In 1973 Masterpiece Theatre produced a five-part television adaptation of Clouds of Witness starring Ian Carmichael as Wimsey with Glyn Houston as Bunter, Rachel Herbert as Lady Mary, Mark Eden as Inspector Parker, David Langton as the Duke of Denver, Georgina Cookson as the Dowager Duchess, and George Coulouris as Grimthorpe.

The dramatization was wonderfully paced and acted with charm. The layers of complication in the story lent themselves well to the serial format.

The show was justly a huge success in both Britain and America, and additional dramatizations followed in the next four years.

Murder Must Advertise in 1974, The Nine Tailors in 1975, and The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club in 1976 were all as successful as their predecessor and for much the same reasons. In addition, the picturesque settings served the television producers even better than they had Sayers originally in providing a variety of interesting locales. The complications...