The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
5 journalers for this copy...
Mediocre whodunit involving wills and pills.
Journal Entry 2 by miketroll at Railway Station in Clacton on Sea, Essex United Kingdom on Thursday, December 17, 2009
Released 14 yrs ago (12/17/2009 UTC) at Railway Station in Clacton on Sea, Essex United Kingdom
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Oops! Forgot to let it go. Trying again on 5 Feb 10 at the Coffee #1 OBCZ in Albany Road, Cardiff.
Oops! Forgot to let it go. Trying again on 5 Feb 10 at the Coffee #1 OBCZ in Albany Road, Cardiff.
I can't find most of my books at the moment as they're still packed up after a house move so picked this up to keep me going!
This book has come home in my bookbox.Thanks everyone :)
I realised I've had this book sitting in my bookcase for a decade!!! Time to get it moving again!
Sending this off as part of a birthday pressie.
Thank you riffraff71! I like Dorothy L Sayers and read this one just a few months back unfortunately (though this is a much nicer copy than the one I had). I'm sure I have bookcrossing friends who'd like to read it too. Will pass it forward when I get a chance.
I've copied my earlier journal entry for the novel below:
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An elderly General is found dead sitting in his favourite chair with a newspaper on his knee at the Bellona Club. A sad indictment of club members' observation skills, or something more sinister??? There are twists aplenty, and Wimsey is an entertaining amateur detective very different to Miss Marple or Poirot.
Sayers tends to be more ideas-driven than Christie I find, and true to form the plot is driven by interesting little quandaries and conflicts along the way. How the wording of Lady Dorling's will means that the General's death becomes ultra-important, how the different war experiences between generations (Boer war vs WW1) affects their characters, what the chosen books and hobbies of a young woman say about her state of mind, etc.
The story starts on Armistice Day and the after-effects of WW1 loom large over events. I found this really interesting, as the book was written in 1928 well before the collective perceptions we tend to hold about it today had settled. For example, not everyone thinks that shell-shocked ex-soldiers are figures deserving of pity. And there's a general sense of, what do we *do* with them now? These were obviously quite significant issues of the time.
So overall The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club was a worthwhile read, both for its plot and historical insights.
I've copied my earlier journal entry for the novel below:
----------
An elderly General is found dead sitting in his favourite chair with a newspaper on his knee at the Bellona Club. A sad indictment of club members' observation skills, or something more sinister??? There are twists aplenty, and Wimsey is an entertaining amateur detective very different to Miss Marple or Poirot.
Sayers tends to be more ideas-driven than Christie I find, and true to form the plot is driven by interesting little quandaries and conflicts along the way. How the wording of Lady Dorling's will means that the General's death becomes ultra-important, how the different war experiences between generations (Boer war vs WW1) affects their characters, what the chosen books and hobbies of a young woman say about her state of mind, etc.
The story starts on Armistice Day and the after-effects of WW1 loom large over events. I found this really interesting, as the book was written in 1928 well before the collective perceptions we tend to hold about it today had settled. For example, not everyone thinks that shell-shocked ex-soldiers are figures deserving of pity. And there's a general sense of, what do we *do* with them now? These were obviously quite significant issues of the time.
So overall The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club was a worthwhile read, both for its plot and historical insights.
Sent to the winner of the tea and crime/thriller sweepstakes. Congratulations!
Received as part of the Tea and Mystery Sweeps along with some lovely tea. I have read this before but it was YEARS ago and I can't remember the story so it will be like reading it for the first time. Thank you very much. :-)
What an insight into how the upper classes functioned at this time. Not entirely sure that some things haven't remained the same. I found almost all of the characters deeply unpleasant and their sense of entitlement was also annoying. The way in which the villain was dealt with at the end is shocking in the modern world, but I know this was seen as the "best" outcome for all in the circumstances. My local LFL is looking a bit bare so I plan to release this one there.
Journal Entry 11 by bookfrogster at Little Free Library - Meadows Community Garden in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Released 1 yr ago (5/31/2022 UTC) at Little Free Library - Meadows Community Garden in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Set free in the Little Free Library. Happy reading!