Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
A Presumption of Death cover art

A Presumption of Death

By: Jill Paton Walsh, Dorothy L. Sayers
Narrated by: Edward Petherbridge
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Lord Peter Wimsey: BBC Radio Drama Collection Volume 1 cover art
Inspector Alan Grant: The Full Collection cover art
We'll Meet Again cover art
Bodies from the Library cover art
The Girl on the Beach cover art
Escape by Moonlight cover art
Death of an Author cover art
A Man Lay Dead cover art
The Blacksmith's Wife cover art
Murder at Everham Hall cover art
Murder at the Spring Ball cover art
The Theft of the Iron Dogs cover art
A Very English Murder cover art
Mrs Pargeter's Principle cover art
The Ngaio Marsh BBC Radio Collection cover art
Murder at Little Minton cover art

Summary

In A Presumption of Death, Jill Paton Walsh tells how World War II changed the lives of Peter, Harriet and their growing family.

The story opens in 1940. Harriet Vane - now Lady Peter Wimsey - has taken her children to safety in the country. But the war has followed them: glamorous RAF pilots and even more glamorous land-girls scandalise the villagers; the blackout makes the nighttime lanes as sinister as the back alleys of London. Then the village's first air raid practise ends with a very real body on the ground - not a war casualty but a case of plain, old-fashioned murder. And even before the second body is found, Lord Peter Wimsey and his brilliant wife are on their way to finding the killer.

©2002 Jill Paton Walsh and the Trustees of Anthony Fleming, deceased (P)2003 Audible

What listeners say about A Presumption of Death

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    337
  • 4 Stars
    59
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    319
  • 4 Stars
    48
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    305
  • 4 Stars
    54
  • 3 Stars
    17
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Completely Unexpected.

I have tried reading this story and I wasn't that impressed. I do like Mr Petherbridge's narration in other recordings so thought I would give it a try. I much prefer the recording to the actual book. Mr Petherbridge so carefully brings the characters to life. That and his RP BBC "Home Service" delivery which matches so perfectly with the era in which the story is set enables you to willingly suspend disbelief. As though one was listening to a very good Radio Play on Radio 4.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wartime for Peter & Harriett

Largely Harriet centric story set during the early War years.Gives a very good impression of wartime village life and the social order change begining to unfold in England.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Presumption of Death

A brilliant Lord Peter Wimsey mystery very entertaining, read with great feeling by Edward Petherbridge.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Such a treat

The wonderful and hugely missed Edward Petherbridge reads this ingenious tale.

WWII is underway and Harriet Vane become the lead voice.

A very real treat to be lead on such a diverting adventure of the imagination by the unparalleled and incomparable voice of Mr Petherbridge, surely the definitive portrayer of Lord Peter.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Magnificent Job.

Jill Paton Walsh has brought to life Dorothy L Sayers characters in an absorbing story. Edward Petherbridge is the quintessential Wimsey in my opinion.
Highly recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous!

A wonderful reading by Edward Petherbridge that really brings this strong story to life. Well worth listening too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyable

Good story which resonated with times now - much wartime experience reminding me of Covid

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

We’ll worth a read

The narration is accomplished and portray the characters beautifully
The story is clever with many twists and turns and the final ending ties things up marvelously

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Sorry when it finished !

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this and would heartily recommend it to Peter Wimsey and Harriet fans.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not quite Sayers, beautifully said.

Almost as good as Dorothy L Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey novels, beautifully read by Edward Petherbridge. A treat over several evenings.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful