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Quiz about Lord Peter Whos Who
Quiz about Lord Peter Whos Who

Lord Peter Who's Who Trivia Quiz


What do you know about secondary characters in Dorothy L Sayers' "Lord Peter Wimsey" stories? Bunter, Harriet, Parker, and more...

A multiple-choice quiz by agony. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
agony
Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
358,021
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
610
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 82 (10/10), Guest 82 (10/10), Guest 151 (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Which of these options best describes Lord Peter's relationship with his parents? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Lord Peter's older brother is the current Duke of Denver. What is his first name? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. What did Lord Peter's younger sister Mary do during the War? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. In every Lord Peter Wimsey novel, hovering in the background like an extremely correct ghost, we find his man Bunter. What is Bunter's first name? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Whenever our detecting team come across scientific evidence - mysterious stains or unidentifiable white powders - they are dispatched off to London to a specialist. What is this specialist's name? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Mr Murbles appears in several of the books in a minor role. Who is he? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Detective Inspector (later Chief Inspector) Charles Parker undergoes more change during the course of the series than just to his rank. Which of these happen to him? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. The Hon. Freddy Arbuthnot has one area of expertise - what is it? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Lord Peter makes use of "surplus women" for some of his investigations. Who runs his "cattery"? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Harriet Vane is a writer of detective stories, and, of course, Lord Peter's great love. Can you tell me the name of her fictional detective hero? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 25 2024 : Guest 82: 10/10
Mar 22 2024 : Guest 82: 10/10
Mar 17 2024 : Guest 151: 10/10
Mar 16 2024 : linkan: 10/10
Mar 13 2024 : Guest 81: 10/10
Mar 09 2024 : Ean28: 10/10
Feb 23 2024 : Guest 31: 10/10
Feb 10 2024 : slimey1: 8/10
Feb 07 2024 : PurpleComet: 7/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Which of these options best describes Lord Peter's relationship with his parents?

Answer: He had a strained relationship with his father who has died; he has a good relationship with his mother who is alive

The Dowager Duchess Honoria Lucasta is very much alive throughout the books - she is a delightful character with a unique way of expressing herself. She is definitely Wimsey's ally in the family.

Wimsey had a poor relationship with his father, due in part to their very different temperaments - the old Duke was a huntin' fishin' sportin' Englishman of the old school - and in part to the Duke's poor treatment of his wife (he sported in more ways than one...).
2. Lord Peter's older brother is the current Duke of Denver. What is his first name?

Answer: Gerald

Gerald Christian Wimsey, Viscount St George, Duke of Denver. In "Clouds of Witness"(1926), the Duke is accused of murder. He refuses to give an explanation of his actions the night of the murder, or to produce an alibi. In the unravelling of the mystery, we find that he takes after his father.

The current Duchess of Denver, his wife, is a humourless and strictly correct woman - she and Wimsey cordially loathe each other.
3. What did Lord Peter's younger sister Mary do during the War?

Answer: She was a V.A.D.

V.A.D.s (Voluntary Aid Detachments) were administered by the Red Cross and Society of St John. The detachments, mostly women, served as nurses, clerical and kitchen staff, ambulance drivers, etc. Mary appears to have been a nurse.

During this time, she lived a rather Bohemian lifestyle, and even consorted with Socialists(!). She became involved with a highly unsuitable young man, who played a part in "Clouds of Witness".
4. In every Lord Peter Wimsey novel, hovering in the background like an extremely correct ghost, we find his man Bunter. What is Bunter's first name?

Answer: Mervyn

Bunter was not in fact "turned out ready-made" ("Clouds of Witness") but has an old mother in Kent who named him Mervyn - he was one of seven children.

Bunter had served as Wimsey's batman in the War. There is a very strong suggestion running through the series that his stabilizing influence is essential to keeping Wimsey on track. Especially in the earlier books, it is clear that Wimsey suffers from "nerves" - probably what we would now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, dating back to the War.
5. Whenever our detecting team come across scientific evidence - mysterious stains or unidentifiable white powders - they are dispatched off to London to a specialist. What is this specialist's name?

Answer: Sir James Lubbock

Sir James also plays a part in the rather complex scientific aspects of isolating the poison in the only non-Wimsey detective novel published by Sayers, "The Documents in the Case"(1930).
6. Mr Murbles appears in several of the books in a minor role. Who is he?

Answer: The family solicitor

He is described in "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club"(1928) as "so perfectly the family solicitor as really to have no distinguishing personality at all", but, really, over the course of the series we do feel we get to know this kindly but dry man quite well. I'm especially fond of his Victorian-style travelling cap with flaps to it, as described in "Unnatural Death"(1927) - I understand Sherlock Holmes wore something of the same sort.
7. Detective Inspector (later Chief Inspector) Charles Parker undergoes more change during the course of the series than just to his rank. Which of these happen to him?

Answer: He marries Wimsey's sister Mary

Parker is very much taken with Lady Mary from his first meeting with her, in "Clouds of Witness". In "Strong Poison"(1931) he asks her to marry him, and by "Murder Must Advertise"(1933) they are married with two small children.

Parker plays the invaluable role in a series about an amateur detective of "friend in the force" - someone with the official standing to make inquiries and bring in unwilling witnesses. He also tends to get the tedious and unpleasant jobs in the partnership; between Parker and Bunter, Wimsey seldom has to do anything boring at all - more than once in the series this is pointed out, in fact. As Wimsey says in "Whose Body?", "'It affords me, if I may say so, the greatest satisfaction...that in a collaboration like ours all the uninteresting and disagreeable routine work is done by you.' Parker grunted again."
8. The Hon. Freddy Arbuthnot has one area of expertise - what is it?

Answer: Knowledge and understanding of the stock market and financial matters

Freddy at first sight appears to be a Bertie Wooster clone - a young fool without a thought in his head. The scene in "Whose Body?"(1923) in which we meet him could have been written by Wodehouse himself. His financial expertise, however, comes in handy in several different books, most notably "Whose Body?" and "Strong Poison".

He eventually marries Rachel Levy, the daughter of Sir Reuben Levy from "Whose Body?".
9. Lord Peter makes use of "surplus women" for some of his investigations. Who runs his "cattery"?

Answer: Miss Alexandra Katherine Climpson

Miss Climpson, a veteran of shabby-genteel watering places and second rate boarding houses, runs, at Wimsey's expense, an agency employing unmarried and unwanted women to ferret out scams and frauds preying on the unwary. She plays a prominent part in "Strong Poison" and "Unnatural Death"; her adventures as a fake medium in "Strong Poison" are great fun to read.
10. Harriet Vane is a writer of detective stories, and, of course, Lord Peter's great love. Can you tell me the name of her fictional detective hero?

Answer: Robert Templeton

He was "...a gentleman of extraordinary scientific skill, combined with almost fabulous muscular development. He had arms like an orang-outang, and an ugly but attractive face." ("Have his Carcase" 1932). We don't hear too much about Templeton in the Wimsey books, though he comes up now and then in "Have his Carcase" and "Gaudy Night"(1935).

Sayers is widely believed to have based the character of Harriet upon herself, and much of Harriet's biography mimics that of Sayers - minus, of course, being tried for murder!
Source: Author agony

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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