The Documents in the Case
Encyclopedia
The Documents in the Case is a 1930 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers
and Robert Eustace
. It is the only one of Sayers' twelve major crime novels not to feature Lord Peter Wimsey
, her most famous detective character.
, told primarily in the form of letters between some of the characters. This collection of documents—hence the novel's title—is explained as a dossier of evidence collected by the victim's son as part of his campaign to obtain justice for his father.
The main narrator, Munting, takes rooms with Lathom, an artist acquaintance. The landlord and downstairs neighbour, Harrison, is a staid, middle-aged widower who has married again; his new wife is young, attractive, passionate and rather foolish. Lathom and Mrs Harrison begin an affair, the husband suspecting nothing, and Lathom paints a remarkable portrait of her. Creeping downstairs to meet his mistress one night, Lathom encounters the Harrisons' live-in spinster companion, who mistakes him for Munting in the dark and makes accusations of assault. Glad of an excuse to leave a situation he finds distasteful, Munting moves away and marries his fiancée, leaving Lathom still in occupation. Lathom's portrait of Mrs Harrison is exhibited publicly, making his reputation on the London art scene.
Some time later Munting meets Lathom by chance in London and learns that he is holidaying with Harrison at the latter's isolated cottage in Devon
. Harrison's hobby is foraging for wild food, and he is an expert on edible mushroom
s. Lathom persuades Munting to accompany him back to Devon, where they find Harrison dead, apparently having cooked and eaten poisonous fungi by mistake. However Harrison's son Paul suspects that Lathom and his stepmother have conspired to murder Harrison, and Munting is drawn unwillingly into the investigation. He discovers accidentally that muscarine
- the poison that killed Harrison - can exist in a natural or a synthetic form. The molecules of both forms are asymmetrical; however the natural form is optically active - consisting of only one molecular form; the synthetic form is racemic
- with equal quantities of both types of molecule; and the two forms can be distinguished only by using polarised light. The muscarine consumed by Harrison proves to be synthetic, indicating that the mushrooms he ate were poisoned deliberately. Letters between Mrs Harrison and Lathom indicate that she manipulated him into the killing by claiming that she was expecting his child. Lathom is hanged for murder.
, was Dr Eustace Barton, a physician who also wrote medico-legal thrillers. Barton suggested to Sayers the scientific theme crucial to the novel's dénouement, which concerns the difference between a naturally produced organic compound and the corresponding synthetic material, and the use of the polariscope to distinguish between them. He travelled to University College Hospital
in August 1928 to consult colleagues and see a practical demonstration of the effect.
As a practising Christian, Sayers was pleased with the religious-scientific theme offered to her by Eustace, which was based on the idea that the asymmetry of living molecules was an indication of the hand of God in creation. She intended this to be a major novel.
However, she was ultimately disappointed with the way the book turned out. "In my heart," she wrote, "I know I have made a failure of it... I wish I could have done better with the brilliant plot.".
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
and Robert Eustace
Robert Eustace
Robert Eustace was the pen name of Eustace Robert Barton , an English doctor and author of mystery and crime fiction with a theme of scientific innovation. He also wrote as Eustace Robert Rawlings. Eustace often collaborated with other writers, producing a number of works with the author L. T....
. It is the only one of Sayers' twelve major crime novels not to feature Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
, her most famous detective character.
Plot
This is an epistolary novelEpistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
, told primarily in the form of letters between some of the characters. This collection of documents—hence the novel's title—is explained as a dossier of evidence collected by the victim's son as part of his campaign to obtain justice for his father.
The main narrator, Munting, takes rooms with Lathom, an artist acquaintance. The landlord and downstairs neighbour, Harrison, is a staid, middle-aged widower who has married again; his new wife is young, attractive, passionate and rather foolish. Lathom and Mrs Harrison begin an affair, the husband suspecting nothing, and Lathom paints a remarkable portrait of her. Creeping downstairs to meet his mistress one night, Lathom encounters the Harrisons' live-in spinster companion, who mistakes him for Munting in the dark and makes accusations of assault. Glad of an excuse to leave a situation he finds distasteful, Munting moves away and marries his fiancée, leaving Lathom still in occupation. Lathom's portrait of Mrs Harrison is exhibited publicly, making his reputation on the London art scene.
Some time later Munting meets Lathom by chance in London and learns that he is holidaying with Harrison at the latter's isolated cottage in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. Harrison's hobby is foraging for wild food, and he is an expert on edible mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s. Lathom persuades Munting to accompany him back to Devon, where they find Harrison dead, apparently having cooked and eaten poisonous fungi by mistake. However Harrison's son Paul suspects that Lathom and his stepmother have conspired to murder Harrison, and Munting is drawn unwillingly into the investigation. He discovers accidentally that muscarine
Muscarine
Muscarine, L--muscarine, or muscarin is a natural product found in certain mushrooms, particularly in Inocybe and Clitocybe species, such as the deadly C. dealbata. Mushrooms in the genera Entoloma and Mycena have also been found to contain levels of muscarine which can be dangerous if ingested...
- the poison that killed Harrison - can exist in a natural or a synthetic form. The molecules of both forms are asymmetrical; however the natural form is optically active - consisting of only one molecular form; the synthetic form is racemic
Racemic
In chemistry, a racemic mixture, or racemate , is one that has equal amounts of left- and right-handed enantiomers of a chiral molecule. The first known racemic mixture was "racemic acid", which Louis Pasteur found to be a mixture of the two enantiomeric isomers of tartaric acid.- Nomenclature :A...
- with equal quantities of both types of molecule; and the two forms can be distinguished only by using polarised light. The muscarine consumed by Harrison proves to be synthetic, indicating that the mushrooms he ate were poisoned deliberately. Letters between Mrs Harrison and Lathom indicate that she manipulated him into the killing by claiming that she was expecting his child. Lathom is hanged for murder.
Characters in "The Documents in the Case"
- John Munting – an aspiring young writer
- Harwood Lathom – a struggling artist, acquaintance of Munting
- George Harrison – middle-aged downstairs neighbour of Lathom and Munting
- Margaret Harrison – considerably younger than her husband. Engaged in a secret affair with Lathom
- Agatha Milsom – live-in spinster companion of Mrs Harrison
- Paul Harrison – engineer; adult son of Mr Harrison by a previous marriage.
Major themes
Dorothy Sayers' co-author, under the pseudonym of Robert EustaceRobert Eustace
Robert Eustace was the pen name of Eustace Robert Barton , an English doctor and author of mystery and crime fiction with a theme of scientific innovation. He also wrote as Eustace Robert Rawlings. Eustace often collaborated with other writers, producing a number of works with the author L. T....
, was Dr Eustace Barton, a physician who also wrote medico-legal thrillers. Barton suggested to Sayers the scientific theme crucial to the novel's dénouement, which concerns the difference between a naturally produced organic compound and the corresponding synthetic material, and the use of the polariscope to distinguish between them. He travelled to University College Hospital
University College Hospital
University College Hospital is a teaching hospital located in London, United Kingdom. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is closely associated with University College London ....
in August 1928 to consult colleagues and see a practical demonstration of the effect.
As a practising Christian, Sayers was pleased with the religious-scientific theme offered to her by Eustace, which was based on the idea that the asymmetry of living molecules was an indication of the hand of God in creation. She intended this to be a major novel.
However, she was ultimately disappointed with the way the book turned out. "In my heart," she wrote, "I know I have made a failure of it... I wish I could have done better with the brilliant plot.".