Mervyn Bunter is a fictional character in Dorothy L. Sayers's novels and short stories. He serves as Lord Peter Wimsey's valet, having been Wimsey's batman during the First World War. Bunter was partially based on the fictional valet Jeeves, created by P. G. Wodehouse.
Background
Sayers wrote a number of novels and short stories concerning the adventures of a fictional private detective called Lord Peter Wimsey, beginning with a Sexton Blake story she wrote in 1920.
The first Wimsey novel, Whose Body?, was published in 1923, and the last by Sayers alone, Busman's Honeymoon, was published in 1937. Further stories based on original material were published under the authorship of Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh, the last appearing in 2013. The original stories written by Sayers take place between 1921 and 1937; the continuation novels by Walsh extend through the Second World War and into the 1950s.
Role
Mervyn Bunter is Wimsey's manservant. and assists Wimsey in purchasing rare books and solving crimes.
Characterisation
As a manservant
Bunter occupies a high social position among domestic staff owing to his role as a valet. He is referred to as "Mr Bunter" by all other servants and tradesmen. His dress sense and manners command respect from his colleagues and impress cooks and maids.
He possesses a calmness which is broken only two occasions. In The Nine Tailors Bunter becomes upset after a maid is caught polishing a beer bottle taken as evidence.
As assistant detective
Bunter regularly assists in deduction, and photographs crime scenes and fingerprints. He also follows suspects and checks alibis.
With Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane
Sergeant Bunter was Major Wimsey's batman during the Great War. Wimsey begins a courtship with Harriet Vane, which eclipses Bunter's role in the story. Wimsey is relieved when Bunter accepts Vane. Bunter is consoled when Wimsey turns to him instead of to Vane for assistance in a case. At the end of the case, Bunter and Vane join forces to save Wimsey.
Fictional biography
1850: Birth of Bunter's mother, who lived at least until 1936; He learns housekeeping skills in this household.
1922–23: The first major investigation.
1923–26: Bunter takes photos of suspects in Paris using a small camera hidden in his breast pocket. On the boat back to England he develops the photos in the cabin. Bunter helps to hold and disarm a female impersonator. Bunter helps Wimsey solve a crossword problem and find a missing will. In The Unprincipled affair of the Practical Joker, Bunter stays at a hotel with Wimsey, but has no part in the story. In The Learned Adventure of the Dragon’s Head, Bunter assists in capturing burglars, but has no part in finding the treasure.
1927: In Unnatural Death, Bunter's photographic skills provide a vital clue to a double identity.
1928: The events of The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club occur.
1929: In The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba, a decoy will leaves £500 per annum to Bunter, plus the lease of the flat in Piccadilly, but Bunter does not appear in the story.
c. 1929: In Absolutely Elsewhere, Bunter is heard on the telephone helping to show how an alibi was faked.
1930: In Strong Poison, Bunter is living with Wimsey in a Kirkcudbrightshire cottage. He takes a local maid to the cinema, getting her to speak about her employer's secrets. He receives little mention, however, and is not included in the reconstruction of the crime. In Have His Carcase, Bunter appears very little. He is allowed to carry out a difficult piece of surveillance. In "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey", Wimsey travels by train with Bunter and asks him to get the train staff to open up the commissariat and secure food for Langley.
1932: In "The Queen's Square", at a country house Christmas party attended by Wimsey, Bunter assists with the refreshments. After a murder, Bunter and Wimsey take a number of photographs which are developed in the cellar. Bunter's explanation of the effects of light enables Wimsey to solve the crime. In Murder Must Advertise, there is only one reference to Bunter.
1933: In The Nine Tailors, Bunter plays a minor part. He is allowed to use his camera and find a hairpin.
1935: In Busman's Honeymoon, Bunter is only mentioned as a servant who sleeps in the attic. The last words of the story refer to "Bunter who knew everything without asking."
In popular culture
In the 1998 horror novel Bag of Bones by Stephen King, Bunter is the name given to the moose head that sits over the fireplace of main character Mike Noonan's vacation house.
Reception
Bunter has been described as resembling P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves. A perfect manservant and a detective's assistant, he has been said to be more intelligent then Holmes' Watson.