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Clouds of Witness full cast audiobook

by Dorothy L. Sayers · Lord Peter Wimsey, Book 2

Released 10 October 2026 · Updated 10 October 2026 · 8h 25m · 74 voices

The story (no spoilers)

Lord Peter Wimsey comes home from three months in Corsica to learn that his brother, the Duke of Denver, stands accused of murder in the Yorkshire dales. Captain Denis Cathcart, engaged to the Duke's sister, Lady Mary, lies dead outside the conservatory door of Riddlesdale Lodge, the family's shooting-box, shot through the chest in the small hours of an October morning. The pistol beside him is the Duke's own, and the two men quarrelled bitterly the night before. Worse, the Duke will not account for where he went after the argument, and Lady Mary collapses under questioning. With his valet Bunter at his side and his friend Inspector Parker working the case from the police end, Wimsey must make sense of strange footprints, a household of guests with their own reasons for keeping quiet, and a family loyalty that cuts both ways. If he fails, the Duke faces trial before his peers in the House of Lords.

The cast

26 speaking roles are listed; walk-on parts are not. Each voice was designed, or chosen from our library of designed voices, to fit how the book describes the character, and it stays with them from the first chapter to the last. Portraits are illustrated impressions of each character.

Lord Peter Wimsey
Male, about thirty-eight years old, an English aristocrat in England in 1926, an upper-class gentleman of leisure and amateur investigator. He speaks in a light, drawling upper-class received pronunciation, dropping his g's. His voice is a light, slightly husky, hesitant tenor. He speaks airily at an unhurried pace, flippant and mannered, with real worry hidden underneath.
Parker
Male, about thirty-six years old, an Englishman in London in 1926, a middle-class police detective inspector. He speaks in plain, neutral standard southern English with no gentry drawl. His voice is a mild, steady, mid-range baritone, a little dry. He speaks at an even, earnest pace, sometimes mumbling. Conscientious, practical and patient.
Lady Mary
Female, about twenty-six years old, an English aristocrat in England in 1926, an upper-class daughter of a ducal family. She speaks in clear upper-class received pronunciation. Her voice is a low, soft mezzo-soprano, fair and slender, with a slight quiver. She speaks quietly and a little hurriedly, at times almost inaudible, frank in manner yet nervous and strained underneath.
Sir Impey Biggs
Male, about fifty years old, an Englishman in London in 1926, a wealthy upper-middle-class barrister and King's Counsel. He speaks in polished, suave received pronunciation. His voice is a rich, smooth, resonant baritone, handsome and carrying. He speaks in measured lawyerly sentences at a controlled pace, dry, ironic and unperturbed.
Bunter
Male, about forty-two years old, an Englishman in London in 1926, a respectable working-class gentleman's valet. He speaks in careful, correct, slightly formal southern English, with his accent well polished. His voice is an even, medium-low baritone, smooth and discreet. He speaks at a measured pace, deferential, efficient and quietly resourceful.
Mr. Murbles
Male, about seventy-two years old, an Englishman in London in 1926, a dry, fastidious middle-class family solicitor. He speaks in precise, old-fashioned received pronunciation. His voice is a thin, dry, reedy tenor of a small frail old man. He speaks slowly and fussily, with careful pauses and little throat-clearings, correct and mildly disapproving.
Duke of Denver
Male, about forty-two years old, an English duke at his country lodge in Yorkshire in 1926, a landed aristocrat. Upper-class received pronunciation, offhand and clipped. A medium-low, gruffish baritone, solid and heavier-built. Speaks slowly and hesitantly, with fillers and understatement, never fluent. Kind, obstinate, stolid and unimaginative, honourable and rather stiff.
Mrs. Grimethorpe
Female, about thirty-eight years old, a Yorkshire farmer's wife on the North Yorkshire moors in 1926, working-class. She speaks with a North Yorkshire rural accent. Her voice is a low, flat, cold contralto, remote and worn. She speaks slowly and steadily, wavering now and then, and quickens into urgent bursts. Guarded, stoical and quietly frightened.
Wigmore Wrinching
Male, about fifty-five years old, an Englishman in London in 1926, a wealthy upper-class Attorney-General. He speaks in forceful, crisp received pronunciation. His voice is a loud, gravelly bass-baritone, with the occasional snort. He speaks in brisk, pressing bursts at a quick pace, combative, irritable and formal in courtesy to the court.
Freddy Arbuthnot
Male, about thirty-two years old, an English gentleman of leisure in 1926, upper-class and amiable. Slangy, breezy upper-class accent with a drawl and an easy, silly warmth. A light, boyish, slightly nasal high tenor. Speaks fast and cheerfully, in rambling, chatty bursts with tags. Carefree, friendly and easily rattled, quick to emotion.
Miss Tarrant
Female, about twenty-six years old, an English bohemian political club member in London in 1926, a middle-class radical with an auburn mop. Quick, modern educated London accent, slangy. A bright, husky, mid-range mezzo with a breathless edge. Speaks very fast with enormous energy, dropping to a hoarse whisper. Eager, reckless, talkative and warm.
