Strong Poison
First edition
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| Author | Dorothy L. Sayers |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Lord Peter Wimsey |
| Genre | Mystery novel |
| Publisher | Gollancz |
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Publication date
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1930 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 567 |
| Preceded by | The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club |
| Followed by | Five Red Herrings |
Strong Poison is a 1930 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her fifth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey.
The title is derived from a phrase in some variants of the ballad Lord Randall whose title character was poisoned by his lover.
Mystery author Harriet Vane is on trial for the murder of her former lover, Phillip Boyes, a novelist and essayist who wrote in support of atheism, anarchy, and free love. Professing to disapprove of marriage, he persuaded a reluctant Harriet to live with him against her principles and they led a Bohemian life in the London art community. A year later, he proposed, but Harriet, outraged at being deceived into giving up her public honour, broke off the relationship.
During the following year, Boyes suffered from repeated bouts of gastric illness, while Harriet had bought several poisons under assumed names to test a plot point of her novel then in progress. Having returned from a holiday in North Wales in better health, Boyes dined with his cousin, the solicitor Norman Urquhart, before going to Harriet's flat to discuss reconciliation. That night, he was taken ill, apparently with gastritis. He died four days later, after a period of agonising suffering.
It was first assumed that Boyes died of natural causes, but an indiscreet nurse and some of Boyes' friends insisted that foul play was involved. A post-mortem revealed that Boyes had died from acute arsenic poisoning. Apart from the evening meal with his cousin in which every item was shared by two or more people, the only opportunity to administer poison appeared to be a cup of coffee, offered by Harriet Vane.
The trial results in a "hung" jury, thanks largely to the presence of Wimsey's aide, Miss Climpson, on the jury. A unanimous verdict is required so the judge must order a fresh trial to be held.
Wimsey visits Harriet in prison, declares his conviction of her innocence and promises to catch the real murderer. He also admits his intention of marrying her, which she politely but firmly declines. Working against time before the new trial, Wimsey first explores the possibility that Boyes took his own life. Wimsey's friend, Detective Inspector Charles Parker, conclusively disproves that but Wimsey plants a spy, Miss Joan Murchison, in Urquhart's office and discovers that the real culprit is Urquhart.
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