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The Unpleasantness At The Bellona Club
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Plot Summary of The Unpleasantness At The Bellona Club
"Ninety year old General Fentiman is found dead in his usual chair at the Bellona Club. Normally, this would not cause a sensation, he had a bad heart, but his sister also died on the same day. Her will stipulated that if her brother died first, he would inherit almost a half a million dollars. If he did not, her cousin/companion, Ann Dorland, would inherit the bulk of her estate. The general's grandsons and heirs, Robert and George Fentiman, are now in a legal battle.
Lord Peter Wimsey has been asked to determine the time of the old man's death. Wimsey has suspicions about the death because of the scientific mannerisms of rigor mortis. He discovers that the general's body had been moved after death. An exhumation proves that General Fentiman was poisoned by an overdose of Digitalis, a heart medication. Only Robert seems to know the elusive Mr. Oliver who saw the old man the night before his death. George's wife also takes heart medication, and Ms. Dorland does not appear to be very mournful. All of the heirs are suspects and the doctor who treated the general. Through several false clues and tailing suspects, Lord Wimsey solves the murder of General Fentiman.



"

Marianna, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Unpleasantness At The Bellona Club
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 70%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - 1900-1920's
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80%
Special suspect? - relative
Murder of certain profession? - old people/geritol crowd
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Big focus on autopsies
Kind of investigator - amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - inheritance struggle
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - wealthy
Age: - 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental: Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
Ethnicity/Race - British
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - doctor
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Misc setting - resort/hotel

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 1
Unusual forms of death - poisoning
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to The Unpleasantness At The Bellona Club
Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson
The Benson Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine
Dead Man Riding by Gillian Linscott
The Uninvited Countess by Michael Kilian
Deadly Affairs by Brenda Joyce


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Dorothy L. Sayers Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Christina Forsyth  

SCHOLARS:
Marianna  Alan J. Bishop  Anthony  David Loftus  


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