# XVII explained — Strong Poison

> Chapter companion for Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers.

## What happens

Miss Climpson visits Miss Booth under the guise of a spiritualist séance, gathering information about the household and Mrs. Wrayburn while participating in a manipulated table-rapping session.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Appearance

Miss Climpson and Miss Booth both engage in deception—Miss Climpson pretends to believe in the séance, while Miss Booth fakes the spirit communications.

### The Role of Women

The chapter highlights women's roles as caregivers (Miss Booth as nurse) and as participants in spiritualist practices, often a socially acceptable outlet for women.

## Character check-ins

### Miss Climpson

Conducts an undercover investigation, posing as a spiritualist to gather information from Miss Booth.

### Miss Booth

Hosts the séance, acts as medium, and reveals personal history through the fake communications.

### Mrs. Wrayburn

Mentioned as the helpless, wealthy patient under Miss Booth's care.

## Key lines

> Satisfactory, so far, thought Miss Climpson. Confidence was well established. In a few days’ time, she would be able to work her plan.

Miss Climpson felt that she had successfully gained Miss Booth's trust and could soon execute her investigation.

_Reflects Miss Climpson's strategic approach to the undercover operation._

> It is very tiring to rap out letters of the alphabet, and she was afraid the soapbox was slipping.

The medium found the physical effort of producing the rapping sounds exhausting and worried that her hidden soapbox would shift.

_Reveals the mechanical trickery behind the séance, underscoring the theme of deception._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/strong_poison_se/chapters/xvii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/strong_poison_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/strong_poison_se/chapters