Wimsey covers: Strong Poison

    Dear Harriet Walter,

    Somebody asked me a few minutes ago how one spells "cute". Apparently she thought it had the letter Q involved somehow.

    can i just...flail for a moment

    LET'S LOOK AT WIMSEY BOOKS TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER ABOUT MY LIFE

    Strong Poison (1930)

    I am so excited to do this one. It's got Harriet Vane! And poison! Poison is so interesting. It's all dark and sexy and skull-and-crossbones in theory, and then in practice it's all vomiting and paralysis and methods of decontamination with distinctly unglamorous names like "whole bowel irrigation". It still makes for some fine artwork, though. Let us peruse.

    (as always, descriptions describe the pictures before them)

    Straight up, this is a couple of roses stuck into a jar of poison - maybe someone just doesn't have much of a knack for gardening - and one is getting all wilty and droopy and sad and the other is flourishing, which is some neat and thought-provoking symbolism. Or maybe the other one was already wilting and they were just now stuffed into the arsenical vase, who knows.

    Why do I keep bothering with the weird Ian Carmichael-audiobook monocle-y ones? Here we have a dinner setting with rose petals framed by a monocle which may or may not be a portal into a more restauranty world. This has got to be the least ominous or morbid cover I have ever seen on a murder mystery come on guys will you put some EFFORT into it

 

    In case it's hard to read, that paper says "Last Will and Testament". Mmhmm. Excitement all 'round.

    This one has at least added some nice knobbly picklocks. Good on them.

    heeeyyyy it's dinnertime again

    heeeeyyyyy it's shoes

    heeeyyyyyy it's a judge looking sleepy (seriously? Seriously, guys?)

    Ancient, gray, vaguely Ian Carmichael-esque Lord Peter who has come to haunt my nightmares! Hey look it's Harriet in the background. Is she burying her face in her hands? I can't even tell.

    Oooh! Oooooooh! Love love love love!

    Ooooooh. This one is, like, old. Like possibly 1930 old, I'm not sure. In any case it is awesome.

    SAYERS ON ACID i can't breathe

    Huh. That's interesting. I like the colors.

    Awesome. Love the inclusion of the Wimsey crest.

    This is so very frightening. I just....I can't...it's...asghdsgkhdsgijgh LORD PETER YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A CREEPTASTIC GIANT VILLAIN HEAD

    can I just crawl into my bed and tremble
    (Yes, this cover is apparently Strong Poison. Dunno what language that is.)

    I think I'm too stupefied already to do much more than slowly blink at this. I kind of love it, though.

    And now, to wrap up what has been a rather long post...

    Best.

    Strong Poison cover.

    Ever.