In 1933’s Murder Must Advertise, Dorothy L. Sayers takes us into the worlds of advertising and “bright young things.” Mr. Pym of Pym’s Publicity has hired a new copywriter, Death Bredon, who is a private investigator in disguise, to replace the newly deceased Victor Dean. Just a week earlier Dean was killed when he fell down the treacherous iron staircase and broke his neck instantly. A draft of a letter found in his effects suggested criminal activity happening at Pym’s, leading Pym to hire Bredon to look into things. Not realizing that Death Bredon’s full name is Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey, Pym is happy when Bredon turns into a good copywriter too. Soon Wimsey discovers that Dean had been running with the crowd associated with Dian De Momerie, a famous socialite deep in wild parties and the drug scene. Getting Pamela Dean, Victor’s sister, to help him gain admittance to a party, Wimsey assumes the guise of Harlequin and gains the attention of Dian.
From here, Lord Peter Wimsey plays the part of Death Bredon at Pym’s by day and of Harlequin with Dian De Momerie at night. Discovering that both someone at Pym’s and someone close to Dian seems to be deeply involved in the drug trade, Wimsey works to unravel the cases of the drugs and of Dean’s death. But are they one case or two?
Though Sayers did not consider this to be among her best works, Murder Must Advertise shows a very strong writing style and clever plotting. She wrote this book from personal knowledge, as Sayers worked in the advertising industry as a copywriter, the position Wimsey holds in this book, from 1922 to 1931, and is credited with coining the slogan “It pays to advertise.” Thus, we get some fascinating insights into the methods used to try to sell products to us. For example, in one scene Lord Peter explains to his brother-in-law, Chief Inspector Parker, and his sister, Lady Mary, the differences in the meanings of “made with,” “made by,” and “made of.”
The storyline is creative, with many details that keep us guessing and enjoying the action. We can read or listen with pleasure, not even thinking about deeper symbolism, and enjoy the book as it is. The characters have distinct natures, though only Lord Peter is truly round. The others tend to be flat, especially noticeable in Dian De Momerie, but that is meant to convey the false reality of the worlds which the characters occupy.
One thing that distinguishes this book to me is the way Sayers effectively conveys the way the advertising office never stops its hustle and bustle. Multiple conversations get carried on at the same time, yet Sayers effectively keeps us able to distinguish among them. I’m sure that the narrator had a significant role in making this work in the audio version.
Another interesting feature of Murder Must Advertise is the way that Sayers shows that both worlds, that of advertising and that of the drug scene, are fake. She explains her intentions in the 1941 book The Mind of the Maker:
I undertook (not very successfully) to present a contrast of two “cardboard” worlds, equally fictitious – the world of advertising and the world of the post-war “Bright Young People.” (It was not very successful, because I knew and cared much more about advertising than about Bright Youth).
Sayers further talks about a reader who pointed out that even Lord Peter Wimsey, the representation of reality in this book, appeara in both these worlds only when he is in disguise:
It was perfectly true; and I had never noticed it. With all its defects of realism, there had been some measure of integral truth about the book’s Idea, since it issued, without my conscious connivance, in a true symbolism.
An additional detail that always makes me smile is the description that one of the women in Pym’s office gives of Bredon as they discuss getting a new copywriter: “He’s like Bertie Wooster in horn rims.” Sayers could not have envisioned that someday the man who would come to be identified with Lord Peter through his portrayal of the man on the BBC, Ian Carmichael, would also be known for having played Bertie Wooster, also on the BBC.
The original audio edition of Murder Must Advertise was performed by Ian Carmichael, the man mentioned above, but my copy of thr book on CD has a different narrator, John Franklyn-Robbins. Sadly, many of the master recordings created on cassette have become damaged over time and unable to be transferred to digital, requiring new recordings if the publisher wants to keep the book in circulation. It took me a little while to adjust to Franklyn-Robbins, since I am so used to hearing Carmichael, but Franklyn-Robbins does a good job of helping to convey this tricky book with no confusion to the reader. As noted earlier, the book contains numerous scenes of people carrying on multiple conversations in the same room, and it takes a skilled narrator to be able to make them distinguishable from each other. Franklyn-Robbins also uses good voices for each character and even changes the accent he uses for Lord Peter depending upon which world the aristocratic sleuth is occupying at the moment. He lowers the high-bred tones when Wimsey u.s in disguise without ever leaving us unsure if this is Wimsey or someone else. This is a difficult book to narrate, but Franklyn-Robbins does a fine job.
Murder Must Advertise may not have been Sayers’s favorite book, but it is one of mine. I love the humor found in it and the way Lord Peter shifts so effortlessly among worlds. The scenes in Pym’s Publicity are fuil of gossip about the lives of the employees, which I find fun. The plot is highly intriguing as well, making this book all around fascinating. I give it five stars.
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