Writing (v)
Everything’s Eventual (v)
In the Key-Chords of Dawn Onan, 1971
It Novel
It Grows on You Marshroots, Fall 1973
Weird Tales, Summer 1991 (v)
Whispers, July 1982 (n)
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (n)
I’ve Got to Get Away People, Places and Things<
br />
I Was a Teenage Grave Robber Comics Review, 1965
As In a Half-World of Terror Stories of Suspense, 1966 (n)
The Jaunt The Twilight Zone Magazine, June 1981
Skeleton Crew (n)
Jerusalem’s Lot Night Shift
Jhonathan and the Witchs First Words: Earliest Writing from
Favorite Contemporary Authors
Jumper Dave’s Rag, Winter 1959-1960
Secret Windows: Essays and Fiction on the Craft of Writing (r)
Keyholes Unpublished Short Story
The Killer Famous Monsters of Filmland, Spring 1994
Kingdom Hospital Unpublished Screenplay
The King Family and the Wicked Witch Flint, 25 August 1977
The Langoliers Four Past Midnight
The Last Rung on the Ladder Night Shift
The Lawnmower Man Cavalier, May 1975
Night Shift (v)
Bizarre Adventures, October 1981 (n)
The Ledge Penthouse, July 1976
Night Shift (v)
Cat’s Eye Screenplay (n)
The Leprechaun Unpublished Novel
The Library Policeman Four Past Midnight
The Little Sisters of Eluria Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of
Modern Fantasy
Everything’s Eventual (v)
Lisey and Amanda (Everything the Same) Cell, 2006
Lisey’s Story, 2006 (v)
Lisey and the Madman McSweeney’s Enchanting Chamber of
Astonishing Stories
