I’m continuing my journey through all eleven Lord Peter Wimsey novels and last night I finished Murder Must Advertise. This one is always a favorite, as Sayers draws on her ten-year experience as a copywriter for an ad agency. In this reading I was particularly intrigued by her lists of advertising slogans. They parody the work of Pym’s publicity in the book and set up the parallel narrative of the criminal activity being investigated and the sweeping cultural changes of the 1930’s.

Here is one of the lists, from the end of the novel:

Tell England. Tell the world. Eat more Oats. Take Care of your Complexion. No More War. Shine your Shoes with Shino. Ask your Grocer. Children Love Laxamalt. Prepare to meet thy God. Bung’s Beer is Better. Try Dogsbody’s Sausages. Whoosh the Dust Away. Give them Crunchlets. Snagsbury’s Soups are Best for the Troops. Morning Star, best Paper by Far. Vote for Punkin and Protect your Profits. Stop that Sneeze with Snuffo. Flush your Kidneys with Fizzlets. Flush your Drains with Sanfect. Wear Wool-fleece next to the Skin. Popp’s Pills Pep you Up, Whiffle your Way to Fortune.… Advertise, or go under.

[Sayers, Dorothy L.. Murder Must Advertise (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Book 10) (p. 210). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.]

N.B.: The Kindle editions numbering includes the collections of short stories. And again, the picture is the one in my collection from the 1970’s. The title is very available in many formats.