James Fleming
Male, about forty-six years old, an English manservant at a Yorkshire shooting lodge in 1926, a working-class servant. A mild North Yorkshire accent with loose grammar and deferential "sir". A thin, reedy, slightly hoarse tenor. Speaks slowly and hesitantly, vague and trailing off. Forgetful, deferential and anxious to please.
Ellen
Female, about twenty-four years old, a housemaid at a Yorkshire shooting lodge in 1926, working-class. A broad Cockney-flavoured servant accent, dropping h's, as a maid from town. A bright, forward, medium-high soprano. Speaks quickly and chattily, teasing, with a toss in her tone. Cheeky, spirited, flirtatious and practical.
Farmer Grimethorpe
Male, about forty-six years old, a Yorkshire hill farmer on the moors in 1926, a rough working man, big and thick-set. A broad North Yorkshire dialect accent. A low, hoarse, gravelly bass, with a gruff edge in it. Speaks in short gruff phrases, curt and heavy. Wary, hard, jealous and gruff.
Mr. Watchett
Male, about fifty-five years old, a London-born publican running a pub in Yorkshire in 1926, working-class. A strong Cockney accent, dropping h's and flattening vowels. A warm, rounded, slightly wheezy mid-range baritone, stout. Speaks quickly and effusively, gushing and garrulous. Eager, fawning and delighted by celebrity.
Goyles
Male, about twenty-seven years old, an English political speaker and motorcyclist in 1926, working-to-middle-class. A plain, modern northern-tinged educated accent, rough at the edges. A mid-range, tight, slightly hoarse tenor, lean build. Speaks in blunt, clipped bursts, passionate and bitter. Defensive, resentful and wary of authority.
Mr. Pettigrew-Robinson
Male, about fifty years old, an English gentleman houseguest in 1926, upper-middle-class and self-regarding. A pompous, over-pronounced received pronunciation. A thin, fussy, slightly high tenor with a reedy edge. Speaks slowly and long-windedly, qualifying every phrase. Pompous, precise and pleased with himself.
Mr. Smith
Male, about sixty-one years old, a Yorkshire publican on the moors in 1926, a working-class landlord. A broad North Yorkshire dialect accent. A low, dry, gravelly baritone, weathered and gruff. Speaks slowly in grudging, laconic grunts. Grumbling, uncommunicative and sour about modern times.
Mrs. Pettigrew-Robinson
Female, about forty-eight years old, an English gentleman's wife and churchgoer in 1926, upper-middle-class. A prim, over-correct received pronunciation without contractions. A thin, tight, high mezzo, upright and narrow. Speaks slowly and primly, with careful emphasis. Pious, censorious and dutiful.
Colonel Marchbanks
Male, about fifty-nine years old, a retired English army colonel and country guest in 1926, upper-middle-class. A hearty, bluff military received pronunciation. A full, ruddy, loud baritone, sturdy build. Speaks briskly with hearty tags such as "eh, dear". Conventional, jovial and easily embarrassed.
Mrs. Marchbanks
Female, about fifty-three years old, an English colonel's wife and country guest in 1926, upper-middle-class. A homely, comfortable received pronunciation with a county flavour. A warm, mid-range, slightly fluttery mezzo. Speaks quickly and chattily in domestic runs. Fretful, kind and conventional, keen to smooth over unpleasantness.
Hardraw
Male, about forty-two years old, a gamekeeper on a Yorkshire estate in 1926, working-class. A broad North Yorkshire dialect accent. A medium-low, rough, outdoor baritone, lean and weathered. Speaks slowly and flatly, in short plain statements. Practical, plain-spoken and local, unhurried.
Monsieur Briquet
Male, about fifty-six years old, a Parisian jeweller manager on the Rue de la Paix in 1926, wealthy and professional, stout. A courteous French accent in English. A round, smooth, mid-low baritone with gentle breath. Speaks slowly and formally, politely careful. Businesslike, proud of his memory and obliging.
Mrs. Hardraw
Female, about thirty-eight years old, a gamekeeper's wife in a lonely Yorkshire cottage in 1926, working-class. A broad North Yorkshire dialect accent. A low, plain, slightly rough alto, sturdy. Speaks slowly and warmly, in simple, helpful phrases. Watchful, helpful and homely.
Miss Cathcart
Female, about fifty-six years old, an English spinster of independent means in 1926, upper-middle-class. A cool, correct, old-fashioned received pronunciation. A low, dry, tight contralto, stiff and spare. Speaks slowly and stiffly, with deliberate disapproval. Cool, severe and unsentimental.
Sir Andrew Mackenzie
Male, about sixty-one years old, a Scottish senior official at Scotland Yard in London in 1926, upper-middle-class. A mild educated Scottish accent with softened r's. A dry, light, mid-range baritone, lean. Speaks slowly and evenly, in measured official diction. Dry, mildly ironic and composed.

Series

Book 2 of 14 in Lord Peter Wimsey. 2 released so far.

Next: Lord Peter Views the Body

About this recording

Narrator: Hugh Ellery, our house narrator voice
Runtime: 8h 25m (complete and unabridged)
Voices: 74
Channel: Full Cast Audiobooks on YouTube
Released: 10 October 2026
Updated: 10 October 2026
Author: Dorothy L. Sayers
First published: 1926
Kind: mystery novel
Source edition: Project Gutenberg eBook #70432
Public domain (US): Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers is in the public domain in the United States; text from Project Gutenberg.