A Presumption of Death persons is not war, but it is the surest form of victory. A Presumption of Death A Presumption of Death is a Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane mystery novel by Jill Paton Walsh, based loosely on "The Wimsey Papers" by Dorothy L. Sayers. The novel is Walsh's first original Lord Peter Wimsey novel, following "Thrones, Dominations", which Sayers left as an unfinished manuscript, and was completed by Walsh. "A Presumption of Death" is written by Walsh, except for excerpts from "The Wimsey Papers". Harriet, Lady Peter Wimsey, has evacuated her family to the Wimseys' country house, Talboys in Hertfordshire, taking her
Lord Peter Wimsey Peter Wimsey is called "Lord" as he is the son of a Duke. This is a courtesy title so he is not a peer and has no right to sit in the House of Lords, nor does the title pass on to any offspring he may have. As a boy, the young Peter Wimsey was, to the great distress of his father, strongly attached to an old, smelly poacher living at the edge of the family estate. In his youth Lord Peter was influenced by his maternal uncle Paul Delagardie, who took it upon himself to instruct his nephew in